Best Pistol Build - Gunslinger - Fallout: New Vegas (FNV)

This post will cover the best Pistol build for Fallout: New Vegas. I will be going in-depth on the main attributes, skills, and gear. This should help you make decisions on how to progress through the game in the optimal matter

Best Pistol Build - Gunslinger

With this build I tried to maximize the effectiveness of pistols in Fallout: New Vegas. Although these weapons are not as powerful as two-handed rifles, they can still be deadly with precise headshots or sneak critical hits.

We aim at maximizing our critical chance which ensures that in direct combat enemies die as fast as possible, after this we maximize Critical damage, to ensure that most of the enemies die instantly from successful crit hit.

You are free to adjust the build based on your roleplay preferences, as here I concentrated on maximizing the effectiveness. So many of the perks are totally optional. Be sure to check the equipment section as this guides what weapons to use and how the pistol build becomes extremely powerful.

Starting the Game

In this section, I would like to go through some recommendations for the Pistol build. This covers only the start of the game, so read the next section on how you should progress and how the end game build should look like.

SPECIAL

Attribute	Value	Description
Strength	4	It is even possible to start with 3 Strength. It all depends if you plan on using something like Li'l Devil, which requires 8 strengths. However, to remain on the safe side, you can go with 4.
Perception	5	Although it does not give many benefits except enemy detection, we need it to get an awesome perk - Better Criticals
Endurance	7	A decent amount of endurance will give bonus resistances and an HP pool bonus
Charisma	1	The attribute plays an important role only in companion effectiveness
Intelligence	7	The attribute unlocks some awesome perks and decides how many skill points you get at every level. This amount is optimal and at level 50, you can have almost everything maxed out.
Agility	8	This is one of the most important attributes of Pistol build. It provides bonus action points (for VATS) and faster reload speed.
Luck	8	Another important attribute that will maximize your critical chance. It will also allow you to earn more money when playing in casinos.

Tag Skills

These are the ones that you choose at the beginning of the game. Here is what I recommend:

Skill	Description
Guns	This is the main skill for the pistol build. It will ensure that all the weapons have high damage and unlock relevant perks.
Sneak	This is a very welcome skill as it allows you to get in the best position without being detected. Moreover, it ensures a guaranteed critical hit for some large damage.
Repair	Generally any skill works here, it could be lockpicking, science, speech, etc. I prefer Repair, due to some amazing perks like Hand Loader. Moreover, repaired weapons sell for more allowing you to accumulate your war chest faster.

Traits

The traits are definitely optional and just recommendations. Pick up to two of them:

• Skilled - fairly low intelligence can be counteracted with this trait. it gives +5 to all skills making it a bit easier, getting everything you need. Of course, this reduces XP gain by 10%, but you can counteract this with Well Rested.
• Built to Destroy - increases weapon damage at the cost of faster weapon decay. If you picked Repair tag skill this should not be a problem as you can easily get your weapon to 100% fast.
• Wild Wasteland - see new and unique encounters in the wasteland

Early game tips

Here I would like to offer some early game tips for the build to make it easier when starting out

Use any weapon that you have on hand

Although we are concentrating on shotguns, the early game can be hard - you do not have caps, no loot, cannot buy ammo, and have low skills. Due to this don't be picky and have whatever weapon you have on hand. The early Courier's Stash DLC provides some good options - Mercenary's Grenade Rifle, Weathered 10mm pistol, etc.

Doing the main quest

Unless you are cheesing some of the game mechanics, and want to experience the game as intended, I recommend doing the main story quest up until you reach Novac. The journey will provide you with two companions:

• ED-E - in Primm City, it is a robot that you can revive using some scrap parts. The parts can be found on Lone Wolf Radio.
• Boone - you will find him in Novac. To join you, you have to do his quest and help him

These companions will help you a lot and make the game more fun and easier. Another thing is that Novac will give you your own room, where you can store loot. This makes scavenging easier throughout the game.

After this, it's your choice what to do

Progression and Final Pistol Build

Now I would like to go through the progression for the build and how it should look once "it is done". I will also share some tips and directions to get the most out of it.

