After doing a recent run of FNV and then reaching the end of the lonesome road I had come to the conclusion that Lonesome road was a bit disappointing. Though it did bring some of the most exciting weapons, armor, combat, and setting, it just felt as if it was missing something. Knowing the hardware limitations (memory space) at the time I'm left to think maybe they had a much bigger picture in the grand scheme of things. I think a lot of it was due to Ulysses being introduced (person to person) so late into the DLC, or it could've been the amount of foreshadowing done in the other DLC's, I was fully reeled in by Old World Blues that this mysterious figure was on a damn mission. Thoughts?

I mean, if that's what you think about the DLC than that's ok.

Personally, I absolutely love Lonesome Road, and it may be my favourite DLC from FNV in general.

To begin with, I think Ulysses is such an interesting character and I like how you have to until the end of the storyline in order to get to him, and I personally don't think it would've worked as well if you saw him sooner. The entire overarching story behind all of the DLCs was meeting this man, this courier, and I think having him be the climax of the story was a great decision for the DLC. On top of that, any time you have conversations with him through ED-E, for me, it just helps to build character and backstory, not only for him, but for the main character as well, which I appreciate.

Lonesome Road as a DLC in general, to me, is pretty great. The Divide is one of, if not the most interesting location in all of FNV, and it's almost like a character in itself. The different creatures and scraps of lore you get about it, is class.

The new weapons, armour, and aid items are also a great addition, with stuff like the Red Glare, Riot Gear, and Auto Inject Stimpacks being a real stand out.

And also the ending has consequences for the game. You can either nuke the NCR, Legion, or sacrifice ED-E to save both of them, and it changes the locations in the game based on that.

So, to me, Lonesome Road is an amazing DLC, and Idk if I would change anything about it, but if you don't like it, hey ho that's your opinion

From what I've read from various posts over the years, it really comes down to how you feel about Ulysses and how well the story he tells fits into your idea of your courier's past.
I thought for a long time during the DLC that Ulysses was actually meant to be nothing more than a ranting crazed madman who had me mistaken for someone else. I was actually disappointed as it dawned on me that perhaps the writers intended it all to be a canon truth.
Old World Blues was also my favorite, I think it was the most like something I'd have found in fallout 2.

Oh that's interesting. I actually though the opposite. In terms of weapons, armor and such I thought it was pretty underwhelming. I mean, I mostly use energy weapons and it added none. The weapons it did add I didn't find that exciting. And in terms of armor, I mean, dusters are pretty bad, the riot gear isn't that interesting (power armor is better for close combat, and the stealth suit is better for sneaking). the rewards look nice but aren't very useful and it sucks that you can only get the one of the opposing faction.

However, I really liked the story of the crazed legionnaire out for revenge. It made for an awesome antagonist.

Hoswae wrote:

Though it did bring some of the most exciting weapons, armor...

Came to that conclusion without finishing it and walked out after grabbing some loot. Now I just use it as a kickstart on every playthrough. Grab riot armor and leave.

A great DLC that offers some fantastic new content. For me personally, I felt it was short and linear, unlike OWB and Honest Hearts. I loved the DLC and always play it first on my playthrough so I can nuke both the NCR and Legion to get my hands on some high tech weapons.

It sounds like you got hyped up so much as to who Ulysses is thanks to OWB. Personally though, I would have loved it more if the area was a bit more open for exploration because out of all the dlcs for new vegas this is the most linear in design. It's essentially a big straight corridor unlike OWB, HH, and DM which were fully explorable maps with areas that require effort to go to. I still find it cool that in specific parts of Lonesome Road, you can see Ulysses watching you from a distance and walking away once you reach a certain distance.

Can't deny it that the Elite Riot Gear is still an awesome looking armor after all these years.

I somehow missed every reference to Ulysses in previous Dlcs, or didn't connect the dots. Not sure how or why. To me, he was nothing but an insane annoying voice and the DLC seemed nothing more than a linear tunnel to charge forward, shooting and shooting... for some reason. My motivation for moving further along the linear line was nothing more than "well, I paid for this." Otherwise, I would have shrugged and thought, "Why keep trudging forward with my fire button pressed?"
Some of the ruins and such made for a really great set-piece though, and I wish they'd been used to create something a little more diverse, like a settlement of ghouls or something who were survivors, with a "quest hub" to work from, rather than what was often just a linear tunnel.

I view LR as the climax to the narrative the game lays out over the course of the previous 3 DLCs and the MQ.

For me, it is the penultimate confrontation before Hoover Dam and it's a chance for my Courier to truly be retrospective of their past. Whether they choose to accept Ulysses' accusations against them or not.

The finale, with the launch of the rocket, also I believe solidifies the Courier's final position before they battle at Hoover Dam, completing the story and their character arc.

I agree that it felt linear and emphasized way to much on shooting, but I don't view the dlc as "something new," rather the semi-conclusion or "final boss before the final boss" of FNV.

Amazing; I saw him not as a final confrontation that had been building up, but literally just a random nobody. After a few listening to a seemingly meaningless messages from him, I tuned him out. It felt so anti-climatic for the game to end with a battle against a random rambling idiot who thought I was someone else.
Maybe I need to go back and play again looking at it through a different eye, looking for those details.

I highly recommend playing the game as the "Courier" he thinks you are.

It really is cool to see the emotional depth of Ulysses and his hatred for you over the course of the game in that context. It makes the final confrontation much more meaningful and heart wrenching because you truly did "steal" Ulysses' life away from him, the home he had longed for and got after escaping Caesar.

If you choose to play as someone who did not do the acts that Ulysses is hunting you for, it's still just as scary. There are hints and messages spread across the entire game that show Ulysses is stalking you around the Mojave as you are tracking him down as well.

Now I really wish the intro had described the courier with this past history, instead of going on about the legion and NCR (groups you can ask about in the game almost right away anyway.) Telling me about this past, making it canon, right from the beginning would have made a big difference for me, huge.

Ehh, I’m glad they didn’t establish it as canon.

Making the Courier’s past ambiguous is what makes FNV so good. You literally can be whoever you want and Ulysses might be a raving lunatic depending on the past you’ve chosen.

Helps with replayability