I am working my way there too. You going underground? I'm topside. More room to maneuver...

two things to look out for (maybe a minor spoil)
in megaton, in your house, stay away from the bed frame, buy the infirmary (there's a work bench you can use in moiras shop) and don't go near the bed. You can get stuck on the bed rather easily.
deathclaws, at level 2 I encountered a deathclaw, to which I proceded to wipe the floor with it. I'm extremely disappointed how deathclaws have been handled.

On one of the forums I'm on, there was a guy who killed a Super Mutant and... I think 3 Enclaves... With a sledgehammer... And I think at lvl 7 or something? He said it was pretty early in the game.
Kinda kills the cool and dangerous names of Enclave and Super Mutant and Death Claw, doncha think?

Thank god, I just absolutely hated the level scaling in Oblivion! Now I'm even more excited about this game. :)
That kinda blows! But can't one just increase the difficulty, if it's too easy?

Thanks for posting the info, gave you +1 for that link. Good insights into how it works in FO3.

hahaha, reading that blog, it mentions that deathclaws will be the same regardless what level you have the misfortune of encountering it... it's a misfortune because after the first few, it's extremely boring. I am literally shocked and disappointed that it is so easy to kill a deathclaw, even at level 2.

I don't think I've come across a deathclaw yet, and I'm lvl 6 or 7. The mirelurks are a hassle though, at least early on.

level two character:
Killed a supermutant with 10mm pistol (a mutie wielded some crappy nailboard)
and then another one who wielded a rocket launcher. Of course one shot on kill so I had to keep him close so he would use melee attacks not rockets but not close enough for him to actually reach me.
fallout 3 needs mods which will make you piss your pants when you see a mutie and scream with horror when you see charging Deathclaw.

This is mind-boggling. Why must they use level locking? I don't see any positives for using level locking. I mean, isn't it more programming to level lock than static levels?

level locking allows exploration. there are so many places to go static levels won't work.
I am satisfied with their solution. small compromise.

Mirelurks are heavily armored except for the face. The face is hard to hit, but a solid hit there brings them down pretty quick.
No Deathclaws here either, and no battle with Super Mutants yet either. Saw some from a distance, but was low on ammo so didn't approach.
And I HIGHLY recommend the Sniper Rifle if you can find one. Lets you reach out and touch from good range, and hitting while in 'Hidden' state gives automatic critical damage.

i believe it is because there is still a small amount of level scaling. all of the areas have set levels, and they lock when you first encounter them. levels only scale, slightly, when you first encounter an area and your character level is vastly beyond the initial set level for the area.
in the link i provided above, the example given is an area that is set for level 5, but you first encounter the area with a level 15 character. in that case, the area scales to level 8, i assume to prevent the area from being too easy.
on the other side of the coin, lets say you encounter an area set to level 10, and you are only level 5. that area will stay level 10 and will not scale at all. so when you revisit as a level 20 character, the area will still be level 10.
i hope that makes sense.
if you run up close from a lower position (i.e., on a hill, the mirelurk has higher ground), and tap VATS, you can hit them in face pretty easily.

Gotcha. Btw, SkullCowboy, apparently, Supermutants are killable with lowly melee weapons.

Thanks illegalyouth!
I'll give that a go, but my melee stats are pretty low. Been focusing on small guns and repair, and lockpick and science to a lesser degree.