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Character Creation Guide - Guide for Fallout: New Vegas
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This guide is set at a width of 72 characters. For ease of use, make sure your browser is displaying all the numbers on the line below. 123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012 o======================================================================o | | | Fallout: New Vegas | | | o======================================================================o Version 1.03 Written by: Nathan Garvin Email: Theendbringer (at) Hotmail (dot) com. If you're going to email me about this guide, make sure you put "FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS" in the title, or I'll probably end up deleting it as junk. I have no affiliation with Bethesda, Obsidian, Fallout: New Vegas, or any other parties involved with this game. This is a not-for-profit fan- made guide. If you wish to post, mirror, or quote this guide, feel free to do so. Credit would make me happy, an email would make me feel good. Let your conscience be your guide, just like all good people. Now, I know this is a not-for-profit FAQ, but FAQ writing is time consuming work. If you wanted to show your appreciation for this FAQ and/or support for future FAQs by donating to my PayPal account, that would be an above-and-beyond gesture. If every person who downloaded my FAQs donated a penny.. well, it would help out immensely. Now, without any more PBS-style solicitation.. https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=delirious devil%40hotmail%2ecom&lc=US&item_name=HaeravonFAQs¤cy_code=USD&bn =PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted This FAQ was made in Notepad, and is best viewed in a simple text editor. The default text is Lucida Console at size 10 font, but any fixed-width font will work.. if not with the intended aesthetics intact. Table of Contents o======================================================================o I. Introduction {INT001} 1. Hardcore Mode {INT002} II. S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Attributes {SPC001} 1. Implants {SPC002} 2. Strength {SPC003} 3. Perception {SPC004} 4. Endurance {SPC005} 5. Charisma {SPC006} 6. Intelligence {SPC007} 7. Agility {SPC008} 8. Luck {SPC009} 9. My Personal Build, Attributes{SPC010} III. Skills {SKL001} 1. Base {SKL002} 2. Tag! {SKL003} 3. Leveling {SKL004} 4. Books {SKL005} 5. Magazines {SKL006} 6. Breakdown of Skill Points {SKL007} 7. Apparel and Skill Points {SKL008{ 8. Barter {SKL009} 9. Energy Weapons {SKL010} 10. Explosives {SKL011} 11. Guns {SKL012} 12. Lockpick {SKL013} 13. Medicine {SKL014} 14. Melee Weapons {SKL015} 15. Repair {SKL016} 16. Science {SKL017} 17. Sneak {SKL018} 18. Speech {SKL019} 19. Survival {SKL020} 20. Unarmed {SKL021} 21. Skills I Tag! (and why) {SKL022} 22. Skill Point Allocation {SKL023} IV. Traits {TRT001} 1. Built to Destroy {TRT002} 2. Fast Shot {TRT003} 3. Four Eyes {TRT004} 4. Good Natured {TRT005} 5. Heavy Handed {TRT006} 6. Kamikaze {TRT007} 7. Loose Cannon {TRT008} 8. Small Frame {TRT009} 9. Trigger Discipline {TRT010} 10. Wild Wasteland {TRT011} V. Perks {PRK001} Level 2 Perks {PRK002} Level 4 Perks {PRK003} Level 6 Perks {PRK004} Level 8 Perks {PRK005} Level 10 Perks {PRK006} Level 12 Perks {PRK007} Level 14 Perks {PRK008} Level 16 Perks {PRK009} Level 18 Perks {PRK010} Level 20 Perks {PRK011} Level 22 Perks {PRK012} Level 24 Perks {PRK013} Lever 26 Perks {PRK014} Level 28 Perks {PRK015} Additional Perks {PRK016} My Personal Build, Perks {PRK017} VI. IssacFrost's Energy Weapons Build {EWB001} 1. Attributes {EWB002} 2. Perks {EWB003} 3. Skills/Traits {EWB004} 4. Weapon Selection {EWB005} 5. Companions {EWB006} 6. Getting Established {EWB007} in the Mohave VII. Getting Started in the Mohave {MOH001} 1. The New Vegas {MOH002} Medical Clinic Run 2. Alternate Routes {MOH003} 3. Jackpot Winner! {MOH004} 4. Infinite Experience {MOH005} Exploit #1 5. Infinite Experience {MOH006} Exploit #2 6. Infinite Experience {MOH007} Exploit #3 7. "Free" Repairs {MOH008} 8. Early Combat Armor {MOH009} 9. Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle {MOH010} 10. Pew-Pew {MOH011} 11. Q-35 Matter Modulator {MOH012} 12. Remnant Power Armor {MOH013} 13. Remnant Power Helmet {MOH014} 14. This Machine {MOH015} 15. YCS/186 -or- Alien Blaster {MOH016} VIII. Books {BOK001} IX. Updates/Thanks {UPD001} Special Thanks/Credits {UPD002} o======================================================================o | | | Introduction {INT001} | | | o======================================================================o Hello, kiddies! Another Fallout game, another Fallout Character Creation FAQ. If you read my previous FAQ for Fallout 3 you'll have a good understanding of how this FAQ will be laid out, and what it'll try to do. If not, then read on. This FAQ is designed to help you create a characters with the best chances of surviving in the Wasteland, or at least to give you an idea of how the SPECIAL stats, perks, and skills work so you can make an informed decision on how to best build the character you want. It's mostly informational, but I do have my own opinion on the best way to do things and what works best. Follow it or not, but most of all, I hope you come out with a better idea of how you want to play the game. If that's the case, Whether you do things my way or not is irrelevant. I'm fairly power-gamey, and I focus more on a general build, rather than specialization.. or rather, I try to focus on making the most powerful character I can. After all, a character who is good at talking his way out of a fight is fine, and a gunslinger has its uses.. but a character who can do both is obviously better. Right? All that said, this is a FAQ written relatively close to the game launch, and I'm sure I haven't found everything the game has to offer, so what I have proposed should all be viewed as tentative, and hence, subject to change. Also, if you followed the previous Fallout FAQ I wrote you'll notice that it gradually gained more and more information that wasn't strictly character-build related until it evolved into a full FAQ/Walkthrough. We'll see how that goes this time around. Hardcore Mode {INT002} <----------------------------------------------------------------------> With New Vegas comes the addition of Hardcore mode, which adds significant gameplay changes. These include weight for ammo, the need to mind food (FOD), dehydration (H20), and sleep deprivation (SLP) meters, as well as a host of other tweaks, like the need to use a Doctor's Bag to heal crippled legs, or to go find an actual doctor. This makes the game a much more tedious experience, and in my mind it exists more for challenge and realism than for any sort of story benefit. On that note, when I played Hardcore mode it made me rush through the story more, and explore less. I ignored most sub-quests and side-areas, and I really wouldn't recommend it for a first play-through. If you do, however, play Hardcore mode, save before you go out exploring and when you find new areas, assess their resources and decide whether it's worth your time to run out there. If not, reload. As far as Hardcore mode affects my build.. It mostly changes perk and skill point allocation, rather than affecting SPECIAL stats. It also means I have to be more picky when it comes to buying Implants. I would rather have Sub-Dermal Armor and Monocyte Breeders than many of the SPECIAL stats, and since I wasn't running out and killing Super Mutants for gear, and by extension, Caps, I was a little more conservative with my spending. If you're lucky enough, however, you can gamble at the various casinos in the Strip to rake up some Caps without wasting time.. that's right, time doesn't flow in the gambling mini-games. Other than that, I stand by my general build as Hardcore friendly. The only thing I suggest changing are a handful of Perks, and the priority of skills. Obviously Survival as a skill is more important in Hardcore Mode. o======================================================================o | | | S.P.E.C.I.A.L Attributes {SPC001} | | | o======================================================================o Your seven attributes are cleverly formed into the acronym 'SPECIAL', which stands for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck. Attributes do a number of things for you-depending on what the actual attribute is, but they all give a 2 point bonus to their related skills for each point in that attribute. For example, if your Strength was 5 your base Melee Weapons skill would get a 10 point bonus. Luck is the exception, which gives a 1 point bonus for each two points in Luck to all your skills. This also means that when determining your skill points, each skill starts out with at least a +2 bonus (for your minimum of 1 in each attribute.) But.. more on that later. I will give you a brief description of each attribute, as well as list what bonuses it gives. Below the chart listing the nuances of the effects of that attribute will be my build choice when it comes to that attribute, and a grade following it. The grade is somewhat arbitrary, as it 'grades' the attribute in measure of importance. You can get a feel for the grade an attribute will get just by looking at the number of points my build requires. Implants {SPC002} <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Instead of Bobbleheads, in New Vegas you have Implants. Again, anybody who played Fallout 1 or 2 shouldn't be surprised by the concept of shelling out caps to have your character surgically augmented. You can get one Implant per point of Endurance you have (not counting points gained from gear worn or from getting an Endurance-boosting Implant). Naturally, this means you shouldn't use Endurance as a dump stat, at least, and at most, if you're a power gamer, you should strive to have a high Endurance to get as many Implants as possible. The Implants are listed below, along with the Caps they cost, and the bonuses they give. Note that buying an Implant rewards you with a perk corresponding to that Implant, which is how I will identify the Implants listed below. Also, to my knowledge there is no significant down-time associated with these surgeries. You shouldn't starve to death or dehydrate from having a surgery, even though it does fast-forward time by three hours. o====================o======o=====================o | Implant | Cost | Effect | o====================o======o=====================o |Agility Implant | 4,000| +1 Agility | o====================o======o=====================o |Charisma Implant | 4,000| +1 Charisma | o====================o======o=====================o |Endurance Implant | 4,000| +1 Endurance | o====================o======o=====================o |Intelligence Implant| 4,000| +1 Intelligence | o====================o======o=====================o |Monocyte Breeder |12,000|Regenerate Hit Points| o====================o======o=====================o |Luck Implant | 4,000| +1 Luck | o====================o======o=====================o |Perception Implant | 4,000| +1 Perception | o====================o======o=====================o |Strength Implant | 4,000| +1 Strength | o====================o======o=====================o |Sub-Dermal Armor | 8,000| +4 Damage Threshold | o====================o======o=====================o Obviously these Implants differ in potency.. the Sub-Dermal Armor Implant is better than a Toughness perk, and for Hardcore players, how can life get much better than health regeneration? On the other hand, for a build like mine that uses Charisma as a dump stat it might seem mindless to bother getting enough Endurance in order to boost Charisma. You can buy the Implants from Doctor Usanagi at the New Vegas Medical Clinic. Check the {MOH002} section to see how to reach this area with a new, low-level character. Strength {SPC003} o======================================================================o Skills: Melee Weapons Strength is a measure of your raw physical power. It affects how much you can carry, the power of all melee attacks, and your effectiveness with many heavy weapons. "Strength'll tell you how easily a cowboy totes his saddle, and those bigger firearms, or how much help he's gonna be for ya in a saloon brawl." Strength has a more important role in New Vegas than it previously had. If you played Fallout 1 or 2, you'll remember that weapons in those games also had a minimum Strength requirement. So too, for New Vegas. Strength also increases your melee damage, carrying capacity, and gives a bonus to your Melee Weapons skill. In my mind, however, the most important thing it does is it effectively limits what weapons you can use. If you don't have enough Strength to use a weapon, your aim will wobble, and you'll have a laughable to hit rate in VATS. For melee weapons, it may slow down your rate of attack. Now, as far as unarmed, melee, and explosives are concerned this is only so much of a handicap. Most of the time you don't need a great deal of accuracy with, say, a Fat Man. The increased spread hurts, but with an explosive or Minigun, some inherent inaccuracy is built into the weapon anyways. But with a Sniper Rifle, accuracy is a much greater concern, and considering that higher damage weapons give a much better damage return over high Damage Threshold than lower damage weapons, you're going to want to use the bigger, badder guns. That said, the 'bigger, badder' category really starts at a Strength of six, especially if you use ranged weapons. With the Weapon Handling perk you can lower this requirement by two points, meaning that most characters really only need four Strength.. or three, with the Implant. o=====o============o=================o======o==========================o |Score|Melee Damage|Carrying Capacity|Skills| Description | o=====o============o=================o======o==========================o | 1 | .5 | 160 | +2 |Wet Noodle | | 2 | 1.0 | 170 | +4 |Beached Jellyfish | | 3 | 1.5 | 180 | +6 |Doughy Baby | | 4 | 2.0 | 190 | +8 |Lightweight | | 5 | 2.5 | 200 | +10 |Average Joe | | 6 | 3.0 | 210 | +12 |Barrel Chested | | 7 | 3.5 | 220 | +14 |Beach Bully | | 8 | 4.0 | 230 | +16 |Circus Strongman | | 9 | 4.5 | 240 | +18 |Doomsday Pecs | | 10 | 5.0 | 250 | +20 |Hercules' Bigger Cousin | o=====o============o========================o==========================o My Build: I put *THREE* points into Strength.. decidedly low, but hear me out. With the Implant my Strength will raise to four, and with the Weapon Handling perk I effectively have access to six point weapons, which.. pretty much includes all the pistols and rifles in the game. Considering that I don't have any Strength-dependent perks, I don't care to specialize in Melee Weapons or Unarmed, so the damage doesn't concern me one bit. Grade: *** Perception {SPC004} o======================================================================o Skills: Explosives, Lockpick, and Energy Weapons A high Perception grants a bonus to the Explosives, Lockpick and Energy Weapons skills, and determines when red compass markings appear (which indicate threats). "A perceptive cowboy always knows when there's a lit stick of dynamite nearby... or when a varmint's sneakin' up on him." Perception's big draw is that it increases the distance as which you notice threats-red marks on your compass. Granted this is only useful for avoiding said threats, or ambushing/sneaking up on them. Still, if you are a ranged fighter, this is useful for letting you know where your enemies are before you engage. Yep, that's right out of the old FAQ, and it holds true in New Vegas. There are, however, a few changes in New Vegas that diminishes.. or rather, replaces.. the use of Perception in New Vegas. First, you can just toggle VATS to spot enemies far outside of your range to locate them, so long as you have a line of sight. With one side kick you get a perk that highlights enemies when you aim, and with another you get a perk that vastly increases your detection range. Both of these perks make having a high personal Perception score rather moot. Add into this the fact that with the new iron sights you can effectively snipe outside of VATS much easier.. you don't need a high Perception to find-and kill-enemies. It still has its tactical uses to be sure, and more importantly it is a requirement for some perks, but you don't need nearly as much Perception this time around. In fact, with the larger range of Perception you'll get from one companion, you