Is there a way not to damage your allies and civilians while using explosive weapons?

Question

I decided to play Fallout New Vegas again, and this time I'm going for explosive weapons as my primaries.

The main problem i currently have with them (other then blowing my limbs off while using them in CQC, which is what i can easily fix with certain perks) is that they will damage any civilians and allies that are close to enemies i attack. It doesn't happen often that there are civilians close to enemies, but in some cases and in some quests it does and then it's really a pain trying to kill the enemies without hitting civilians/allies along the way which will then either kill them or make them turn hostile to me which will then end up in losing reputation with their faction.

Is there a way to not damage anyone else other then enemies with explosive weapons? Like a console code to turn friendly fire off (i usually never use console for anything as i don't like to cheat, but this is really making explosive weapons very hard to play with). Or if there are any tricks that would help me with my issue please let me know.

Answer 1

This is kind of a problem endemic to explosive weapons - they are very situational for this reason. There is one perk, Spray 'n Pray that you can unlock at level 22, which decreases damage done from your weapons (including explosives) to your companions. It doesn't help with civilians, however.

You could eschew companions, or at least stick to those who don't get in close, and avoid brawls in populated areas. However, your best bet is to have a backup weapon for times when collateral damage is a concern. There are plenty of skill points in the game, so leveling multiple weapon types is pretty easy, especially if you have the expansions and all the levels and perks they provide.

The trusty 9mm pistol requires no guns skill and very little strength. I also highly suggest finding the Ratslayer if you can - it is off the beaten path and can be tricky to get due to some high-level enemies, but it requires no guns skill to use, and is extraordinarily powerful at range and when hidden. If you can level your guns skill a bit, at 25 and 50 you'll be fully qualified to wield some pretty powerful backup weapons, such as That Gun.

For pretty much the first third of the game, you can get by with That Gun and Ratslayer, with the occasional pistol thrown in there when your 5.56mm ammo runs low. If you're primarily using explosives, your ammo drain is probably going to be slower.

Melee weapons are also an option, although they'll do less damage and have less special moves with low skill levels. It also requires you to get relatively close in before you can do any damage, which can be challenging against well-armed enemies.