I can also repair my Tesla Armor with the cash and buy all the ammo I can find.
I snipped most of Jihi’s specific descriptions, because… how do I say it?
It’s completely, utterly wrong. The difficulty curve in this game he lists is absolutely incorrect, because this game doesn’t have a specific difficulty curve. Everything is based around your character. That is one of things I DID NOT LIKE but it’sd still a good game.
Thus, if you want until you’re level 28 to go do something, you’ll face really tough enemies. OTOH, anything easly-game is easy-peasy. I’d have to reccomend The Pitt first, just because you get lots of loot and powerful weapons. But whatever order you do it in, you’ll more or less manage to get the same difficulty curve as long as you keep improving your gear along the way.
You can actually repair your items together and save carry weight that way; 1 perfect condition of Enclave power armor is worth more than 3 ratty ones.
Also, you can find the nearest storage container (locker, trunk, suitcase, etc.), put your crap in it until you’re unencumbered and can Fast Travel, then Fast Travel back and forth to your designated vendor to sell your junk.
From what I’ve heard, this is incorrect. Enemies in Point Lookout get a flat +35 unsoakable damage bonus to their attacks, which means waiting until you’re sufficiently sneaky/can reliably one-shot people sounds like the way to go.
Do I have to own the container?
No, but it will disappear after a few days if you don’t come back and get it.
I went there early in the game wearing nothing but decent leather, and it was a challenge (a fun one) but not something terribly difficult. The only real hard spot there is that an early mission features a lot of fighting all in a row.
Shit, it wouldn’t be the first time. 
While it’s correct that the game doesn’t have a specific difficulty curve, (and I wasn’t aware that I was trying to describe one in that post either), there is still a relative scale for enemies. A super mutant or a deathclaw is always going to be more difficult than a random raider.
The relative difficulty of the “Swampfolk” in Point Lookout took a lot people by surprise. Myself included.
That’s only true because the tough enemies don’t spawn at low levels, or they only spawn in certain areas. However, If you go to Point Lookout the second you leave the vault and your still first level you’re still going to be fighting mutants and robots regardless. Is it going to be impossible? Of course not because of the level scaling, but there’s still going to be a statistical gap between you and the enemies. That “gap” closes as you level up and get better equipment, but it’s particularly noticeable at low levels.
The game has level scaling, that doesn’t mean certain parts aren’t harder than others.
Nah, Super Mutants are easy, and Deathclaws are only nasty until you have enough HP to take out the legs first (nobody tells you that’s the way to kill them, but almost everyone gets to using it.) And Deathclaws don’t even show up until you get to middling levels.
Swampfolk are always tough for their level. But the stuff you find around Point Lookout itself should handle them fairly well.
Yeah, but they’re going to hard regardless.
I really don’t understand what you’re getting at here. Super Mutants and Deathclaws might be “easy”, (however you choose to define it), but they’re still statistically stronger than raiders. Do you not agree with that statement?
I’d still rather be carrying a plasma rifle than a double barreled shotgun.
Granted, but the scaling isn’t done in a linear fashion. A higher level character with good equipment is going to have an easier time of it than a low level character wandering around with a leather jacket and a pistol.
The enemies in the game have a minimum level and a maximum level. If your character level is less than or equal to the minimum level, they will be at the minimum level when you first enter the zone (which is when the enemies are spawned). If your character level is higher than their maximum level, they will be at the maximum level when you first enter the zone.
And until the zone resets (some zones reset after a while, some don’t) they stay at that already established level no matter how many times you reenter the zone. Once you enter a zone after the reset timer has run out, a new bunch of enemies will spawn relative to the level you are at that point.
I believe this applies even to the Captial Wasteland itself, which is the largest zone in the game (and probably has the shortest reset timer). In other words, the deathclaws that roam the Wasteland (who don’t show up until a certain level and get more prominent after the Enclave enters the game) in the early stages are weaker than those that will spawn in later levels.
If you want to cakewalk through the deathclaw sanctuary later, sneak down there at a low level to get the bobblehead by the entrance. (Be careful, sometimes a deathclaw will be hanging around the entrance, in which case a reload sometimes fixes that.) You will set all the deathclaws to their lowest level. You can come back later when you level up and defeat them much easier than had you waited to enter the place.
Granted, if you don’t get back before the reset timer expires, it’s moot.
The puppies are much more durable than he is (1000 hitpoints vs. 400). But yeah, as I sneak anywhere, I don’t use him much, since he lunges at anything that moves, spoiling my quiet headshots or Ripper stabbings (yes, quiet, discreet Ripper stabbings. Don’t ask.)
I’m pretty sure the Capitol Wasteland is broken up into zones, too. The game loads just the one you’re in and the ones surrounding it, not the entire Wasteland at once.
The drawback to Broken Steel is that it loads even at the start of a new game so you get Three Dog talking about the results of Fighting the Good Fight that you have not done yet.
And speaking of Three dog, I do love how when you do something evil he rags on you about it over the air.
On the subject of being evil, New Vegas reportedly will have NPCs remember and react more strongly to the PC’s karma.
So I’m still schlepping my way back to Megaton. I’ve bonked into a couple of places and done a quest or two or explored a little bit, but Fawkes and I are crawling back to buy the entire city with 2000 pounds of stuff.
I still don’t have what I need for the Rock-It Launcher. I hafta find that other paladin and get my ingredients and other crap from her.
Is the NPC pathfinding wonky, or am I just getting Fawkes beached a lot?
The only way to have two followers is to have one companion and Dogmeat. Otherwise your current companion will return to thier home spot when you take on a new one. They do keep the stuff they are holding for you. Be aware that they walk back to where they are going so it is possible that they may die in the attempt and be lost somewhere in the wasteland. Also, if your ‘alignment’ (ie. Good, neutral, Evil) changes to something incompatable you can lose the ability to hire them back.
The thing about NPCs is that they won’t jump. For example: go out 3-Dog’s back door and jump down, any followers you have will go out the front and take the long way around.
This is a result, as has been mentioned, that NPCs don’t jump. It’s made much worse by Fawkes because of her huge frame. She gets hung up a lot.
Status update: I finally got back to Megaton. I unloaded my goods and I can run and jump again!
…Fawkes is loaded down with incidentals now and I also have a Rock-It Launcher.
Repair, sell, buy, sell, repair, sell, repair, sell…new vendor…buy, sell…new vendor, buy, sell…new vendor, buy sell…back to Moira, repair, sell, repair, sell, repair, sell done!