Fallout Tactics
Unofficial Supplemental Guide and FAQ
Edited by Kasey Chang (ksc1@aol.com)
released March 16, 2002
0    Introduction
0.1   A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR
This is a SUPPLMENTAL FAQ, NOT a manual or even a full FAQ. You
won't learn how to play the game with this document.
If you want the full walkthru, the random encounter guide, the
equipment guide, or full character creation guide, you should
look on Gamefaqs.com for the other excellent guides by Sarin,
Guiler, and others.
This USG only covers the PC version since that's the only version
that exists (at this time).
Some of you may recognize my name as the editor for the XCOM and
XCOM2: TFTD FAQ's, among others.
0.2   TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION
This document is copyrighted by Kuo-Sheng "Kasey" Chang (c) 2002,
all rights reserved excepted as noted above in the disclaimer
section.
This document is available FREE of charge subjected to the
following conditions:
1) This notice and author's name must accompany all copies of
this document: "Fallout Tactics Unofficial Supplemental Guide and
FAQ" is copyrighted (c) 2002 by Kasey K.S. Chang, all rights
reserved except as noted in the disclaimer."
2) This document must NOT be modified in any form or manner
without prior permission of the author with the following
exception: if you wish to convert this document to a different
file format or archive format, with no change to the content,
then no permission is needed.
2a) In case you can't read, that means TXT only. No banners, no
HTML borders, no cutting up into multiple pages to get you more
banner hits, and esp. no adding your site name to the site list.
3) No charge other than "reasonable" compensation should charged
for its distribution.  (Free is preferred) Sale of this
information is expressly prohibited. If you see any one selling
this guide, drop me a line.
4) If you used material from this, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE the source,
else it is plagiarism.
5) The author hereby grants all games-related web sites the right
to archive and link to this document to share among the game
fandom, provided that all above restrictions are followed.
Sidenote: The above conditions are known as a statutory contract.
If you meet them, then you are entitled to the rights I give you
in 5), i.e. archive and display this document on your website. If
you don't follow them, you did not meet the statutory contract
conditions, you have no right to display this document. If you
still do so, then you are infringing upon my copyright. This
section was added for any websites who don't seem to understand
this.
For the gamers: You are under NO obligation to send me ANY
compensation.  However, I do ask for a VOLUNTARY contribution of
one (1) US Dollar if you live in the United States, and if you
believe this guide helped your game. If you choose to do so,
please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth of stamp to "Kuo-
Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6, San Francisco,
CA 94118 USA".
If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I
collect stamps too.
0.3    DISTRIBUTION
This USG should be available at Gamefaqs
(http://www.gamefaqs.com) and other major PC game websites (such
as gamesdomain.com, gamespot.com, gamecenter.com, etc.). I
personally only release it to Gamefaqs.com so if you find it
anywhere else, they got it from gamefaqs.com.
To webmasters who wish to archive this FAQ on their website,
please read the terms of distribution in section 0.2. It is quite
clear. In case you can't understand it, it says "no
modifications". This means you may NOT modify any bits of it!
Read that carefully. It says exactly what it says.
0.4    OTHER NOTES
There is no warranty for this document. After all, it depends
on YOU the player.  All I can do is offer some advice.
PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark... If
you find a question about this game that is not covered in the
USG, e-mail it to me at ksc1@aol.com.  I'll try to answer it and
include it in the next update.
If you want to read some background information on how Fallout
Tactics came about, visit Gamasutra.com. The developers,
MicroForte, have an article on what went right and what went
wrong during the development.
0.5   THE AUTHOR
I am just a game player who decided to write my own FAQs when the
ones I find don't cover what I want to see.  Lots of people like
what I did, so I kept doing it.
Previously, I've written Unofficial Strategy Guides (USGs) for
XCOM, XCOM2:TFTD, Wing Commander 3, Wing Commander 4, Spycraft,
688(I) Hunter/Killer. Mechwarrior 3, MW3 Expansion Pack, Need for
Speed: Porsche Unleashed, Mechwarrior 4 and MW4: Black Knight,
DS9: The Fallen, Rally Masters, and more.
If you need to write me, send e-mail to ksc1@aol.com. (Any spam
will be reported to respective authorities).
0.6   DISCLAIMER/ COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Fallout, Fallout Tactics, and related names are properties of
Interplay and 14 Degrees East.
14 Degrees East is the "strategy" branch of Interplay. (Black
Isle is the "adventure" branch of Interplay, responsible for the
Fallout RPG series.)
Fallout Tactics was developed by MicroForte. This USG is not
endorsed or authorized by MicroForte, 14 Degrees East, or
Interplay.
While this FAQ may overlap slightly with other FOT FAQs, notably
Sarin's Character Creation FAQ and Guiler's FOT FAQ, I did my
best to REMOVE any sections that appear to be nearly identical.
The character creation section was inspired by Sarin's FAQ, but
the approach is my own. .
0.7   REVISION HISTORY
16-MAR-2002         Initial release
0.8   THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Can you send me Fallout Tactics (or portions thereof)?
A: No. It's 3 CDs!
Q: Can you send me the manual (or portions thereof)?
A: No. It's just a list of the perks and traits any way and basic
game mechanics.
Q: Can you tell me how to play the game?
A: Read the manual.
Q: What's the latest version of FOT?
A: As of release of this edition, it is V1.27. See Interplay's
website.
Q: Can I create my own FOT missions? Campaigns?
A: Yes. You need V1.27 patch, which includes FOT edit tools.
Q: Why is your FAQ shorter than other similar FAQs?
A: This is a SUPPLEMENTAL FAQ. It's NOT a full FAQ.
