Fallout: New Vegas Shotgun Build

July 2024 · 10 minute read

I couldn’t find this guide anymore, full credit goes to original creator rychek. I used this for my first play-through and had an absolute blast.

This is my Light Armor – Riot Shotgun Build/Guide. This guide is a current with perks granted from all released DLC’s

Build and Stats Guide

Video of the shotgun build in action:

The Deathclaw Promontory -quite possibly the roughest place in new vegas.

Special Configuration:

Starting value on the left, final values on the right.

Tag Skills:

Traits:

Perk Path:

End Game Gear:

Leveling Guide

Leveling Notes:

Your main goals from level 1 on should be as follows:

Make a stop at “mick and ralph’s” to buy the naughty nightwear for +1 luck (roughly 300 caps), then get to the atomic wrangler in freeside and start gambling it up with 9 luck until you’ve been banned. Once you have accumulated enough caps, buy the luck and intelligence implants ASAP. Hit the strip, once in i recommend you hit up saving the tops for last, as seeing benny will complete his quest and give you 1000 xp. Buy up all of the implants and then…

At this point, dead money is in my opinion, the best thing you can do. If you enter dead money at level 4, you will leave near level 15 with a hunting shotgun. The weapon repair kits and stimpaks given by the vending machine in the abandoned BOS bunker are incredibly helpful for tearing through the wastes. Also dead money is not a hard DLC, don’t bother using shotguns throughout the DLC except maybe towards the end when you find the hunting shotgun. Just get near point blank vats head shot kills on the ghost people with police pistol. Make sure to raise your speech to at least 50, or dealing with dog is going to be rough to say the least. (85 is the requirement if you want to save both god and dog)

It is a good idea upon completion of dead money to buy 30 med-x and 30 radaway – you can use these items as turn ins for followers of the apocalypse reputation, which will get you into a safehouse.

Go acquire Veronica from the 188 trading post, she will give you easy access to the brotherhood of steel. Head to hidden valley, once there if you fast travel to there, the brother hood’s bunker will be north west of where the fast travel drops you off at. Head straight in, tell the elder you’ll do whatever he asks, and then go hit up torres their quarter master. If the riot shotgun is NOT in her inventory for sale, wait around until it is. (also note that she may become bugged and never refresh her inventory, if this happens the gun runners/vault 34 may be your only options for attaining one.)

Once you finally acquire a riot shotgun I’m sure you’ll be asking me “hey man how am i supposed to fuel this beast of a gun with ammos” The answer is pretty simple! The NCR! Once you have become “liked” or “accepted” by the NCR, travel to hoover dam. Speak with Quartermaster Bardon and pass a a speech check of 50. Quartermaster Bardon sells 400 to 600 – 12 guage shotgun shells. it takes 73 hours reset his inventory, I recommend waiting at a safe house.

Notes on beating Dead Money:

Dead money is fairly straight forward, but you may miss your opportunity to gain something… and you cannot go back to get it again.

Once you have gathered all 3 of your bomb collar wearing compatriots you will only be able to gain their 3 perks prior to starting the gala event. If you miss this chance, you will not have it again.

All of the skill books scattered throughout dead money can be picked up at your leisure after elijah has been killed except one. The energy weapon book you should grab before entering the vault.

Notes on beating Honest Hearts:

Honest Hearts is fairly straight forward and short. Just plow through the main mission and you’ll be fine. The most annoying thing you’ll deal with is white legs that are snipers. either break their line of sight so they have to come to you or just bypass them entirely they aren’t a very big concern. Everything else is fairly easy due to how melee heavy the expansion is.

Notes on beating Old World Blues:

Old world blues is rough, hands down it is the most difficult DLC to date. The upside is if you wait until you have the strong back/pack rat perk to do it you will be able to bring a considerable amount of ammo with you. I suggest Bringing no less than 2500 12 gauge rounds, with a heavy emphasis on slugs.

Notes on Old World Blues perk selection:

Notes on acquiring the lucky shades:

Because the NCR is being kind enough to feed your ammunition needs, you really do not want to anger them until you have a sizable stockpile of 12 gauge rounds. Unfortunately gaining legion reputation is the ONLY way to get the lucky shades, and doing legion quests is one of the quickest ways to anger the NCR.

Pick pocketing NCR dog tags to turn them in at cottonwood cove is without a doubt your best option. Unfortunately you need FIFTY of them to get to liked.

Once you are up to liked and go speak to lucius and he will give you the key to the safehouse where they are located.

Notes on ammunition:

Buckshot is considerably weak versus heavily armored targets due to damage being calculated independently per pellet. While buckshot is still effective due to its crowd controlling nature it heavily relies on critical strikes for damaging heavily armored targets. However, poorly armored targets are shredded beyond compare by buckshot. There are 3 kinds of buckshot, listed below:

Standard 12 gauge buckshot rounds deals 1.2x damage.

Magnum rounds deal 1.3x damage. The downside to magnum rounds is that they degrade the condition of your gun more rapidly

Coinshot rounds deal 1.3x damage. Coinshot does not degrade weapon condition any extra.

Slugs/Pulse Slugs are more accurate than any other 12 gauge round and excellent for piercing armored targets. Unfortunately due to having taken the fast shot trait the shotgun build favors the use of buckshot styled rounds. One of the the best uses of slugs is point blank vats head shots on heavily armored targets, further more, knocking a target down with buckshot and then quickly switching to slugs for pin point vats pummeling works wonders. Due to the knock back chance of the “and stay back” perk being 10% chance PER PELLET, slugs knock back targets considerably less often than buckshot. Obviously pulse slugs are more effective against robots/power armor.

Flechette A high penetration version of buckshot, great for any situation.

Dragon’s Breath , I would recommend against using these rounds, constant fire makes it pretty hard to see what you’re doing on your screen.

Skill Book Locations

Barter:

Energy Weapons:

Explosives:

Guns:

Lock Pick:

Melee Weapons:

Medicine:

Repair:

Science:

Sneak:

Speech:

Survival:

Unarmed:

Random Skill Books:

Snow Globe Locations:

More Guides:

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