Every VATS System Ranked! 

I like to imagine that V.A.T.S in 76 is how it would work in a lore standpoint, after all its an Assisted Targeting System not a time pausing power.

Yeah I remember that magical moment where I realized that vats shows landmines...total game changer lol

In Fallout 4 Gun Fu is a V.A.T.S. perk and doesn't give you random criticals. Rank 3 effect is: In V.A.T.S. you instantly do a Critical Hit against your fourth target and beyond.

Actually there are a lot of Fallout 76 players who use VATS. i'll argue the overwhelming majority of commando builds use VATS to aim at the head on each enemy quickly and utilize the damage bonuses. And as you can see from playing, thats one of the most common builds. Im willing to go on out a limb and say nearly everyone you see with a Fixer is using VATS

To answer your question about V.A.T.S. out of combat in 2.0, it facilitates the V.A.N.S perk, displaying a line to follow when in the V.A.T.S screen.

That .1% where you do want to target your active companion is when your active companion is Preston Garvey.

Fun fact: in Fallout 76, you can use overdrive to gain a temporary 25% critical chance

VATS 2.0 being usable without a target is probably due to the implementation of the VANS perk (which adds an effect that creates a trail on the ground leading to your current objective whenever you trigger VATS, sort of like Skyrim's Clairvoyance spell). If you weren't able to activate VATS without a target, VANS would be _exceedingly_ annoying to use (in addition to it already being a bit pointless given your compass markers and map).

I think VATS 2.0 should have a perk attached to it that allows you to slow down time even further.

The most useful feature of V.A.T.S has always been "is there any enemy in my line of sight, where are they?" Sweeping the horizon for hard to see creatures or to quickly face towards an enemy so you can line up your shot after canceling.

76's VATS is quite different from other systems since it's an online game, but honestly the high speed nature in some ways fits the 3D fallout experience better, since unlike the isometric games, nothing in 3D fallout is turn based. The more traditional VATS system puts the combat on hold, which interrupts the experience. On the other hand, I can see an argument for a more traditional experience to preserve the original fallout feel, straight from the isometric era. Not every game has to evolve into a CoD clone

In Fallout 4 the first rank of V.A.N.S. needs V.A.T.S. to work, that perk benefits from V.A.T.S. working outside of combat.

You can enter VATS in fallout 4 without an enemy because it works with the VANS perk that shows you the path to your next objective

We've all thought about it but here it is. As fallout fans we all have our favorite

Fallout 76 has the most realistic vats system besides the turn based combat where it was easily waved aside as gameplay mechanics. Fallout 3,4, and NV are the favorites but the gunplay of 76 and fallout 4 is so much better than the previous Bethesda titles.

There is a perk in Fallout 76 called Gun-Fu which automatically switches to the next target once your first target in VATS is killed. It’s similar to the Concentrated Fire perk that allows you to target individual limbs and gives extra percent chance to hit with every attack on the same limb

Not many F76 players use VATS? Dude, we're spamming the hell out of it. Only guys in PA with minigun/gat. plasma avoid it, because it drains AP too fast. Oh, forgot to add about fast shot trait in classic games. So, it takes away your ability to do aimed shots, but later in the game you can get Sniper perk which changes critical calculation to 1 point of Luck = 10% chance. What does it give us? 10 Agility +10 Luck + 2*Action Boy + Fast Shot + Bonus Rate of Fire + Better Criticals + Gauss pistol/.44 revolver = 6 critical shots per turn with enhanced effects by Better Crititcals. Enclave patrol? Half of them will be dead on the first turn, others will die on the second. Do you want to paint oil rig to a colorful red? You can make it happen. Even Horrigan's going to tremble in fear. Any wasteland creature is good as dead upon seeing you. Fallout 1 and 2 are amazing at making player character into a killing machine, if you put some thought into it.

i love how a "short cermon" is 40 minutes lmao Great Video as always!