Q: Why don't you cover the encounters, random or otherwise? How
about perks? Equipment?
A: There already are excellent guides for those topics on
Gamefaqs.com.
1    Game Information
1.1   IN THE BEGINNING.
FOT is essentially a mixture between Starfleet Command's campaign
engine and the tactical combat engine of Fallout/Fallout 2. As
SFC was a tactical starship combat game, and Fallout series were
RPGs, the game is an interesting mixture indeed.
The background is simple: it's post-nuclear war. In the wastes
(short for wasteland), various wild animals have been transformed
into hideous giant creatures. Even humans were affected. Many
have been mutated into essentially new races.
As a new Brotherhood of Steel initiate, you will undertake
missions as you venture out into the wastelands, to bring hope to
the wasteland... with cold steel and hot bullets if necessary.
You create a single character with the appropriate traits and
attributes. You select up to 5 other members (the availability
depends on your rank) from the recruit pool to join you on
missions in the post-nuclear wasteland.
You will be issued some simple equipment at the beginning. You
will discover more and better equipment as you go into the wastes
and encounter more enemies. Bring back all surplus and barter
with the quartermaster (or any other merchants nearby) for better
equipment. You may even discover vehicles that will provide more
armor, speed, and carrying capacity.
Once you're done, exit the base, and you're on the world map.
Move around if you want to, or just head for the next mission by
clicking on the mission name. On the way, you may run into some
"encounters".
The campaign engine basically gives out three types of
encounters: random encounters (you just happen to run into
someone while wandering the map), special encounters (something
special happens, some are good, some are bad), and plot/mission
encounters (the missions assigned by the Brotherhood that you
must complete).
Once the encounter is triggered, you are dropped into an
isometric battlefield that's almost just like Fallout series, but
also reminiscent of XCOM series. You then shoot it out with
whatever opponents on the map, and if you survive, accomplish the
objectives, then you can head toward the extraction zone and exit
the encounter, where you start on the "world map" again.
1.2   SIMILAR GAMES
Fallout Tactics probably most resembles XCOM: Apocalypse, with
optional "real-time" or "turn-based" play modes available, and
the world/tactical separate perspectives. However, there is no
combat in the FOT on the world map.
Fallout Tactics is semi-related to Jagged Alliance and Jagged
Alliance 2.
2     Character Creation
2.1   CHARACTER CREATION FAQ
Q: Where's a good list of perks, traits, and such?
A: Try your manual. :-)  Also try Guiler's FOT FAQ or Sarin's
FOT Character FAQ on gamefaqs.com
Q: What are the best traits or perks to get?
A: Depends on which role you want. Perhaps you should read the
whole section first. Don't forget to read the other two FAQs
listed above as well.
Q: What does rank have to do with my character?
A: Your rank affects what recruits you can get. You get access to
recruits with rank equal to yourself and below. If you are rank
of knight, you get recruits of rank of knight or below.
Therefore, the higher your rank the better recruit you can hire.
If you have better than normal charisma (or have "brown noser"
perk), you can hire recruits that are BETTER than you! [This also
means that using "brown noser" perk on any one other than
yourself would be a waste.]
Q: How does charisma affect my character?
A: Charisma affects a LOT of things, from your rate of promotion
to barter to a ton of other stuff. For your own character, you
should keep CH around 5 (average). Your own rank affects what
recruits you get. Unless you NEVER plan to change your recruits
(i.e. you're taking your ORIGINAL team all the way to the final
mission), you SHOULD keep CH at 5.  Also see the question above
about how rank affects your character.
Q: Should I take "gifted" trait or not?
A: It's a toss-up. The -5 skill point per level penalty is a
definite minus (you end up with like 12 pts per level at start).
You start out quite good, but you gain skills slower. On the
other hand, having extra 7 pts in your character stats does make
adjusting things quite a bit easier, and you can allocate more
pts into IN to make up some of the loss. Having gifted makes it
easier to specialize in certain perks, which may offset the loss
of skill points. Basically, you are trading skill pts for certain
special perks. If you want the special perks like Sniper or
Slayor, you need Gifted. Otherwise, probably not.
Q: Should I take "skilled" trait or not?
A: In a typical game, you'll reach level 24. You get 8 perks with
perk rate of 3. With perk rate of 4 (skilled) you get 6 perks.
You're trading perks for more skill points, essentially.
Q: Should I take "fast shot" trait or not?
A: Depends on the role. If you don't need aimed shots (i.e. not
sniper), then by all means do take fast shot. Combine that with
"bonus rate of fire" perk and you'll get a LOT of bursts, and
that will be devastating in close range or with good burst
weapons or heavy weapons (or even grenades).
Q: What perks should I take early?
A: Swift learner, definitely. You need more skill pts later and
it's worth using a few perks for it, when you don't have access
to the special perks for your role. Calculate your perk rate,
then look at what perks are you going for. Then use the rest on
"Educated" early on.
Q: What role should I set my main character to?
A: Probably small guns / energy weapons guy. See that section.
Q: What is the science skill used for?
A: Not that much. You can use it to take out some power nodes, to
read some terminals, etc. at the very end. Just take
"comprehension" perk, and read the various "Big Book of Science"
that you come across, and you'll get science in the 100%+ range
by the game's end. You don't need to assign any skill points to
it.
Q: What's this "divine favor" perk I keep hearing about?
A: See the manual. However, it supposedly ALSO adds 1 to your
best stat (even BEYOND your racial max), and decreases your perk
rate to 2 (i.e. one perk every 2 levels). If you do go for it
(you need LK of 8) your max perks then will be 4 before this one
(3, 6, 9 12). You use the 5th perk (at 15) to get this, then 4
more perks (17, 19, 21, 23), for a total of nine perks total. As
you get 8 perks at a perk rate of 3, this isn't an improvement.
