Best melee-crit-radchild build!!!!
If youre ever wanting to do a melee run, I dont think it can get stronger than this!! (This guide assumes that you at least have the DLCs Old World Blues and Lonesome Road!!!!!!!!)
This build I made wants to take advantage of the strongest (when properly invested in) melee weapon, Old Glory, and max out its crit chance and damage, while also having a very tanky character that gets constant healing with radchild
The ideal final gear you want is pretty flexible. Due to the high amount of healing you get from Radchild, you don't have to use heavy Power Armors and are allowed to use lighter armors and take advantage of their added benefits. I stan Power Armor and perfer to use it, but it isnt required for this build!!
Starting SPECIAL:
Strength - 5 (first perk take Intense Training for STR to get it to 6!!)
Perception - 5
Endurance - 7
Charisma - 1
Int - 7
Agility - 6
Luck - 9
Why this starting SPECIAL?: All of these special stats are chosen due to certain perks you will need, specifics explained later. The most confusing one is likely Strength being at 5, despite you needing a base of 9 in order to effectively wield Old Glory under max-benefit Radchild. I promise it will make sense after the explanations!!! Also you will want to take all of the implants apart from the Pheonix passive healing one (+1 HP every 10 seconds is terrible) and the Charisma one (oh wow i wonder why)
Helpful starting traits: Build to Destroy (+3 crit chance), Hot Blooded (+10% damage at 50% HP with minor downsides), Skilled (oh wow i wonder what this does)
Weapons: Early game you want Chance's Knife, later maybe Super Sledge/Oh Baby, but the end goal is ofc Old Glory
Head: Elite Riot Gear Helmet (6 DT) + 1st Recon Beret OR Space Suit Helmet (+5 crit with Beret, 4 DT with Space Suit Helmet)
-- All variants of the Riot Gear Helm were accidentally coded as goggles, meaning it can also be paired with a hat :)
Light Body (all get +5 crit chance and a heightened run speed with Light Touch and Travel Light respectively in addition to their usual effects): Ulysses Duster (+5 crit but only 13 DT), Reinforced Sierra Madre Armor (18 DT)
Non-light Body for tankier builds: Elite Riot Gear (22 DT and +5 crit chance), my personal favorite Scorched Sierra PA (25 DT, +1 STR, +2 healing per second), Enclave Remnants PA (+1 STR, 28 DT doesnt lie)
Required perks!: Radchild, Super Slam, Piercing Strike, Better Criticals + Finesse, Slayer, GRX Implant (2), Toughness (2), Chemist, Light Touch + Travel Light (light armor only!), the OWB perks (specifically Brainless, Heartless, and Reinforced Spine, all make you a lot tankier and stronger), Elijah's Ramblings
-- Big Brained would be better than Brainless but a coding error makes it nonfunctional :(
Good but not required perks!: Ninja, Purifier, Stonewall, Them's Good Eatin', Eye for an Eye
-- Ninja sounds broken, but a mistake in the code turns the +15 crit chance into a +1.15 crit chance, which is hardly noticable. Also... I don't have the patience to take advantage of that +25% sneak damage :(
ANSWERING POTENTIAL QUESTIONS!!
Q. You still haven't answered why strength is only at 5...
A. For one, your first main weapon will be Chance's Knife with only a 3 STR requirement. But also, there are many opportunities throughout the game to increase your strength its crazy! Initial perk should be Intense Training -> STR to get it to 6, Strength Implant offers +1, Power Armor (if you use it) can give you +1 or +2 if you need to temporarily use T-45 to raise your strength, the end of Lonesome Road (where you also get Old Glory, Ulysses Duster, E. Riot Gear + Helm, Scorched Sierra PA, and more!) grants you +1 to any special stat, and then Spineless and Reinforced Spine from OWB give +1 or +2 STR respectively. By the time you get your hands on Old Glory, I'd be surprised if your STR isn't at 9!
Q. What if... I wanted to be even tankier?
A. If you wanted to get a DT so high nothing can even damage you, I have a very nonconventional and unnecessary solution! If you have the GRA DLC, save up to get the unique Fat Man Variant: Esther. While equipped, it gives you 10 DT! So, this combined with all of the DT-granting perks, the 5% DT boost from Brainless and the armor combination with the highest DT (Enclave PA, E. Riot Gear Helm, Space Suit Helmet), you will theoretically have ~66 DT, and this isn't considering certain companion perks that can boost DT even further. This can help when approaching enemies that have ranged attacks and then switching over to Old Glory when you get close, the perk Quickdraw makes this more effective.
Q. What armor combos do you think are most optimal?
A. It pains me to say that Scorched Sierra PA isn't a consideration, but E. Riot Gear Helm + 1st Beret and then either Elite Riot Gear (total of +10 crit chance and 27 DT), Remnants PA (total of +5 crit chance and 34 DT), or Ulysses Duster (total of +15 crit chance w/ Light Touch, 19 DT, and super high run speed w/ Travel Light)
If there are any errors, criticisms, or feedback let me know and I will edit my guide or answer any questions!