Fallout New Vegas Gunslinger Build Explained

Summary

Fallout New Vegas offers endless customization and build options for players, allowing them to create their ideal character and replay the game multiple times.
The Gunslinger build in Fallout New Vegas is highly satisfying, allowing players to live out their cowboy fantasies and use a variety of revolvers.
To excel in the Gunslinger build, players should prioritize allocating points to Agility, Perception, and Luck, focus on the Guns skill, and choose perks that boost accuracy, damage, and critical hits from pistols and revolvers.

One of the most complete western RPGs of all time, Fallout New Vegas has hundreds of hours worth of content for players to explore, and that's just the base game and all of it officially has to offer. When fans start diving into the complexities of Fallout New Vegas' customization and build systems, that's where the real replayability can be found, with players being able to spend dozens of hours creating their ideal character, only to restart and do it all over again, as many times as they wish.

Fallout New Vegas has almost limitless build potential, and it can be as complex or as simple as players want it to be. If newcomers just want to jump straight into the action, then they can just choose from Fallout New Vegas' build presets, and do exactly that. But if players want to customize every single aspect of their character, from visual appearance to traits to base stats to weapons, then that option's right there for the taking. And while Fallout New Vegas has plenty of potential builds for players to try, the Gunslinger build might just be one of its most satisfying to use.

Fallout New Vegas' Gunslinger Build Explained

Fallout New Vegas' Gunslinger build, also known as the Pistol build, sees players live out their wildest post-apocalyptic cowboy fantasies. The very first place any prospective Gunslinger should start is choosing their pistol. While Fallout New Vegas has some great energy pistols, it's the game's vast selection of revolvers that'll truly make the player feel like a Gunslinger. The Ranger Sequoia is an excellent choice for any Gunslinger build, as is the Mysterious Magnum, but really any revolver will make the player look the part.

The real meat and potatoes of the Gunslinger build, however, come from the many different stats and modifiers that need to be applied. Right at the start of the game, players will need to allocate their 40 S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Points very carefully. The vast majority of these points should be put into Agility, as that's the stat that governs the player's ballistic damage, which is essential for using a pistol. Aside from that, it's a good idea to pump some points into Perception and Luck, as these stats will improve the player's V.A.T.S. Capabilities.

At the start of Fallout New Vegas, players will also be able to choose three skills to boost by 15 points. Going for a Gunslinger build, players will want to prioritize the Guns skill, ensuring that ballistic weapons receive a healthy boost right out of the gate. Aside from Guns, players can really put their remaining skill points into anything they wish, though Repair is a good shout as that'll allow them to maintain their weapons more effectively. Whenever a player levels up, they'll have another set of skill points to invest, and Gunslingers should always be prioritizing the Guns skill.

Perks are another essential aspect of Fallout New Vegas' Gunslinger build. Available once every two level-ups, Perks will grant players unique bonuses to various character and weapon stats. One of the most important Perks is the Gunslinger Perk itself, which grants players a 25% accuracy increase for all one-handed weapons. Run 'N Gun is another must-have Perk for this build, reducing the spread of bullets from a one-handed weapon by 50% when moving. The Professional will give players a 20% damage boost from critical hits from pistols and revolvers, though it does require a hefty Sneak level of 70 to obtain. Better Criticals and Grunt should also both make the list as well, with the former granting 50% extra damage on critical hits, and the latter increasing pistol damage by 25%.