2.2   INTRODUCTION TO FOT CHARACTERS
Character creation is an important part of Fallout series, and
FOT is no exception, even if the emphasis was placed on combat.
Your characters and squad will gain experience, and careful
allocation of the gains you get per level is very important.
You should refer to Sarin's excellent FOT Character Creation FAQ
if you have further questions. You can find his guide on
Gamefaqs.com. Here's what Sarin said about Character creation:
"Since you're playing a squad-based tactics game, you need to
develop specialist characters instead of generalists. You can
have a maximum of six characters in your squad. Let one character
focus on one skill while the others focus on other skills." --
Sarin, from Sarin's FOT Character Creation guide.
Also keep in mind taht you do NOT need to keep the ENTIRE SQUAD
for the entire game. If you find better candidates, fire the ones
you do not need and hire better recruits. As your enemies change,
so will your squad.
The approach I go for below is go for specific roles, THEN decide
what perks are good for the role, then I figure out the specific
requirements for the role. My method is primarily aimed at player
character (i.e. humans), but the same analysis can be applied to
the recruits to determine if they can be "groomed" to your
liking. On the other hand, someone has already done the analysis
for you in Guiler's FOT FAQ. So go read it.
The roles you need are essentially the following (you can take
multiple roles, like sniper/grenadier, thief/medic, etc.)
*  Sniper -- specialize in long-range takedowns, extremely high
(~150 or higher) small guns, and the good perks like better
criticals, more criticals, etc. Firing rate is not that
important. "Finesse" trait may help.
*  CQS -- high small arms, fast firing rate, specialize in
short-range fights, with automatic weapons on burst, magnum
pistols and/or .45 caliber weapons, and shotgun. However, CQB is
useless in late game unless you have a lot of EMP shotgun shells.
AP ammo just don't do THAT much damage on robots.
*  Energy weapons specialist -- by the end of the game you'll
be using primarily energy weapons. You should start learning them
early on, or at least use the TAG! perk about midway to get at
least 100+ on energy weapons. Hire people who are good at this
later in the game would help a lot also.
*  Melee / HTH -- with or without weapon, enhance with ripper,
power fist, etc. Those with high strength are best. However,
Melee/HTH doesn't do that much damage to robots unless you cause
serious criticals.
*  Grenadier -- high throwing skills, toss stuff at the enemy,
excellent to take out enemies hiding behind cover or even around
some corners. Also can use throwing weapons like throwing stars
or throwing knives, but those don't do much damage.
*  Heavy weapons -- big guns skill, use heavy machine gun,
rocket launcher, etc. Important in mid/late game, as you need
this skill to use the Browning M2 50 cal. machine gun and the
rocket launcher, and later, the most devastating weapon: the
gauss gatling.
*  Medic -- patch people up, high first aid and/or doctor
skills. Get both up to 200% if you can. Make sure to bring
doctor's bags (at least 2) and 3-6 First Aid kits (or similar).
You may want to have another guy who's up on the first-aid skill
(80-100%) as a backup medic in case your primary medic "bought
the farm".
*  Driver -- drive any vehicles around (piloting skill).
Piloting is not that essential, as piloting over 30% is enough to
move the Humvee or any vehicle around. There are also some books
that can boost the knowledge significantly.
*  Thief -- high stealing skills, you need it to "borrow" items
from others that you can't buy. It can also be used in reverse...
like putting things (like explosives) elsewhere. On the other
hand, you don't REALLY need it, as you CAN do without it (though
it may make some things more difficult).
*    Lockpick -- high lockpick skills, you need it to open doors
or safes without the key. Help him/her with lockpicks, advanced
lockpicks, or electronic lockpicks. Buy two of each lockpick
device as they become available. Put one in each hand and you'll
get double the benefits. Most special doors in the various
encounters have a key nearby on certain characters, so designate
the lockpick person to hold all the keys as well.
*    Barterer -- high barter skill makes the purchase prices
cheaper and selling prices higher. Let one guy (or gal) do the
talking. Give him all the items to trade in. Just make sure to
put him/her next to the trading person before you start
transferring items.
*    Trapper -- lay traps, or disarm traps. Trap skill is not
that critical, as high perception can help you AVOID mines most
of the time. On the other hand, some chests and doors are
trapped, and you need good trap skill to disarm those.
*    Mechanic -- repair things using "repair" skill. Enhance with
toolkits and super toolkits. Vehicles need a lot of repairs, so
you may need one. On the other hand, if you can make it back to
base, you can borrow a recruit to do your repairs.
*    Gambler -- bet with people... instead of trading. Beware
that not all people gamble.
*    Scout -- mainly for the world map. Need Outdoorsman skills.
Outdoorsman at 100% or higher means you can AVOID random
encounters if you wish to. That can be quite useful if you're
short on ammo and such, or you need the right TYPE of encounters
(like you're looking for pulse grenades by killing Reavers and so
on). Give this role to the guy with the best LUCK would help too.
*    Mule / Jack-of-all-trades -- none of the above, your typical
grunt (but why?)
I'm going to discuss each role in turn, listing the stat
requirements (not the level, which you can't control), then
summarize for the requirements for creation. I put the
requirements WITHOUT the "gifted" trait. If you choose to take
the "gifted" trait, then you would make creating the character
much easier early on.
2.3   PARTY COMPOSITION
Please note that this is the way I play the game... I prefer
weapons, not melee/HTH combat. I'm sure some can be very
effective in that, but I prefer to keep the enemies as far away
as possible.