It is possible to maintain vats after eliminating a target in Fallout 76 with the Gun Fu perk. Great video with some really good ideas.

V.A.T.S. in FO76 is very much popular. Get yourself rifle, shotgun, or plasma caster with the AP on kill 2-star effect, and load up Concentrated Fire, Gun Fu, Better Criticals, Critical Savvy, Grim Reaper's Sprint, and whichever other combination of AP and critical perks you want, and you'll quickly see why. It quickly turns into the same effect as earlier renditions of V.A.T.S., where you clear an encounter with 15 successive headshots in the span of 3 seconds. It just happens in real-time instead of bullet time.

apart from personal preference, in universe wise vats 3.0 is actually the most accurate and lore friendly. not saying it is the best one, just saying thats how it would actually be for the user

In Fallout 4, having the ability to activate V.A.T.S. outside of combat is useful for two reasons: the V.A.N.S. perk only works in V.A.T.S.; secondly, and probably the common use of V.A.T.S. outside of combat, is to check to see whether you have a Critical that is ready to be used.

You are literally the most reasonable dude ever. No blind hate for the new games, no unnecessary gushing for the old ones, and well-thought-out and logical reasoning for all of your points. I think i’ll sub.

I actually fairly enjoy VATS 3.0. While I agree with a lot of your crits on it, there are something things I’d like to point out. First of all Vats 3.0 can switch targets after the first enemy it dead. You just need a rank of Gun-Fu to do it. Two, the concentrated fire perk also makes VATS 3.0 pretty viable, particularly with semi auto rifles. With all the perks the game offers, I think the system can be tuned to one’s use more than ever, but is pretty useless without perks imo.

The gun fu perk in 76. It swaps targets on kill so you don't need to keep entering it after a kill so you won't be in and out of it all time It also says when you use vats in 76 target at the bottom which allows you to switch between targets in vats. Its even on your vid it says target and you use the keys Z and C to switch. So the criticism you give the vats systems in 76 isn't all deserved really coz of your own inability.

31:13 I love how RadKing casually forgor his own VATS numbering and wrote "VATS 4.0"

You can get crits outside of VATS in 76, but it's only on headshots afaik. When the damage numbers are yellow, that's a crit.

I know this may seem random, but I would absolutely love to see you do a lets play/roleplay style series on one of the Fallout games as a child of atom. They don't get nearly enough love and your fallout content is some of the best on RU-vid. A match made in heaven lmao

I have to say I kinda think VATS 3.0 tying to its own builds rather than being a general tool is kinda cool. Of course it is available to everyone but I enjoy the specification available in 76. Also I would really like to know your source for that VATS builds being a small minority. In game It’s either you are a heavy user that doesn’t use VATS (since heavy weapons are coded to do worse in VATS) or you go without power armor and go heavily into crits and vats. I would think VATS builds are still a minority but much more of a 55/45 than say a 70/30.

For fallout 76 the perk card gun fu allows you to swap targets after a kill and does bonus damage to the next target

I think FO4 let's you go in to V.A.T.S. any time because of how V.A.N.S functions only when V.A.T.S. it's active.

I don't know if anyone else has commented this but the reason you can activate VATS in fallout 4 without any enemies around is so you can use the VANS perk which lights up a direct path to whatever quest objective your going to while in VATS. but vans itself is kinda useless so it's easy to forget it exists

One of the best no aim builds in Fallout 2 is getting the trait: Fast Shot and pair it with perks like Bonus rate of fire, Action Boy and Quick pockets, give yourself high or max agility and some perception, grab 2 P90's dual wield them (one in each hand). What basically happens is you'll be able to unload both clips and go into your inventory and fully reload them ready for the next round, you are literally a storm of bullets close range and all you need to do is use the corner peep trick most of the time and you'll be dealing with everything but enclave and death claws 😁

bro pls dont hate me but 76 has by far my favorite vats, i hope they implement it into every future game as an option at least. it doesnt break gameflow

In FO 76 there is perk that will shift VATS to the next available target if there is still AP available. There are also perks that help greatly with crits.

