I am copypasting an edited version of something I posted in
an already existing thread. This is just a quick starting guide which I might or might not be upgraded in the future. I hope it is useful for new players.
First thing to learn in this game is that a very harsh Build Darwinism rules it. Maybe you'd be confortable starting with this build:
[CLICK TO ENLARGE]
With it you can defeat weaker enemies (Small Guns), craft some weapons and armor (Repair), and travel on Worldmap quickly, which means more safely (Outdoorsman). It has relatively good CW which allows to gather materials for your first crafting and carry items for trading operations. You will also be able to dismantle some basic farmed items to get a few resources (Science). Keep in mind that you will do A LOT better in each of these activities if you use alts with specialized builds, but that can wait some time.
If you do use this build, first thing to do is to travel to the Gun Runners (the
Fortress in the Boneyard) and
get a bonus to Small Guns. You can then level a bit more doing
quests.
When you start levelling up, make sure you raise Science to 100 as soon as possible. Do NOT spend skill points on anything else until you get Science 100, which allows you to get the
Educated support perk (more skill points per level). Once you have the Educated perk, I recommend you to raise Repair to 50, to get some
professions: crafting Explosive Rockets/Combat Shotguns is a good way to get some items via NPC trading. Small Guns Profession 1 enables you to craft Grease Guns, which is the best weapon to kill Khan raiders in Turn-Based (they drop moar Grease Guns and .45 for you, as well as Shotguns & shells, and FN FALs & 7.62).
After getting Repair 50, raise Small Guns and Outdoorsman to 100, then focus on Small Guns until you reach 200, which you need for the combat perks. Then get Outdoorsman to 150 and then you'll have a good amount of skill points free, you can do with them what you want. Maybe spend all in Lockpick and look for Blueprints? Or raise First Aid and Doctor so you can patch yourself or your friends up during Real Time combat? Or raise Speech to be able to
lead more NPCs, maybe even become a
slaver? Or you could already start levelling another character with a specialized build, for example a PvE Big Gunner or Laser Rifle fastshooter for better farming, a good slaver character to make more caps, maybe your first PvP character...
About PvP, you need to understand that most PvP here is done with ridiculously drugged builds and you'll most probably be dead in seconds if you meet a player who is willing to shoot you, unless you are using one of such builds yourself. First focus on PvE, for good PvP you need a solid economic infrastructure. Once you have it, you can start experimenting PvP and/or RP.
Everytime you have a doubt, check the
game wiki, and if the info you are looking for cannot be found there, just then you should make a reply in the
Questions and Answers thread. But try to look for the info yourself, this is a game where it's always better to be able to do things yourself without needing others too much, including getting information. Do not be afraid to test game mechanics and explore maps, after all you can always make an alt if you don't want to risk any "serious" character by choosing some crappy perk or failing a quest.
In this game people will try to screw you one and a thousand times, and you might think you should follow that "dog eat dog" mentality as well, but from personal experience I can tell that it's a wiser choice to behave better and help others. Otherwise people will not trust you, which means they might for example refuse to trade with you, kick you from their gangs, etc.