For a list of possible recruits and how they can be developed,
please see Guiler's FOT FAQ.
You should decide from the start who are you going to develop and
keep, and who you will just hire until you find someone better.
At the beginning, you have minimal skills. You need to use a lot
of ammo to put down an enemy. Hand-to-hand and melee combat are
useful then. You don't see any mines or traps early on, and a
scout can sense any that you run into. You don't have any
vehicles so you don't need driver or mechanic either. You don't
have access to heavy weapons yet. So you just need 1-2 snipers, 2-
3 CQS, rest melee. You will also need a good medic. Any other
roles you need like barterer/gambler, grenadier, lockpick/thief
can be spread out among your squad. On the other hand, early on
you don't get grenades either.
Start training a driver early on to at least 30% skill as you
need one to get your first Humvee.
By mid-game (when you encounter Deathclaws and Supermutants), the
pistols and melee weapons become useless (not enough damage). You
need to engage the enemies from as far away as possible. You'll
need 1-2 snipers, 2 CQS, 1-2 heavy weapons, and 1 medic. You also
acquire vehicles so you'll need a driver. You may not need a
mechanic yet as you can "borrow" recruits to repair the vehicles
for you at the bunkers.
By late-game (when you encounter robots and reavers), you need to
switch to heavy weapons  and energy weapons. Hire dual-role
specialists like Alice and Max (both are good in energy AND big
guns), though small gun / big gun specialists like Box and
Clarise are also useful if you give them rocket launchers and
gauss guns. Sniper will use gauss rifles. Melee doesn't do enough
damage unless you're VERY good at causing criticals.  By now, you
will need a mechanic, though repair skill of 85% is quite
sufficient, as you can pump that to over 100 with a super toolkit
and a regular toolkit.
My "final mission" party is composed of:
*    Caseman (me), who's a sniper / energy specialist. He's armed
with laser rifle (and later, pulse rifle) with a gauss rifle for
sniping. Before that he's mainly armed with sniper rifle and the
FN FAL. Caseman also is the mechanic AND driver AND science guy
(like me, he's multi-talented)
*    Stitch, the medic, is with the team from the very beginning.
He has the Pancor with the remaining EMP shells and a gauss
rifle as backup. Before then he's armed with CAWS and a sniper
rifle.  Stitch turned out to be a VERY good doctor/medic and a
very good sniper. Stitch, being "good-natured", also gets the
role of barterer.
*    Alice and Max, the brother and sister team, are both big gun
/ energy weapon specialists. I gave them both a 50 cal and
whatever energy weapon I can find (plasma rifle, laser gatling,
whatever). They also carry the best grenades. When I found more
laser gatlings, they each got one.
*    Box, the heavy weapons expert, is hired to handle the gauss
gatling and carry additional rockets. She has the gauss gatling
and rocket launcher with quite a few reloads.
*    Clarisse joined for the final two missions. Clarisse can
handle energy weapons and big guns. She gets some grenades,
rocket launcher, and a pulse rifle (she happens to have the best
energy weapon skills in the team).
Sometimes, the party size will have to be adjusted to the vehicle
size. When you obtain a tank, you should consider restricting
your party to only 5 members, as only 5 fit in the tank. On the
other hand, you CAN coordinate two separate parties. So maybe you
should leave two outside as scouts and 4 inside the tank as fire
support.
2.4   SNIPER
Sniper is important throughout the game. The sniper rifle has one
of the longest range in the game, at 50. You can also aim for
specific parts of the body, like head, eyes, etc. to blind or
concuss. Later in the game you get gauss rifles.
Keep in mind that the average perk rate is 3, so by the end of
the game (your character at about level 24) you get around 8
perks.
Taking "small frame" trait can give you more AP, but less carry
weight. If you are going to dedicate a character to sniping, then
carry weight doesn't matter that much as you wouldn't consume a
lot of ammo. 100-200 rounds are plenty for one engagement if you
only shoot 2 rounds per turn and you're probably salvage more in
the fight. Power armor later can help you carry more.
Sniper should NOT take "fast shot" trait, as it prevents you from
making aimed shots. You may get more shots off, but you're going
for quality, not quantity here.  You need about 10 AP, enough to
get off 2 shots on average AND reload, or 2 aimed shots.
The best perks for sniper would be
*    Action Boy (AG 5), one extra AP (probably not needed if you
have "small frame" trait)
*    Better Criticals (PE 6, AG 4, LK 6), more damage with
critical hits
*    Bonus Ranged Damage (AG 6, LK 6), extra damage
*    Bonus Rate of Fire (PE 6, IN 6, AG 7), cost less AP to shoot
*    More Criticals (LK 6), more chance of critical hits
*    Sharpshooter (PE 7, IN 6), more likely to hit at range
*    Sniper (SG 80%, PE 8, AG 8), all critical hits (note: may
not work properly)
Some of these perks can be taken multiple times, like "Action
Boy" and "More Criticals".
I've read in several FAQs that the "Sniper" perk as listed above
is broken. So if you don't want to go for it, I understand
completely.
The requirements without "Sniper" perk then would be
*    ST 5
*    PE 7
*    EN don't care
*    CH don't care
*    IN 6
*    AG 7
*    LK 6
You need strength 5 because all the good sniper weapons are MIN
STR 5, including sniper rifle.  As you have 35 pts to start, that
would mean
*    ST 5
*    PE 7
*    EN 2
*    CH 2
*    IN 6
*    AG 7
*    LK 6
If you DO choose the "gifted" trait, then pump up your EN and CH
back up to reasonable levels (like 4 or 5) and still get AG 8 and
PE 8 to get the sniper perk. If you don't want the sniper perk,
then enhance your luck to 8 and go for "divine favor" perk, and
enhance your IN a bit to make up for the loss of skill pts per
level.
