The Glade 4.0

Picked up the GOTY edition and have not yet installed the add-ons.

Should I play through the main game to the main quest completion before exploring the add-on content, or is the content able to stand on it's own before the main game is completed?

I know it is a free world exploration, "do whatever the hell you want to do" type game, but wasn't sure if the add-ons were meant to be played during or after the main game.

Thanks as always.

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This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

Play through the main game, Then the add on content.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Install Brotherhood of Steel at least. It doesn't happen until after you finish the main quest line, and it raises the level cap from 20 to 30. If you're any sort of thorough when you play games, you'll easily hit the level 20 cap before the main quest line is over, and then you'd just waste all the xp beyond that without it.

Fallout 3 ends. It has a real ending. Until you install Broken Steel. So, if you do decide to wait until after beating the main quest, install Broken Steel. Aside from Broken Steel(which builds on the main story), all of the DLC is stand alone. You get phat lewts in there that make the game really fun, though. I'd personally install all of it to get the gear to go into Broken Steel with. Except Mothership Zeta. I think if I had a choice, I'd never do Mothership Zeta again.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

Do it all in one shot, whatever and however you want...the DLC is largely seamless, and can be done at any time (except for BoS at the end). Josificus has a very good point about the experience level cap.

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Women are from Hoboken, men are from Trenton. ~ Jimmy Kimmel

I'd recommend holding off installing Broken Steel, just so you can experience the entire main story and it's original ending. After that, reload your last save game and then install all the others.

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Foamy,

Just have fun with it. Install it all. You can either go to do the side stuff or not, it does not matter either way

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

So addicting right now. Hard finding time to play and keep an eye on the baby too.

Great game.

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This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

Dont install broken steel. I did, and it made the game WAY too easy being level 23, and also ruined some of Free Dogs radio

I mean, dont install it till you've finished the main quest. Making it too easy really really spoiled it for me. I havent picked it up since.

That bug was fixed with one of the many patches. Also, stuff scales with you, so being level 23 means the higher level stuff will come out after you more often. What makes you overpowered is some of the gear you get from the DLCs(Chinese Stealth Suit comes to mind right away. That plus the Perforator from the Pitt and you'll be able to kill everything without them ever finding where you are).

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

I found the game quite easy all around, beyond the first couple levels. By the teens I almost unkillable unless I was dropped right in the middle of a bunch of guys. Course, I also had a plasma rifle at around this time, and it's ability to one shot almost everything in the game if you're a decent stealth character probably didn't help that.

Broken Steel also adds new mobs and stuff for 20+, so the difficulty shouldn't have change that badly.

Broken Steel adds albino radscorpions. Those things are...frightening.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

Man I hate those things. All the other high end mobs aren't too bad, but those things just shredded me regularly. I started just unloading with Vengeance on 'em from distance, and usually by the time they got near me they were practically dead.

Is it just me or does stealth rarely work?

It is in the low 50s (I think), and I do just about everything correct. (No light, walk slow, out of sight) and almost all the time I am spotted. (Anchorage War Memorial comes to mind, I couldn't sneak past a single Mirelurk)

The only way I ever get a stealth critical is when I am around a corner and a head pops out.

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This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

What armor are you wearing?

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Grenade 3 Sports Drink. It's fire in the hole.. Your hole!

Who? Across a few playthroughs I usually went for the Ranger armor.

I found stealth to be hugely overpowered, and I was running around in power armor for most of the game. I didn't ever take it off or anything, and I could get almost right up next to many mobs without being seen. I could also be in areas that weren't exactly dark and still not be seen either.

I did have maxxed stealth and that talent that lets you run instead of move slowly and not have the negative hits for that.

Like I said earlier: Chinese Stealth Suit+Perforator=never being spotted by anything ever unless you actually walk right into them.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

And what is your Agility?

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

The monster I liked the least where the new Feral ghouls that one of the DLC brought in. I constantly forget what they are called, but I call them twitchers

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

This thread inspired me to get back into Fallout 3. I was surprised to see that I had logged over 48hours of game play, and am only lvl 15 with none of the DLC packs installed.

Man I love this game.

I think once I explored everywhere of the original game, it was enough to last my whole lifetime.

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The Dude abides.