The Best Weapon for your Companion in Fallout 4

[@NeptunianNeanderthal]

I like how you considered the player having fun as one of the main criteria, as I feel a lot of times people optimize the fun out of their builds. Well done, nice vid!

[@UnkieNic]

"optimize the fun out of their builds" 100% this! I feel the same way. Fun-maxing should always be the goal 😤

[@rickmccl71]

there's different kinds of fun tbh

[@OrangeSqueasy]

An added advantage is because it’s a melee weapon, which makes companions gap close which then forces enemies to focus them. Even if Big Jim doesn’t instantly disarm or cripple an enemy it will force them to stagger, block, or exit cover. Utility/ crowd control is highly underrated. Not having to constantly rearm companions with ammo also helps. All hail Big Jim!

[@UnkieNic]

Yes 100%! BTW, I'm such a fan of your videos. I've learned so much from your stuff. I shouted you out in my video about the Intimidation perk (about how you can use it to re-dress the commonwealth) TY for the comment, hope you're having a great holiday.

[@its_me_echo6458]

Absolute king, i was gonna just skip through the video for the answer and just close the video, the fact that you said it in the first 10 seconds made me sub, like and watch the whole video. Absolute champion❤

[@UnkieNic]

@@its_me_echo6458 it pays to be direct!

[@Durstlöscher_F01]

Fun fact you can find modifications for big jim in Virgil's old lab at the Institute. In the room where the aggressotron is located on a shelf.

[@Nick-zp3ub]

I gave Grognak's axe to Strong, Shem Drowne's sword to Valentine, the 2076 baseball bat to Cait, a super sledge to Danse, Kremvh's Tooth to Hancock and Pickman's knife to Macready. I kept Jingwei's sword for myself

[@UnkieNic]

You're a man who knows how to live 😌

[@cicerothenekoknightplaysall]

This video is big jimming with joy

[@FantasticMrGhost]

Cait is hawt! Oh, and thanks for the vid! I begrudgingly drag companions around for their perks then toss them on a trade route forever once done. But, this strat makes that slog much more fun.

[@typ044]

Hmm, good idea, gonna give this a try. For a laugh I like to give her the world series bat, pretty funny when I randomly hear a crowd cheer and see somebody go flying when I'm paying attention to something else.

[@UnkieNic]

@@typ044 you know, I never thought to try that one on a companion! That does sound good for some laughs

[@typ044]

@UnkieNic Finally got it after fighting my way across the map in survival, already paid off once disarming a gunner Sgt with a modded plasma rifle but of course unfortunately although my Cait has been cured of her psycho addiction she's still addicted to walking into minigun fire and jumping off three story buildings lol.

[@Jackpkmn]

Even if its not statistically the best being able to grab it right at the start of the game is a big value add imo. It's definitely worth grabbing even if you don't plan on focusing on it's use.

[@C00L_DUD31]

I gave it to sturges, kus y'know he's a repair man.

[@UnkieNic]

@@C00L_DUD31 "duct tape will fix anything!... Except raiders, for that you need Big Jim"

[@ibtaba]

I think a better conversation would be is it worth it to even have a companion.

[@UnkieNic]

The Lone Wanderer perk really does speak for itself

[@ErosXCaos]

Kneecapper ruined fun for me when it comes to the _biggest and the baddest._ I’d recommend the mod *”Vaultman- Hardcore enemies and bosses”,* which disables crippling on those types. *Deathclaws, Mirelurk Queens* and *Glowing Ones* are on that list. I like the mod because _for me,_ they should never be rendered helpless. Excellent Video. Started strong with the instant reveal. Solid reasons to back up the claim. If any folks want an alternative that won’t completely disable mobs, give your companion Pickman’s Blade. You could take off the Stealth Blade mod if you want to self-nerf. It’s a nice option because the damage gradually adds up, which can give you time to grab the kill XP. Or if you’re really needing their help in a fight, they won’t get stuck on anyone. The “bleed effect” also stacks, so you can both use the effect simultaneously.