While "weapon handling" perk looks useful, it's not. It is a
level 12 perk, so you don't see that for half of the game. The
heaviest weapon in the "small guns" category has a MIN STR of 6
(the Thompson Gun and the Neostead/CAWS auto shotguns, but you
don't really need them). Most of the weapons are MIN STR 5. If
you pick STR of less than 5, hoping to make it up with "weapon
handling" later, you can't use any of the 2-handed weapons for
half the game, and how can you be a sniper without 2-handed
weapons?
To develop the sniper, tag small guns, sneak, and one auxiliary
skill (see anxiliary roles).
Give sniper the hunting rifle early on, followed by assault
weapons that can do single shot, and finally, sniper rifle. About
150-250 rounds should be sufficient. They can go burst mode in
close range. You may or may not want to give them an alternate
weapon.
Sniper's secondary weapon should be a shotgun. The pump shotgun
is preferred as "bonus rate of fire" would allow the sniper to
shoot more than twice. A heavy pistol like 44 magnum is a good
alternative, but its ammo is a bit harder to find.  Pump shotgun
is pretty good against robots in the late game with EMP shells.
If you don't have enough shotguns, an assault rifle like AK-47 is
a good alternative as it uses the same 7.62 bullets.
All in all, I'd recommend AGAINST your main character being a
sniper. You need ENERGY weapon skills by the endgame, and gauss
ammo is limited (until the final mission).
2.5   CLOSE-QUARTERS SPECIALIST
CQS is important to about mid-game, mainly for room clearing.
Primary weapon is a combat shotgun, and that virtually requires
MIN STR of 6, so you can wield the Neostead early on. This role,
on the other hand, is VERY similar to the sniper role. In fact,
there's only one difference: AG 6 instead of AG 7 (to get the
extra ST). The CQS loses "bonus rate of fire" due to that change,
but with an automatic shotgun that's not THAT big of a deal. The
loss can be offset by the "fast shot" trait. Aimed shot at point-
blank is pointless any way.
CQS becomes more difficult in late-game, as EMP shells are rare.
The best perks for CQS then would be:
*    Action Boy (AG 5), one extra AP
*    Better Criticals (PE 6, AG 4, LK 6), more damaging with
critical hits
*    Bonus Ranged Damage (AG 6, LK 6), extra damage
*    More Criticals (LK 6), more chance of critical hits
*    Sharpshooter (PE 7, IN 6), more likely to hit at range
You need strength 6 for the Neostead and the CAWS. As a bonus,
you can use any of the assault weapons and the sniper rifle/gauss
rifle for long-range threats. To summarized the requirements
*    ST 6
*    PE 7
*    EN don't care
*    CH don't care
*    IN 6
*    AG 6
*    LK 6
As you have 35 pts to start, that would mean
*    ST 6
*    PE 7
*    EN 2
*    CH 2
*    IN 6
*    AG 6
*    LK 6
This character could use the "gifted" trait to offset the low EN
and CH. Two possibilities:
Possibility 1) Add 3 to EN and CH each (both up to 5, average),
and add extra pt to AG to get back "bonus rate of fire" perk. You
become a relatively average character. This would make you
virtually IDENTICAL to the sniper character, except for your
"fast shot" trait. If you also pick the "bonus rate of fire" perk
later you can pump out INSANE amount of shots. :-)
Possibility 2) Add 2 to EN and CH each (both up to 4, fair), add
1 pt to AG to get back "bonus rate of fire" perk, and 2 to LK to
get "divine favor" perk, which can improve your perk rate and get
you other favors.
While "weapon handling" perk looks useful, it's not. It is a
level 12 perk, so you don't see that for half of the game. The
heaviest weapon in the "small guns" category has a MIN STR of 6
(the Thompson Gun and the Neostead/CAWS auto shotguns). Most of
the weapons are MIN STR 5. If you pick STR of less than 5, hoping
to make it up with "weapon handling" later, you are restricted to
pistols for half of the game.
To develop CQS, tag small guns, sneak, and one other skill (see
anxiliary roles).
Start with pump shotgun, then Neostead, then CAWS. Save the
Pancor Jackhammer for the main character until the end.  Reserve
all EMP shells for the CQS guys.
CQS's secondary weapon should be a sniper rifle or a decent
automatic rifle, like the FN FAL. In open terrain, CQS will act
as sniper first (albeit no aimed shots), then switch to shotgun
close-in. Later in the game, CQS will switch to gauss weapon
(though sniper gets first dibs).
2.6   ENERGY-WEAPON SPECIALIST
Energy weapon specialist (EWS) is mainly useful in late game. The
pulse rifles and plasma rifles are all MIN STR 6, so that
dictates some of your minimums. On the other hand, the pulse
weapon prototype is only MIN STR 3, but doesn't do as much damage
as the full-sized pulse rifle. There's also the laser gatling...
But that weighs a lot.
The best perks for EWS then would be:
*    Action Boy (AG 5), one extra AP
*    Better Criticals (PE 6, AG 4, LK 6), more damaging with
critical hits
*    Bonus Ranged Damage (AG 6, LK 6), extra damage
*    More Criticals (LK 6), more chance of critical hits
Notice that we lost "sharpshooter" from the list. The extra pt
must come from somewhere.