SPECIAL

Here is how your attributes should look like when they are maximized and you obtain most of the stuff in the game.

Attribute	Value	Description
Strength	7	+2 - Get Reinforced Spine in Old World Blues DLC +1 - Purchase the implant from New Vegas Clinic
Perception	6	+1 - Purchase the implant from New Vegas Clinic
Endurance	8	+1 - Purchase the implant from New Vegas Clinic
Charisma	2	+1 - Purchase the implant from New Vegas Clinic
Intelligence	8	+1 - Purchase the implant from New Vegas Clinic
Agility	10	+1 - Purchase the implant from New Vegas Clinic +1 - Divide Survivor, obtained after finishing Loansome Road DLC
Luck	10	+1 - Purchase the implant from New Vegas Clinic +1 - if you use Lucky Shades. Or take the Intense Training perk one time

Skills

In this section, I will go through the skills for the Pistol Build. I want to recommend the progression below. This will ensure that you get all the skills that you need for the build. Of course, you can still spend 3-5 points at every level on other choices and this will not create any problems.

I recommend leaving skills at 90 (except science and lockpicks as you may miss some loot) and getting the rest 10 points from skill books in Mojave Wasteland

Order	Skill	Description
1	Repair 70	Strange choice? However, getting this will allow you to get a very powerful quality of life perk at level 6 - Hand Loader
2	Guns 50	Enough to improve weapon damage a bit and make combat easier
3	Explosives 20	We level up explosives to unlock Grunt perk for some pistols that we will use with the build
4	Melee Weapons 45	We need to level up this skill to get the Cowboy perk. However, if you do not plan on using any revolver weapons, then, you can totally skip it.
5	Sneak 50	Improves your sneaking effectiveness
6	Guns 80	Enough to improve weapon damage a bit and make combat easier
7	Sneak 70	You can now unlock The Professional Perk.
8	Energy Weapons 60	Needed to get Concentrated Fire perk
9	Guns 90	Improve weapon handling
10	Sneak 90	You can now unlock The Professional Perk.
11	Repair 90	Allows crafting the best hand load ammo and getting Jury Rigging perk.
12	Survival 70	If you wish to get something like a Rad Child perk. Otherwise, you can skip it.

After this you are free to put the points however, you want and prioritize the things that you think are needed based on your playstyle.

Perks

Although I list the perk in level order of when you should get them, I recommend assuming that this is a list. Different players will prefer getting different skills first, so some of the perks might be available later/earlier.

Level	Perk	Details
2	Rapid Reload	Early in the game shotgun reloading can be painful, so this skill mitigates it
4	Educated	This skill should be taken as early as possible (level 4), it will give 2 skill points each level up which accumulate a lot during the game
6	Hand Loader	This is a very valuable perk that the earlier you take the more beneficial it is. You have a higher chance to recover ammunition cases.
8	Confirmed Bachelor/Cherechez La Femme	A 10% boost against male enemies. There will be a lot of them during the game, so this bonus is very valuable.
10	Cowboy/Grunt	I recommend prioritizing Grunt if you use something like 9mm. However, Cowboy provides bonuses to revolvers, which are plenty. Moreover, you will not have A Light Shining in Darkness pistol yet, so the Grunt bonus is not as important yet.
12	Gunslinger	Increases accuracy in VATS with one-handed ranged weapons. This is a mandatory perk for pistol build
14	Finesse	+5% Critical chance, for even more precise shots.
16	Better Criticals	Increases critical damage with your weapons by 50%
18	Cowboy/Grunt	Pick the one that you did not take earlier
20	Grim Reapers' Sprint	After a killed enemy in VATS restore 20 AP. This can allow you to take out a large number of weak enemies easily.
22	The Professional	Gives a bonus of 20% critical damage with pistols when attacking from stealth. However, due to bugs, this applies to all crit hits.
24	Light Touch (optional)	When wearing light armor you will get a bonus 5% critical chance. However, if you do not plan on wearing something like Ulysse's Duster or Joshua Graham's Armor then you can safely skip it
26	Jury Rigging	The perks make it easier to repair items as you can use similar instead of the same ones. This will save a lot of caps.
28	Chemist	Gives a boost to chem duration, at the late game they are very valuable as they can improve your damage resistance, slow time, etc.
30	Bloody Mess	Increases damage by 5%. Moreover, killed enemies splash around, which can be too gory for some
32	Concentrated Fire	Increases your accuracy in VATS by 5% with each shot
34	Living Anatomy	A bonus of 5% damage against humans and ghouls is a very valuable choice.
36	Rad Child	Gives a good health regeneration boost while you have radiation effects. The higher radiation the bigger the bonus.
38	Chem Resistant	Decreases the chance that you will get addicted to chems. This is totally optional, as you can easily heal from addiction at any clinic if you have the caps.
40	Tunnel Runner (optional)	Only take this one if you use light armor. It increases the speed at which you move while sneaking
42	Silent Running	Makes it harder to detect you while sneaking. Use this to get a better position and take out enemies by surprise
44	Nerves of Steel	Increases Action Point recovery speed
46	Action Boy/Action Girl	Increases the total amount of action points to use in VATS
48	Certified Tech	Increases Critical Chance against robots. Moreover, gives a chance for more valuable loot to them
50	Thought you Died	This skill would be the best option. However, if you cannot take it then go for Just Lucky I'm Alive or Ain't Like That Now

