Once you’ve selected that starting weapon, build appropriate attributes around it. Either way, know that you’ll have a chance to experiment with a wide range of armaments relatively early in the game, so you don’t need to spend an hour deliberating, as I did. Meanwhile, a Small Arms specialist will be flitting around the field to flank entrenched enemies, liberally utilizing items, or even getting a few shots off in a single turn. At the outset, a sniper is only going to get off one shot per turn, with very little mobility. Just note that weapons have varied Action Point costs. Mix a brawler with a sniper, an explosives expert with a melee character. Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of that too.Īpplying that concept to starting weapons, balance this variety with the type of game you like to play. Beyond just battle variety having characters who specialize in Mechanics, Leadership, intimidation (Hard Ass), will help open up more ways to resolve conflicts than just shooting. They balance a nice mix of long-range and close-range attacks, with a head start on stealthy skills. When selecting, I recommend creating complementary characters this allows you to explore more of what the game has to offer from a combat perspective, as well as to offer more options as you explore Colorado and engage its denizens.Ī great example from the pre-roll characters is the Father and Daughter starter duo, who I played with through the backer beta last spring. Now you get into the meat of the customization suite, selecting starting weapons (from all manner of projectile and melee weapons), Attributes, Skills, and an optional Quirk. The important thing is to peruse the descriptions, they’re a fun read. Besides obvious customizables like name, appearance, and voice (Joker here!), the first choice of consequence is to select your characters’ background from a variety of options such as Grease Monkey (bonus damage to robots and vehicles) and Explodomaniac (explosive damage bonus +15%), less transparent choices such as Mannerite (referencing a religious cult from Wasteland 2, granting “Kiss Ass” +1) and Goat Killer (critical chance +5%?).
Starting up a near-final build of the game, I decided to delve into customization to make the characters I knew I’d enjoy playing. So even if you think you want to run with a pre-roll duo, it’s worth poking around the character creator just to learn more about different Attributes, Skills, and Quirks, so you can optimize these characters as they level up. Looking at the myraid traits and abilities, you may not know what these elements are (especially more esoteric stuff like “Weird Science”). The pre-rolls are safe picks, and there’s no harm in choosing from them.
So as someone who’s been taking these pre-built characters out for a spin, as well as rolling a few of my own, here’s what I’ve learned. This is a big decision, as you’ll be spending dozens upon dozens of hours with these characters.
This isn’t an exaggeration as soon as you start a new game and watch the opening cinematic, you’re immediately staring at Yuri and Spence, two of the pre-rolled Rangers you can start your adventure with. In Wasteland 3, a journey of ( at l east) 80 hours begins with a single… character select screen.