You don't need as many perks (though "more criticals" can be
chosen up to 3 times, and "bonus ranged damage" can be chosen up
to 2 times). "Skilled" trait (lower perk rate but higher skills)
may be useful here. If you pick "gifted" trait you can try to go
for the "divine favor" perk, which can raise your perk rate
somewhat.
To summarized the requirements
*    ST 6
*    PE 6
*    EN don't care
*    CH don't care
*    IN don't care
*    AG 6
*    LK 6
As you have 35 pts to start, that would mean
*    ST 6
*    PE 6
*    EN 2
*    CH 4
*    IN 5
*    AG 6
*    LK 6
If you want this as your normal character, you MAY want to cut ST
down to 5 to get CH back up to 5. That'll restrict you to the
Pulse Rifle Prototype (min STR 3) and a regular "Ithaca" pump
shotgun with EMP shells, but you can get the heavier weapons when
you get power armor (+2 to ST). You can make up the low EN by
getting the elixir from the "gas station" special encounter,
and/or by using a perk.
If you do take the "gifted" trait, then keep the ST at 6, get PE
and AG to 7, EN to 4, and CH to 5. You still have 2 pts to get LK
to 8 to get "divine favor" perk. You can get EN to 5 with the
Elixir from the "gas station" special encounter or by using a
perk.
Tag "small guns", "energy weapons", and "sneak" as your initial 3
tags. Pick "educated" early on (probably 3 times) to get full
benefits from it. Dump all the points into "small guns" and
"sneak" until your "small guns" and "sneak" reaches about 150-
200. Then start building "energy weapons" skill instead. You can
wield sniper rifle and shotgun with ease, and when the energy and
gauss weapons become available, you'll master them as well.
2.7   MELEE / HAND-TO-HAND SPECIALIST
Hand-to-hand (HTH) combat can be dangerous with the right person.
You need someone with TREMENDOUS strength, and that means Power
Armor, Supermutants, or Deathclaws. Strength is added as a damage
bonus if you score a hit, so the more, the better. On the other
hand, you don't do any damage until you're touching the enemy, so
your sneak skill better be good or you wear good armor.
I personally think that HTH/Melee is useless by mid-game, so I
would not pick it for my own character (after going through the
game once).
The best perks for HTH would be:
*    Action Boy (AG 5), one extra AP (more everything).
*    Better Criticals (PE 6, AG 4, LK 6), more damaging with
critical hits
*    Bonus HTH Attacks (AG 6), 1 less AP to attack
*    Bonus HTH Damage (ST 6, AG 6), 15% more damage per level
*    Bonus move (AG 5), move 20% further, get closer to enemy
*    Dodger (AG 6) AC+5
*    Ghost (Sneak 60+%), +20% in sneak in the dark
*    More Criticals (LK 6), more chance of critical hits, not for
Supermutants
*    Silent Death (AG 10, Sneak 80+, Unarmed 80+)
*    Silent Running (sneak 50+, AG 6)
*    Slayer (unarmed 80+, ST8, AG 8, lvl 24)
*    Tough hide (EN Under 8), +15 armor, Supermutants only
*    Toughness (EN 6, LK6), +10% general damage resistance
You need tough armor, like power armor or advanced power armor,
and you don't get those until 75% into the game. Dodger may help,
but not a lot. Using metal armor has a -25% on your sneak
skill...
If you go for unarmed, you need AG 10 to get "silent death", and
ST 8 to get Slayer. That leaves not that much for the rest.
To summarized the requirements
*    ST 8
*    PE don't care
*    EN don't care
*    CH don't care
*    IN don't care
*    AG 10
*    LK don't care (6 would be good for the "criticals" perks)
As you have 35 pts to start, that would mean
*    ST 8
*    PE 3
*    EN 3
*    CH 2
*    IN 3
*    AG 10
*    LK 6
This character has low charisma and low intelligence, resulting
in slow promotions and small skill gains per level. If you are
willing to forgo "silent death", drop AG to 8 and add 1 each to
IN and CH, and you'll still have enough for "slayer". The going
will still be slow, but not quite as bad as the first variation.
If you go for armed, you can forget about "silent death" and
"slayor" (?), which turns you into a very normal character. Keep
the LK 6 for the two "criticals" perks, make the rest average.
Tag melee and/or unarmed, and one auxiliary skill and pick a
weapon skill.
Gifted would be very helpful here, but I personally don't like
HTH combat. So didn't go down this road too far.
2.8   HEAVY WEAPON SPECIALIST
These are the guys who carry the 50 cals, the rocket launchers,
the heavy gatlings, and so on. They are important in mid/late
game.
The perks most pertinent to HWS are:
*    Action Boy (AG 5), one extra AP
*    Better Criticals (PE 6, AG 4, LK 6), more damaging with
critical hits
*    Bonus Ranged Damage (AG 6, LK 6), extra damage
*    More Criticals (LK 6), more chance of critical hits
Yes, this is the SAME LIST as that of energy weapon specialist.
The only difference is you tag "big guns", "energy weapons", and
one auxiliary skill. Definitely get more criticals (as many times
as you can), as the 50 cal does a LOT of inherent criticals and
can kill robots in a single salvo.
Therefore, try to hire people who are good in both heavy weapons
and energy weapons and can achieve these perks.
To repeat the requirements:
*    ST 6 (enough to wield most big guns, esp. SAW)
*    PE 6
*    EN don't care
*    CH don't care
*    IN don't care
*    AG 6
*    LK 6
As you have 35 pts to start, that would mean
*    ST 6
*    PE 6
*    EN 2
*    CH 4
*    IN 5
*    AG 6
*    LK 6
If you do take the "gifted" trait, then keep the ST at 6, get PE
and AG to 7 to get "Sharpshooter" perk back. Get EN to 4, and CH
to 5 so your promotion don't suffer. You still have 2 pts to get
LK to 8 to get "divine favor" perk. You can get EN to 5 with the
Elixir from the "gas station" special encounter or by using a
perk.
