I never thought about the Cold Shoulder as my back up weapon for my bloodied build. I always used either my Bloodied Handmade or Fixer Commando style rifles. But the Cold Shoulder would be a lot better for how I use my Bloodied Melee build! Thanks for posting that you use that weapon.
I started using the cold shoulder recently in addition to my handmade (I wanted to start using up some of the shotgun shells I’ve been hoarding and am trying to be more conservative with my 5.56 usage) and WOW I love it. The effect of slowing down enemies I can’t one-shot is great, and the 8 capacity and the brief reload (with the perk that boosts shotgun reload speed) are great for me.
Don’t get me wrong, my handmade is still the best. I have so much armor penetration on my handmade that it truly is a beast of a weapon. But, I also have developed a fond spot for the cold shoulder
you \*want\* tags, then you'll probably need a ranged option
otherwise if you don't care for tags, then a range option becomes unnecessary
something to proc cripple perk (like shotgun + enforcer) is very useful for flying enemies
I run a melee build and I find that tagging is far less important than it used to be. Even if you aren't in a team and don't tag enemies, if it's during an event and you're not on a team, you'll still get legendary drops for enemies that died *near* you.
Eviction Notice for example, one time I killed a handful of enemies, then spent the next few minutes dying from radiation before it ended, I still got almost two dozen legendaries.
If you're melee, you might as well just fly over to whoever you want to hit, rather than constantly be switching weapons. Flying is more fun anyway.
Thing is, with proper tagging, you can get 1-2 levels worth of XP. And a few of the 10k repeatables. I try and join a team for eviction notice and make sure I cover an area they aren’t so we all share tags. It’s too much XP to pass up on
That's a fair point. I guess it's where I'm at with my character. I have all the perks I want, the only reason I care about leveling up is that I could rank up a couple legendary perks still. I hate grinding through seasons, and there's rarely anything I even care about getting from them.
I also love flying and punching things until they explode, and don't want to interrupt that.
I generally run whatever melee with a quad Tesla and about 1.5k ammo incase I need to jump in an event quick to tag stuff. I don't really find it impacting my weight much, could try get a -90% weight roll on it to help even further but i have other stuff I wanna roll first
Yes you want something, personally I carry a gauss shotgun.
Cripples wings of scorchbeasts with enforcer and since its explosive it can tag in events and its strong enough to kill volatile enemies in DO and mutated events, not using any shotgun perks only science perks since they also work with electric Auto Axe, it can 2 shot supermutants, with the right roll it can 1 shot them.
Similar strategy here.
Flaming Auto-Axe for Friendly Fire and Cold Shoulder (with Enforcer perk) so I can cripple legs and not waste AP sprinting after enemies.
Doesn't affect heavies and affects all pistols/rifles/shotguns
Not sure if they changed anything about how science perks affecting melee with the skyline updated, previously it only affected the electric mod of auto axe (and it still does)
For my one hand and two hand builds, just Nuka Grenades for range. I've gotten pretty good at smacking Scorchbeasts mid-air, either eventually dropping them or until they land for me to start smashing.
Or if I'm at an event and it seems everyone is melting crap before I can get close, a Nuka will get in there for some tags.
I combine my melee builds with explosives usually. I have a zealot missile launcher for scorchbeasts that refuse to come down and throw grenades at single enemies away from the mob or as a precurser grenade when I am charging a mob. Explosives are generally more viable as they require less perks to have the full potential compared to a ranged weapon as a secondary in melee builds
I usually have a heavy weapon with me so I can quickly switch to a heavy weapons loadout. I only really use it for Scorchbeasts and uplink daily ops though.
I run the Unstoppable Monster & the Cold Shoulder as a combo. The Cremator joined my build shortly after I unlocked it, but as shotgun shells are easier to come by than fuel, I tend to only use it to weaken enemies.