[@UnkieNic]

@@ErosXCaos I'm doing a vanilla run right now but when I get back into modding I'll look into it! Ty for the kind words, much appreciated 👍

[@Castuswastaken]

Some good shit here. Looking forward to seeing what else you cook up.

[@UnkieNic]

@@Castuswastaken Ty ty

[@DNMR1337]

In survival mode this genuinely has a place assuming you are using melee companions. Usually the player gets jumped by more than an enemy at a time so having my follower cripple the enemy instead of doing chip damage would probably be better. (yes sergeant ash is better, BUT you need to restock on flamer fuel which is tougher than you may realize.)

[@Lummox874]

So the location where Big Jim is found, Walden pond, is a real place in Boston. I’ve been there and my god, it is beautiful. If you ever go to Boston, do check it out.

[@UnkieNic]

I would LOVE to go to Boston sometime just to see Fallout 4 locations. I wonder if anyone runs a tourist service for it. I bet someone could make a few caps on the side showing people the "real" Commonwealth.

[@mudshrooze]

Dude Big Jim is such. a fun weapon

[@Deveyus]

89 subs... really? How?

[@UnkieNic]

@@Deveyus I'm working on it! Lol

[@That-mant]

You got so many subscribers in one day

[@UnkieNic]

@That-mant KZbin decided I deserved a Christmas gift 😌

[@LetsGoToOuterSpaceGaming]

I never considered BIG JIM, thanks!

[@FryingMike]

Loved giving Nick this explosive combat shotgun, he was beast and was cool to see him save me from gouls as they got blasted litteraly away

[@FryingMike]

But it was so rare, like so rare

[@stevenwilgus8982]

I will absolutely try this out.... I subscribed as I liked your video.

[@jaye1967]

Wow, something that never occurred to me that might make me consider playing with companions.

[@UnkieNic]

Hell yeah 👍

[@barrymantelli8011]

I picked up the wrench and immediately stored it somewhere in one of the early game settlements. 😂 I need to gp find it and employ this mayhem immediately. 👍👍👍

[@dustybunny6716]

I forced my Sentinel power armor companion to use it after it kept stealing kills and exp from me with its overpowered laser rifle. Gave it some mods when I had the chance. Totally worth it.

[@UnkieNic]

@@dustybunny6716 a giant suit of super advanced self-piloting armor bashing people in with a wrench seems very fallout lol

[@aironshepherd527]

Big Jim better hide this guy wants his number lmao

[@leoaguilera832]

Underrated comment

[@mekabates307]

ah yes. a free kneecap harvester location. thank you for my next melee weapon.

[@UnkieNic]

I do love convenient shopping 😌

[@Vandal_Savage]

I swear KZbin is watching me play fallout, I've equipped my companion with the kneecapper deathclaw (with extra claw) and given her a pair of heavy raider disarming legs that i found and she's now unstoppable (especially now that she's decided to use the stimpaks in her inventory...) And then KZbin recommended me this vid!?

[@jansenart0]

Convincing argument! What would you say is the best ranged companion weapon? Assume I don't mind farming for legendaries.

[@robjsmiles]

Ah yes, furious ripper/minigun/flamer. Very broken, but useful when you XP exploited your way to nearly 300 only to find out half the enemies in the game would infinitely scale in health.

[@BlenderBeanie]

genuenly, I first thought this video is from a youtuber with 300k+ subs. The production quality is really good! You've got some amazing potential!

[@UnkieNic]

Thank you so much 👍

[@simonsoupshark8009]

you acully have a great voice for this tbh

[@UnkieNic]

@@simonsoupshark8009 Ty ty

[@grumpytoad86]

Dang. Solid argument.

[@chadharger9323]

Probably a really dumb idea but Inspiration Rank 1(companion attacks don't hurt player character) and give the companion a fatman and a mini nuke. The issue is that majority of companions aren't marked as essential without player mod.

