New Vegas: Does DLC order matter?

[thetoddo]

Hi all,

I played FNV when it first came out and enjoyed it, bugs and all. Now we're a ways out from launch and Steam had a deal on the PC version with all the DLC that I grabbed.
First off I like that it's a lot more stable than it used to be, so props to them for that, but as I approach the end of the vanilla content I have to wonder if it matters what order I do the DLC in.

The reason I ask is because in another thread here a couple of people mentioned that there is a villain who recurs throughout the DLC packs and if this is the case I just needed to know if there is an order I should do them in or if I misread that there was an ongoing story through the DLC.

Thanks!

 

[Supernova1138]

It doesn't really matter which order you do the DLC in. The main villain of Lonesome Road, which was released last, does get mentioned here and there in the other DLCs, hinting at stuff that will happen in Lonesome Road. Aside from that, there really is no running story arc between all the DLCs,and you can do them in whatever order you choose.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Except for Lonesome Road which definitely should be played last, the rest can be played in pretty much any order as the they all provide story pieces on and foreshadowing towards the events of Lonesome road.

Though I would say if it's your first time playing the dlc I'd suggest playing Dead Money before Old World Blues mainly because some story elements cross over those two dlcs and in my opinion these elements make more sense if Dead Money is played before Old World Blues.

 

[Legion]

There isn't a major difference, but I do think there is a good order for it. Namely Honest Hearts, Dead Money, Old World Blues and then Lonesome Road.

The reason is because Honest Hearts seems like the most likely to start with due to the premise being a simple caravan job. It's the kind of thing you are likely to do when short on money, and generally speaking, money isn't a problem for people later in the game.

Dead Money is next because it makes a reference to Old World Blues, and it seems like it works better with the place being hinted at before you have actually been there. Especially as it is mentioned almost like a rumour, and the main antagonist of Dead Money was in OWB's location, as well as another character.

Then Old World Blues, as it slowly pieces the story together. It is like a revelation of what was hinted at in DM, and it also has a bit of foreshadowing for Lonesome Road.

Lonesome Road feels like the finale out of all of them, as the stories of the ones before do seem to lead up to it. Even the way the quest starts feels like it's the end in a manner of speaking.

You can quite happily play them in any order, and you won't find them ruined by doing it another way, but I feel the above gives the best experience personally.

 

[triggrhappy94]

You don't have to, but there's a plot that goes across all of them.
It's not important and only kind of leads into Lonesome Road.

 

[ChampionMan]

Just make sure that you play Lonesome Road as the last one, the order of the others doesn't matter.

A lot of things in Lonesome road base themselves on your past progress, so jumping in too early can make the overall story less enjoyable.

That being said, make sure to play Old World Blues, as that was definitely the best of the bunch.

 

[Aeshi]

Do Old World Blues first, because the enemies in there tend to scale very fast with level and if you do it at higher levels they can be damn near un-killable (made all the more blatant by how difficult it can be to get ammo in OWB)

 

[Altorin]

not for any real gameplay reasons, but it might be an idea to do them basically in release order, if only so the references are delivered in the original order - the Father Elijah and Ulysses narrative flows through all off them (although I haven't played honest hearts), but there's no specific story reason why one NEEDS to be done before another, all the references refer to times before the player enters the situation, so there are no real continuity errors that I know of.

 

[thetoddo]

Thank you all for the insight. I really appreciate it. Looks like release order it is! Which makes sense anyhow.

BTW, did anyone else get the Gun Runner Pack? I'm finding that it really messes up game balance in the early game having access to fully repaired top tier weapons and mods. It's not a huge gripe because I, y'know, can just not buy them. It was just a little shocking that a DLC pack would give you such an easy button outside of a custom mod. Alternately, it will allow me to turn the difficulty to it's highest setting for when I start over for a Hardcore run (I never did it when I played the launch version) and mitigate the combat challenge while keeping the other aspects of Hardcore intact.

 

[Kingjackl]

Thank you all for the insight. I really appreciate it. Looks like release order it is! Which makes sense anyhow.

BTW, did anyone else get the Gun Runner Pack? I'm finding that it really messes up game balance in the early game having access to fully repaired top tier weapons and mods. It's not a huge gripe because I, y'know, can just not buy them. It was just a little shocking that a DLC pack would give you such an easy button outside of a custom mod. Alternately, it will allow me to turn the difficulty to it's highest setting for when I start over for a Hardcore run (I never did it when I played the launch version) and mitigate the combat challenge while keeping the other aspects of Hardcore intact.

Not as bad as the 'Courier's Stash' DLC that gives you a whole bunch of unique early game weapons and equipment right off the bat. Literally as you wake up in Doc Mitchell's office, you get a pop-up telling you each one has been installed. It's a bit of an immersion breaker, not that New Vegas was ever particularly good at that.

Regarding DLC order, order of release works best: Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, Lonesome Road. Possibly reverse the first two if you like, since Dead Money is a bit more challenging than Honest Hearts. Plus, you'd pretty much be playing them all in order of quality that way(though OWB is better than LR in certain respects).

 

[Requia]

Thank you all for the insight. I really appreciate it. Looks like release order it is! Which makes sense anyhow.