There are very few areas pertaining to combat where Fallout 4 doesn’t come out on top. It really was and is still a fantastic game

The reason you can use vats without any enemy is because of the V.A.N.S perk that shows a path to your marked objective (similar to skyrim clairvoyance).

You can stay on vats after you kill one target on fallout 76 with perks

Maybe VATS works without the Pipboy in 4, because you're still in a Vault Tech facility, which is clearly running in some kind of emergency mode. So the targeting assistance could be coming from the Vault itself

forty minute RadKing video this fine Sunday morning thank you Atom !!!!

The best part of the original aiming system to me was that you could target body parts and had the possibility to cripple them. Shooting a deathclaw in the leg and crippling it saved my ass on many an occasion. It seems impossible in F4. After you get past, say level 5, critical hits on body parts either kill or just do a ton of damage. I've even tried using weaker weapons, to no avail. I like being able to target body parts when I'm in a big fight.

"Short sermon" 40min video. Ah rad king and THAT is why I keep coming back to your videos

I use VATS in 76 because I got a really good Handmade with the best stock and barrel with a muzzle brake. I rolled a two star random legendary and got Ruthlessness and an increase to VATS accuracy with each successful hit, I already had concentrated fire maxed so… I just destroy everything. i do need a lot of 5.56 ammo though…

gotta say, 76 vats was pretty genius to get around the live aspect of the game.

I was literally minging to watch a Radking video and this banger has dropped

Having played 76 5 I can say there are a decent number of people who use vats, mainly commando builds, however I know alot of people use a heavy gunner build, where vats is alot less useful, due to the high ap cost they have

Maybe the reason why we have V.A.T.S in fallout 4 before the pipboy is probably a Experiment by Vault-Tec While We are in Cryogenic Sleep during the beginning of the game, and that's why when we wake-up we can use V.A.T.S to defend ourselves from threats before the pipboy is grabbed.Thanks for the Video! -AvaMeme129

Really good work have done here. By the way, v.a.t.s. didn't exist before Bethesda's F3 with pre-installed teleportation, time stop and damage resistance increasing up to 90%. Pretty sick technology for lamp computer if you ask me.

Vats in fallout 4 vr is my favorite. If you haven’t gotten to try it, it’s incredible

Your vids just keep getting better and better

Finally a 40 minute 5 item tier list!

So, one thing I like about fallout 4s vats system is that you can get infinite access to vats, but it requires a lot of setup and perks to do so which makes it much more rewarding when you actually achieve it.

The wireframe image in aimed shot reminded me of that scene in T2 when the Arnie terminator scans the biker in the begining.

The one thing I like about VATS in 76 is how it makes Automatic weapons go absolute ham. It doesn't feel the same when in fallout 3, NV, or 4 where each shot in VATS is just a burst shot.

Going into V.A.T.S. with no enemies around is there because of the V.A.N.S perk (a.k.a. clairvoyance spell from skyrim) which shows you the route to your current target.

the vats in fo4 gave you the VANS perk, so you could hold the button down and your pipboy would show you the route. thats why they have the dry vats view with no targets

37:57 the main utility of that comes with a perk that shows you the best path to take. It's extremely helpful when in Power Armor and an objective is not on the same level as you or you're just lost.

V.A.T.S 1.0 is essentially a pause button with extra steps, I love it!

Having used what is essentially a VATS only build in F.O 76, I have to say. I prefer it *so* much more than previous versions of VATS, it really doesn’t contain nearly any of the draw backs you listed. And it doesn’t have the pace drop to a snails pace instantly, the high energy and momentum of the gameplay is carried through 76s VATS

VATS 1.0 does not indicate how much damage it will do on the enemy. The indication that you’re pointing out is the amount of AP that each shot is using, not the damage being done.

