New Vegas: Does DLC order matter?

[bluepotatosack]

Semi off-topic but this is the newest New Vegas thread so...

Has anybody checked out Project Brazil yet? It's basically like a fan-made standalone DLC. It tells an entirely new story. Fully voiced, huge new map, new radio stations, plenty of sidequests (up to what I've played at least). I basically just got past the prologue, or one of the two anyway, and I'm impressed so far.

Link: http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/45138/?

 

[Lil_Rimmy]

I'd say Honest Hearts first, personally I hated that DLC. The only good thing I liked about it was the fucking BEAR PAW weapon I got. But other wise it's just basically a bunch of tribes fighting. It really has terrible loot, especially for later game players. No to mention that I accidentally shot one guy running at me, you know, cause I was being attacked by 12 guys and thought he was with them. Then the entire canyon hated me and the only quest I had was to steal a map and then leave... I ended up slaughtering EVERYTHING in the canyon and then just leaving. Very confused.

Anyway, next I'd say Old World Blues. Simple, keep the best 'till last, and believe me, you'll need ALL of the levels in Dead Money. Just make sure to get the best weapons possible for Old World Blues, the enemies are bullet sponges. And the dog machine gun. My god, that gun was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Next would be Dead Money, I think my favourite DLC. It is pretty much a draw with Lonesome Road though. Anyway, Dead Money is honestly the best DLC for a game I think I have ever found. It takes the game back to it's roots. You have to survive in a very hostile environment, and believe me, it is one of the most atmospheric and fun DLCs. Also, pants shitting terrifying.

And lastly, Lonesome Road. You could not hope for a more epic ending DLC. It really is a great ending to everything, as it wraps up all of your past and lingering plotlines.

But make sure to make the right choice. That ending. It's gray. So gray.

 

[Agayek]

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!

To be honest, it really doesn't matter. There's no true overarching storyline between them, just mention of the main villain in Lonesome Road in the others. Personally, I'd recommend starting with Honest Hearts and finishing with Lonesome Road, but you won't be missing anything by going in any different order.

The only thing I'd really have to say about the DLC is that Dead Money is fucking atrocious. It's phenomenally well written, but the gameplay is so ludicrously bad, with such fun things as invincible enemies, nearly unavoidable insta-death traps, and the complete lack of all of your weapons and gear. I played it once and refuse to touch it ever again. You might like it if you happen to be a fan of horror games and the like, but I'm not and I can't stand it.

 

[Madman123456]

There are a few hints to where the "other courier" was going. But the DLCs concentrate mostly on themselves; when you're playing dead money, you're playing dead money and do very little of uncovering the backstory of your character.

If you play all the DLCs, you'll get the whole picture and even if you don't, you can fill in most blanks yourself. Actually, for the sake of the overall atmosphere it would be good if you skipped dead money and maybe even honest hearts.

Some of the stuff that happens doesn't make all that much sense and may catapult you out of the experience.


"Old world blues" has one mention that after the situation in this dlc is sorted out, the courier has only one more road to travel, which refers to the last bit of DLC.
But nothing will happen if you play another DLC first. Indeed, the order in which to play matters very little, you get a radio broadcast and a quest in which to investigate what's up with that broadcast. Two of those broadcasts are automated, only the honest hearts broadcast has someone calling you to him and they are ready to go. So i'd play that first.

Gameplay wise it doesn't matter, they will wait for all eternity like the automated broadcasts.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Perhaps, but it boils down to personal preference.

Honest Hearts= survival adventure(protip: STOCK UP ON STIMPAKS, AT LEAST 50)-this is where the hardcore mode shines, as resources are scarce and you have to make do with the local flora for nutrition, hydration and medicine.

Old World Blues= sci-fi romp (designed mainly for energy weapons users)-arguably the most "lulz" of all the DLCs; it goes for a trashy "B movie" feel, so if you're into that, you will enjoy it a lot, but I personally found it a bit dreary because of my gaming OCD(I HAVE TO FINISH EVERY SIDEQUEST).

Dead Money= more survival horror-y in the sense that you have to be cautious constantly(only played it once, so I am still a bit unsure towards it).

Lonesome Road= objectively the best DLC pack for New Vegas; it ties back to your character's backstory, directly affects the fate of new vegas, THE HARDEST BOSS FIGHT OF NV(seriously, if you like a challenge, this is a must play-through)a crap-ton of cool loot and a setting that actually feels post-apocalyptic; the buildings are crumbling around you, everything has collapsed, etc. Also Ulysees himself is one of the most interesting character's that I met throughout the Mojave.

Personally, I went for= Honest Hearts>>Dead Money>>Old World Blues>>Lonesome Road(as a "final journey"-type thing)

 

[ItsNotRudy]

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)

I thought Dead Money was more enjoyable, the only time I truly got the feeling the game was a survival game and choices had an immediate impact.

 

[Artemicion]

Dead Money > Old World Blues > Lonesome Road > Honest Hearts, if you get around to it. This is how you are supposed to learn about Ulysses.