will see enemies on the compass much earlier than is useful. It doesn't really do you much good to know that there are hostiles on the far side of a mountain, does it? Especially not until you find a way to reach that side of the mountain, in any case. The best thing Perception does is it allows you to get the Better Criticals perk. Without this you can really use it as a dump stat. That said, I can't see why anybody would ignore +50% critical damage. Keep your Perception up at six (or five plus the Implant) to have access to this perk. o=====o======o====================o |Score|Skills| Description | o=====o======o====================o | 1 | +2 |Deaf Bat | | 2 | +4 |Senile Mole | | 3 | +6 |Squinting Newt | | 4 | +8 |Unsuspecting Trout | | 5 | +10 |Wary Trout | | 6 | +12 |Alert Coyote | | 7 | +14 |Big-eyed Tiger | | 8 | +16 |Monocled Falcon | | 9 | +18 |Sniper Hawk | | 10 | +20 |Eagle with Telescope| o=====o======o====================o My Build: I start out with a base of *FIVE* Perception. Grade: ** Endurance {SPC005} o======================================================================o Skills: Survival and Unarmed Endurance is a measure of your overall physical fitness. A high Endurance gives bonuses to health, environmental resistances, and the Survival and Unarmed skills. "You can't keep a good cowboy down, not if he's the endurin' type... and not if he's got a six-shooter the size of all tarnation." As the description says, Endurance increases your Health and some resistances. Presumably your resistance to poison is the same as in Fallout 3, as your radiation resistance remains unchanged. Since you only receive five Hit Points per level in New Vegas (as opposed to 10 in Fallout 3) Endurance plays a more crucial role. Most importantly, however, in New Vegas your Endurance determines how many stat-boosting Implants you can receive. There are a total of nine Implants, and you can get one for each point of Endurance you have.. not including an extra Endurance you may get from an Implant. If you want as many Implants as possible, you're going to want a high starting Endurance. Since this attribute also boosts your Survival, it's a good pick for people playing in Hardcore mode. o=====o=========o=====================o======o================o |Score|Hitpoints|Poison/Rad Resistance|Skills| Description | o=====o=========o=====================o======o================o | 1 | 120 | 0%/0% | +2 |Basically Dead | | 2 | 140 | 5%/2% | +4 |Crumbly | | 3 | 160 | 10%/4% | +6 |Do Not Bend | | 4 | 180 | 15%/6% | +8 |Handle with Care| | 5 | 200 | 20%/8% | +10 |Stain-resistant | | 6 | 220 | 25%/10% | +12 |Hardy | | 7 | 240 | 30%/12% | +14 |Tough-as-nails | | 8 | 260 | 35%/14% | +16 |Flame Retardant | | 9 | 280 | 40%/16% | +18 |Bulletproof | | 10 | 300 | 45%/18% | +20 |Unstoppable | o=====o=========o=====================o======o================o My Build: The more the merrier in Endurance, I start out with a whopping *EIGHT* Endurance. This allows me to get all the Implants in the game, save the Charisma Implant. Grade: ***** Charisma {SPC006} o======================================================================o Skills: Barter and Speech Having a high Charisma will improve people's disposition of you, and give bonuses to both the Barter and Speech skills. "You'll find there are some smooth-talkin' cowboys out there that got themselves a voice that sounds like an angel's harmonica." Charisma isn't any better in New Vegas than it was in any other Fallout game, with the exception of the bonuses it gives to your companions' nerve, which significantly increases their Damage Threshold and Damage. Still, this is a character creation guide aimed at making the strongest character for this game as possible.. not for making the strongest companions. At the end of the day I'd rather have a strong main character than a strong side-kick. Keep the benefits in mind, sure, but realize that a high Charisma is going to cost you in other areas. I use it as a dump stat and let Speech and Barter get me through the conversations in the game. o=====o======o==================o |Score|Skills| Description | o=====o======o==================o | 1 | +2 |Misanthrope | | 2 | +4 |Old Hermit | | 3 | +6 |Creepy Undertaker | | 4 | +8 |Peevish Librarian | | 5 | +10 |Substitute Teacher| | 6 | +12 |Cheery Salesman | | 7 | +14 |Diplomat | | 8 | +16 |Movie Star | | 9 | +18 |Casanova | | 10 | +20 |Cult Leader | o=====o======o==================o My Build: I start out with *ONE* point in Charisma. There's really no great reason to start out with more. If you want to be a silver-tongued devil, get a high Intelligence and just use Speech instead. Grade: * Intelligence {SPC007} o======================================================================o Skills: Science, Repair, and Medicine Intelligence affects the Science, Repair and Medicine skills. The higher your Intelligence, the more Skill Points you'll be able to distribute when you level up. "A smart cowboy's good at most anything, from suckin' the poison out of your rattler bit to fixin' your broken wagon axle." Intelligence is again a solid attribute.. and even though it has been reduced in potency, the fact remains that a character with higher Intelligence will have higher skills, which does all kinds of good things. Not only will you pass more [Intelligence] checks, but more skills means you'll pass more skill checks, too, and in New Vegas, there are alot of them. Simply put, a more Intelligent character is a more versatile, stronger character. And yes, half-points do carry over to next level, so with a 9 Intelligence, you'd get 16 skill points to distribute on one level, and 17 on the next. o=====o=====================o======o=============o |Score|Skill Point per Level|Skills| Description | o=====o=====================o======o=============o | 1 | 10.5 | +2 |Sub-brick | | 2 | 11 | +4 |Vegetable | | 3 | 11.5 | +6 |Cretin | | 4 | 12 | +8 |Knucklehead | | 5 | 12.5 | +10 |Knowledgeable| | 6 | 13 | +12 |Gifted | | 7 | 13.5 | +14 |Smartypants | | 8 | 14 | +16 |Know-it-all | | 9 | 14.5 | +18 |Genius | | 10 | 15 | +20 |Omniscient | o=====o=====================o======o=============o My Build: I start out with *NINE* Intelligence. My first priority, as in Fallout 3, is to bring this nine up to a ten.. and this involves heading to the Emergency Service Railyard, through Primm Pass (if possible), and north until I find the New Vegas Medical Clinic. The lower my level when I do this, the better my character will end up over all, so I take pains to avoid getting experience until I have the Intelligence Implant, after which I play the game more or less normally.. Normal for me, anyways. Grade: **** Agility {SPC008} o======================================================================o Skills: Guns and Sneak Agility affects your Small Guns and Sneak skills, and the number of Action Points available for V.A.T.S. "When a fella's in a gunfight and shoots the other guy six times before they can get off a shot, it's cause that fella is agile." Agility is more of a mixed bag in New Vegas than it was in Fallout 3. Action Points are still good and all, but since VATS doesn't make you more-or-less invincible anymore, it can be a liability. It's often better to use VATS sparingly, when you have time to pull off some safe shots, rather than spam VATS relentlessly. Being able to use VATS more often is better than taking more shots in VATS. Also with the new iron sights, you can kill enemies more effectively at a distance.. again, lessening the need for VATS this time around. Still, you should keep a minimum of six points (or five plus the Implant) if you intend to get the Silent Running perk. o=====o=============o======o================o |Score|Action Points|Skills| Description | o=====o=============o======o================o | 1 | 67 | +2 |Walking Disaster| | 2 | 69 | +4 |Accident Prone | | 3 | 71 | +6 |Oaf | | 4 | 73 | +8 |Butterfingers | | 5 | 75 | +10 |Under Control | | 6 | 77 | +12 |Catlike | | 7 | 79 | +14 |Knife Thrower | | 8 | 81 | +16 |Knife Catcher | | 9 | 83 | +18 |Acrobatic Marvel| | 10 | 85 | +20 |Walks on Water | o=====o=============o======o================o My Build: I grab *SEVEN* point of Agility to start with, raising it to eight with the Small Frame trait. It will eventually reach nine when I get the Implant, which is plenty as far as Action Points and reload speed is concerned. Grade: *** Luck {SPC009} o======================================================================o Skills: All skills "Some folks claim not to believe in luck, but when they lose in a duel you'll hear them say, 'That lucky son-of-a-gun!'" Luck is a great skill, especially with poor Intelligence suffering. From Luck you will get a half-point bonus to all your skills (rounded up), which tops out at +5 once you have nine Luck, making nine really the terminal score for Luck. Considering this, Luck can potentially give you the highest skill bonus of any attribute, and the fact that each point also translates to your critical hit chance makes it a very nice attribute indeed. o====o===============o======o====================o |Luck|Critical Chance|Skills| Description | o====o===============o======o====================o | 1 | 1% | +1 |13 Pitch-black Coats| | 2 | 2% | +1 |Broken Gypsy Mirror | | 3 | 3% | +2 |Sickly Albatross | | 4 | 4% | +2 |Spilled Salt | | 5 | 5% | +3 |Coin Flip | | 6 | 6% | +3 |Stacked Deck | | 7 | 7% | +4 |Lucky 7 | | 8 | 8% | +4 |Leprechaun's Foot | | 9 | 9% | +5 |21-Leaf Clover | | 10 | 10% | +5 |Two-headed Coin Flip| o====o===============o======o====================o My Build: I start out with *EIGHT* Luck, and with the Implant I bring it up to nine, which is as high as it needs to be. Even the critical- hit happy builds should be satisfied with this, and I really canât see stripping a point from another S.P.E.C.I.A.L. state for one measly point of critical hit percentage. Grade: ***** My Personal Build, Attributes {SPC010} o======================================================================o I will purchase all the Implants save Charisma, and focus on Guns.. but I'll have enough skill points that I can bring Energy Weapons and Explosives up to snuff, too. In fact, on a typical build I get all my skills as high as I want them save Melee Weapons, Survival, and Unarmed, which is pretty good, if you ask me. Also, I have recently decided to disdain Power Armor, as it.. well, it's just too heavy and I rarely needed that much protection. Instead I typically go with Vault Security Armor, which has a Damage Threshold of 16 and a repair cost of 100-200 caps. It's also light armor, which is handy. Overall the build can be described as a Gun-using skill-junkie. I will have the skills to handle many different situations in the game, but this character will excel in direct confrontations. The plain number is my starting score, the number in parentheses is my ending score, with Implants and traits considered. Strength 3 (4) Perception 5 (6) Endurance 8 (9) Charisma 1 Intelligence 9 (10) Agility 6 (8) Luck 8 (9) For character who want to play through the game in Hardcore mode-not merely run through, it might be a good idea to grab Perks such as Strong Back and Pack Rat. The following adjustments can be made without the overall building suffering much, if any. Strength 4 (5) Perception 5 (6) Endurance 8 (9) Charisam 1 Intelligence 9 (10) Agility 5 (7) Luck 8 (9) o======================================================================o | | | Skills {SKL001} | | | o======================================================================o Skills determine how good you are at various activities, anything from picking locks, hacking computers, attacking with various weapons, sneaking, interacting with NPCs and so forth. Your skills are every bit as important as your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes and your perks. Base {SKL002} o======================================================================o You start out with two points in each skill, and get an additional two points per S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attribute in related skills with the exception of Luck, which gives .5 point for each point of Luck (rounded up). Tag! {SKL003} o======================================================================o You select three skills to tag after being tested early in the game. Unlike the first two Fallout games, this doesn't double your rate of skill point increase, it merely adds a 15 point bonus to those skills. Leveling {SKL004} o======================================================================o You gain 10 skill points per level plus half your Intelligence score. The sooner you get to the New Vegas Medical Center and buy yourself a shiny new Intelligence Implant, the more skill points you'll have in the long run. Books {SKL005} o======================================================================o In addition to perks, leveling, and intelligence, you can get skill bonuses from books throughout the game. Unlike in Fallout 3, you no longer gain one point for each book, you now get three (or four, with Comprehension). Of course, with bonuses like this you can't expect to find quite as many of them.. but even if you find three or four, that's a significant number of skill points. Magazines {SKL006} o======================================================================o Magazines, like books, exist only to boost your skill points, albeit temporarily. Magazines normally boost your skill points by +10, but with the Comprehension perk this bonus increases to +20. For most skill this is not a huge deal, although the benefits of popping a Milsurp Review to boost your Guns before a big fight is obvious enough. For some 'checked' skills, however, a temporary boost can be just as good as a permanent one. For example, the Speech skill is really only used in conversation. If you reach certain benchmarks you can succeed at Speech checks, which greatly helps with questing, improves rewards, etc. However, you don't ALWAYS need a 100 Speech. In fact, most of the time you're not even using that skill. This is where magazines shine, as with Comprehension you can leave Speech at 80 and just read a magazine before you need to make a check. The Barter, Lockpick, and Science skills all fall into this category as well. Breakdown of Skills Points {SKL007} o======================================================================o There are 13 skills in the game, each of which can be raised to a score of 100, for a grand total of 1300 possible points in the game. Because of several factors, namely the lack of Bobbleheads and a reduction in the number of skill points per level, you will likely not reach 100 in all of your skills.. but you can certainly reach 100 in many of them. Here's a breakdown of where our skills stand with this build at level one. Note that these numbers do not include any trait bonuses. Base SPECIAL Total Implants Total (+Luck) (+Luck) Barter 2 2 +4 8 1 9 Energy Weapons 2 10 +4 16 3 19 Explosives 2 10 +4 16 3 19 Guns 2 12 +4 18 3 21 Lockpick 2 10 +4 16 3 19 Medicine 2 18 +4 24 3 27 Melee Weapons 2 6 +4 12 3 15 Repair 2 18 +4 24 3 27 Science 2 18 +4 24 3 27 Sneak 2 12 +4 18 3 21 Speech 2 2 +4 8 1 9 Survival 4 16 +4 24 3 27 Unarmed 2 16 +4 22 3 25 Now that we've got that, lets figure out how many points we can expect to get from leveling and Tag! skills, and see where that leaves us. 265 Base Skill Points + 45 Tag! +435 15 Skill Points/29 Levels (w/ 10 Intelligence) + 52 2 Skill Points/26 Levels (w/Educated) ------ 797 Skill Points to spend by level 30 With 797 skill points we can get an average of 61~ in each skill.. Simply put, that doesn't really cut it. Fortunately, that's not all there is to it. The previously mentioned books weigh in at three skill points per copy (or four, with the Comprehension perk). Since there are four of each type of book (save Big Books of Science, which has five copies floating about).. that adds up to a lot of potential skill points. Four books per skill, thirteen skills, with an extra Big Book equals 212 skill points that can be obtained from books.. provided you find them all, which can be a major chore in and of itself. Still, if you are dedicated to power gaming, if we add in all the skill points we would receive from books to our base build, this is what we'd end up with: Base w/Skill Total Points Real Books to Max Req. Barter 9 +16 25 +75 +55 Energy Weapons 19 +16 35 +65 +65 Explosives 19 +16 35 +65 +65 Guns 21 +16 37 +63 +63 Lockpick 19 +16 35 +65 +45 