General Tips

At level 15 start Old World Blues DLC

I really recommend starting this DLC. It will give +2 Strength after you finish it.

To start the DLC you can go to the Mojave Drive-in and at night initiate the quest. This way you can avoid the Weapon Handling perk and use perk points elsewhere

Equipment

This section will cover some gear recommendations for the Pistol Build

Weapons

There are a wide array of choices for this build

Weapon	Description
A Light Shining in Darkness	I would say this is the best pistol in the game. Although it does not do the most damage, it has the second-highest DPS. Moreover, it can use .45 Super (Hand Load) ammo, which decreases enemy Damage Threshold by 4
Li'l Devil	Although this weapon has the highest DPS of all pistols, it does not have armor-penetrating ammo. Due to this, it is mostly useful against normal, unarmored enemies.
Ranger Sequoia	The most powerful single-shot pistol. A very fun weapon to use.
Hunting Revolver (GRA)	Similar to Ranger Sequoia it is a bit weaker. What makes it special, is that it has a scope, perfect for landing some sneaky sniper shots.
That Gun	A perfect beginning weapon, that has decent damage, and uses ammo readily available throughout the game. Be sure to start using as soon as you can

The ammo can either be bought from vendors or crafted at a reloading bench.

Armor

Armor	Description
Ulysse's Duster	The best ammo in terms of DPS. It gives +5% Crit Chance and also activates Light Touch for another 5% Crit Chance.
Joshua Graham's Armor	This is another good armor and my preferred choice. It has a 15 Damage Threshold and also gives a +3% Crit Chance boost.
Elite Riot Gear	This is a medium armor, and it will not benefit from Light Touch. However, it still gives a bit of Crit Chance and looks extremely cool.

Helmets

Helmet	Description
1st Recon Beret	This is hands down the best helmet to use for maximum DPS. It is one of three headwear that gives this bonus (and the highest)
Salt-Upon-Wounds' Helmet	Gives +2 Crit Chance and provides a 4 Damage Threshold.

Other

Armor	Description
Lucky Shades	These are a perfect option if you do not use a helmet that covers the face. It gives +1 Luck, which ensures the maximum amount for the Crit Chance. It's perfect with 1st Recon Beret
Atomic-Valence Tri-Radii-Oscillator	Can be worn together with any helmet. Gives health regeneration and Endurance +1. Moreover, it provides an additional Damage Threshold. Requires Old World Blues DLC
Valence Radii-Accentuator	Can be worn together with any helmet. Gives health regeneration and Endurance +1. Moreover, it provides an additional Damage Threshold. The weaker version of the Atomic-valence Tri-Radii-Oscillator. Requires Old World Blues DLC

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this post on the Pistol build in Fallout New Vegas. I covered the most important aspects like the start of the game and how to progress with your perks. This should give you a guiding hand not get lost in this huge game

Feel free to leave any questions in the comments