BTW, did anyone else get the Gun Runner Pack? I'm finding that it really messes up game balance in the early game having access to fully repaired top tier weapons and mods. It's not a huge gripe because I, y'know, can just not buy them. It was just a little shocking that a DLC pack would give you such an easy button outside of a custom mod. Alternately, it will allow me to turn the difficulty to it's highest setting for when I start over for a Hardcore run (I never did it when I played the launch version) and mitigate the combat challenge while keeping the other aspects of Hardcore intact.

I didn't really find this with GRA, you have to have a fairly insane amount of money for the unique gear, and the more reasonably priced stuff won't actually show up until later levels.

 

[thetoddo]

I'm a such a thief in the Fallout games that I'll usually end up with all of a vendor's caps by selling him his neighbor's and his own possessions. By the time I was done with Goodsprings (after the powder ganger fight) I had managed to sell enough loot to purchase the GR Laser Pistol and the damage upgrade for it with a few caps in my pocket to spare, which then led to Primm being too easy as my weapon was too good for my level. Granted, I'm really anal about making sure I've cleaned out an area so I might not be having a typical experience,

 

[Tom_green_day]

I'd recommend you do.
1) Enemies and loot level, so playing the last DLC first will give you really hard enemies.
2) In each DLC there are references to previous DLCs and future ones, so if you play one of them last it could refer to something you've already done, being in the future for your character and screwing things up.
3) The first DLC, Dead Money, really sucks so playing it first will make all other DLCs seem awesome in comparison. Lonesome Road is the natural conclusion to the DLCs, as you can look at them as a spin-off series to the main game. HH and OWB can be playing in any order I think.

 

[loc978]

Good advice so far here. Honest Hearts -> Dead Money -> Old World Blues -> Lonesome Road is the order I would recommend, for reasons already discussed (and also because playing through Honest Hearts gives you easy access to the best limb healing item in the game, screw toting around doctor's bags or getting addicted to hydra. Healing poultices are the way to go). Try to finish all of the DLC before you hit level 40. That's the level where they scale ridiculously (or choose the Logan's Loophole trait on character creation, maxing at level 30 keeps everything reasonable).

Also, for your hardcore playthrough, might I recommend a mod [http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/40040//?] or two [http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/37960/?] (both of which require this [http://nvse.silverlock.org/])?

Spoiler: captcha

captchasolve- started out with an ad that said "get the ultimate combination of freshness and whiteness with" so I hit reload (which I always do on those multiple choice advertisement ones), and it gave me "extra cheese"

So remember, kids: "get the ultimate combination of freshness and whiteness with extra cheese"

 

[GloatingSwine]

Good advice so far here. Honest Hearts -> Dead Money -> Old World Blues -> Lonesome Road is the order I would recommend, for reasons already discussed

\

This is the intended order.

In fact, the reccomended minimum level for the DLCs is 15 for Honest Hearts, 20 for Dead Money, 25 for Old World Blues, and 30 for Lonesome Road.

Also, play on hardcore especially in Dead Money.

And remember to break the bank at the Sierra Madre and cash out, 12000 in Pre-War money will go a long ass way.

 

[bluepotatosack]

Just for the record, I strongly disagree with the Dead Money hatred. I thought it was by far the most engaging offering. Easily has the best plot and characters. The companions in the DLC were phenomenal. Using energy weapons does make it a hell of a lot easier, though.

 

[Animyr]

There isn't a major difference, but I do think there is a good order for it. Namely Honest Hearts, Dead Money, Old World Blues and then Lonesome Road.

That was the order I played them in, and overall I think it worked out great both in story and in difficulty terms. While Lonesome road is obviously supposed to be the finale and there are a bunch of hints in the other DLCs leading up to it, if you do play LR first then those foreshadowing bits become nice little continuity nods instead. Same for the events of the other DLCs, though LR is the most obvious example. But as they are ultimately self-contained stories, again it's very flexible.

But whatever you do, I wouldn't play OWB first; it's probably the hardest overall, with LR being second.

3) The first DLC, Dead Money, really sucks so playing it first will make all other DLCs seem awesome in comparison.

I must emphatically disagree with you on that. Sure the gameplay was annoying, but the story in Dead money was, IMO, by far the best not only out of the DLCs, but one of the best storylines in the game as a whole. Actually, I won't stop there; it's one of my favorite game stories, period. With that in mind, I was disappointed that Lonesome Road in particular. It was even more story driven, but didn't live up to Dead Money's promise. I'd actually say that Honest Hearts is a good thing to play first to lower your expectations storywise; it's writing is pretty standard and low key.

Edit: Misquote fixed

 

[Animyr]

Just for the record, I strongly disagree with the Dead Money hatred. I thought it was by far the most engaging offering. Easily has the best plot and characters. The companions in the DLC were phenomenal.

Indeed. I went into it with low expectations and left it deeply impressed. It was a very pleasant surprise. The best part was that I actually felt my character's personality and attitude changing, on their own accord, as a result of the events of the story. It just flowed so naturally from the writing, in a way I've never really seen ( or felt, rather) in an RPG before.

I would actually love to see a game (fallout or otherwise) that has a ton of content like any open world game, but rather then being spread out it would instead be parsed into episodes, albiet large 5-6 hour ones, that each have distinct (though linked) stories, characters, settings, gameplay quirks and atmospheres.