Alternately:

Old World Blues > Dead Money > Lonesome Road > Honest Hearts. This path follows Ulysses, and doing OWB first can make some of the events in Dead Money make more sense.

Don't listen to people who say the order doesn't matter because it most definitely does. The order you play them in can shape your perspective and understanding of events that occur throughout the DLCs.

 

[Vale]

Lonesome Road feels more like and ending to New Vegas than the actual ending itself.
I suggest doing Old World Blues first, as it has the majority of the setup for characters from Dead Money and Lonesome Road. Then Dead money, Honest Hearts, and absolutely Lonesome Road last. You'll get the most out of the story in this order.

 

[Joe McGahan]

I'd say Honest Hearts first, I accidentally shot one guy running at me, you know, cause I was being attacked by 12 guys and thought he was with them. Then the entire canyon hated me and the only quest I had was to steal a map and then leave... I ended up slaughtering EVERYTHING in the canyon and then just leaving. Very confused.

^This

Be very careful who you shoot in the first 5 minutes of Honest Hearts. I spent a couple of confusing, frustrating hours exploring a canyon in which everyone hated me, then left. DLC completed.

Also if you have a mod that turns off hp gains from food, turn that off when going into Dead Money.

These are the lessons I learned the hard way. Also, Old World blues is my favorite official DLC ever.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Semi off-topic but this is the newest New Vegas thread so...

Has anybody checked out Project Brazil yet? It's basically like a fan-made standalone DLC. It tells an entirely new story. Fully voiced, huge new map, new radio stations, plenty of sidequests (up to what I've played at least). I basically just got past the prologue, or one of the two anyway, and I'm impressed so far.

Link: http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/45138/?

It's a fantastic mod, quite possibly the best quest mod I've ever played. Can't wait to see what they do with the rest of the outside area, had a quick wander around it and it's gigantic.

If you have a PC and New Vegas you need to try Project Brazil. Really.

 

[Giyguy]

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!

since Dead Money and Old World Blues foreshadow Lonesome Road quite a bit, generally I do DM first, OWB second and LR last.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

I would say play them in the order they were released.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

There's no need to do them in any specefic order. It's a matter of preferrence, really. What's important is you have fun.

I tend to go Honest Hearts, OWB as I feel it leads up to Dead Money than vice versa, then Dead Money, then Lonesome Road.

Old World Blues sorta gives back story into Dead Money, and Dead Money mentions Old World Blues, but there's not much more connection beyond that.

Honest Hearts feels like a true side story to me. It doesn't tie into other DLC at all AFAIK.

Lonesome Road feels like it should've been the DLC that extends Fallout New Vegas beyond it's ending. It's not really that out of place though, but it certainly felt like closure to me.
It doesn't really tie into other DLC AFAIK.

I think ther was some rule in mind that the DLC can't depend on eachother too much.

 

[Souplex]

I recommend doing it in the following order:
1. Old World Blues.
2. Dead Money. (It's set up in Old World Blues)
3. Honest Hearts. (It along with Old World Blues serve to set up Lonesome Road)
4. Lonesome Road. (It's meant to tie all the others together and be an endgame challenge.)

 

[Iron Gix]

old world blues as soon as you can,imo

 

[DRTJR]

I found that Lonesome Road, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, then Dead money is great, especial if your character is more the smooth talker/sniper type character. All of the mentions of Ulysses are call backs and all of the call backs to Father Elijah become foreshadowing.

 

[AT God]

I just replayed through them and while none are important, each one does reference the next, so if you want the "plot," play Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, then Lonesome Road.

Lonesome Road is the most important to play last plot-wise since it sets up the finale for the 2nd Invasion of the Hoover Dam in the main storyline but again its not that important.

I don't think anything is mentioned in Honest Hearts except they might reference the Lonesome Road during the ending slides of HH, other then that Honest Hearts is basically non-canon.

 

[SoranMBane]

The only one that matters is Lonesome Road, which should absolutely be played last. As for the other three, it doesn't really matter, although I personally feel someone would get the experience by going in order of Honest Hearts, Dead Money, and then Old World Blues, because each of those brings you into the larger plot involving Ulysses and the Divide a lot more deeply than the last. I also think it's best to play Honest Hearts first just because it's easier and more relaxed than the other three, so it's a good way to ease into the DLC.

 

[absulute]

This thread inspired me to boot up Dead Money again and boy, I forgot how much I HATE it.

EDIT: I should add that I LOVE New Vegas in general, it's just this damn DLC.

 

[GabeZhul]

I incidentally just finished Dead Money yesterday on my new character, and even though I loved it, I have to admit that it has some ridiculous difficulty-spikes, especially for a non-sneaky character build. Even worse, the DLC do have some REALLY annoying parts to it, like the goddamn loud-speakers that make your head explode, or the hologram-guards that can take you down in three or four lucky shots (and the only way you can get rid of some of those guys is by finding their tiny little emitters hidden on the map). So yeah, that DLC was a little rough around the edges, but otherwise it was pretty damn well written and a different experience from the rest of the game, so I am not complaining that much.