37:57 When you hold the vats button in Fallout 4, it scans the target in 360 degrees. Very useful if you want to clear an area or if you feel like a feral ghoul sneaking behind you.

A lot, I'd even say majority of, 76 players run VATS build. People who don't are either running big gun build and/or simply don't care about meta.

In Fallout 1 and 2, melee builds disable the vats because of ap gain. thats the point of not working on melee, brawler build can punch 10x in a turn.

Honestly i think fallout 3 has the best vats in terms of cinematics, and having special critical animations for melee weapons, new vegas removed them for some reason, i know fallout 4 added perks that improve the actual system but fallout 3 just has that cool factor that even new vegas changed

VATS in 76 just not for automatic heavy guns cos of AP consumption. But another weapons are just fine. And FYI 76 got many perk card to help for using VATS, such as chance to refill AP when you kill enemy in VATS or auto search for next target when you kill current target in VATS.

I watched 4 times over already I love it

5:18 Oh-ho!! VERY nice use of the car!! That's the first time that I've ever seen an assaultron get thrown! That was awesome! Great review of the different VATS systems, too. I've only played 4, so I hadn't known what the other games were like for it.

There's a perk that makes you be able to see the path to a quest in VATS, just like the skyrim spell, that's why you can enter VATS by holding Q even if there's no one arround

39:29 can we just take a second to enjoy that amazing grenade throw?

I think you hit the nail on the head for Fallout 76. I believe for a melee build, Real time V.A.T.S as seen Fallout 76 is the best. The recalculating hit chance as you run at an enemy allows you to instantly teleport to the target as soon as you're within range, minimising time in the fire and maximising damage per second. This synergises well with Vampuric legendary effects and allows me continuously bulletsponge with my unarmed melee build. I can see how the V.A.T.S for rifles in Fallout 76 is inferior though.

Essentially, fallout 76's vats system is a realistic take on what vats would do irl. It wouldn't slow down time in real life, it'd just target specific points.

In 76 a perk called “Gun-Fu” will automatically lock onto another enemy after killing one in V.A.T.S

@37:57 I don't know if someone mentioned this or not. In Fallout 4 there is a perk (VANS Intelligence 1) that will do a path-finding thing in VATS. That is why you can enter VATS outside of combat. Also, with Nuka-World there is a second Rank that adds +2 to Perception.

SPOILER ALERT; Fallout 4 With over 300 comments to sort through this may have been listed already, however… Fallout 4’s Sole Survivor’s ability to use VATS BEFORE obtaining the PIPBoy is due to him being a Synth. The full game/DLC lore is provided in a terminal in The Institute.

"short sermon" and its 40 minutes long and im all here for it

Fo 4 and 76 have the best vats. It's more dynamic than the paused vats in fo3.

The reason you auto hit enemies in VATS3.0 is because you need to toggle the settings to have no auto aim. If Auto aim is on your bullets connect to your target regardless of where your muzzle is.

one thing for V.A.T.S. in fallout 4, is the perk V.A.N.S. (Vault Tec Assisted Navigation System) which will tell you how to get to the the marked objective on the map. that explains a use for entering V.A.T.S. with no enemies present, as well as another use for it other than just attacking. V.A.N.S. is helpful in "dungeons" but out in the commonwealth its pretty useless and kinda just takes me on slower paths than I would normally take.

The concentrated fire perk allows the targeting of limbs in 76, there’s another perk that allows you to switch between targets too

Being able to use V.A.T.S. before getting the pip-boy in Fallout 4 was supposed to go alongside a terminal in the institute talking about synths that could slow time and chances to hit enemies. I believe it was there to make the player question if they're actually a synth, especially alongside the DLC.

Love your videos! Keep up the great work.

RadKing at 6:20 am!? Oh yesssss, I don't need sleep

Holy macky Christmas, all the playthroughs of 4 and I never knew you could use VATS to tank a suicider! They're the one enemy that've kept me from doing a melee build in that game (I'm not a heavy VATS user).