Medicine 27 +16 43 +57 +57 Melee Weapons 15 +16 31 +65 +65 Repair 27 +16 43 +57 +57 Science 27 +20 47 +53 +33 Sneak 21 +16 37 +63 +63 Speech 9 +16 25 +75 +55 Survival 27 +16 43 +57 +57 Unarmed 25 +16 41 +59 +59 ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ Breakdown 265 + 212 = 477 819 739 739 Skill Points (Real Requirements) - 45 Tag! -435 15 Skill Points/29 Levels (w/10 Intelligence) - 52 2 Skill Points/26 Levels (w/Educated) ------ 207 Number of Skill Points Required to Max all Skills Keep in mind that by 'base' I mean what our scores will be after getting all the Implants, and an Intensive Training perk in Luck to bring our Luck score up to nine. Comprehension is counted into the book skill point total, to bring us to our potential skill results without spending a single point from leveling. This might be an unrealistically ambitious goal (certainly in Hardcore mode), but it does give those perfectionists out there something to shoot for. The 'Real Req.' column gives the amount of skill points you should spend into a skill at most before spending more becomes redundant. For example, I view it wasteful to bother spending more than 80 points into Barter, Lockpick, Science, and Speech, since these are mostly 'checked' skills that can be raised by reading a magazine prior to a check in order to succeed (see my description of the Comprehension perk for more about this.) As you can see by the math above, with this build we will be able to get about 1095 Skill Points in total, where we would need 1300 to max all the skills at 100. Even getting as many skill points as humanly possible you're going to have to let some things go.. which amounts to roughly three skills that you can't put any points into. Apparel {SKL008} o======================================================================o In addition, if you really want to be a skill point hoarder, some types of Apparel increase your skill points. While not as handy as a magazine (or as rewarding, typically) this doesn't change the fact that if you carry around a Vault Utility Jumpsuit, you really only need 75 Repair, for example, to reach 100. When you find a Very Hard lock pop on the Jumpsuit and read a magazine and get to work. It can be unwieldy to carry around several outfits for the purpose of skill point boosting.. but you can potentially save a good bit of skill points this way.. skill points you can then put into other skills that need a boost on a more permanent basis. Also keep in mind that certain Apparel increases SPECIAL stats, which in turn boost skills.. but it's rather tedious to keep on hand hats for the two point boost you'd get to Lockpick. Where you draw the line at convenience and min/maxing is up to you, but below are some examples of stat-boosting gear, just in case. Apparel Boost Max Skill w/Boost Followers Doctor Coat +5 Science 75 Pre-War Businesswear +5 Speech 75 Roving Trader Hat +5 Barter 75 Vault Utility Jumpsuit +5 Repair/ n/a +5 Lockpick 75 NCR Engineer Outfit +5 Repair n/a Chinese Stealth Armor +5 Sneak n/a Barter (Charisma) {SKL009} o======================================================================o The Barter skill affects the prices you get for buying and selling items. In general, the higher your Barter skill, the lower your prices on purchased items. The higher your Barter, the more Caps you'll get when you sell things, and the less Caps items will cost when you buy them. In addition to this useful bonus, Barter often acts as a Speech substitute.. allowing you to haggle for better deals and rewards. However, Barter may not be worth picking for everyone. Barter will not cover all your Speech checks (and vise versa), and Repair may actually do better at saving you money. In Hardcore mode you typically have to find things to sell to make Barter effective.. which means exploring or hunting/killing enemies, which takes time, and hence, resources. It's a fine skill if you have the points to spend, and if you plan on hunting down all the skill books in the game, there's really no reason not to bring Barter up to 80. Unless you absolutely need to have three or four weapon skills.. and good luck getting the perks to make that work. Grade: **** Suggested Score: 80 Energy Weapons (Perception) {SKL010} o======================================================================o The Energy Weapons skill determines your effectiveness with any weapon that uses Small Energy Cells, Micro Fusion Cells, EC Packs, or Flamer Fuel as ammunition. A bit of a weapon shakeup here, Flamers now belong to Energy Weapons, and not to the now-defunct Big Guns category. Still, Energy Weapons are in direct competition with Guns as a primary arms. Explosives might have their own niche, but if you're using a ranged weapon, it's either Guns or Energy Weapons. The most conventional Energy Weapons are either Laser Pistols, Laser Rifles, Plasma Pistols, or Plasma Rifles, which are by default short to mid-ranged weapons. There are weapons that function like shotguns, the Gauss Rifle takes the place of a Sniper Rifle, and there's even a cannon-type weapon. There are fewer types of ammo.. which is a blessing and a curse. You won't get Armor-Piercing ammo, and more powerful weapons tend to burn through their ammo quickly (the Gauss Rifle, for example, takes five 'rounds' of ammunition per shot.) Overall I prefer to go with Guns, which just seem to have a better selection of ammo and higher relative damage. Not to mention the fact that they are more readily available. Still, I can't argue with the fact that YCS/186 is a superior long-ranged weapon, outperforming the Gauss Rifle in both damage, weight, proficiency requirements, and ammo consumption, and a Multiplas Rifle kills enemies with satisfying speed. Seriously, take a Multiplas Rifle out with Maximum Charge ammo and go shoot up some Deathclaws. It's effective, I'll give it that. Grade: **** Suggested Score: 100 (for Energy Weapons users, base for everyone else) Explosives (Perception) {SKL009} o======================================================================o The Explosives skill determines the ease of disarming any hostile mines and the effectiveness of any explosive weapon (all mines, all grenades, Missile Launcher, Fat Man, etc.) You will certainly notice the delay you get when it comes to disarming mines, but that's not a reason to raise a skill, right? No, it's the fact that Explosives now govern all weapons that.. you know.. cause explosions? Now it's a skill worth considering, since Explosives are a wide and often powerful variety of weapons, easily able to overcome the Damage Thresholds of enemies. Of course, it is still a limited-use and often expensive collection of weapons.. and certainly not one for use against most enemies. Frankly, I'd rather shoot a Deathclaw with an Sniper Rifle, rather than stock up on heavy and expensive Explosives. In fact, I'd rather use Guns to do everything Explosives can do, which is why I have no inclination to endorse it as an essential skill. If you have points left over after focusing on Energy Weapons or Guns, and you a taste for destruction, it makes an interesting-not essential-secondary weapon skill. Grade: *** Suggested Score: 100 (for Explosives users, base for everyone else) Guns (Agility) {SKL010} o======================================================================o Guns determines your effectiveness with any weapon that uses conventional ammunition (.22 LR, .357 Magnum, 5mm, 10mm, 5.56mm, .308, .45-70 Gov't etc.). The Guns skill consists of a stupidly wide variety of weapons with an equally stupidly wide variety of ammunition. Including such mainstays as the 9mm Pistol, Hunting Rifle, Assault Carbine, Light Machine Gun, Riot Shotgun, Sniper Rifle and.. Anti-Material Rifle?.. It is a truly diverse and powerful weapon skill set. It is in direct competition with Energy Weapons for your primary ranged arms, and in my mind, Guns win out. Guns typically deal more damage (especially with Hand Loader) and settle at a comfortable Strength requirement of six.. even for the Sniper Rifle. If anything, Guns might suffer from having too many options. Do you go with the Brush Gun for its low Action Point costs, get the Cowboy perk, and get your Repair skill up to 90 in order to make 45-70 Gov't Hand Load ammo, or stick with the Sniper Rifle, Gobi Rifle, or The Machine and use .308 Hand Load ammo? Or do you do both? Heck, you can even decide to play with revolvers and stick with the Ranger Sequoia. No matter what you decide to do, you can expect to deal a lot of damage with Guns, at close range, long range or from even beyond the Perception range of your enemy. It's a lot of power and versatility for one skill, and in my mind everybody who really wants to kill things, and kill them well, should get at least 75 points in Guns. An exception can be made for devoted Energy Weapons users. Grade: ***** Suggested Score: 75 (Everybody can benefit from getting Guns up to 75.) Lockpick (Perception) {SKL011} o======================================================================o The Lockpick skill is used to open locked doors and containers. It's a brief description for a rather straight-forward skill. You'll find locked boxes, doors, crates, etc. of various degrees of difficulty. Obviously you're going to want to get into them, and this requires your Lockpick skill to be at different levels. This is a pretty useful, if not obligatory skill for everybody to have. Thankfully, however, if you get Comprehension you can just get your score up to 80 and just use a Locksmith's Reader Magazine for when you encounter a [Very Hard] lock. o==============o===============o |Lockpick SKill|Lock Difficulty| o==============o===============o | 0 | Very Easy | | 25 | Easy | | 50 | Average | | 75 | Hard | | 100 | Very Hard | o==============o===============o Grade: ***** Suggested Score: 80 Medicine (Intelligence) {SKL012} o======================================================================o The Medicine skill determines how many Hit Points you'll replenish upon using a Stimpak, and the effectiveness of Rad-X and RadAway. This skill, for all its apparent worth, can be ignored. There is always another way of handling a situation, from donning an Environmental Suit, to visiting a doctor, to just using more Caps. It's more useful in Hardcore mode to be able to ignore these inconveniences, but in a normal game you don't really need a high Medicine score. That said, there are a good number of Medicine challenges in this game, so from a story aspect it's not entirely bad to splurge a little extra.. especially if you've got the skill points to spare. Grade: ** Grade: *** (Hardcore Mode) Suggested Score: base Melee Weapons (Strength) {SKL013} o======================================================================o The Melee Weapons skill determines your effectiveness with any melee weapon, from the simple lead pipe all the way up to the high-tech Super Sledge. Melee Weapons is again in competition with Unarmed, and it again loses. Paralyzing Palm might not be as awesome in New Vegas as it was in Fallout 3, but it does give Unarmed an edge. Also, many of the better perks the two share (Piercing Strike, Slayer) require you to have a large number of points in Unarmed. To its credit, Melee Weapons does control the Ninja, Unstoppable Force, and Super Slam perks, but it does seem to be the loser in this competition, nonetheless. It's also hard to compare a Super Sledge to a Displacer Glove or Ballistic Fist. Your natural inclination is to specialize in one or the other, but unfortunately New Vegas requires you to pay attention to both, whereas with Guns and Energy Weapons you can get by just fine with one or the other. Grade: ** Suggested Score: 45 (for people who want the Cowboy Perk.) 100 (for Melee Weapons users, base for every one else.) Repair (Intelligence) {SKL014} o======================================================================o The Repair skill allows you to maintain any weapons and apparel. In addition, Repair allows you to create items and Guns ammunition at reloading benches. Repair is still good in New Vegas, for many of the same reasons. There has, however, been one significant change to how the skill works. You no longer need to get your Repair skill up to 100 to repair an items condition to 100.. the higher your skill the more you repair when you combine an item, but if you have enough of them you'll be able to fix an item to your hearts' content. Also, some weapons and armor are prohibitively rare, making fixes with Repair difficult. In fact, most armors are easier to simply repair by going to an NPC and paying them to do it, rather than hunting down some armor with which to repair your own. That brings us to weapons. The best way to repair weapons in my opinion is to simply make Weapon Repair Kits, which is much cheaper and simpler than other methods. This makes the terminal skill level for Repair 50, as far as I'm concerned.. unless you use Guns, then you should get a score of 70 for Hand Loader. Grade: *** Suggested Score: 50 70 (for Guns users who use .308 ammo.) 90 (for Guns users who use 45-70 Gov't ammo.) 100 (for Guns users who use 50mg ammo.) Science (Intelligence) {SKL015} o======================================================================o The Science skill represents your combined scientific knowledge, and is primarily used to hack restricted computer terminals. It can also be used to recycle Energy Weapons and ammunition at workbenches. Again, like Lockpick, you'll encounter terminals with varying difficulties which you'll typically want to hack. Also like Lockpick you will be able to get your Science skill up to 80 and just fill in the last 20 points with a Programmer's Digest for the [Very Hard] hacks. The crafting is somewhat moot, as Stimpaks require a score of 70 and components that are more annoying to find than simply paying the Caps for the Stimpak. Everything else that's useful, like ammo recycling or Doctor's Bags, typically have a much lower requirement. o=============o===============o |Science SKill|Hack Difficulty| o=============o===============o | 0 | Very Easy | | 25 | Easy | | 50 | Average | | 75 | Hard | | 100 | Very Hard | o=============o===============o Grade: ***** Suggested Score: 80 Sneak (Agility) {SKL016} o======================================================================o The higher your Sneak skill, the easier it is to remain undetected, steal and item, or pick someone's pocket. Successfully attack while undetected grants an automatic critical hit. Sneak is a nice skill that allows you to steal loot, score sneak attack criticals, and move past enemies when you'd rather avoid (or at least delay) a fight. Most items can be stolen by being patient and waiting for potential witnesses to leave, and sneak attack criticals are more easily to score than ever, now that you have iron sights and don't need to approach as close. Both of these factors mean you really don't need a Sneak score that's terribly high, although if you want to sneak anywhere near an enemy, much less past one, you're going to want the Silent Running perk.. which requires an obligatory minimum investment of 50 Sneak. To be fair, however, you will need a Sneak score of 70+ to really be any good at sneaking, and since enemies are typically more mobile in New Vegas, you probably won't often be sneaking up to a hostile foe in order to get a melee or unarmed sneak attack. Grade: *** Suggested Score: base (for Melee Weapons and Unarmed characters.) 50 (for Silent Running.) 