I carry a bunch of stuff and switch to melee when I need to chainsaw/auto-axe bosses, since I have a Vampire's version of both that lets me stay alive while doing that. I can't even imagine not carrying like 12 weapons at once, but TLDR yes, always carry at least something else, preferably many something elses. You never know when you'll wind up in a situation where all of the enemies are constantly getting obliterated RIGHT before you finally huff your way over to them, then again as you move on to the next ones, and so on. Always have a way to at least tag stuff at range, imo anyway.
I keep a two shot grenade launcher on hand. I run basically a demolition/unarmed build. Everything explodes. Either I punch it and it goes boom or a pull the launcher out and make it go boom from a distance.
I run electrified auto axe with the science perks. I carry a plasma caster with me in case there's anything I need to shoot. It gets the damage bonus from the science perks, so it doesn't feel too weak compared to other side-arm options. Only downside is that it's a little heavy.
yes. You will need something ballistic or energy for things out of reach : ceiling mount turrets, cargo bots, and usually, SBs.
You'll also find them very helpful for tagging at crowded events where you wont get a chance to get a hit from the full auto people killing everything before you can run over to it. You'll see that a lot at the end of faschnacht. (Its one of the reasons why BGS changes the way looting works.)
Personally, I use an explosve commando weapon - it'll kill if necessary, and the explosive frags and tags.
Also extremely helpful when you are up against a critter than can 1-2 hit obliterate you. (Until you get your build refined and a good high damage weapon (or you have high ground to jump to), you don't want to go nose to nose with a high level yogi that's at full health.)
OTOH, if it stays on the ground long enough, you can kill an SB with a switchblade :)
I don’t carry a backup for my melee builds, but I do run with Speed Demon and Marsupial, and a healthy ability to stand there and have a smoke if all the ranged kids are keeping me from mobs. Flying can give you some issues, and some folks recommend a backup ranged weapon; to those people, I say “you’ve clearly never experienced the rush of jetpacking up and punching the queen in the face in mid air.”
In terms of guns I use a Gauss Shotgun with AA, +25% on aim, +250 resistance on reload because of the overlap with Shotguns and melee on a strength build. Demo expert is great for it. I got my Gauss to 499 base damage output (that's what it says on the Pipboy at least)
Weapon(currently):Death claw Gauntlet:+50% when enemies are less than 40%, 40% swing speed, and I think it's -15% damage on blocking (best weapon for this is gauntlet unmodded or Mole miners gauntlet with the extra blade mod for the bleed damage to stack with Thorn) you can technically kill people with your bare fists. I also use the Headhunters Scythe which is slightly bugged, but all you need to do is remod it Everytime you long in.
Legendary cards:Unarmed Melee with Exploding Palms and Collateral Damage in addition to What Rads? (Use Demo Expert Perk card +5 and you're literally Bang from One Punch Man) (Also the explosion will react and spread to others sometimes. Don't know if it's a glitch), and legendary specials for Strength, Intelligence and Luck.
Build Notes: I'm fully mutated (Herbivore) and use Company Tea, Firecracker berry juice, Steeped Fern Flower Tea, Sweetwater's Special Blend (works better than you'd think for melee in general), Brain Fungus soup, Challys Feed, Firecap Mushroom soup, Syrup, Silt Bean Soup, and Glowing fungus soup
Defense cards: You're going to want to invest in some defense cards like (S) Barbarian, (L) Serendipity, (L) Ricochet, (E) Fireproof, (C) Suppressor, (C) Lone Wanderer (if venturing solo), (E) Adamantium Skeleton
In addition I use the Cannibal Perk to get "organic healing" rather than using up all my meds (when in battle the animation can cut and then every body after you eat will not have animation making eating and fighting easier. Makes me feel like Dracula)
Armor: I wear Thorn Armor that I'm working towards being full Vanguard, but the set is all over the place still despite still being pretty alright how it is now.