FO4 VATS not stopping time is extra helpful as you can time your shot for when you’re targeted turns or moves to increase the hit chance.

Always look forward to another Radking upload

For Atom We study thou Pip boy

Fallout 3 VATS is my favorite. It's OP as hell, but that's why it's great. My Grim Reapers sprint energy weapons build was the most fun I've ever had fighting enemies in a Fallout game.

You can definitely make a VATS build in 76. It won't feel the same as the other games, but if you want that 'planning the attack' feel to VATS I think stealth commando builds give a similar experience. You're undetectable so you can prioritise targets and limbs, also the Gun-Fu perk swaps targets after you kill one in VATS so you're not constantly in and out

Me strolling the Mojave:😙 Wasteland bandits: Give us your caps and anything else of value! Me pulling out an “BigIron” at the speed of VATS1.1, “bloody messing” three guys with three shots in one draw: 😐...😗

Fallout 1/2/T V.A.T.S. is goated because you can target someone's eyes as well as their McNuggets

27:24 hit the eyes? They are blind. Hit the legs? They can't run toward or from you. Cripple an arm? Target can't use 2-handed weapons. Cripple both arms? Target can't attack you at all. It just fun.

Tactical Time Dilation and it's associated perks in The Outer Worlds is the one true VATS

In my opinion, Fast Shot, perhaps paired with kamikaze for the extra AP, is very much worth it in the original fallout games, because its one of the few builds that lets you fire Big Guns class weapons twice in one turn. And, well, you can use aimed shot with Big Guns anyways.

VATS in Fallout 4, try to hit a damn Bloodbug on its Torso, for some reason when trying to strike a specific bodypart in Fallout 4 on a small nuisance like Bloatfly or Bloodbug any of the sort the VATS chosen bodypart just goes freaking ballistic and I just can not get to pinpoint the specific bodypart I desire to hit until it is too late and I may as well get out of VATS. This could have been prevented considering the very small animals you might want to quickly oneshot in the torso that there was a more stationary way to activate that specific body part, like in the upper left corner you get to see all bodyparts where you can click on rather than have your mouse spas out trying to strike a specific body part. Due to this nuisance I freaking hate using VATS on anything that is small and thin in Fallout 4 and even go into Sneak if I plan to use VATS to begin with then let my Companion deal with any Blood bugs and Bloatflies as they are just too annoying to hit through VATS. I did learn a new thing about VATS from this video, I thought it made you immune to damage as I never really noticed I took damage within VATS but I agree this to be too overpowered, in all honesty you shouldn't get any resistance buff from VATS since rolling the dice for a strike and a critical hit is pretty powerful in its own right.

I like Fallout 4's Vats system as a full Vats build can harken back to the old Fallout days where it can completely take over from using regular shots. A full Vats Critical Build in Fallout 4 is just a use of the Vats system you wouldn't see in 3 or NV until very late in the game.

Honestly VATS in fo76 is my favourite as it doesn’t take me out of the moment while also still keeping the point of vats.

It's mainly because vats in 76 is modified because it's a multiplayer game and it wouldn't make sense for playeres to be able to stop time against eachother

To me VATS scanning is the equivalent of making a perception check in a table top RPG, which we must remind are the origin of Fallout in the first place

i use vats scanning a lot because ive got bad eyesight and a lot of the fallout games have a very dreary grey green look and its really hard to get depth perception etc.. when i played fallout 3 i was getting headaches a lot just trying to focus in & see anything... its kinda funny cos i sometimes find myself trying to turn vats on in other games when i cant tell if there are enemies nearby...

something important to note, the AP cost *isn't* determined by the damage done to the enemy, but the AP cost of the weapon, mods involved, and I believe in New Vegas, your skill with that weapon type, which AP cost isn't a stat you can normally look at.