70+ (for dedicated snipers.) Speech (Charisma) {SKL017} o======================================================================o The Speech skill governs how much you can influence someone through dialogue, and gain access to information they might otherwise not want to share. There are many quests that can only be solved-or that can be more easily solved-through Speech. This skill largely eliminates the need for Charisma, so long as you're willing to invest points into it. Your ability to get alternative solutions to quests is priceless and frequent, and a character build that doesn't include at least 80 points of Speech is really missing the point of a Fallout game, in my opinion. Once at 80 you can supplement your score with magazines for when you need a higher Speech check. Grade: ***** Suggested Score: 80 Survival (Endurance) {SKL018} o======================================================================o The Survival skill increases the Hit Points you receive from food and drink. It also helps you created consumable items at campfires. The usefulness of this skill depends wholly on one thing; are you playing in Hardcore mode? If so, you might want this skill, as it will increase the usefulness of consumables and allow you to create better, more wholesome consumables at campfires. If you don't play on Hardcore mode, you don't need to eat or drink anyhow and might as well just use a Stimpak to heal. Seriously, 15 points of Survival makes Purified Water restore 15 more H20, so 100 points of Survival.. well, it makes you need half as much food and water, which is a good thing indeed. On the other hand, if you're a veteran and make the New Vegas run, chances are you'll get yourself enough Caps to just buy all the food and water you need. It's not essential, even in Hardcore mode, but it is nice. Grade: * Grade: *** (Hardcore Mode) Suggested Score: base (for normal gamers.) variable, depending on your comfort level with the game. Unarmed (Endurance) {SKL019} o======================================================================o The Unarmed skill is used for fighting without a weapon, or with weapons designed for hand-to-hand combat, like Brass Knuckles, Power Fists, and Displacer Gloves. The other melee skill, Unarmed has a bit more going for it than Melee Weapons. For one, a high Unarmed skill is required for both the Slayer and Piercing Strike perks, both of which are obligatory for melee-type characters. Power Fists can be found pretty readily at Camp Golf, and even Spiked Knuckles tend to out-perform low-end Melee Weapons. Also, the fact that most builds call for high Endurance plays into the Unarmed skill right from the start. On the other hand, New Vegas requires you to have both skills high in order to get the full range of useful perks, so you'll either have to suck it up and waste a good number of skill points for Ninja, or go without. Still, if push comes to shove, I'd rather have Unarmed than Melee Weapons.. not to mention that Unarmed Weapons typically weigh less helps, too. Grade: *** Suggested Score: 100 (for Unarmed characters, base for everyone else.) 90 (for any melee character, most of the good perks (require a high Unarmed skill.) Skills I Tag! (and why) {SKL020} o======================================================================o Now that Repair isn't as vital, I generally decide to Tag! Science, Lockpick, and Speech to start out, which allows me to complete quest and explore places right from the get-go. Skill Point Allocation {SKL021} o======================================================================o I prefer to start out with Lockpick and Science in the early levels, just so I have access to more areas and have to do as little back- tracking as possible. Companions can, for the meantime, pick up the combat slack. I typically get Lockpick and Science up to 50 before switching off to Speech, Sneak, and whatever weapon I am specializing in. Once those are up to 50, I generally put another level into all of the previously-mentioned skills to bring them up to 64 or so. Then I let books do the rest of the work for Science, Lockpick, and Speech while continuing to build on my specialty weapon. Below I've listed several sample builds, all using the same SPECIAL stats, but with differing skills to reflect different focuses. (Normal Build) (With Books) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Barter: 80 64 + 16 = 80 Energy Weapons: 19 19 + 16 = 35 Explosives: 19 19 + 16 = 35 Guns: 100 84 + 16 = 100 Lockpick: 80 64 + 16 = 80 Medicine: 27 27 + 16 = 43 Melee Weapons: 17 17 + 16 = 33 Repair: 75 59 + 16 = 75 Science: 80 60 + 20 = 80 Sneak: 50 54 + 16 = 70 Speech: 80 64 + 16 = 80 Survival: 27 27 + 16 = 43 Unarmed: 25 25 + 16 = 41 ------ --------------- Total 602 578 Skill Points Remaining: 118 220 With the inclusion of the skill books and further play-testing, I can offer a more powerful 'general' build. Although it might accurately be called a general 'Guns' build, that's more because of the fact that Guns are just the strongest and most versatile weapons out there. If you feel otherwise.. well, that's fine, but multiple plays with different builds really points to Guns. That's not the say that's all this build can do.. there are more than enough skill points left over to focus on any other secondary weapon skill.. granted, you might not have the perks to make Melee Weapons and Unarmed too useful and get all out of Guns that you want, but you can certainly splurge on role- play related perks (like Black Widow/Lady Killer), or focus on a niche of weapons and get the Cowboy perk to beef up the Brush Gun or Ranger Sequoia, or heck, even grab the Laser Commander perk if you really like lasers. As long as you keep Guns, however, you should be able to survive any encounter with some ease, whether you like to fight at close range with a revolver or shotgun, medium range with a Brush Gun, or at long range with a Sniper Rifle. Most importantly, this build has the skills available to do pretty much anything and everything in the game. You'll be able to pick any lock, hack any computer, and succeed at every Speech and Barter check in the game, with plenty of points to spare. "Guns" If you really dedicate your builds to Guns, you might also want to consider getting yourself a Repair score high enough to make the Hand Load ammo (90), and a Melee Weapons skill high enough for Cowboy (45). On the other hand, if you want to be conservative with Guns you really only need a Guns skill of 75 for a Sniper Rifle, and a Repair skill of 70 for .308 JSP ammo. "Unarmed" With Unarmed you're obviously going to want to get up to 90 in Unarmed to get Slayer, but beyond that, there's nothing to prevent you from playing hybrid. Use Guns to take out hordes of Deathclaws, and use Unarmed to kill everything else. Note that the Unarmed build is probably going to be less reliant on Sneak. Also keep in mind that as a fisticuffs character you're going to want all the Damage Threshold you can get, so keep an eye out for Power Armor. "Energy Weapons" If you played conservative with Guns, you can still be pretty damn proficient at them while focusing on Energy Weapons. Energy Weapons doesn't have too many great perks dedicated solely to it, but there is nothing to stop you from relying on Energy Weapons in place of Guns. However, I don't really think that the Gauss Rifle is worth its requirements.. especially since a Sniper Rifle does a better job anyways. The one saving grace of Energy Weapons is the unique Gauss Rifle YCS/186, which has a lower strength requirement and deals downright stupid damage. At the short-to-mid range, however, nothing stops you from going around with a Multiplas Rifle and decimating enemies, either. o======================================================================o | | | Traits {TRT001} | | | o======================================================================o Traits are back in Fallout: New Vegas after a brief absence in the last Fallout title. They are essentially bonus perks that have both positive and negative effects on your character. You may choose up to two when you create your character, but you can choose to pick less if you prefer. Built to Destroy {TRT002} o======================================================================o Req: -- Ranks: 1 The Flamer that burns twice as bright burns half as long. All weapons have +3% chance to Critically Hit, but equipment condition decays 15% faster. Three percent critical rate doesn't sound that great at first, but it is equal to three points of Luck, and over the course of the game you will be scoring lots of hits.. On the other hand, 15% weapon degradation kind of sucks. Here's the rub, however. Early weapons will be relatively plentiful, allowing you to just recombine them and fix them at will. More expensive weapons, like the Riot Shotgun, Brush Gun, Sniper Rifle, etc., could end up costing several thousand Caps to fix.. which is not a good thing. You can, however, create Weapon Repair Kits at a Workbench, allowing you to repair weapons for a handful of Caps using a variety of items that can be purchased from most any merchant. This will save you thousands of Caps, and makes the downside of this trait negligible. Grade: **** Fast Shot {TRT003} o======================================================================o Req: -- Ranks: 1 While using Guns and Energy Weapons, you fire 20% more quickly but your shots are 20% less accurate. Accuracy and shooting speed are both important factors, and I canât see myself happily sacrificing either. There are better traits out there. Grade: ** Four Eyes {TRT004} o======================================================================o Req: PER < 10 Ranks: 1 While wearing any type of glasses, you have +1 PER. Without glasses you have -1 PER. Glasses are plentiful and cheap.. but the fact that you can also just wear a hat for the same bonus makes this trait less useful. Oh, and the fact that Perception isn't terribly useful in this game. Grade: ** Good Natured {TRT005} o======================================================================o Req: -- Ranks: 1 You're Good Natured at heart, more prone to solving problems with your mind than violence. You gain +5 to Barter, Medicine, Repair, Science, and Speech, but have -5 to Energy Weapons, Explosives, Guns, Melee Weapons, and Unarmed. If you really want to play a pacifist, this is for you. Overall, it's bonuses equal its penalties, but that's not the whole story. Think about it. How many weapons will you use? Chances are, you're not going to get more than one or two weapon skills.. three at most. On the other hand, all the skills that gain bonuses are pretty good skills. If you went with a solo-weapon build (Guns or Energy Weapons, for example), the -5 skill check on the one skill you'll spend points in is offset by the +5 bonuses you'll receive. It's worth considering, at least. Grade: *** Heavy Handed {TRT006} o======================================================================o Req: -- Ranks: 1 Your melee and unarmed attacks do more damage, but less critical hit damage. If you want to use this trait.. well, you have to get Unarmed and Melee Weapons, which seems bad enough to me. You also have to choose between damage per hit, and critical hit damage. It seems pretty simple to me that you're going to score more normal hits than critical hits, so that's probably not a bad option. However, if you then go ahead and get Finesse, Better Criticals, and Ninja, you're just gimping yourself. Grade: ** Kamikaze {TRT007} o======================================================================o Req: -- Ranks: 1 In the grand scheme of things, two points of Damage Threshold isn't a huge deal. With Power Armor and Toughness you'll easily gloss over this deficiency. On the surface it might seem like it's saying you're taking two more points of damage per hit.. but if your Damage Threshold is still higher than the enemies' damage with Kamikaze slowing you down, you're really not suffering at all. That said, many enemies like Cazadors and Deathclaws will easily surpass your Damage Threshold. At the end of the day the two-point penalty is fairly unnoticeable later on in the game, but the ten point bonus to your Action Points boosts a VATS system that is nowhere near as strong as it was in Fallout 3. Grade: *** Loose Cannon {TRT008} o======================================================================o Req: -- Ranks: 1 From Frag Grenades to Throwing Spears, you can throw weapons 30% faster at the cost of 25% less range. What do Frag Grenades and Throwing Spears have in common? They're not decisively powerful. This trait allows you to waste more of them, while sacrificing range. Granted, you'll still lob thrown weapons pretty far, but this whole trait just stinks of who-gives-a-crap. Grade: * Small Frame {TRT009} o======================================================================o Req: AGL < 10 Ranks: 1 Due to your small size, you have +1 AGL but your limbs are more easily crippled. First letâs look at the bonus. Agility is a fairly useful attribute, governing two skills and influencing your Action Points, draw speed, and reload speed. And what is the downside? More frequently crippled limbs? If you're not playing in Hardcore mode, this is a no-brainer. Who cares about crippled limbs? Beds and Stimpaks are plentiful. If you're playing in Hardcore mode.. who cares about crippled limbs? You can buy Doctor's Bags at every doctor in the game. It seems like a small price to pay for a better SPECIAL stat. Grade: ***** Trigger Discipline {TRT010} o======================================================================o Req: -- Ranks: 1 While using Guns and Energy Weapons, you fire 20% more slowly but are 20% more accurate. Accuracy and shooting speed are both important factors, and I canât see myself happily sacrificing either. There are better traits out there. Grade: ** Wild Wasteland {TRT011} o======================================================================o Req: -- Ranks: 1 Wild Wasteland unleashes the most bizarre and silly elements of post- apocalyptic America. Not for the faint of heart or the serious of temperament. Seriously. What good fallout game doesn't have abundant references to Monty Python and alien encounters? This perk might not do anything for your build, but it should read "Remember the old Fallout games? Pick this trait to make New Vegas more like them." Nostalgia makes this an interesting choice, indeed. Grade: *** o======================================================================o | | | Perks {PRK001} | | | o======================================================================o In Fallout: New Vegas you gain a perk every even level (starting at level 2). Perks are separated by their level prerequisite, with every even level opening up more perks. Prerequisites for perks may also include S.P.E.C.I.A.L attributes or skill points. (For example, the Entomologist perk requires that you be level 4, have Intelligence 4, and Survival 45.) Since there are fewer perks you can pick in New Vegas, you should probably be more conscious of what Perks you pick. I have retained my rating system from the old FAQ for this one, although there are less useless perks in New Vegas (getting rid of all the skill perks will do that). Your perk choices should follow your build, and should help you specialize in certain areas depending on your skills. I will note where the grade of a perk varies from normal mode to Hardcore mode. Note that some perks are also rated by availability.. for example, Lady Killer isn't a very good perk. But the fact that it's one of the very few perks that actually do anything worth mentioning at level 2, it is rated a bit higher than it otherwise would be. And yes, if the same values applied to perks in Fallout 3 that apply to them in New Vegas, I copied the description right from my old FAQ. Some perks, like Night Person, are just as horrible and for the same reasons, there's really no need for me to restate the information arbitrarily. * Horrible Nobody should pick this perk. ** Bad Generally this is a low-end perk. Sometimes they provide just enough of a benefit specific to a character to be worth it, but most characters will not find this perk useful. *** Average This perk is good simply because of the lack of competition, or there is a good, but not overwhelmingly good reason to pick it. It might look good on its own merit, but compared to truly great perks, it doesn't measure up. **** Good A good perk for anybody to pick, or a perk that is absolutely essential to a specific build. ***** Great A perk everybody should get. Period. Level 2 Perks {PRK002} o======================================================================o Black Widow/Cherchez La Femme/Lady Killer Req: Level 2 Ranks: 1 In combat you do +10% damage against male/female opponents. Outside of combat, you'll sometimes have access to unique dialogue options when dealing with the opposite sex. You wonât use this perk much in dialogue.. it just doesn't have all that many uses. And what few it has, you can get the same results from other methods. Still, the +10% damage to the opposite gender is.. well, something, which is more than can be said for the other level 2 perks. Note that only 'human' enemies have a gender. This does not include Feral Ghouls, Animals, Insects, Robots, or Abominations. Since most of the affected enemies are either NCR Troopers, Caesar's Legion Soldiers, Raiders, or Gang Members, it should be noted that there is a clear plurality of male-gender enemies that will be affected by this. Grade: ** (vs. females) Grade: *** (vs. males) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Friend of the Night Req: Level 2, Perception 6, Sneak 30 Ranks: 1 You are a true friend of the night. Your eyes adapt quickly to low- light conditions indoors and when darkness falls across the wasteland. First, you can use Cateye to duplicate this effect. Second, you have a Pip-Boy light. Third, it never gets too dark to really need night vision, three, you have allies that can illuminate enemies for you. Useless perk. