Fallout NV
Fallout NV
Eh, a crashing game isn't necessarily a bad sign. If I gave up on a title after it crashed multiple times and spent a while trying to fix it, I'd have missed out on many great games—after all, it's part of the PC experience. But I've never had any issues with FNV myself. What exactly is the problem you're facing? The game doesn't really have major stability issues right out of the box. By the way, it's just a bit slow to start, though. I'm a big Fallout fan, but FNV didn't really grab my interest. A few months after its release, I got bored and decided to play through it more, ending up with over 400 hours.
You've just left the hotel where Deputy Bates is located, and the game feels really tough—hard to hit anything effectively. It's possible it's just me, but my character isn't performing well, and I feel like everything from the start was a poor choice. My character seems inaccurate, and I'm worried it might be because I made a mistake.
Also as a stealth character with a suppressed weapon you can kill ANYONE without any negative effects as long as you remain [HIDDEN]. This is an easy way to acquire 556 ammo early in the game from killing NCR people, you can find the rat slayer (unique 556 bolt rifle which comes silenced) early in the game.
Keep going with it. Fallout: New Vegas stands out as the top entry in the series. Staying on track will leave you satisfied. The characters, including NPCs, are much better than those in 3, the story is more engaging, and the quests are incredibly enjoyable. Regarding your concerns about abilities, they’ll vary based on your setup at the start. As @ eisenzelle mentioned, focus on improving your gear and skills. Avoid Deathclaws—they’re intimidating—or Cazadores. You’ll encounter plenty of enemies near Good Springs to practice or progress, especially since you already have a follower, which should make things smoother.
NV is reliable. Make sure the mods work together. If you install them gradually and turn on the system, it might take a while to start, but you'll figure out the issue. I've customized Fallout NV to its fullest and it still functions. Probably some users have trouble. The launch can feel sluggish at first, just like Skyrim after the initial dragon fight. Be patient and see how it feels. You could also try running it faster—speedrunning it took me around six hours.