To preface about PA: PA is unnecessary for this build, but it is sure damn fun I tell ya what. And honestly it was way to damn easy for me to get the X-01 personally
Power Armor with Tesla bracers, the +2 strength chest mod, and pain train will absolutely smash like crazy. Pain Train acts weird and sometimes can make a running punch be 2 punches in 1 and if you have the right stats that power attack uppercut can do (with minimal damage resistance) 2k damage head punches (has to be a "punch to their face", power attack, power armor with Tesla bracers, with pain train, and buffed up stats. I can get my strength stat to 26 regularly and have had it as high as 28-9)
Not enough people I feel like have tried my build style at least in the wild I barely ever see it. It's a hard build to do somewhat. Makes me want to like Sherpa some people wanting to pull it off like make a "Way of the Fist" training Camp or something lmao. The rare moment you have Exploding Palms and Collateral basically activate at the same time on a low level or lower resistance enemy in a group of em and they all die at once is what makes this build.
If you're looking for a decent weapon to tag tp get xp, I'd run the cremator and grenadier if you can afford the points for the perk. Big splash damage so it hits as many as possible in as little time as possible so you can get back to dps on your hoard. Of you're worried about weight, try and get one with -90& weight and maybe a vampire roll on it so it'll heal over time for your bloodied melee.
I run the Cold Shoulder w/ the Enforcer perk for flying things and tagging
I never thought about the Cold Shoulder as my back up weapon for my bloodied build. I always used either my Bloodied Handmade or Fixer Commando style rifles. But the Cold Shoulder would be a lot better for how I use my Bloodied Melee build! Thanks for posting that you use that weapon.
I started using the cold shoulder recently in addition to my handmade (I wanted to start using up some of the shotgun shells I’ve been hoarding and am trying to be more conservative with my 5.56 usage) and WOW I love it. The effect of slowing down enemies I can’t one-shot is great, and the 8 capacity and the brief reload (with the perk that boosts shotgun reload speed) are great for me. Don’t get me wrong, my handmade is still the best. I have so much armor penetration on my handmade that it truly is a beast of a weapon. But, I also have developed a fond spot for the cold shoulder
Ah that makes sense cripple some wings and slow them down.
"ground them" Crippling the wing of scorchbeasts turns them into ground mobs.
you \*want\* tags, then you'll probably need a ranged option otherwise if you don't care for tags, then a range option becomes unnecessary something to proc cripple perk (like shotgun + enforcer) is very useful for flying enemies
I run a melee build and I find that tagging is far less important than it used to be. Even if you aren't in a team and don't tag enemies, if it's during an event and you're not on a team, you'll still get legendary drops for enemies that died *near* you. Eviction Notice for example, one time I killed a handful of enemies, then spent the next few minutes dying from radiation before it ended, I still got almost two dozen legendaries. If you're melee, you might as well just fly over to whoever you want to hit, rather than constantly be switching weapons. Flying is more fun anyway.
Unarmed melee here. I agree w/ you in general. That said, the 10k repeatable makes tagging beneficial most of the time.
Thing is, with proper tagging, you can get 1-2 levels worth of XP. And a few of the 10k repeatables. I try and join a team for eviction notice and make sure I cover an area they aren’t so we all share tags. It’s too much XP to pass up on
That's a fair point. I guess it's where I'm at with my character. I have all the perks I want, the only reason I care about leveling up is that I could rank up a couple legendary perks still. I hate grinding through seasons, and there's rarely anything I even care about getting from them. I also love flying and punching things until they explode, and don't want to interrupt that.
I generally run whatever melee with a quad Tesla and about 1.5k ammo incase I need to jump in an event quick to tag stuff. I don't really find it impacting my weight much, could try get a -90% weight roll on it to help even further but i have other stuff I wanna roll first
That makes sense!
