VATS or real time?

With real-time I found that sometimes I just kept spraying bullets into enemies until they died. Especially when there were just hordes of enemies, VATS was especially helpful since both Fallout 3 & NV really didn't have any great shooting mechanics. I could easily see how VATS would be annoying though since it just freezes time and having it slow-motion in Fallout 4 was a great design choice in my opinion, and hopefully there's better gun mechanics in F4. Personally, it depends on the situation.

 

It all depends on the situation. I loved VATS at first, because I can sit back and watch the damage my character is doing to the enemy, exploding heads and dismembering them, but then it got annoying and I stopped using it. I hate how it stops time in F3 and F:NV. I think I'll be using the VATS a lot in Fallout 4, because it looks and feels a lot better now, and instead of freezing time, it just slows it down. Also, sometimes, VATS uses more bullets than I would use to kill the enemy myself.

 

I used VATS to usually "finish the job". It's pretty satisfying to watch the last hit in slo-mo.
It also depends on what weapon you're using. If you're a melee fighter it doesn't make much sense to use it I think, unless you're just trying to buy some time/not die.
And it definitely depends on the enemy you're facing. It's a combination of these elements I think. For example, shooting a Deathclaw with a sniper rifle in real time feels more like an "accomplishment" rather than relying solely on VATS to get through the game.

 

I simply enjoy VATS just to watch my bullets tear through an enemy. It's also helpful since it lets me target weak points on an enemy rather than just shooting at its midsection and hoping it dies. Since my characters mainly snipe enemies, I use Vats to help line up a good shot before pulling the trigger and watching the bullets fly.

 

I have to go with VATS all the way. Fallout, at it`s core, is a semi turn-based rpg game, where you can pause whenever you want. VATS is just an extension of that, and Fallout would not be Fallout without this tactical element.

 

I will definitely be using VATS a ton in Fallout 4. I felt a little guilty about it, but it was always satisfying to watch my enemies be destroyed in slow motion when I used VATS. I read that the new VATS will allow players to exchange having all action completely stop for slowed-down bullet time. That will make VATS a little less powerful but much more realistic. As long as I still get my slow motion kill shots, I am a happy gamer.

 

Honestly, sometimes I just forget about using vats. Other than that, I'm often sneaking and taking people out from so far away that it's not even an option. But often an enemy will pop out from around a corner and the best option is to go into VATS, even if it's just to assess to situation. Often though, a shotgun blast to the face is extremely effective in VATS. The thing is, VATS is generally only effective in fairly close range, even with the perks, so there's not really that much reason to use it. In Fallout 3, you could use it at medium range with pretty good success, as long as you had the VATS perks. I think in New Vegas they tried to avoid making it overpowered, which is good, but Fallout 3 tried to make it a usable gameplay feature. I can definitely understand both ways.

 

Real time always seemed like a waste to me. I played the game like a survivalist so I tended to try to conserve my ammo as well. Using Vats was a good way to just mow people down efficiently which I loved. Also during Vats you sometimes get those awesome super slow mo kills (which are even better with the bloody pulp perk)

 

Well, VATS is different for Fallout 4 in that time slows down slightly rather than stopping. I like VATS, but it's something that I'll use whenever I need to be accurate and then I'll forget about it otherwise.

 

Personally I prefer playing in real time. VATS is sometimes necessary but it creates less intense gameplay, it's more strategic but I never really played Fallout 3 / new Vegas for it's strategy. I played it for the story, and the story is cooler when it creates a big action scene.

 

VATS just feels sooo much better.
However Fallout 4 seems to have improved the shooting mechanics in real time greatly, so I think I will use VATS much less this time around.