Fallout – What effect does karma have

First off: Melee and Unarmed were very viable in Fallout 3, so long as you 1) Also pumped sneak, and 2) used a Shishkebab with the Pyromaniac perk as Melee, or grabbed a Deathclaw gauntlet and Paralyzing Palm for Unarmed.

As for NV, both combat skills are even better. The new Damage Threshhold mechanics actually make Melee/Unarmed extremely potent in the early game, as these weapons often have very high base damage values to punch through armor, leading them to rip through lower armored foes. In addition, the introduction of new 'special attacks' in VATS for both skillsets and perks to support both playstyles helps a lot. That said, there's a tradeoff: Expect to take a lot more damage, and use a lot more chems. But once you get into melee range, things will drop - fast.

First off: You really don't need a special build to be good at Sniping in FO:NV. Any weapon with a reasonably good scope and sufficient skill/strength to not have it wobble all over the place will be fine. High luck for increased crit chance is nice, but most of your attacks will be Sneak attacks with a 100% chance to crit anyway. Boone's Spotter and ED-E's Enhanced Sensors bonus perks help a lot as well.

Beyond that, and beyond the usual damage increasing Perks (Better Criticals, et al), you may want to look at perks like Hand Loader, which provide the best ammo you can get for weapons like the Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle (Only available if you can get to 100 Lockpick buffed!), and other high end scoped weapons. The Cowboy perk doesn't work with the best sniping weapons, but there are a few scoped guns suitable for mid-range or mid-game use.

One other interesting possibility is to go an Energy Weapons route, again, taking the usual + Crit and +damage perks, and being sure to grab Meltdown ASAP. Then pick up the YCS/186 Gauss Rifle and snipe things from a mile out, and watch them explode to kill their friends. Fun for the whole family!