For those who prefer to get up close and personal, the melee/unarmed brawler is a satisfying and surprisingly powerful build. It requires careful positioning and good armor, but can dish out incredible damage.
Key Attributes:
- Strength (ST): 8-10 (For damage and carrying capacity)
- Agility (AG): 9-10 (For Action Points and Armor Class)
- Endurance (EN): 7-9 (For Hit Points and resistances)
- Intelligence (IN): 6-8 (For skill points and dialogue)
Essential Skills:
- Unarmed/Melee Weapons (Tag): Your primary combat skill. Choose one and stick with it. Unarmed is generally stronger late-game.
- Doctor/First Aid: For self-healing in combat.
- Speech/Lockpick: For utility.
Recommended Traits:
- Gifted: Always a strong choice.
- Bruiser: +2 ST, but -2 AG. Can be good if you plan to compensate AG with perks. Otherwise, consider Heavy Handed for more damage at the cost of criticals.
Key Perks:
- Bonus HtH Attacks: Essential for extra attacks.
- Slayer: (High Unarmed/Melee) Makes all unarmed/melee attacks critical hits.
- Action Boy/Girl (x2): More AP for more attacks.
- Living Anatomy: +5% damage to living targets and displays HP.
This build excels at single-target damage and can be very tanky. Invest in good armor as soon as possible, and don't be afraid to close the distance with enemies.