[@UnkieNic]

@@chadharger9323 not dumb! Inspirational is underrated! Although mininukes might be a biiiiit much. The pipe grenade launcher from the next gen update is perfect for this.

[@9000k4]

Well the best part of big jim besides ash is that as you said jim is immediately available.

[@Vonstab]

Well you have given me a reason to do something else with Big Jim other than giving it to Sturges. (Having Sturges smack raiders with a pipe wrench feels pretty thematic.)

[@UnkieNic]

Sturge's own line of "Big Jim" wrenches. "Leaky pipes or Raiders, it'll get the job done"

[@Foggytomato]

Bro is too underrated, atleast for now

[@UnkieNic]

😭 Ty ty

[@victoriafelix5932]

Unfortunately, Bethesda misspelled 'Jilm' ....

[@Gojiro7]

Big Jim is a great early game choice, but for me I think the best to give a companion is a super slam with the stun mod since you don't have to deal with ammo, its very high damage, and high chance to leave enemies paralyzed for a decent amount of time, the only thing that sucks is you need alot of blacksmith and science investment to get it and the odds of finding one out on the wild aren't great

[@UnkieNic]

@@Gojiro7 the humble stun batton is really good on a companion! Low dage, but the fast swing speed means lots of flopping around

[@Gojiro7]

@@UnkieNic yeah, but when im dealing with Mirelurks, the super sledge combo is the best for exposing their weak spot and the sledge has a wide enough arc to sometimes hit more than one in the companions hands, the Stun Baton is a nice option but the Big Jim hook requires less commitment then that at the very least and if your going the full path you might as well get the best version of the sledge so theres damage and stun. quick question about big Jim, does any damage it does apply to the legs or do you have to be targeting the legs and it does more damage too them? part of me thinks it has to be the former if the AI companions are getting that

[@UnkieNic]

@@Gojiro7 you can hit them ANYWHERE and there is a chance the legs will break, really handy. Ghouls and robots usually need a little love tap after to blow the leg off completely, but it will be crippled

[@Gojiro7]

@@UnkieNic thats worth keeping in mind. in my current playthrough I have Paladin Danse with a Super Stun Sledge and my semi auto assault rifle has legendary Explosive damage and im maxed on Marksmen and Demo Expert, so stun or not im set XD

[@ordinarymann47]

Found a sledgehammer with that effect and left it collecting dust because I just assumed NPCs aim for torso and effect would be useless. Guess I was wrong.

[@TheOnlySoundBender]

Hold the reload button to throw objects

[@malakifraize4792]

I'll have to hunt this down rq. good video bro

[@UnkieNic]

Ty friend

[@philipchoo958]

Overpowered Builds=❌ Builds that are fun & effective enough=✅

[@UnkieNic]

Hell yeah

[@garbagepailkid]

Love Fallout content without that 'sniffing their own farts' vibe I often get from creators, keep doing your thing.

[@UnkieNic]

@@garbagepailkid I'll keep my nose outta there 🤣

[@TheInsaneShecklador]

Well put together video.

[@stanislavp1739]

Fun fact that Big Jim has a crippling mod that should raise the chance even further, but it’s bugged in F4, and even stayed bugged when moved to F76 (Bethesda 🙄), so there’s a fan mod that fixes it.

[@Stahlbrand]

Hell yeah. Man, I got new games, I've got CoD, I've got games on sale I haven't played yet, and you're gonna talk me into reinstalling FO4, again.... For real, great video. I notice a theme in your work that you really put an emphasis on higher level tactics - so much 'best this, broken that' content is about creating a god tier alpha strike, which is boring and direct. I feel numb when "ooh, this weapon and perk combo in FO4 or Cyberpunk does 9999 damage with every button tap". But you often focus on survivability through enemy control, defense through mitigation/decoys/misdirection, opening up opportunities and advantages on the battlefield -- it's the kind of thing you can't really sum up with a green arrow-up bullet point in a menu. But it better represents playing the game, within the game design and systems the devs built.