You can't wield the Browning M2 50 cal at first, but you can when
you get power armor or the "weapon handling" perk.
If you want a "natural" ST of 9, then you must take the "gifted"
trait. Keep PE or AG at 6, and use the 2 pts that were going to
LK to pump ST to 9.
"Weapon handling" perk can be useful if you do NOT want to get
the "natural" ST of 9 but still want to use the M2. You don't see
the M2 until mid-game any way. The problem is the M2 itself and
the ammo both weigh a lot and if you don't have the natural
strength you can't carry everything yourself in addition to the
alternate weapon(s) you may need. I think the tradeoff is not
worth it. You can always wait for power armor instead of using a
perk for it.
The heavy weapon guys can wield both big guns and energy weapons
with equal ease. When you run out of 50 cal ammo, start using
energy weapons.
Bracing, being only a +2, isn't that useful. It may allow you to
handle a Vindicator, but you can't carry both the gun and the
ammo without being encumbered. Vindicator eats ammo like popcorn
and 7.62 ammo weigh quite a bit when you need to carry 1000
rounds.
2.9   GRENADIER (AUX)
Grenadier is mainly an auxiliary role. Grenadier should tag
throwing skill mainly. 100% is sufficient to throw grenades with
good accuracy.
While "heave ho!" sounds like a good stat, it's not. You don't
need to throw THAT far any way, and there are often things in
your way that prevents you from throwing that far.
2.10  MEDIC (D/AUX)
You may choose to have a dedicated medic (like Stitch at the
beginning). If so, this medic would need to tag "first aid",
"doctor", and maybe "small guns". Bring "first aid" and "doctor"
to 200+%. The medic should also get the "good natured" trait. If
so, the medic should also be the barterer. Take educated perks
early so you get more pts to put into the tag skills later.
Some good perks for medics are:
*    Action Boy (AG 5), one extra AP
*    Comprehension (IN 6), learn more skills while reading (first
aid books)
*    Educated (IN 6), get +2 skill pts per level
*    Healer (First Aid 40%+, PE 7, IN 5, AG 6), heal additional
hit points
*    Living Anatomy (Doctor 60%+) 10% to doctor, +5 damage to
living (see later)
*    Medic! (40% in doctor or first aid) +10% to doctor/first aid
*    Stat! (First Aid 75%, Doctor 50%, AG 6) reduce First
Aid/Doctor time by 2 AP
Of the perk list, "Medic!" and "Healer" are great perks.
Stat! is debatable. Normal healing costs a LOT of AP (more than a
turn's worth). Do you really care whether the healing takes one
turn or two turns? (Assuming you use turn-based combat).
Living anatomy is useless by the end of the game except for the
10% "doctor" bonus.
Keep the medic constantly supplied with doctor's bags (at least
2) and first aid kits (at least 4) or equivalents. Use stimulants
for small wounds (only takes 2 AP on the person, not the medic).
Wait until the person is bandaged and hurt again to use doctor's
bag so you don't end up healng him twice over.
2.11  DRIVER (AUX)
Driver doesn't take much skill to develop. Skill of 30% is enough
to get the vehicle moving. Pick the guy with the most "pilot"
skill to start and develop that to about 50% should be
sufficient. You don't even need to tag the skill.
Don't bother with "lead foot". It's not necessary to use a perk
for this.
"Stunt man", on the other hand, can be of some use if you're also
the point-man and likely to get hit by a rocket or grenades. It
does require ST 6, EN 6, and AG 6 though.
2.12  THIEF (AUX)
A thief is good for borrowing items from friend or foe. Good
perks for thieves are:
*    Bluff Master (CH 3) talk your way out of being caught a
stealing (LK ???)
*    Harmless (Steal 50%) add 20% to steal
*    Master Thief (Steal 50%, Lockpick 50%) +15 to steal and lock
pick
*    Pickpocket (Steal 80%, AG 8) ignore facing/size modifiers
*    Thief () 10% bonus to sneak, lockpick, steal, and trap
I personally don't use thief at all.
A thief would probably double as your lockpick guy.
2.13  LOCKPICKER (AUX)
Lockpicker is needed for a variety of situations. A lot of doors
need to be picked if you can't find the key. There are also quite
a few safes and such that can be picked.
In most cases, your thief also doubles as your lockpick.
Good rating for lockpick is 80+%. With lockpick kits you can push
that up to almost 200%, which should be sufficient to open most
doors.
The only perks that help lockpicking are "Master Thief" and
"Thief". They aren't THAT useful
Definitely equip the lockpick with two of your best lockpicks
(regular, enhanced, or electronic).
2.14  BARTERER (AUX)
"Good natured" trait affects bartering. Therefore your medic
(probably the only "good natured" guy on your squad) is probably
your barterer.
If you want to use up some perks, get Master Trader and Salesman.
However, I think your medic needs perks for other things.
Get "barter" skill as high as you can without sacrificing other
roles. 80-100% is quite good.
2.15  TRAPPER (AUX)
Mainly used to disarm traps, it is also used to lay mines or put
traps. I don't use traps that much, but it can be useful in some
situations. If you need to prevent someone from reaching
something, like alarm panel, a mine can be an excellent option,
combined with sneak skill. There are a few books you can read on
the topic.
Trap skill of 50-80% is quite sufficient, in my experience.
