I partially did.
In general I hate looting in rpgs, even more in bethesda engine games. Back in 2011-2012 I played Skyrim without looting anything, forcing me to make money only through quests (in Skyrim, radiant), And honestly it’s so much more enjoyable. The experience was much more fluid. I actually look at the environment. Instead of launching myself face first into every piece of furniture and dead bodies to take everything, blurring everything in a mix of close-ups of flesh, blood, stone and wood. Economy is more involved then too. I kept the habit (disliked Cyberpunk 77 and Fallout 4 in consequence)
Something else : I never fast travel. Which is quite pleasant. Except at the start of the run where I had to limp 10 minutes to a doctor, because limb can only be healed with a doctor bag or a doctor in Hardcore, and I broke a leg. More on that later. But it will be something I will remember for a while.
Still, for this run even if I maintain the spirit of it all (no looting to sell and break the economy), I still loot the skill books, and in dead money all of the Sierra Madre Playing Cards (I play caravan to make caps here), and took the stealth suit mk1 you see me wear in the screenshot.
I did take three gold bars though, sold them for implants at the clinic.
New Vegas is the one game I know almost completely. I would even say better than Hitman.
So for character build I aim for clusters of perks that synergize and you need to prepare for from the beginning.
I also go against the one thing everyone does in NV : my charisma is a 6. Because Animal Friend is fun, and with the implant I am at 7 which opens a few supplementary dialogues. And RP is paramount.
For my current clusters :
- Light Armor / sneak:
- Light Touch (less chance to receive critical hit if wearing light armour)
- Silent Running (movement does not affect stealth)
- Thoughness (two level of it) (for a total of +6 Damage Threshold)
- Travel Light (ten percent faster movement if in light armour)
Tunnel Runner will be to be added later, for better speed in stealth. Special mention for Sub-Dermal Armour implant, for an additional +4 Damage Threshold, for a total of +10 DT, making my character heavily armoured, even in light clothing
- VATS
- Action Girl (two level of it) (for a total of +30 Action Point)
- Math Wrath (reduce Action Point cost of action by 10 percent)
- Nerves of Steel (regenerate Action Point quicker)
All of them counter the Trait “Trigger Discipline” that make me more 20 percent more accurate at the cost of 20 percent costlier actions in VATS, that I took at character creation.
The objective will be to finish with the possibility to have a weapon with a low magazine count, but that I will be able to entirely use in one VATS turn.
I will have to add another Agility Point at minimum to make it work. And I will add the Concentrated Fire, a perk that add 5 percent chance to hit for every consecutive shot.
I currently don’t have any weapon specific perk, and am still open about them. I mostly run the MF Hyperbreeder Alpha, the unique recharger auto laser pistol, 10 quick shot and then wait for it to cool down, but infinite ammo. And I have a plasma defender (fun fact : canonically a Glock), with Optimized Ammo for heavy damage if needed. But I might switch later on.
Maybe ballistic. Honest Heart is next, and with it the M1911…
What you are here for @Rimland, the survival cluster :
- Survival / Hardcore, general :
- Animal Friend (animals do not attack, what is better than frolicking with Geckos and Nighstalkers)
- Them Good Eating (animal drop blood sausages and red paste, both excellent healing items)
- Survival / Hardcore, the camp :
- Home on the Range (can sleep at campfire)
- Irradiated Beauty (sleeping remove radiation, “only” 100 in Hardcore)
- Rough’in it (any time you sleep outside, you gain the well rested status, in Hardcore and coupled with Hone on the Range, allows you to heal when sleeping at campfire, a mechanic usually disabled in Hardcore)
All of them make me use the outside world much more : animal friend make exploration safe(ish), and even soothing in some place. And the emphasis to the use of campfire make me seek them and use them. Bonus for cooking food for healing (a gecko steak heals 90 health for me). Be advise though : you need to heavily invest in survival.
The fact that the Hardcore restriction on healing is lifted with the right combination of perks makes it very rewarding to pull. I can heal limbs just by sleeping at a campfire !
Some bonus : RP perks are Cherchez la Femme (I am running with Veronica, and RP as if I want her to reunite with Christine), and Living Anatomy, because VATS information, and I am a Follower of the Apocalypse fan.
In general my Perception and Luck are “low” (4, with implant, starter at 3), so the usual route of New Vegas of the critical build / casino cleaning is not for me. So I won’t look like 80 percent of players with 1st Recon Beret, Joshua Graham Armor, and Lucky Shade. Which is neat to do.
Because instead I look like Solid Snake 
Extra bonus : in 4-6 level I will have finished my three cluster of perks, and I will have to go for a weapon one. (Lonesome Road is coming at the end)
As I said, Perception and Luck are low, so no Better Critical, Sniper and all that. (beside they are boring).
I have three possible one in sights, to go with the VATS one:
- The M1911 :
- Gunslinger (plus 15 percent chance to hit in VATS for one handed weapon)
- Grunt (plus 25 percent of damage with “grunt” weapons)
The plus : best for current build, with 1 more agility I will be able to empty the entire magazine in one turn of VATS, for devastating results.
The min : simple, too simple
- The Dinner Bell (unique shotgun)
- Shotgun Surgeon (shotgun ignore armour)
- And Stay Back (high chance of knocking back targets)
- Center of Mass (plus 15 percent of damage if aiming for the torso is VATS)
The plus : fun
The min : the rest of my build is not made for shotgun, and will not use it at the best capacity
- The Plasma
- Plasma Spaz (reduce Action Point cost of plasma weapon in VATS)
- Meltdown (kill with energy weapon will make the target explode in a green corona explosion that will harm nearby enemy, and can cause a chain reaction)
The plus : green explosion everywhere, best synergy with the VATS build
The con : I don’t like plasma weapons
For now I just did the Freeside mission to enter the Strip. RP wise my character is going to have a slight breakdown when confronted by all those factions, say screw it I’m out, and take a job far away from it.
A job that is supposed to go to new Canaan…
Definitely wanna try KotOR II, but not before I play the first KotOR, which, given my backlog (and lack of care for anything Star Wars), might take a few years 
More importantly though, I generally prefer playing/experiencing the original versions of games when possible (I can handle the clunkiness and shortcomings). It´ll be nice to compare the remaster´s upgrades afterwards.
I’m not feeling well at the moment and it was good to play such a beautiful and entertaining game. The graphics were great, I liked the individual robots and this decelerated mood. Somehow I hope for a second part, the game definitely has potential for a it and the story was so beautiful and exciting,I think there’s a lot more that can be done 
And the cat is so cute 
