About this mod
This mod changes nearly every single existing perk and aid item from Fallout 3 and New Vegas to emphasize and encourage specialization with one's stats, improve gameplay balance, and provide several new viable ways to play the game.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
- Are you tired of playing the same character build every time you start a new game?
- Do you wish that certain stats, such as Perception and Charisma, were worth putting more points into?
- Are you frustrated with some perks being terrible and having high requirements, whereas others are extremely powerful and are obtainable in the beginning of your game?
- Do you wish that some perks had a bit more... pizzazz?
If so, then THIS is the mod for you!
Continuing the work from a previous version of this mod, this mod changes nearly all the perks and traits from Tale of Two Wastelands to make it an RPG that encourages you to specialize your character and allocate your stats in a way that suits the type of character you want to play, rather than following a "meta" and checking boxes for making the most powerful character possible. I did this by constantly reflecting on a little concept called "opportunity cost." Basically, if I choose to allocate my character's stats a certain way, what would I lose and what would I gain compared to a character with different stats? With this mod installed, there are S.P.E.C.I.A.L. requirements when selecting traits, and perk requirements are directly reflective of how powerful they are. Perks at low levels have lower requirements and are relatively uninteresting and straightforward compared to high level perks with high requirements and exciting or game-changing new abilities.
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While some perks have been nerfed by either having higher requirements or making their effects less powerful (you can no longer knock over Deathclaws with a switchblade at Level 8), I have done my best to make sure I avoided nerfing perks and instead buffed or reworked the bad perks. This way, players can choose how difficult their game is by adding difficulty mods, but not feel disheartened when one of their favorite perks has been nerfed to the ground. There are also a roughly equal amount of perks available for each S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat and skill, meaning that no matter how you choose to allocate your stats, as long as you choose to focus on specializations, all types of characters will gain access to powerful and exciting abilities as you continue your playthrough.
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In order to give some perks their extra punch, I had to make several changes to most aid items in the game. While I was at it, since I had to edit nearly all their records anyway, I decided to make adjustments to nearly every consumable's value, weight, and effects to make more sense while still maintaining balance and the original feel of the game (especially for the items added by TTW). For example, Sunset Sarsaparilla won't restore more health than a Stimpak in the early game, raw and stale foods apply debuffs without certain perks, and all chems have weight (0.1 to 0.25 lbs mostly). I also adjusted several recipes for some of these items to reflect their value and effects, as well as encourage players to invest more points into the Survival skill. I decided to do this since other consumable overhauls change the feel of the game too much, and so I wouldn't have to release a million patches for other overhaul mods. Just let this mod overwrite all gameplay mods you have installed.
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Overall, this mod makes a new playthrough of New Vegas or Fallout 3 more exciting and dynamic. All types of characters will be powerful by the end of the game, so you don't have to worry making sure you have the "correct" stats ever again! There are still plenty of synergies to find, however, and I look forward to seeing the feedback come in from people playing different types of characters. As long as you focus on specializing your character, you will be rewarded and find several more hours (or days) worth of enjoyment role-playing in the wasteland. Now for the fun part...
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1. Make sure you followed the "Best of Times" guide in its entirety when setting up your game:
2. Ensure these settings are as follows in the jip_nvse.ini file for JIP (save when you're done):
bEnableBigGunsSkill=0
uNPCPerks=1
3. Ensure these settings are as follows in the nvse_stewie_tweaks.ini for lStewieAl's Tweaks using CTRL-F (save when you're done):
Some of these aren't required but highly recommended (check through the Tweaks section in settings when you are in your game, since there are a lot more useful tweaks that aren't mentioned here). Also keep in mind that some settings that affect gameplay, like Agility increasing movement speed, may not be balanced when paired with some perks:
