Most important Fallout skills to level up?

[Terminate421]

Energy weapons are awesome against Enclave and Machines much later in the game, though small guns work on everything. Id say the later so your set for the future

Repair is always great along with medicine

 

[Cipher1]

Sneak along with silent running and a stealth suit allow you to pretty much kill anything in game without trying.

 

[Durgiun]

Speech, guns and lockpick.

 

[DustyDrB]

The ones that you enjoy. Pick what suits you, not what everyone says makes you the most powerful.

My one skill that I hate to be without: Repair. Because Jury-Rigging is a godsend.
Other favorites:
-Survival. In New Vegas, you can heal a ton with food. And this helps in hardcore mode as well. You'll still have the stimpacks for when you need them in a pinch, and you'll probably end up saving more of them this way. I just love playing as a survivalistic, self-made man

-Guns. Seems classic. A lot of the guns have a nice story behind them as well.

-Unarmed. Probably the most fun to use. And there is a perk [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Piercing_Strike] that basically turns you into a Deathclaw.

-Speech. Because a little diplomacy is always nice.

-And a "loot" skill: Either Science or Lockpick. These let you into places either by hacking terminals or picking locks. I usually go with Science since it comes in handy in other ways as well.

 

[Popadoo]

Smalls guns, since you're gonna' get more of them than any other type of weapon. Repair is pretty important too, since you wear down your shit faster than you can say ''Makes you wish for a nuclear winter.''

 

[hermes]

Stealth and guns.
Nothing that can be solved with words can't be solved with a sniper rifle...

 

[Texas Joker 52]

That and repair, jury rigging is a perk I couldn't live without.

The correct answer in the thread shoulda been repair before all else! The face raping gun isnt gonna keep itself at 100%!

Exactly this. I always start a game by tagging Guns/Small Guns, Medicine, and Repair. That way, you have a combat skill tagged, then two skills for maintaining, one for maintaining your guns and armor, and one to maintain yourself. And whoever came up with the Jury-Rigging perk, ought to get a raise, because that perk is quite simply a must-have.

Though, I am surprised that people had yet to mention repair before the quoted posts. Is that because its essentially a given, or in New Vegas you can repair to 100% anyway, though not as effectively, or for as long?

 

[SlaveNumber23]

At least one weapon skill depending on your preference, small guns is probably the easiest choice, either lockpicking or science, and medicine.

 

[AnarchistFish]

I usually go for Medicine, Guns, Science and Speech.

Sneak, Energy Weapons and Lockpick too, but mostly those ones.

 

[veloper]

For FO1 energy weapon is the most important skill.

A plasma pistol can be found early on and from then on it only gets better. The rats before that point can be beaten with some minimal points in small arms. Later in the game nothing beats a turbo plasma rifle.
On a first playthrough you may want to tag small arms and energy both. Speech is secondary.

FO2 is similar, but you'll want to tag small arms instead of energy weapons, because they come much later and the difference in stopping power is smaller.

FO3 is all about repair. Indirectly increases weapon damage, armor, carrying capacity and money from sales.

 

[Fijiman]

Medicine is probably one of the most important skills to level up.(unless you like being dead half the time or using twenty stimpaks to heal half you health) Repair is another good one to have because it makes maintaining your weapons and armor loads easier and cheaper. Other than those two the third one is really up to the individual player.

 

[elvor0]

I'd say Speech, Medicine and guns are the most important skills to level up.

With a high speech you can bypass most things easily, skip some bits, and get out of tight situations.

Medicine lets stimpaks and stuff do more, always handy.

And guns let you shoot stuff better.

First time I've ever been ninja'd by the OP, well played Hollyman, well played.

If I had to pick 3 apart from the ones you mentioned I would say

Unarmed - Ballistic Fist owns in New Vegas, plus you do not know how fun it is to choose bloody mess as a trait, name your character Kenshiro and only use the leather jacket as armour in Fallout 2. That shit is cash

Lockpick - Because, hey Im a kleptomaniac, sue me

Science - Without a decent science skill, FISTO will never be activated and sent to work the corners of Freeside

Y'know if you get Big Empty for New Vegas there's a ballistic fist called Fist of the North Star

 

[bossfight1]

I always go with Lockpicking, Science, and either Repair, Speech or Small Guns. As I level up and get to the point where I start shooting at the Enclave, I migrate over to Energy Weapons and some Big Guns.

 

[jhoroz]

Speech-you can get yourself out of 90% of all the sticky situations that you're presented in the game through the sheer capability of a silver tongue.

 

[Wereduck]

Repair, Lockpicking and Guns. Go anywhere, get any loot and blow people's heads off with it. Plus, Hand Loader and Jury Rigging are awesome incarnate.

+1 this.
Then Speech, Medicine & Science when you get the chance.

 

[Xannidel]

For me it is normally always lockpick, speech and small guns.
Lockpicking generally gives you decent rewards without having to try and find the right key.
Speech for certain choices and also to help you out in tight spots.
Small guns because while I like some of the melee weapons, I can't play without a gun and vat's to shoot a head off.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Speech, Medicine, and Big Guns.

Seriously, if you haven't made a character who had 100 Big Guns skill, you are missing out. Things die so quickly to you Gatling Laser.

 

[SpareCarpet]

SPEECH!!!!

 

[Blazing Steel]

Small Guns first because they're the most common to find and ammo is easy to obtain. Next is Lockpick because you nothing sucks more than seeing a safe or ammo box and relizing you can't open it. Finally Repair since I chose combat over speech, so I need to keep my gear in decent condition. Once you've found a decent gun you're set for the game.