[@UnkieNic]

thanks man! Never been a better time to play, you wouldn't believe the mods out there now. Yeah, I feel the same about a lot of optimized content. It can be interesting to see how broken you can make a build/weapon/whatever, but I don't actually want to reduce the game to Cookie Clicker!

[@kaienkazami6348]

The best one is the world series bat, even better if you have the DLC

[@tajemniczycien2271]

Merry Christmas from Poland

[@UnkieNic]

@@tajemniczycien2271 Merry Christmas friend 🌲👍

[@tomaszpawlik5091]

i never even considered hook mod, a gem of a video. Despite the simber outro about muh game balance i think BIG JIM has its niche despite sgt. ashe existene for a simple reason - BIG JIM is a chadly weapon nearby sanctuary, flamer is in intended to be post game DLC locked behind caps

[@UnkieNic]

That's true, I guess they can be considered rewards for digging through the extended content. Reminds me of like old racing games where you had to set a crazy time or win all the races in the game to unlock the best car. You get a prize you've proven you didn't actually need :p

[@tomaszpawlik5091]

@UnkieNic oh, just remembered that longfellow exists and is located just next door to flamer making the whole strat meaningless as the guy is clearly strong enough to the point where crowd Control won't be needed, together with the raider dlc buddy they are able to put down meanest beasts on their own lol.

[@Briggsy-pq2ht]

Oh hell yeah this is a great vid dude

[@UnkieNic]

Thanks man 👍

[@Robosium]

2:30 doesn't the ripper also have the hooked mod which adds chance to disarm opponents?

[@UnkieNic]

@@Robosium hey, your right! I missed that, dang. Well, more reasons Harvester is OP I guess

[@ET42Driver]

If only playing without companions (and with the right perks) wasn't OP...

[@illnick6393]

Beeg jeem almost good as Beeg Yoshi

[@WrongNumber76]

Time to make curie role play as a engineer

[@UnkieNic]

Switch up that cute French accent for a southern drawl 👍

[@E-TAB]

You got your self a new sub just for that 4:41

[@TheOnlySoundBender]

Very useful

[@supermagnificentguysmg1793]

Great content, loved the video. Just one thing, talk a little faster / increase editing etc, can you basically cram more content per second? I use videos like these to switch off my brain when I'm doing chores and my content rotted as brain needs more shit flowing into it to not think about anything else. I don't wanna think about what other videos to watch, what other things to do etc. just let the video run.

[@UnkieNic]

@@supermagnificentguysmg1793 lol, I'll try my best! Ty for the kind words 👍

[@Psychonautical89]

Combine with some freezing armor for extra lulz

[@UnkieNic]

I actually did a little testing with this! It turns out, sadly, that freezing and disarming armor effects don't work with companions (or at least they didn't when I was trying). HOWEVER, weapon mods that freeze or whatever on block DO work with companions. So if you've got a Frigid Pool Cue or something that you're not sure what to do with, give it to a companion or settler or something. They love to block and it's hilarious to watch.

[@Blaze5x5x5]

Damn it. Now I have to install Fo4 again. How dare you convince me to put another 50h into this game.

[@UnkieNic]

@@Blaze5x5x5 New Year, Old Me, amirite? Hope you enjoy yourself 😊

[@nickthompson1812]

Big Iron? No, Big Jim.

[@UnkieNic]

Texas Red had not cleared leather before Big Jim caved in his knees 😌

[@naiveveg8447]

strong cant use this though.

[@alkhemi8175]

Really? Ada refuses to use it? 🤔

[@UnkieNic]

oh snap, can't believe I forgot the robotic best girl 😰

[@simonsoupshark8009]

@@UnkieNic curie fans going to come at you for that one

[@richardavelino7383]

Man this is a slow video :/

[@UnkieNic]

I really buried the lede eh? :p

[@scotts918]

Jim'll Fix i... Oh wait, nevermind, forget I said anything