bCustomHackingAnswerLength = 1
fComputerWhizLengthBonus = 2.000000
bAllowTeammatesUseMeltdown = 0
bPerksAffectFistWeaponSpeed = 1
bDisableHolsteredWeaponFOVZoom = 0
bFreeWildWasteland = 1
bBarterAffectsRepairCosts = 1
bBarterCheckActorBuySellFlags = 1
bAmmoRequiresWeapons = 1
bNoFreeBarterItems = 1
fFreeItemCost = 0.100000
bDisableCharacterRespec =1
bExplosionRadiusBuff = 1
bHardcoreTweaks = 1
bEssentialCompanions = 1
bSleepingHeals = 0
bHideRanksInTraitMenu = 1
bCritChanceIgnoresFireRate = 0
bNoCrippleCriticalMessages = 1
bPatchCripple = 1
bPatchCritical = 0
bRemoveDeadNPCCrippleCriticalMessages = 1
bPickpocketOverhaul = 1
bShowPickpocketSuccessRate = 1
bUseCustomBarterPriceMultipliers = 1
fBuyMultAid = 2.000000
fBuyMultAmmo = 2.000000
fBuyMultArmor = 2.000000
fBuyMultMisc = 2.000000
fBuyMultWeapon = 2.000000
fBuyMultWeaponMod = 2.000000
4. Download the required mods listed in the Requirements section.
5. Check the "Wasteland Survival Guide" for compatibility patches for the required mods (such as TTW Reputations) and download any other additions you would like to add to your game:
6. Download this mod, then adjust the .esp in your load order to be below all the previous mods (have this mod overwrite them). If you installed "New Vegas Mesh Improvement Mod (NVMIM)" from the Wasteland Survival Guide, make sure this mod comes after it.
IMPORTANT Check the compatibility section below to check for any potential conflicts before starting your new playthrough IMPORTANT
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Overhauls:
Most overhaul mods will probably be incompatible with this mod without a patch. The only overhaul mod that is supported at the moment is Lone Star, but make sure you follow these steps:
Lone Star
Download the compatibility patch, overwriting the main file and Lone Star. Make sure your load order is as follows:
Lone Star.esm
......
......
TTWPerkOverhaul.esp
TTWPerkOverhaul - Lone Star Patch.esp
After this step, make sure these settings are as follows in the Lone Star.ini file (save when you're done). Make sure you don't change them in the MCM menu in-game:
iVanillaHardcoreThresholds=0
iVanillaCarryWeight=1
iVanillaHP=1
iVanillaLevelCap=1
iVanillaMovementPenalties=1
I use this mod along with the setting "bLocalizedDTDR=1" in the jip_nvse.ini to improve combat:
Better Damage - Superior Multipliers
My settings in the BetterDamageMultipliers.ini are as follows:
fDiffMultHPByPCVE=2.25
fDiffMultHPByPCE=1.875
fDiffMultHPByPCN=1.5
fDiffMultHPByPCH=1.5
fDiffMultHPByPCVH=1.5
fDiffMultHPToPCVE=0.75
fDiffMultHPToPCE=1.125
fDiffMultHPToPCN=1.5
fDiffMultHPToPCH=2.25
fDiffMultHPToPCVH=3.0
Perks:
Any mod that makes changes to existing perks is probably incompatible. If you decide to proceed with using it anyway, make sure this mod overwrites it and is placed below it in your load order.
If you use (Benny Humbles You) and Steals Your Stuff, make sure that you set it to not hide the Almost Perfect perk (now "Gifted"):
Find the gr_BHYSYSFixes.txt file (located in nvse/plugins/scripts) and remove the following lines:
SetPerkFlag DLC03AlmostPerfect 1 0
SetPerkFlag DLC03AlmostPerfect 2 1
After you do this, make sure you save the file.
Sweet 6 Shooter Perks - TTW appears to be compatible.
More Perks Reimagined appears to be compatible.
Platinum Perks - Improved and Expanded are both incompatible.
Weapons/Armor:
This mod doesn't directly touch weapons and armor (except for the Euclid's C-Finder explosion, it's damage has been doubled and increases with certain perks - making any other mod that touches it incompatible). However, any added weapons or armor need to be included in the FormID Lists this mod uses for their respective perks. I can make patches for them, but I will only do so when asked, since I don't use any. Anyone that wants to help me with this would be included in the credits, and I would appreciate it very much!
Aid Items:
All "ingestibles" or items in the Aid category, except for skill books, stealth boys, weapon repair kits, the Roughin' It Bedroll Kit, and the NCR Emergency Radio have been directly changed with this mod to accommodate several perks. Any other mod that does the same needs to be higher in your load order (let this mod overwrite them) or if you want to be on the safe side, don't install them at all.
Dialogue:
This mod has a powerful CHA 9 perk that required changing Arcade's, Boone's, and Veronica's dialogue to make it work. Any mod that makes changes to their dialogue or Boone's quest "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" is incompatible. I think TTW Dialogue and Interactions Expansion mentioned in the Wasteland Survival Guide is compatible after checking in FNVEdit, but if you want to be on the safe side, don't install it. The only conflict with that one was the GREETING for their dialogue, but if this mod overwrites it, you should be fine.
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Tale of Two Wastelands (TTW) development team
Developers for all Script Extenders and NVSE Plugins (you guys rule!!!)
oMrCrumbs - author of PerkOut, and the one who inspired me to create this mod:
Asterra - author of Nuclear Anomaly Won't Kill You, for his incredible scripting work