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Heave, Ho! Req: Level 2, Explosives 30, Strength 5 Ranks: 1 Quite an arm you've got there. All thrown weapons fly farther and faster for you. Or you could just use a Grenade Gun or Missile Launcher. Seriously. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Hunter Req: Level 2, Survival 30 Ranks: 1 In combat, you do +75% Critical Damage against animals and mutated animals. Note that this category doesn't include Ghouls, Insects, or Abominations. But if Big Hornerâs and Geckos are kicking your ass.. well, quit playing. Once you get decent guns you'll pop off Golden Geckos before they get anywhere near you, +75% critical damage or not. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Intense Training Req: Level 2 Ranks: 10 With the Intense Training perk, you can put a single point into any of your S.P.E.C.I.A.L attributes. Beyond equipment and Implants, this is the only way to raise an attribute, and it is arguably a worthy choice for a level 2 perk. If you don't care for a gender-perk, get this instead. Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Rapid Reload Req: Level 2, Guns 30, Agility 5 Ranks: 1 Rapid Reload makes all of your weapon reloads 25% faster than normal. This.. well, it's mostly junk, but weapon reloads can be a problem. The faster you reload, the faster you're firing, and it might be a consideration if your Agility is a flat 5. If you have a higher Agility, like, say you were actually following my build advice, you'll reload fast enough. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Retention Req: Level 2, Intelligence 5 Ranks: 1 With the Retention perk, the bonuses granted by skill magazines last three times as long. As far as I'm concerned, skill magazines are meant to be used in order to pick a lock, hack a computer, or succeed at a skill check. This can typically be done just before interacting with the object or character that requires the check. There is absolutely no reason to require your skill magazines to last three times longer. They weigh nothing, and they are pretty cheap to buy, too. You don't need this perk. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Swift Learner Req: Level 2, Intelligence 4 Ranks: 3 With each rank in the Swift Learner perk, you gain an additional 10% to total Experience Points whenever Experience Points are earned. In New Vegas there are tons of quests, and many enemies give 50 XP, which was reasonably rare in Fallout 3. Add in the challenges, which give you bundles of experience, and you'll find that you're leveling up even faster in New Vegas than you were in Fallout 3! You don't need to speed up the process and in so doing waste one of your precious perks. Grade: * Level 4 Perks {PRK003} o======================================================================o Cannibal Req: Level 4 Ranks: 1 With the Cannibal perk, when you're in Sneak mode, you gain the option to eat a corpse to regain Health. But every time you feed, you lose Karma, and if the act is witnessed, it is considered a crime against nature. If you want to be truly despicable, you can go ahead and get this perk. I would deride this perk more.. but in Hardcore mode it just might come in handy. You'll apparently heal points of [FOD] for every corpse you eat.. which isn't much, but if you kill a batch of Viper Gang Members, you can get a good bit of.. you know what, this perk still sucks, but I'll give it a two-star rating in Hardcore mode for giggles. Grade: * Grade: ** (Hardcore Mode) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Comprehension Req: Level 4, Intelligence 4 Ranks: 1 With the Comprehension perk, you gain double the bonus from reading magazines and one additional skill point whenever a skill book is read. I was hesitant about this perk at first, and put it off for a long time on my first character. With skill books giving three points per book, Comprehension's one point increase wasn't as outstanding as it was in Fallout 3. Later into the game, when I had found perhaps a dozen books, I decided that Comprehension was indeed worthy of selection. But more than just the skill points from books.. the magazine bonus is what really makes this perk worthwhile. Very Hard terminals and locks are fairly rare in this game.. rare enough that you can just keep a magazine on hand for when you really need to pop a lock, or pass a Speech check. With the Comprehension perk, you only need to be within twenty points of 100 to pass such rare checks. This led me to the conclusion that checked skills like Barter, Speech, Lockpick, and Science could just be left at 80. Most of their benefit is there all the time, but when you REALLY need more than 80 to pass a check, you can just pop open a magazine. This effectively saves you scores of skill points that you can put into skills that need to be high all the time.. like Sneak, or Guns. Oh, and since there are-as far as I have seen-four of each type of book (except Big Book of Science, of which there are five) this perk also effectively can give you 53 extra skill point.. one more per book. Provided you bother to find all the books, that is. Grade: ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Educated Req: Level 4, Intelligence 4 Ranks: 1 With the Educated perk, you gain two more skill points every time you advance in level. This perk is best taken early on, to maximize its effectiveness. Sure, it's not as good as it was in the last game, but now that there are less skill points to go around, it actually becomes more important. I look at it this way. If you get it at level four, you will have 26 levels to reap the benefits. That's 52 skill points.. enough to bring up a single skill. That's one more thing your character can do well, whether it's Barter, Energy Weapons, Guns, Explosives, Lockpick, Science, Sneak, Repair, or what have you. I don't know about you, but I like my character being able to do things. Grade: ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Entomologist Req: Level 4, Survival 45, Intelligence 4 Ranks: 1 With the Entomologist perk, you do an extra 50% damage every time you attack a mutated insect, like the Radroach, Giant Mantis, or Radscorpian. Giant Radscorpians suck in this game, but not enough that I can really suggest picking this perk. Later on you'll have weapons that can handle their Damage Threshold, and they're just never become the same level of threat that Deathclaws become, although the extra damage against Cazadors is somewhat welcome. It doesn't come high on my list of potential perks, but if you're just getting wasted by bugs later in the game.. and you have good weapons and armor, maybe it's worth a look. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Rad Child Req: Level 4, Survival 70 Ranks: 1 You truly are a rad child. As you go through the increasingly devastating stages of radiation sickness, you will regenerate more and more health. Yeah, there's an Implant for that now, and frankly, it's better to avoid becoming heavily irradiated. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Run 'n Gun Req: Level 4, Guns 45 OR Energy Weapons 45 Ranks: 1 The Run 'n Gun perk reduces accuracy penalties with one-handed Guns and Energy Weapons while walking or running. Letâs think about this critically, shall we? Most one-handed guns aren't very strong, at least not against armor, and certainly not compared to rifle-grip guns. And there's another way we can negate this penalty.. by stopping and aiming. Yeah, that defeats the purpose of the whole thing, but if you are running around shooting wildly at an enemy with a one-handed gun, then there's something you did wrong at some point in the encounter. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Travel Light Req: Level 4, Survival 45 Ranks: 1 While wearing light armor or no armor, you run 10% faster. Light armor or 'no armor' is not very good armor, and 10% isn't a huge speed boost. I gotta say, even for Hardcore mode folks, I wouldn't pick this perk. Grade: * Level 6 Perks {PRK004} o======================================================================o Bloody Mess Req: Level 6 Ranks: 1 With the Bloody Mess perk, characters and creatures you kill will often explode into a red, gut-ridden, eyeball-strewn paste. Fun! Oh, and you'll do 5% extra damage with all weapons. Okay, the aesthetics are cool, but that's no reason to get a perk. 5% damage against everything is nice, though. Considering the fact that other damage increasing perks only affect certain weapon types, or certain enemies, a pure, honest, damage boost is special. There's also the nostalgia factor, for us old school Fallout players. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Demolition Expert Req: Level 6, Explosives 50 Ranks: 3 With each rank of this perk, all of your explosive weapons do an additional 20% damage. Guess what? This perk isn't so useless anymore. Explosives now encompasses all the weapon types it originally should have, and 20% is a huge damage bonus, that goes a long way. Make your Explosives even more spectacular or.. if I may.. get more bang for your buck with the Demolition Expert perk. That said, if you don't consider Explosives a big part of your build, you shouldn't consider this perk a priority. Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Ferocious Loyalty Req: Level 6, Charisma 6 Ranks: 1 The power of your personality inspires die-hard loyalty from your followers. When you drop below 50% Health, your companions temporarily gain much greater resistance to damage. Three problems with this, well, four, really. First, you have to rely on your companions to make the most of this perk. Second, if you drop below 50% of your health, the enemies are clearly attacking you, and not your companions. Third, it's a duration effect, so you can't even strategically keep your health below 50% so your allies reap the benefits. Fourth, it requires six points of Charisma, which is just about a waste of five S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points, as far as I'm concerned. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Fortune Finder Req: Level 6, Luck 5 Ranks: 1 With the Fortune Finder perk, you'll find considerably more Nuka-Cola caps in containers than you normally would. More caps. Yay. You'll get plenty of caps killing things and selling their loot. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Gunslinger Req: Level 6 Ranks: 1 While using a pistol (or similar one-handed weapon), your accuracy in V.A.T.S. is significantly increased. If you plan to use one-handed ranged weapons-and V.A.T.S.-you should definitely pick up this perk. Now that V.A.T.S. is less useful and perks are more precious, I just can't bring myself to buy this perk. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Hand Loader Req: Level 6, Repair 70 Ranks: 1 You know your way around a reloading bench and don't let good brass and hulls go to waste. When you use guns you are more likely to recover cases and hulls. You also have all hand load recipes unlocked at the Reloading Bench. Okay, I can admit when I was wrong.. grudgingly. This perk allows you to recover ammo cases in hulls, which in and of itself isn't worth much. It does, however, unlock all the ammo recipes for guns, which includes the hand load ammo recipes. These, in turn, do wonderful things, typically giving a damage boost as well as altering the ammo in some other wonderful way. For instance, the 50mg rounds you can build with this perk deal x1.2 damage and increase spread. Now, if you buy plenty of ammo and break it down, and convert it to the better, hand load ammo recipes you'll reap the benefits. It sounds like a lot of work, and you tend to take a loss on the ammo in the process (breaking down 100 rounds of ammo will not allow you to rebuild 100 rounds of ammo), but how can you really argue with a damage bonus on EVERY shot? If you specialize with Guns, you can't. Note that to actually make some of the ammo this perk gives you access to, you may need a significantly higher Repair score. For example, .45-70 Gov't, SWC Hand Load ammo requires a Repair score of 90, and .50MG, Match Hand Load ammo requires a whopping 100 Repair score. Getting up to 75 and using magazines and wearing a Utility Jumpsuit comes highly recommended, in this case. Also note that most Guns don't have Hand Load ammo recipes.. and some of the few that do aren't really worth making. You're really looking at three types of ammo when it comes to the Hand Load recipes; .308 rounds, 50mg rounds, and 45-50 Gov't rounds, all of which have excellent Hand Load recipes. Fortunately, they are the ammo used by pretty much all the good Guns in the game. Grade: **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Lead Belly Req: Level 6, Survival 40 OR Endurance 5 Ranks: 1 With the Lead Belly perk, you take 50% less radiation every time you drink from an irradiated water source. *Sigh* Okay, if you're not playing Hardcore mode, this perk is safely useless. If you are playing Hardcore mode.. there has to be a better way to reach water, right? I mean, you can create quantities of Purified Water? Heck, there are plenty of perfectly clean water sources sitting out in the wastes just waiting to be discovered. Still, I can admit that there might be the need to do this once in a while.. but even so, you can surely get to a doctor before you die of radiation poisoning and just pay the 100 damn caps. In fact, it's cheaper to drink irradiated water and just pay a doctor to fix you than it is to buy purified water! Still.. this perk allows you to drink twice as much.. If you choose the Rad Absorption perk along with this one, you're pretty much all set for water, but I have to think that there are plenty of water sources out there that aren't irradiated in the first place. Grade: * Grade: ** (Hardcore Mode) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Shotgun Surgeon Req: Level 6, Guns 45 Ranks: 1 Your precision with a scattergun is something to behold. When using shotguns, regardless of ammunition used, you ignore an additional 10 points of a target's Damage Threshold. If you use Shotguns, you need this perk, period. Shotguns function something like automatic weapons, firing numerous, low-damage shots at a time. This makes the Damage Threshold reduction absolutely crucial for Shotguns, and the fact that SMGs and Assault Rifles don't have a perk like this really argues for the supremacy of the Shotgun. Combine this with Slugs, and you've got a good combination. I've managed to kill a Deathclaw in three shots with this perk and a Riot Shotgun, which is a pretty nice feat. That said, you can probably just use a Brush Rifle or an Anti-Material Rifle, which, although they don't have any perks designed for them, do enough damage to negate an enemies Damage Threshold anyways. Grade: **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> The Professional Req: Level 6, Sneak 70 Ranks: 1 Up close and personal, that's how you like it. Your Sneak Attack Criticals with pistols, revolvers, and submachine guns, whether Guns or Energy Weapons, all inflict an additional 20% damage. The high Sneak requirement on this is somewhat accounted for by the fact that you'd need a decent Sneak to get within range for these weapons. I have to be honest, this isn't a great perk. It's a 20% damage bonus that only applies to sneak attack criticals, and only to a variety of guns that aren't really suited for sniping (or for doling out huge amounts of damage, in any event). Surely perks like Finesse and Better Criticals put this to shame. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Toughness Req: Level 6, Endurance 5 Ranks: 2 With the Toughness perk, you gain +3 to overall Damage Threshold. This perk may be taken twice, with the second rank granting an additional +3. Here's how Damage Threshold works. If an enemies weapon can't overcome your Damage Threshold, you only take a small fraction of that weapons' damage. Many enemies use fairly typical weapons and thus do fairly low damage. A suit of Power Armor (typically granting you 20 some Damage Threshold) is about the best you can shoot for. With two of these perks, the Implant, and Remnant Power Armor and Helmet, you can aspire to the upper 30's. Many enemies, however, will do much more damage than this. A Deathclaw, Cazador, Giant Radscorpian, or an enemy with a high-end gun will still do plenty of damage to you, regardless of your Damage Threshold. This perk will help you mitigate a bit of damage from every attack, but three points off a 50 damage attack is less impressive than Fallout 3's base 10% damage resistance. Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Vigilant Recycler Req: Level 6, Science 70 Ranks: 1 Waste not, want not. When you use Energy Weapons, you are more likely to recover drained ammunition. You also have more efficient recycling recipes available at the Workbench. Just like the Hand Loader perk, but for Energy Weapons. Eh. There's a quest you can do which will net you a good bit of free Energy Weapon ammunition that respawns over time. Also, there are fewer types of Energy Weapon ammunition, and less need to convert such ammo. I don't suggest picking this perk, even if you love Energy Weapons. You can create Maximum Charge ammo just fine without this perk, which makes me why bother with this perk? If you're an adamantly die-hard Energy Weapons user, perhaps, but this perk mostly just saves you money.. if that's your goal, why not pick Jury Rigging instead? Grade: * Grade: *** (Energy Weapon nuts) Level 8 Perks {PRK005} o======================================================================o Commando Req: Level 8 Ranks: 1 While using a rifle (or similar one-handed weapon), your accuracy in V.A.T.S. is significantly increased. V.A.T.S. might not be the prime-and-only combat solution in this game, in fact, as often as it's a godsend it's a liability, but it does have its uses. In New Vegas, rifle-grip guns are by far the dominant branch of weapons. One-handed weapons typically lose the damage battle by a wide margin. While this was excusable to some extent in Fallout 3, you really need that damage this time around, and no, being able to run faster with a one-handed gun doesn't make up for their lack of power (especially not with the Agility this build calls for.) The bottom line, V.A.T.S. may not be king, but it has its uses, and if you use V.A.T.S., and use two-handed weapons, this perk is calling to you. It's better than Gunslinger, in any event. Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Cowboy Req: Level 8, Guns 45, Melee Weapons 45 Ranks: 1 You do 25% more damage when using any revolver, lever-action firearm, dynamite, knife, or hatchet. Promising on paper, as 25% is a big chunk of damage, there's just one catch. Most of the weapons this applies to are rather weak, with the exception of the Brush Gun and Ranger Sequoia. The Brush Gun is good at short to mid range combat, and is easily a better choice for close encounters than the AM Rifle or Sniper Rifle. If you've got a good handle on sniping (especially when it comes to the stronger enemies, like Deathclaws), you may not even give this perk a second glance. On the other hand, the Brush Gun has some excellent utility it when comes to slaying Cazadors, or swarms of moderately powerful enemies (many human enemies come to mind). In fact, if something isn't far enough away to bother shooting at with a Sniper Rifle, you might as well be using a Brush Gun, and this gives a hefty 25% damage bonus to that weapon, making it a useful-although not vital-addition to any Guns build. Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Living Anatomy Req: Level 8, Medicine 70 Ranks: 1 Living Anatomy allows you to see the Health and Damage Threshold of any target. It also gives you a +5% bonus to damage against Humans and non- Feral Ghouls. Ah, another pre-Fallout 3 perk that makes its return in New Vegas. First lets discuss the damage. 5% isn't much, and the fact that it applies only to humans and non-feral Ghouls means you can safely ignore it, as it's only as effective as, say, Black Widow. On the other hand, being able to see an enemies Health and, more importantly, their Damage Threshold is a huge advantage, especially on your first playthrough. When you see a that a Super Mutant Master has a 20 Damage Threshold, or a Giant Radscorpian has a 36, you begin to understand why your Cowboy Repeater wasn't hurting it. Once you've played the game a bit, however, you start to understand this intuitively, especially after playing with this perk. Anybody knows that a Deathclaw is going to have a high Damage Threshold, and even without knowing the exact number of hit points, you can always see an enemies health bar in V.A.T.S. For veteran players, this perk becomes much less useful, although anomalies exist, and once you have played the game more you'll realize that getting a bigger, stronger gun is always the answer. Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Pack Rat Req: Level 8, Intelligence 5, Barter 70 Ranks: 1 You have learned the value of careful packing. Items with a weight of 2 or less weigh half as much for you. At first this perk almost seems silly, and it does have some flaws. For one, if you're not playing in Hardcore mode, it's a complete waste of a perk. If you are playing in Hardcore mode, however, it still requires what can be a brutal and potentially wasteful amount of points in Barter. On the other hand, anything that weighs less than a pound will weigh, well, half as much. This comes with an important implication for Hardcore mode players; most of your vital food, ammo, and crafting components will weigh half as much, allowing you to stock up and carry around twice as many, which is worth its weight in gold. Worth more, really, gold isn't very good for drinking. Right Crassus? With this benefit you have to weigh it against the Strong Back perk.. if you're not going to carry more than fifty pounds of supplies, you might as well get that perk instead. Also if you have some allies, you can just load them up full of gear. So, this perk does have its issues, but if you just want to be sure you are carrying as much gear as possible.. Grade: * Grade: *** (Hardcore Mode) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Quick Draw Req: Level 8, Agility 5 Ranks: 1 Quick Draw makes all of your weapon equipping and holstering 50% faster. With the base of five Agility this perk calls for.. maybe.. but with anything higher you're going to be doing just fine on your own. And, since this game allows you to be the sniper more successfully and from a safer distance, chances are you'll have your gun out before the enemy anyways. Don't waste your perk. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Rad Resistance Req: Level 8, Survival 40, Endurance 5 Ranks: 1 Rad Resistance allows you to -- what else? -- resist radiation. This perk grants an additional 25% to Radiation Resistance. 25% is a fairly large amount of radiation resistance, but there are plenty of environmental suits in the game, and of course.. Rad-X. You can take a perk to permanently gain resistance, or take a pill to get the resistance when you need it. Even if you get irradiated, it only costs 100 Caps or some RadAway to fix you up. If you're the Hardcore mode survival type, just wait for Rad Absorption. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Scrounger Req: Level 8, Luck 5 Ranks: 1 With the Scrounger perk, you'll find considerably more ammunition in containers than you normally would. Buy your ammo, instead. Problem solved. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Stonewall Req: Level 8, Endurance 6, Strength 6 Ranks: 1 You gain +5 Damage Threshold against all Melee Weapons and Unarmed attacks and cannot be knocked down in combat. Sure, +5 isn't a big deal when it applies to only melee attacks.. but honestly most of the enemies that will blast through your Damage Threshold are things like Cazadors, Deathclaws, Radscorpians, and to some extent Nightstalkers and Geckos, all of which use.. you guessed it. On the other hand, five damage probably won't slow most of them down much (especially the poisonous ones), and I've yet to be knocked down in combat.. save from an explosive. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Strong Back Req: Strength 5, Endurance 5 Ranks: 1 With the Strong Back perk, you can carry 50 more pounds of equipment. It was in my build for Fallout 3, but with half the perks there's no way this one is getting back in. Sure, carrying extra stuff is nice (perhaps even vital, in Hardcore mode), but otherwise it's not a big deal. If you are playing Hardcore mode and having the ammo-weight blues, give this and Pack Rat some consideration. 50 pounds of equipment can go a long way. Grade: * Grade: *** (Hardcore Mode) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Super Slam Req: Level 8, Strength 6, Melee Weapons 45 Ranks: 1 All Melee Weapons (except thrown) and Unarmed attacks have a chance of knocking your target down. This is pretty simple, knocking enemies down will buy you some breathing room and allow you to score more hits.. and the biggest issue of melee in New Vegas is easily the fact that enemies can retaliate more successfully (especially compared to a sniper-build). If you are making an Unarmed, or especially a Melee Weapons build, you should consider this perk. Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Terrifying Presence Req: Level 8, Speech 70 Ranks: 1 In some conversations, you gain the ability to initiate combat while terrifying a mob of opponents, sending them fleeing for safety. Seriously? Do I even have to discuss this one? Ah, I guess there are.. uh.. some second generation mutants out there who might not understand when suck rears its ugly head. Okay, how often will this help you against Cazadors, Super Mutants, and Deathclaws? What's that? Never? Okay then. You don't need to scare off NPCs, they tend to be weak enough. Grade: * Level 10 Perks {PRK006} o======================================================================o Animal Friend Req: Level 10, Charisma 6, Survival 45 Ranks 2 At the first rank of this perk, animals simply won't attack. At the second rank, they will eventually come to your aid in combat, but never against another animal. This perk was useless in Fallout 3, and it's useless in New Vegas. There is simply no animal that is dangerous enough to need sanctuary from it, much less aid. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Finesse Req: Level 10 Ranks: 1 With the Finesse perk you have a higher chance to score a critical hit on an opponent in combat, equivalent to 5 extra points of Luck. An extra 5% chance to critically hit sure fits into my game plan. Actually, I can't imagine anybody not having a use for an extra 5% chance to critical. I'd rather take a sure damage increase any day, but this is still a good perk. Think of it this way, taking Strong Back is good because it gives you the best part of having five points of Strength. Finesse does pretty much the same thing, but with Luck, a far superior attribute. Again, if you get perks like Better Criticals, this perk becomes that much more useful. Grade: ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Here and Now Req: Level 10 Ranks: 1 The Here and Now perk immediately grants an additional experience level, complete with all the advantages that brings. Or you could just level up like normal. If you're like me, you hit level 30 well before you finished the game. This is a waste of a perk. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Math Wrath Req: Level 10, Science 70 Ranks: 1 You are able to optimize your Pip-Boy's V.A.T.S. logic, reducing all AP costs by 10% In Fallout 3 this would have been a killer perk. In New Vegas, V.A.T.S. is less important. In any event, using more V.A.T.S. at once is risky. I would shoot for perks that replenish or regenerate your AP, rather than perks that reduce AP costs or raise your AP total. Sure, using VATS in short bursts works just as well (for example, taking two or three shots instead of five or six) but with more powerful, Damage Threshold defeating weapons, you wonât' get many shots off at once anyways. Also, think about this. Most characters will have around 100 AP. In fact, the only way you'll get much more is by picking perks like Action Boy/Girl or the Kamikaze trait. TO that end, having -10% AP costs from 100 AP is like having 10 more AP.. which is patently inferior to the Action Boy/Girl perk. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Miss Fortune Req: Level 10, Luck 6 Ranks: 1 Just when your enemies think they have the upper hand, Miss Fortune appears to turn their world upside down. Appearing only in V.A.T.S., she has the ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Two things about this, and it applies to Mysterious Stranger; the only 'luck' I want to rely on in this game is critical hits. And the fact that this perk only works in V.A.T.S., and then, unpredictably at that, makes me pass on it for something more certain. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Mister Sandman Req: Level 10, Sneak 60% Ranks: 1 With the Mister Sandman perk, when you're in Sneak mode, you gain the option to silently kill any human or Ghoul while they're sleeping. And, all Mister Sandman kills earn bonus XP. First, if they're sleeping, you can probably just shoot them from a distance anyways. Second, when enemies are sleeping, they seem to have a greater ability to detect you. Hell, half the time I get detected it's by sleeping characters. Third, most enemies you'll want to kill wonât be caught sleeping, so this is mostly useful for assassinating NPCs. And finally-how much XP are you really going to be getting from this in the long run? Don't waste your perks. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Mysterious Stranger Req: Level 10, Luck 6 Ranks: 1 You've gained your own personal guardian angel... armed with a fully loaded .44 Magnum. With this perk, the Mysterious Stranger will appear occasionally in V.A.T.S. mode to lend a hand, with deadly efficiency. For the same reason that I won't use Miss Fortune, I won't use Mysterious Stranger. Sure, the extra damage in V.A.T.S. might be nice, but it can be done other, more reliable ways. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Nerd Rage! Req: Level 10, Science 50, Intelligence 5 Ranks: 1 You've been pushed around long enough! With the Nerd Rage! perk, your Strength is raised to 10 and you gain +15 Damage Threshold whenever your Health drops to 20% or below. I've actually used this perk before in New Vegas.. more for novelties' sake than for any good reason. It was fun to mess around with a character who stuck to mid-strength weapons, but once they got injured whipped out a Minigun. It wasn't horribly effective, mind you, just amusing for a spell. +15 Damage Threshold is pretty nice, but falling under 20% of your health is cutting it awful close.. I wouldn't bother with this perk. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Night Person Req: Level 10 Ranks: 1 When the sun is down, a Night Person gains +2 to both Intelligence and Perception (up to a maximum of 10). This perk directly affects your "internal clock" and remains active both inside and outside. The best part of this perk is the skill bonuses you'd receive from the stat increases. If you get the extra skill points from the Intelligence when you level up at night.. maybe. But still, having a bonus half of the time.. eh. I mean, it's not like it adds to your combat abilities, it lets you see threats further (at night) and gives you some extra skill points. There's better out there. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Plasma Spaz Req: Level 10, Energy Weapons 70 You're just so excited about plasma that you can't (magnetically) contain yourself! The AP costs for all plasma weapons (including Plasma Grenades) are reduced by 10%. You remember Math Wrath? Yeah, it worked for all weapons, and still wasn't that good. How is a perk that only works for plasma weapons going to fare? Not so well. Grade: * Level 12 Perks {PRK007} o======================================================================o Fast Metabolism Req: Level 12 Ranks: 1 With the Fast Metabolism perk, you gain a 20% Health bonus when using Stimpaks. Stimpaks are cheap enough to buy, you don't need this perk. If it increased the healing and other drug benefits, (perhaps H20 recovery), then it might be good for Hardcore players, but as it stands, it sucks. Heh. