The textbook Fallout 2 melee monster. Gifted pumps every stat, Small Frame maxes Agility for 10 Action Points at level 1. You punch things to death with the Power Fist / Mega Power Fist, stacking criticals until Slayer turns every hit into a critical.
Strength plan: start ST 6 (unlocks Bonus HtH Damage at L3 with no drugs) → Power Armor's +3 ST takes you to 9, which clears Slayer's ST 8 gate for free. No Buffout micro-management needed.
Total = 48 points (base 35 + 5 creation + 7 Gifted + 1 Small Frame). Each stat capped at 10.
| Stat | Val | Why |
|---|---|---|
| ST | 6 | Bonus HtH Damage gate; →9 in Power Armor |
| PE | 6 | Awareness + Better Criticals |
| EN | 6 | Toughness + Faster Healing + HP |
| CH | 3 | Dump stat; use Mentats to recruit |
| IN | 8 | Clears every quest dialogue; 16 skill pts/lvl |
| AG | 10 | Max AP, AC; gates every melee perk |
| LK | 9 | Crit engine + special encounters |
Gifted +1 to ALL seven stats. Downside: −10% to all skills and −5 skill points/level. Worth it — the raw stat gain dwarfs the skill cost, and books/use cover the rest.
Small Frame +1 Agility (this is what buys AG 10). Downside: lower carry weight. Irrelevant — your companions haul the loot.
Don't tag Unarmed. Its base is already high — 30 + 2×(ST+AG) = 62% at AG 10 / ST 6 — and free trainers carry it past Slayer's 80% with zero skill points: John L. Sullivan in Klamath (+10%), the Sierra Army Depot punching bags (+10%), New Reno Prizefighter (+5%) and Lo Pan / the Dragon in San Francisco (+20%). Tagging it even wastes that free training (fixed-target trainers stop helping once it's tagged). Spend all three tags on things you can't get free:
Speech the real "talking" skill in FO2 — gates the most quest XP, and talks Cameron down for 600 XP in the Temple.
Doctor unlocks Living Anatomy (+5 dmg vs living) and Vault City training.
Lockpick pure utility you can't train for free — opens the Temple's chapel door and endless containers.
Unarmed: leave it untagged; the base + trainers do the work. Nudge it with a few level-up points only if you're impatient for the 80% Slayer gate.
Do NOT take the Skilled trait — it pushes perks to every 4 levels. Gifted keeps you at every 3.
| Lvl | Perk | Req | Payoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Bonus HtH Damage | ST 6, AG 6 | +2 melee dmg/rank (take x3 over time) |
| 6 | More Criticals | LK 6 | +5% crit chance/rank |
| 9 | Better Criticals | PE 6, AG 4, LK 6 | +20% on the crit table — huge |
| 12 | Living Anatomy | Doctor 60% | +5 dmg per hit vs living creatures |
| 15 | Bonus HtH Attacks | AG 6 | −1 AP per attack — build-defining |
| 18 | Action Boy | AG 5 | +1 AP (take x2) |
| 21 | Toughness | EN 6, LK 6 | +10% damage resist/rank |
| 24 | Slayer | ST 8*, AG 8, Unarmed 80% | EVERY melee hit is a critical |
| 27+ | HtH Evade / Lifegiver / Dodger | — | Defense & survivability filler |
*Slayer's ST 8 is met by wearing Power Armor (ST 6 base + 3 = 9). The armor bonus counts toward perk requirements.
Early game you're fragile (33 HP) — lean on Sulik and companions as your front line while you flank. By mid-game Better Criticals + high Luck means most hits crit for big numbers; Mega Power Fist one-shots most humans. Endgame with Slayer + Bonus HtH Attacks you take 5 critical punches per turn and delete anything, including Enclave troopers and deathclaws.
Every build starts here in Arroyo. A melee character breezes through it — save often.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| Don't hit Klint | Never attack Klint at the entrance (or any Arroyo tribal) — it can turn the village hostile later. |
| Chapel — fight | Kill the giant ants & radscorpions with your starting Spear (good early XP). Trick: attack once, then use leftover AP to run 3 hexes — they can't reach you. |
| Locked door out | Open it with Lockpick — any value works, just retry. |
| Passage traps | Disarm the spear/dart plates with Traps for 25 XP each (save first — a crit-fail locks that trap), or hug the right-hand wall to avoid them. |
| Sanctuary door | Only plastic explosives (in a nearby pot) open it. "Use" one, set the 10-second timer, place it, run. |
| Cameron (final test) | Talk him down (needs IN 4+ and Speech tagged) = 600 XP; steal his key (Steal) = 600 XP; or fight unarmed = 300 XP (drop then re-grab your weapon; he yields after ~20 damage but can still kill you — save). |
| Exit | Leave via the top grid: +15 Karma, and you step into Arroyo with the Pip-Boy 2000. |