2.16  GAMBLER (AUX)
IMHO, gambling is not that helpful as an auxiliary skill, since
the income in the FOT world is unlimited. If you need more money,
just go out into the world, do some random encounters that
produce loot, and bring some loot home to sell. Still, being a
gambler can let you get things you may not be able to otherwise.
Take the gambler perk to help out a little.
2.17  MECHANIC (AUX)
Use repair skills to repair vehicles, this is essential near the
end when you get all sorts of vehicles. If you can make it to
your base, you can "borrow" one of the mechanics in the recruits
pool, let him repair the vehicle, then put him back and take back
your former squad member. If you have to do field repairs, then
you need someone with skill of at least 85% and at least one
super toolkit and one regular toolkit.
My favorite way to repair: put super toolkit in one hand, regular
toolkit in the other, and set the regular toolkit as "active".
Then perform repair. You get super toolkit's bonus, but the
regular toolkit gets used up. You should fix about 100 hp per
attempt.
2.18  SCOUT (AUX)
Scout is mainly useful on the world map, where you can control
what to see and what not to see. You need high outdoorsman skill.
If you have >100% in outdoorsman, you can AVOID random encounters
if you wish.
A lot of LK would help here as well.
Good perks for scouts are "Explorer", and "Scout", both of which
increases chances for the special encounters.
3    Tactical Considerations
Whether attacking or defending, these are some questions you need
to consider before you decide on approach.
3.1   DO YOU NEED TO KILL THE ENEMY TO AVOID ALARM?
In some missions, you need to prevent the enemies from getting to
the alarms, either a central alarm, and/or individual building
alarms.
You may want need to sneak all the way to the alarm first, then
booby trap it to make sure no one gets to it (or put a mine in
front of it). Or setup in front of the alarm and kill all comers.
If it's "kill everything" like random encounters, then you don't
care if you wake up the dead.
3.2   WHAT TYPE OF ATTACK DOES THE ENEMY HAVE?
Target heavy energy weapons first (energy weapons go THROUGH
armor), then heavy weapons, then other weapons in order of range.
The ones that melee have to run up to you first, so you have some
time.
You can even set traps / mines for them in front of your "line"
if you're defending and have time to set things up. However,
having time to move out of range of the mine may be a problem.
Shoot them from a distance, then switch to heavier weapons when
they're closer, and then shotgun when they're REALLY close. .
3.3   ATTACK OR DEFEND?
In a few missions, you can either attack or defend, and tactical
situation will dictate your choice. If you have an easily
defensible spot and the enemy does not have heavy weapons like
rocket launchers, then you may want to lure the enemy to you.
If you are attacking, you should sneak until you setup your
crossfire.
3.4   ANY WAY TO GAIN FLANK OR TOP ADVANTAGE?
Some route are difficult to assault, esp. those sandbag bunkers
with room to lay down. You have to sneak up to it and throw
grenades over the bags, or try to attack it from the rear.
3.5   IS THERE ANY COVER?
You should always setup behind cover. Any piece of rock, tree,
building ledge, etc. helps protect you against enemy fire.
If there really is no cover, reserve AP to kneel or go prone.
3.6   ARE THE FIRING LANES CLEAR?
One of the dumbest things you can do is hitting your own people
(i.e. friendly fire or fratricide). This often happens if you
fire burst or shotgun with another team member to your left or
right front. If you use single shot mode, this usually won't
happen.
On the other hand, if there are multiple enemies in front, you
may just want to use burst mode any way and see if you can damage
multiple targets.
3.7   WHICH WEAPON?
Most of your characters should have multiple weapons for
different engagements: long-range, medium range, and short-range.
Most members should carry at least two weapons that are good at
different ranges. Choose the weapon that's appropriate for the
range. Shotgun and melee weapons for point-blank, assault rifle
for close / multiple targets, assault rifle on single shot for
medium, sniper weapons for long range.
3.8   POSSIBILITY OF COLLATERAL DAMAGE?
In missions where you need to rescue hostages, like Rock Falls,
Quincy, etc., killing hostages is bad. The more you rescue, the
more EXP you get. If you accidentally kill some of the hostages,
the neutrals may even turn on you!
So don't use shotgun regular shells or flechette shells when you
need to aim for specific targets. If you must use shotgun, use
slug shells.
Don't use burst mode on automatic weapons as that will often
cause collateral damage.
If there are no hostages, when go ahead and let them have it. :-)
3.9   SINGLE SHOT OR BURST MODE?
Single shot have higher hit probability than burst mode, and use
less AP than targeted shot. Do you need the extra AP to kneel or
reload? Do you have enough ammo to sustain burst mode?
Also, can you do more damage with TWO single shots or ONE burst
shot? Check your AP first.
For example, if you can make a burst with 4 AP, single shot with
3 AP, and you have 9 AP total, you may want to use 3 single shots
if you have a reasonable chance of hitting the target. On the
other hand, if you have a cluster of targets, then 2 burst shots
would make more sense.
3.10  TARGETED SHOT OR REGULAR?
If you're using single shot, do you need to aim for specific
parts of the enemy? If the enemy is immobile (like turrets), take
out the sensors / eyes can be a good move. If the enemy is HTH-
only and quite far away, you can use leg shots to slow it down
for you to get more shots in.
If the enemy is close enough, then you should just forget aiming
and go for shot to center of mass (i.e. no specific aiming). You
can't save AP for the next turn, so use all the AP you have this
turn.
4    Engagement
Here are some general tips in engagements.
4.1   SOME ENGAGEMENT FAQS
Q: How do I clear a mine that I spotted?
A: Stay at least 10 meters away, fire a single shotgun at it (use
force-fire if you need to). Shotgun has the best chance (and may