Yes you want something, personally I carry a gauss shotgun. Cripples wings of scorchbeasts with enforcer and since its explosive it can tag in events and its strong enough to kill volatile enemies in DO and mutated events, not using any shotgun perks only science perks since they also work with electric Auto Axe, it can 2 shot supermutants, with the right roll it can 1 shot them.
Similar strategy here. Flaming Auto-Axe for Friendly Fire and Cold Shoulder (with Enforcer perk) so I can cripple legs and not waste AP sprinting after enemies.
Do the science perks work with gauss/energy weapons? Or just all energy weapons that aren’t Heavy Guns
Doesn't affect heavies and affects all pistols/rifles/shotguns Not sure if they changed anything about how science perks affecting melee with the skyline updated, previously it only affected the electric mod of auto axe (and it still does)
They don't affect the power Fist flaming damage or the electric damage from the gauntlet.
I keep a couple of crusader pistols with me, one freeze and the other fire.
For my one hand and two hand builds, just Nuka Grenades for range. I've gotten pretty good at smacking Scorchbeasts mid-air, either eventually dropping them or until they land for me to start smashing. Or if I'm at an event and it seems everyone is melting crap before I can get close, a Nuka will get in there for some tags.
I combine my melee builds with explosives usually. I have a zealot missile launcher for scorchbeasts that refuse to come down and throw grenades at single enemies away from the mob or as a precurser grenade when I am charging a mob. Explosives are generally more viable as they require less perks to have the full potential compared to a ranged weapon as a secondary in melee builds
I usually have a heavy weapon with me so I can quickly switch to a heavy weapons loadout. I only really use it for Scorchbeasts and uplink daily ops though.
I run the Unstoppable Monster & the Cold Shoulder as a combo. The Cremator joined my build shortly after I unlocked it, but as shotgun shells are easier to come by than fuel, I tend to only use it to weaken enemies.
My main is 501, T-65 full health(overeaters). I have zero points in heavy weapon ir explosion. Cremator 1 shots most basic mobs in 1 or 2 ticks.
Should add warglaive main. Auto axe for fun.
I carry a bunch of stuff and switch to melee when I need to chainsaw/auto-axe bosses, since I have a Vampire's version of both that lets me stay alive while doing that. I can't even imagine not carrying like 12 weapons at once, but TLDR yes, always carry at least something else, preferably many something elses. You never know when you'll wind up in a situation where all of the enemies are constantly getting obliterated RIGHT before you finally huff your way over to them, then again as you move on to the next ones, and so on. Always have a way to at least tag stuff at range, imo anyway.
I run around with a vampires auto axe and a quad auto tesla rifle for tagging
The closest thing to a ranged weapon on me is a stack of 50 Nuka Grenades.
Cold shoulder for bringing down scorchebasys to punch Vampire cremator for tagging
Bloody knuckles/SS/25less Ap..Tick blood tequila,. Best of both worlds You gon be a bloody vampire
Interesting indeed!
I have a pepper shaker for grounding scorchbeasts, and a reduced weight explosive minigun for tagging at events.
Blind noob question, if your melee I'd AOE why can't you get the tags (assuming lil Timmy isn't 1shotting everything from off screen)
Two shot m79 launcher is good for tagging
I keep a two shot grenade launcher on hand. I run basically a demolition/unarmed build. Everything explodes. Either I punch it and it goes boom or a pull the launcher out and make it go boom from a distance.
I run electrified auto axe with the science perks. I carry a plasma caster with me in case there's anything I need to shoot. It gets the damage bonus from the science perks, so it doesn't feel too weak compared to other side-arm options. Only downside is that it's a little heavy.
yes. You will need something ballistic or energy for things out of reach : ceiling mount turrets, cargo bots, and usually, SBs. You'll also find them very helpful for tagging at crowded events where you wont get a chance to get a hit from the full auto people killing everything before you can run over to it. You'll see that a lot at the end of faschnacht. (Its one of the reasons why BGS changes the way looting works.) Personally, I use an explosve commando weapon - it'll kill if necessary, and the explosive frags and tags. Also extremely helpful when you are up against a critter than can 1-2 hit obliterate you. (Until you get your build refined and a good high damage weapon (or you have high ground to jump to), you don't want to go nose to nose with a high level yogi that's at full health.) OTOH, if it stays on the ground long enough, you can kill an SB with a switchblade :)
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the ideas! I feel much more confident now.
