Now that you can only get 15 perks, is a 5% boost to weapon damage really worth it? Sure it's entertaining, but the amount you can take it s cut in half from Fallout 3.
 
I was just picking random shit from bout 23 to 30 in FO 3, but now I have to be a little more picky. Is Bloody Mess still worth picking up? Is it slim picking in the later level perks in New Vegas?

I didn't bother with in New Vegas seemed like a bit of a waste despite how entertaining it is. I did pick it Fallout 3 though and it was funny as hell sometimes.

I'm only thirteen hours in to the game (and it hasn't crashed yet, either [note the term "yet"]) but so far it seems that New Vegas has far less combat in it than Fallout 3 did. Bloody Mess seemed to do most of its magic when encountering Raiders and Talon mercenaries, and those types of encounters happen far less in New Vegas.
I would say pick something that has more of a bearing on the RPG aspect of the game.

It's decent in New Vegas, the damage boost is kinda nice, however there are some problems with it.  One of the quests, Three-Card Bounty for NCR gave me some trouble because I was trying to get the undamaged heads.  If Bloody Mess was triggered it would explode the body and damage the head and I would have to reload and try again because I wanted the bonus.  But thats just what happened to me in only one quest.

5% damage increase is still good though. I recently bought the Anti-Material Rifle and now everything is crushed underneath the weight of my bullets.

In my opinion it makes critical kills a lot less fun. If every kill is over the top, then you never get a satisfying badass kill because they're all the same.

I'm of the opinion that not every choice, in a game like this, needs to yield the highest possible stats in order to make the game enjoyable. 
 
Make your decision based on what makes the game the most fun for you, not what applies the best tweeks to numbers in the game engine that you're not even really seeing.  Unless that's what makes the game the most fun for you.

Fallout is not really Fallout unless you go with Bloody Mess.
 
that's just the way it is.

Even on Very Hard you still tend to one shot most enemies, the 5% isn't needed. Just take it if you like people exploding, I avoided it as getting headshots is rather diminished when their legs explode.

If you're using more than one weapon type it can be nice. Right now I'm using a char that fights with explosives and unarmed, its a good way to compensate for a lack of specialisation. Also, punching a dude and just straight gibbing the fucker is glorious.

It was worth it in Fallout 3, but now you don't get as many perks and a lot more options, it's not really all that worth it.  
 
Also, I like just see a guy's head explode and not his whole body.

I usually struggle to find perks i really like in New Vegas so i picked it just for the damage bonus...only perk i got that i really like is the one where i can repair objects with similar objects rather then the same objects...i can repair hats with sunglasses.

Personally, I prefer looting corpses, not gibs.  I'm holding off on getting it, and trying to get some other worthwhile stuff first. 
 
@Sin4profit: Oooh I like the sound of that one.

I've run into trouble looting corpses thanks to Bloody Mess in both FO3 and NV. I would ignore the 5% damage increase if I rerolled again and take the fun of blowing off limbs and being able to loot easily over it.
 
e: When you kill several enemies in a small area, say humanoids indoors - good luck finding the right gib - argh. But hey good for Kenshiro type characters.

I picked bloody mess on every playthrough for Fallout 3, but I never got it for Fallout: New Vegas. Not really sure why.

" It's decent in New Vegas, the damage boost is kinda nice, however there are some problems with it.  One of the quests, Three-Card Bounty for NCR gave me some trouble because I was trying to get the undamaged heads.  If Bloody Mess was triggered it would explode the body and damage the head and I would have to reload and try again because I wanted the bonus.  But thats just what happened to me in only one quest. "

" @suntone said:

" It's decent in New Vegas, the damage boost is kinda nice, however there are some problems with it.  One of the quests, Three-Card Bounty for NCR gave me some trouble because I was trying to get the undamaged heads.  If Bloody Mess was triggered it would explode the body and damage the head and I would have to reload and try again because I wanted the bonus.  But thats just what happened to me in only one quest. "

Not true. I blew those people into smithereens and could still collect the heads.  Also, I play on pc and have a perk every level mod installed! So not a problem for me! "

" It was worth it in Fallout 3, but now you don't get as many perks and a lot more options, it's not really all that worth it.    Also, I like just see a guy's head explode and not his whole body. "

A 5% base increase in damage with all weapon types is nothing to sneeze at.

The 5% bonus is pretty solid and the dismemberment is really satisfying AT FIRST, but you really start to get sick of it. The one and only time I used it I ended up disabling it with the command console. I would load up a separate save to try it out though it should probably be experienced 

I don't think it was even worth it in Fallout 3. Watching dudes explode is cool for a little while, but I'd rather see a little more variety in their deaths.

YES!!!!!!!!!!  Sacrifices must be made; always pick Bloody Mess when it's made available.

" @Roflwaffles: And what kind of a human being would I be if I didn't like those? "

Of course.

Are you kidding me?  It's the best perk in the game!

i would just pick it

Personally, I found it fun in FO3. I decided not to take it in NV. Guess I'm just bored of it. 

You know, I was torn over this perk. I wanted it, but given the limited number of perks (and the sheer variety of them this time around) I never felt like I could justify it. There's just too damn many perks. If I play through again, I might pick it up. The same goes for the Wild Wasteland perk. I chose it, but now I regret it and wished I'd picked up something that was actually useful.

" In my opinion it makes critical kills a lot less fun. If every kill is over the top, then you never get a satisfying badass kill because they're all the same. "

Sometimes, more is less.

" You know, I was torn over this perk. I wanted it, but given the limited number of perks (and the sheer variety of them this time around) I never felt like I could justify it. There's just too damn many perks. If I play through again, I might pick it up. The same goes for the Wild Wasteland perk. I chose it, but now I regret it and wished I'd picked up something that was actually useful. "

Not really. There's a blood mod for new vegas, and that might be worth it. Cus FNV default blood looks like shit.

If it fits my character build idea, i take it.  
 
For example when making a Kenshiro character it would only make sense to take Bloody Mess, Purifier and Piercing Strike. 

Bloody Mess is ALWAYS worth it. I don't know how anyone could play a Fallout game without it.

i say go for it,  there is nothing cooler than shooting someone's leg off and then punching their corpse into a million pieces.