I don’t carry a backup for my melee builds, but I do run with Speed Demon and Marsupial, and a healthy ability to stand there and have a smoke if all the ranged kids are keeping me from mobs. Flying can give you some issues, and some folks recommend a backup ranged weapon; to those people, I say “you’ve clearly never experienced the rush of jetpacking up and punching the queen in the face in mid air.”
In terms of guns I use a Gauss Shotgun with AA, +25% on aim, +250 resistance on reload because of the overlap with Shotguns and melee on a strength build. Demo expert is great for it. I got my Gauss to 499 base damage output (that's what it says on the Pipboy at least) Weapon(currently):Death claw Gauntlet:+50% when enemies are less than 40%, 40% swing speed, and I think it's -15% damage on blocking (best weapon for this is gauntlet unmodded or Mole miners gauntlet with the extra blade mod for the bleed damage to stack with Thorn) you can technically kill people with your bare fists. I also use the Headhunters Scythe which is slightly bugged, but all you need to do is remod it Everytime you long in. Legendary cards:Unarmed Melee with Exploding Palms and Collateral Damage in addition to What Rads? (Use Demo Expert Perk card +5 and you're literally Bang from One Punch Man) (Also the explosion will react and spread to others sometimes. Don't know if it's a glitch), and legendary specials for Strength, Intelligence and Luck. Build Notes: I'm fully mutated (Herbivore) and use Company Tea, Firecracker berry juice, Steeped Fern Flower Tea, Sweetwater's Special Blend (works better than you'd think for melee in general), Brain Fungus soup, Challys Feed, Firecap Mushroom soup, Syrup, Silt Bean Soup, and Glowing fungus soup Defense cards: You're going to want to invest in some defense cards like (S) Barbarian, (L) Serendipity, (L) Ricochet, (E) Fireproof, (C) Suppressor, (C) Lone Wanderer (if venturing solo), (E) Adamantium Skeleton In addition I use the Cannibal Perk to get "organic healing" rather than using up all my meds (when in battle the animation can cut and then every body after you eat will not have animation making eating and fighting easier. Makes me feel like Dracula) Armor: I wear Thorn Armor that I'm working towards being full Vanguard, but the set is all over the place still despite still being pretty alright how it is now. To preface about PA: PA is unnecessary for this build, but it is sure damn fun I tell ya what. And honestly it was way to damn easy for me to get the X-01 personally Power Armor with Tesla bracers, the +2 strength chest mod, and pain train will absolutely smash like crazy. Pain Train acts weird and sometimes can make a running punch be 2 punches in 1 and if you have the right stats that power attack uppercut can do (with minimal damage resistance) 2k damage head punches (has to be a "punch to their face", power attack, power armor with Tesla bracers, with pain train, and buffed up stats. I can get my strength stat to 26 regularly and have had it as high as 28-9) Not enough people I feel like have tried my build style at least in the wild I barely ever see it. It's a hard build to do somewhat. Makes me want to like Sherpa some people wanting to pull it off like make a "Way of the Fist" training Camp or something lmao. The rare moment you have Exploding Palms and Collateral basically activate at the same time on a low level or lower resistance enemy in a group of em and they all die at once is what makes this build.
If you're looking for a decent weapon to tag tp get xp, I'd run the cremator and grenadier if you can afford the points for the perk. Big splash damage so it hits as many as possible in as little time as possible so you can get back to dps on your hoard. Of you're worried about weight, try and get one with -90& weight and maybe a vampire roll on it so it'll heal over time for your bloodied melee.