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Ghastly Scavenger Req: Level 12, Cannibal Ranks: 1 With Ghastly Scavenger, when you're in Sneak mode, you gain the option to eat a Super Mutant or Feral Ghoul corpse to regain Health. Every time you feed, you lose Karma, and if the act is witnessed, it is considered a crime against nature. Much like the Cannibal perk, this perk is only remotely useful if you're playing in Hardcore mode. Even then, this perk requires you to have Cannibal-a perk with arguable value as it is-and only works on Super Mutants and Feral Ghouls. Humans are more plentiful, and unless you're just starving away on Black Mountain, Camp Searchlight, or Vault 34, there's not really any widespread use for this perk. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Hit the Deck Req: Level 12, Explosives 70 Ranks: 1 Your extensive familiarity with Explosives allows you to ignore a portion of their damage. Your Damage Threshold is increased by 50% against any and all Explosives--even your own. I don't suppose this applies to the explosive corona caused by the Meltdown perk? Ah well. I can actually see this perk having its uses, albeit dependent upon your love of Explosives and your base Damage Threshold. If you use nothing but Explosives, and wear enough armor to give you.. about 30 Damage Threshold, then the frequency of friendly fire and the Damage Threshold bonus may well be worth the perk. If not, you can ignore this perk. Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Life Giver Req: Level 12, Endurance 6 Ranks: 1 With the Life Giver perk, you gain an additional 30 Hit Points. Considering that you gain 20 hit points for a point of Endurance, this perk is pretty much on the same level as an Intensive Training perk spent on Endurance-minus the bonuses to resistances and the skills, and the ability to grab another Implant. The fact that Implants call for us to have such a high starting Endurance makes 30 extra hit points dispensable, and although it's nice, I can't see it fitting into most builds. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Long Haul Req: Level 12, Barter 70, Endurance 6 Ranks: 1 You have learned how to pack mountains of gear for the Long Haul. Being over-encumbered no longer prevents you from using Fast Travel. Sure, you might think this is nifty. After all, how wonderful would it be to just grab up all the loot you can carry and fast travel back to town? What about the implications for Hardcore mode? Hogwash. Crawling around scavenging the last few items in a room or on some corpses and then having to inch your way outside to fast travel is not a time saver. Just drop the excess and come back. Or store it on a companion. This is an illusory time saver, and unless you stored an ungodly amount of loot in a container, picked it all up, and then waddled outside to fast travel, you wouldn't be doing anything. This isn't a good perk, it's just procrastination disguised as convenience. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Piercing Strike Req: Level 12, Unarmed 70 Ranks: 1 Piercing Strike makes all of your Unarmed and Melee Weapons (including thrown) negate 15 points of Damage Threshold on the target. Ignoring 15 points of Damage Threshold is huge, even ridiculous, especially considering that many Unarmed and Melee Weapons already do good damage. Combine this with the Purifier perk and you will be able to deal with Deathclaws and Super Mutants as well as any weapon-bearing character in the game. Frankly, however, against those enemies I'd rather keep my distance. If you go melee, however, you're going to want this perk. Grade: **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Pyromaniac Req: Level 12, Explosives 60 Ranks: 1 With the Pyromaniac perk, you do +50% damage with fire-based weapons, like the Flamer and Shishkebab. This is a huge damage boost that effects a small variety of weapons. Still, the Heavy Incinerator can be fun. If you use Energy Weapons, and really have the desire to use a fire-based weapon.. well, you might as well get this perk. If you don't fall into this narrow niche, ignore it. This perk is especially useful for boosting the Shiskebab melee weapon. With this perk it becomes a viable weapon for late game use.. well, as much as any melee weapon becomes, anyways. It might not be as powerful as the Super Sledge, but it is much faster. Or you could just go Unarmed and use a Displacer Glove or something. Either way. Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Robotics Expert Req: Level 12, Science 50 Ranks: 1 With the Robotics perk, you do an additional 25% damage to any robot. But, even better, sneaking up on a hostile robot undetected and activating it will put that robot into a permanent shutdown state. This is still as good of a perk in Fallout: New Vegas as it was in Fallout 3, but with a few notes on the gameplay. First, it's much harder to sneak to within melee range of enemies in New Vegas. Second, there aren't nearly as many robots in the Mohave as there were in D.C., which makes this a less useful perk. Oh, also there's the Pulse Gun, which pretty much wastes robots on its own. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Silent Running Req: Level 12, Agility 6, Sneak 50 Ranks: 1 With the Silent Running perk, running no longer factors into a successful sneak attempt. Alright, letâs be honest here. In order to Sneak effectively, you need a fairly high Sneak score. However, in Fallout: New Vegas, you don't need to get within most enemies' perception range to snipe them, making Sneak less obligatory. However, if you want to sneak near an enemy, much less sneak up to them, you're going to need to be quick about it, as enemies wander around more regularly. To this end, you'll want Silent Running. If all you want Sneak for is to get within the generous sniping range, or to grab an item off a shelf, you probably don't need this perk. If you want to get closer to enemies, or to sneak past them at any decent speed, you need this perk. Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Sniper Req: Level 12, Perception 6, Agility 6 Ranks: 1 With the Sniper perk, your chance to hit an opponent's head in V.A.T.s. is significantly increased. If it has a head, you probably want to shoot it there for the bonus damage. If you only stick to melee attacks, or never use V.A.T.S., you can ignore this perk. If you play realistically however, this is a pretty good perk. Mind you it doesn't just cover 'sniping'. Popping a Super Mutant in the face with a few rounds of Shotgun Shells at mid range is also a good use of the Sniper perk. Grade: **** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Splash Damage Req: Level 12, Explosives 70 Ranks: 1 When you're deep in enemy territory, you just start chucking grenades and hope for the best. All Explosives have a 25% larger area of effect. I'm rather skeptical of all these area of effect perks.. first, it seems just as likely to hurt you as not, and second, just how many enemies are going to find clustered together? Three, or four at the most? I don't know, I'd rather just take Demolition Expert instead. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Unstoppable Force Req: Level 12, Strength 7, Melee Weapons 90 Ranks: 1 Your martial might is truly legendary. You do a large amount of additional damage through enemy blocks with all Melee Weapons and Unarmed attacks. Just how many enemies actually block in this game? Human enemies that use melee weapons, which are, as a rule of thumb, usually easy to kill. Super Mutants, Cazadors, and Deathclaws won't be blocking your attacks, so what use is this perk? And 90 Melee Weapons? Even a dedicated melee fighter can ignore this perk. Grade: * Level 14 Perks {PRK008} o======================================================================o Adamantium Skeleton Req: Level 14 Ranks: 1 With the Adamantium Skeleton perk, your limbs only receive 50% of the damage they normally would. Your limbs don't take much damage throughout the game, unless you step on a mine or take a glancing blow from a missile launcher. You wonât see much in the way of hit point preservation with this perk, if anything, you'll just get crippled less. Sure, it can be handy in Hardcore mode, but doctors and Doctors Bags are not rare enough that this should be an ever-present concern for you. The fact that I still perk the Small Frame trait for Hardcore mode characters should say a lot about how I will grade this perk. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Center of Mass Req: Level 16, Guns 70 Ranks: 1 You don't fool around with fancy trick shots. Straight to the midsection and down they go. In V.A.T.S., you do an extra 15% damage with attacks targeting the torso. 15% is nice and all, but note the 'in V.A.T.S.' line. Also keep in mind that headshots tend to deal more damage.. if you're close enough to pull off a V.A.T.S. shot with some expectation of success, you're probably close enough to go for the head. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Chemist Req: Level 14, Medicine 60 Ranks: 1 With the Chemist perk, any chems you take last twice as long. There are few instances in the game when you will need to take chems, in fact, the most useful chemical in the game is Rad-x. You'll find plenty of chems in your travels, enough that you can just take two instead of having this perk. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Jury Rigging Req: Level 14, Repair 90 You possess the amazing ability to repair any item using a roughly similar item. Fix a Trail Carbine with a Hunting Rifle, a Plasma Defender with a Laser Pistol, or even Power Armor with Metal Armor. How does it work? Nobody knows... except you. This can be an incredibly useful, Cap-and-bother saving perk. First off, however, letâs just say with a high enough Repair you can just make Weapon Repair Kits with fairly common components that can be purchased from most vendors (Duct Tape, Scrap Electronics, Scrap Metal, Wonderglue, and Wrenches), which, again with a good Repair skill, should restore about 25% of a weapons' condition. This means you really don't need this perk for any weapons in the game. Armor, however, has no easy fix, and you'll really feel it when you want to repair your Remnant Power Armor, or your Combat Armor, Reinforced Mark II. Still, if you're not in Hardcore mode you can just kill some Super Mutants and sell their guns for the Caps you need, and even if you are in Hardcore mode.. wear less expensive armor (humble Vault Security Armor has a respectable 16 Damage Threshold, is light armor, and costs under 200 Caps to fix.) That said, there is probably no better 'legitimate' way to earn Caps than by repairing high-end weapons with lower-end counterparts. Energy Weapons is by far more expensive per shot than Guns, making that build a great candidate for this perk on one hand. On the other hand, Energy Weapons requires a much lower Repair score than Guns, so you'll have to waste more points to meet the requirements for this perk. Then again, if you're a die-hard Energy Weapons' user, what have you got to lose? Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Light Step Req: Level 14, Perception 6, Agility 6 Ranks: 1 With the Light Step perk, you'll never set off an enemy's mines or floor-based traps. Land mines are pretty common. Fortunately, they're also obvious, they don't do a huge amount of damage-in the grand scheme of things, and you can disarm them with a simple button click. Not only that, you get experience and the mine itself when you do! Be observant, and you wont need this perk. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Purifier Req: Level 14 Ranks: 1 As a purifier of the wasteland, you do +50% damage with Melee and Unarmed weapons against Centaurs, Nightstalkers, Spore Plants, Spore Carriers, Deathclaws, Super Mutants, and Feral Ghouls. If you are going to be using Melee Weapons or Unarmed, you MUST get this perk. Deathclaws are bad enough, but capitulating and going toe-to-claw with them in melee combat is insane. This perk helps even the odds. Also, bonuses against Feral Ghouls and Super Mutants shouldn't be overlooked, especially not a damage boost of 50%, which can really add up big with a Ballistic Fist, Displacer Glove, or Super Sledge. If you are a hybrid character and have access to a decent gun, you can ignore this perk, but for melee-specialized builds, this is gold. Grade: **** Level 16 Perks {PRK009} o======================================================================o Action Boy/Girl Req: Level 16, Agility 6 Ranks: 2 With the Action Boy/Girl perk, you gain an additional 15 Action Points to use in V.A.T.S. Action Boy/Girl has been split into two ranks, radically diminishing the effectiveness of this perk. On top of that, you have LESS perks with which to choose from, further exacerbating the situation. If that wasn't enough, having a high Action Point total isn't as useful in New Vegas. All of these conditions add up to one conclusion: you can look elsewhere for your V.A.T.S. perks. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Better Criticals Req: Level 16, Perception 6, Luck 6 Ranks: 1 With the Better Criticals perk, you gain a 50% damage bonus every time a critical hit is scored on an opponent. Your critical chance is determined by your Luck-1 point of Luck equals a 1% chance of landing a critical hit. This doesn't increase your chance of landing a critical hit, instead Better Criticals improves the damage you deal when you do land a critical hit. Therefore the usefulness of this perk is directly related to how high your luck is. With sneak attack criticals, the Sniper perk, or the Finesse perk, Better Criticals becomes greatly useful, but it really depends on your build. No character is hurt by having high luck however, so it stands to suggest that most characters could benefit greatly from this perk.. And since you need a Luck score of 6 for this perk, if you can get it, you might as well. This perk is especially useful for players who have the Laser Commander perk, for obvious reasons. Grade: ***** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Chem Resistant Req: Level 16, Medicine 60 Ranks: 1 Having the Chem Resistant perk means you're 50% less likely to develop an addiction to chems, like Psycho or Jet. First, why you would ever need to use Psycho or Jet is beyond me. Secondly, addiction isn't a big deal. You can always get your addiction cured at a hospital, or you could just reload. If doubling the duration of chems didn't appeal to you, this shouldn't either. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Meltdown Req: Level 16, Energy Weapon 90 Ranks: 1 Meltdown causes foes killed by your Energy Weapons to give off a corona of harmful energy. Note: this can cause a chain reaction. Another Energy Weapons perk, this one is more of a general perk, as it applies to all Energy Weapons, rather than either lasers or plasma weapons. I can't question the power of Energy Weapons, but I can and will question the usefulness of this perk. Seeing enemies explode into a corona of energy when they die is awful fun, but the explosion has a fairly short radius, although it can do good damage. The bad part is that you can catch yourself in this blast, making it a hassle any time an enemy gets close to you in combat. Sure "Don't let them get close", yeah, whatever. In any event, blowing yourself up is not fun, and this perk doesn't make energy weapons exceptionally more powerful. On top of that, there's not all that many situations in which you'll find enough enemies close together to cause a useful explosion, much less a chain reaction. It's slight usefulness is offset by the hassle of having to keep away from enemies to avoid catching yourself in the blast. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Tag! Req: Level 16 Ranks: 1 The Tag! perk allows you to select a fourth Skill to be a Tag skill, which instantly raises it by 15 points. Skill points are good, I think we can all agree with that. But there is a limit. A 15 point skill perk is arguably less useful than Comprehension.. even if you don't find 15 skill books, and it is certainly less useful than Educated, which can give up to 52 skill points. Sure, I like skill points, but I won't sacrifice a perk for such a small return. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Weapon Handling Req: Level 16, Strength < 10 Ranks: 1 Weapon Strength Requirements are now 2 points lower than normal for you. Strength isn't a great attribute.. in fact, the only reason I both with it is because you NEED to have Strength to use weapons effectively. This perk gives you, essentially, two points of Strength. Or at least the better benefits of having two Strength. This perk allows me to start out with four Strength, and let Power Armor and an Implant get me to the equivalent of eight.. which allows me to wield all the weapons I care to wield anyways. Grade: **** Level 18 Perks {PRK010} o======================================================================o Computer Whiz Req: Level 18, Intelligence 7, Science 70 Ranks: 1 Fail a hack attempt and get locked out of a computer? Not if you're a Computer Whiz! With this perk, you can attempt to re-hack any computer you were previously locked out of. Words can hardly describe how useless this perk is. Okay, yes they can. This perk is damn near worthless. A 10 skill point perk seems fantastic by comparison. Here's a way to get the benefits of this perk without wasting your perk pick on it: before you hack a computer, save. If you get locked out, reload. Bam, no need for this perk. And considering 90% of the computers you encounter in this game lock a door (which you can pick) or disable turrets (which you can destroy) there's no great fear of getting locked out of a terminal in any case. Donât waste your perk. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Concentrated Fire Req: Level 18, Energy Weapons 60, Guns 60 Ranks: 1 With Concentrated Fire, your accuracy to hit any body part in V.A.T.S. increases slightly with each subsequent hit on that body part. If you've been paying attention, you'll know that most of the time taking more shots in V.A.T.S. at one time is a bad thing. You know, the sitting duck thing? This isn't an issue if you're up on a ledge sniping, but then again, you don't really need that much accuracy in that case. Point is, you won't be taking as many consecutive shots in V.A.T.S. in this game, meaning you don't need this perk, even if you use a fast weapon. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Infiltrator Req: Level 18, Perception 7, Lockpick 70 Ranks: 1 With Infiltrator, if a lock is broken, and can't normally be picked again, you can attempt to pick it again one more time. This includes locks previously broken by a "Force Lock" attempt. This perk sucks for the same reason Computer Whiz sucks. Why anybody would be forcing locks in the first place is a mystery, and if you are going to bother forcing locks, why wouldn't you save first? Save and reload, and save a perk. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Paralyzing Palm Req: Level 18, Unarmed 70 With Paralyzing Palm, you will sometimes perform a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. V.A.T.S. palm strike for 30 seconds. Note that in order to perform the Paralyzing Palm, you must be completely unarmed. Paralyzing Palm was the great unequalizer in Fallout 3.. but that was back when V.A.T.S. kept you safe from reprisal. In Fallout: New Vegas, running into a pack of Deathclaws and hoping for a Paralyzing Palm to even the odds is tantamount to committing suicide.. but against one or two enemies, it can eliminate one threat and let you concentrate on another, or put down an enemy quick-like for a coup-de-gras. It will keep an enemy down longer than a knockdown attack, and it remains useful.. unless you don't use Unarmed attacks. Grade: **** Level 20 Perks {PRK011} o======================================================================o Explorer Req: Level 20 Ranks: 1 When you choose the Explorer perk, every location in the world is revealed on your map. So get out there and explore! You can find all the areas on the map by yourself. You even get little icons that will guide you to them when you're close. Along the way, you'll get to explore the wasteland, which is the meat of the game. You'll find skill books, get experience, and find loot. Also, it must be noted that this perk doesn't make your character stronger in any way. Download a world map and search for places yourself, save yourself a perk. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Grim Reaper's Sprint Req: Level 20 Ranks: 1 If you kill a target in V.A.T.S., 20 Action Points are restored upon exiting V.A.T.S. V.A.T.S. has been reduced in this game, and so has Grim Reaper's Sprint. Still, it's not abysmal. In the grand scheme of things it's better to take fewer, safer, smarter shots in V.A.T.S. With this perk you can finish off an enemy in V.A.T.S. and recharge your AP a bit. You'll do most of your fighting outside of V.A.T.S., certainly, but popping an enemy in the head with a Brush Gun at the right time can be a very effective way to exterminate threats and thin the crowd.. and with Grim Reaper's Sprint you can manage to do this somewhat often. Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Ninja Req: Level 20, Sneak 80, Melee Weapons 80 Ranks: 1 The Ninja perk grants you the power of the fabled shadow warriors. When attacking with either Melee or Unarmed, you gain a +15% critical chance on every strike. Sneak attack criticals do 25% more damage than normal. This perk seems like it's golden if you look at what it promises.. However, it only really shines if you're a melee character, whether Unarmed or Melee Weapons. A +15% critical rate is huge, and with a high Luck, Finesse, the 1st Recon Beret, and this perk your critical hit rate can aspire to 35%. Of course, a gun-using character will almost certainly get more use out of the sneak attack critical damage, as.. frankly.. they can just pull them off easier. Which brings us to Ninja's glaring problem.. it's skill requirements are outrageous. Sneak is a fair skill, but 80 points is a huge investment, and Melee Weapons.. well, they just kind of suck. Your chances of sneaking up on many enemies in order to gain one of this perks' benefits isn't very high, and certainly not against enemies against which it would actually be useful to do so. This perk promises a lot, but in the end it just isn't worth it. Grade: ** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Solar Powered Req: Level 20, Endurance 7 Ranks: 1 With the Solar Powered perk, you gain an additional 2 points to Strength when in direct sunlight, and slowly regenerate lost Health. As tempting as two points of Strength are, I'd rather have two points all the time from Weapon Handling, and just buy the regeneration Implant. Grade: ** Level 22 Perks {PRK012} o======================================================================o Laser Commander Req: Level 22, Energy Weapons 90 From the humble Laser Pistol to the might Gatling Laser, you do 15% more damage and have +10% chance to critically hit with any laser weapon. If you decided to use Energy Weapons, you might want this perk. Lasers are generally weaker than plasma weapons, but the bonuses from this perk do a good bit to close the gap. Turn your Tri-Beam Laser Rifle into a destructive force! Okay, seriously, no laser weapon will become so strong from this perk that it will easily overcome the Damage Thresholds of stronger enemies, but the bonuses are nice, nonetheless. Especially with Gatling Lasers, which do little damage per hit, but fire fast.. the more chances you have of each little laser dealing critical damage, the better off you're going to be. Still, seriously think about the damage that most laser weapons are doing before getting this perk. At 15%, you're looking at an increase of a couple of points, at best. Pick it for the crits, not for the damage boost. Grade: *** <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Nuka Chemist Req: Level 22, Science 90 You have unraveled some of the greatest mysteries of Pre-War masters: formulas for developing special Nuka-Colas! This perk unlocks special Nuka-Cola recipes at the Workbench. I've not been impressed by workbench-related perks yet, so why would I be impressed by this? Simply put, I wouldn't. You can make Nuka-Cola Quartz, Nuka-Cola Victory, and Ice-Cold Nuka-Cola.. all of which are novelties, but not great items in their own right. There simply aren't enough perks for this kind of profligacy. Grade: * <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Spray and Pray Req: Level 22 Your attacks do much less damage to companions, allowing you to liberally spray an area with reckless abandon. I've frankly never had a problem with killing my own companions. Maybe I'm just more careful? Or maybe I use long-ranged weapons that call for precision, and not reckless abandon? If you're in Hardcore mode, there is more call for this perk.. If you use temperamental weapons, anyways. Grade: * Grade: ** (Hardcore Mode) Level 24 Perks {PRK013} o======================================================================o Slayer Req: Level 24, Unarmed 90, Agility 7 The slayer walks the earth! The speed of all Melee Weapons and Unarmed attacks is increased by 30%. Ah.. Good old Slayer, returned to us in a different form in New Vegas. If you use Melee Weapons or Unarmed, you must pick this perk. It increases your damage output by 30%. What more is there to say? If you don't use Melee Weapons or Unarmed attacks, ignore this perk. Grade: **** Level 26 Perks {PRK014} o======================================================================o Nerves of Steel Req: Level 26, Agility 7 With the Nerves of Steel perk, you regenerate Action Points much more quickly than you normally would. As I've already stated, the best defense in New Vegas is a good offense. Or failing that, high ground the enemy can't reach and a superior ranged weapon. When using V.A.T.S. it's often better to take fewer shots as the situation presents itself. To this end, regenerating more Action Point is better than having more to spend at once, which makes Nerves of Steel a better perk choice than, say, Action Boy. Grade: *** Level 28 Perks {PRK015} o======================================================================o Rad Absorption Req: Level 28, Endurance 7 With the Rad Absorption perk, your radiation level slowly decreases on its own over time. In normal mode, you have doctors who will clear up any Rad problems you might have for a measly 100 Caps. In Hardcore mode, this saves you the resource-wasting trip back to town. Even better, it allows you to safely eat any type of irradiated food and drink from any water source you want. You'll simply heal over time. This opens up many options for eating and drinking on-the-go, and makes the run a good bit simpler. Too bad you have to wait until level 28 to pick it.. by then, you should have already beaten the game or you should have plenty of resources that starvation and dehydration aren't imminent dangers. Rating: * Rating: *** (Hardcore Mode) Additional Perks {PRK016} o======================================================================o Additional perks are quest-based or challenge-base perks that you get for completing specific quests and challenges. Some quest-based perks may be missable, and obviously if you don't buy a certain Implant, you won't get the related perk. Challenge-based perks unlock automatically when you meet the conditions.. usually killing so many of a certain type of enemy, or inflicting a certain amount of damage with a certain weapon. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Abominable Kill enough Abominations (Deathclaws, Centaurs, etc.) and you'll get this perk, which increases your damage against this class of enemy. There are multiple ranks of this perk. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Agility Implant Buy the Agility Implant from the New Vegas Medical Clinic to get a +1 bonus to your Agility (4,000 Caps). <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Animal Control Kill enough Animals (Bighorners, Coyotes, Geckos, etc.) and you'll get this perk, which increases your damage against this class of enemy. There are multiple ranks of this perk. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Beautiful Beatdown Inflict 10,000 damage with Unarmed weapons to obtain this perk, which reduces the AP Cost of Unarmed attacks in V.A.T.S. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Better Healing While Arcade is a companion, the players gains more health from all sources. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Bug Stomper Kill enough Animals (Giant Ants, Radscorpians, etc.) and you'll get this perk, which increases your damage against this class of enemy. There are multiple ranks of this perk. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Charisma Implant Buy the Charisma Implant from the New Vegas Medical Clinic to get a +1 bonus to your Charisma (4,000 Caps). <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Endurance Implant Buy the Endurance Implant from the New Vegas Medical Clinic to get a +1 bonus to your Endurance (4,000 Caps). <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Enhanced Sensors While ED-E is a companion, the player can detect enemies at an increased range. Additionally, enemies will appear on the player's compass and can be targeted in V.A.T.S. even when cloaked. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Intelligence Implant Buy the Intelligence Implant from the New Vegas Medical Clinic to get a +1 bonus to your Intelligence (4,000 Caps). <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Lord Death Kill anything. Alot of anything. You'll get a damage bonus against everything. There are multiple ranks of this perk. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Luck Implant Buy the Luck Implant from the New Vegas Medical Clinic to get a +1 bonus to your Luck (4,000 Caps). <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Mutant Massacrer Kill enough Super Mutants and you'll get this perk, which increases your damage against them. There are multiple ranks of this perk. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Monocyte Breeder Buy the Health Regeneration Implant from the New Vegas Medical Clinic to get this perk (12,000 Caps). <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Perception Implant Buy the Perception Implant from the New Vegas Medical Clinic to get a +1 bonus to your Perception (4,000 Caps). <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Ranger Takedown In Novac you can find Ranger Andy, a retired NCR Ranger who is a down on himself. Succeed at a Speech challenge and convince him he doesnât suck and he'll teach you this perk. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Regular Maintenance While Raul is a companion, the Condition of weapons and armor decays more slowly. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Scribe Assistant While Veronica is a companion, the player can craft Workbench items through Veronica's dialogue. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Spotter While Boone is a companion, hostile targets are highlighted whenever the player is actively aiming. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Stealth Girl While Lily is a companion, the duration of Stealth Boys is increased by 200% and all Sneak Attack Critical Hits do an additional 10% damage. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Strength Implant Buy the Strength Implant from the New Vegas Medical Clinic to get a +1 bonus to your Strength (4,000 Caps). <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Sub-Dermal Armor Buy the Sub-Dermal Armor Implant from the New Vegas Medical Clinic to get a +4 bonus to your Damage Threshold (8,000 Caps). <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Tough Guy I got this perk while messing around, trying to get achievements. Jumping off cliffs and using Stimpaks is fun! Anyways, you'll get this for injuring limbs, which is paradoxically easier to do with Small Frame. That's right, Small Frame, which makes it easier to injure limbs, make it easier to get Tough Guy, which makes it more difficult to injure limbs. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Whiskey Rose While Cass is a companion, she and the player gain Damage Threshold when they drink Whiskey. Additionally, the player does not suffer Intelligence loss from consuming alcohol and ignores the negative effects of alcohol addiction. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> My Personal Build, Perks {PRK017} o======================================================================o These are the perks I choose for my character.. hence the name of the section. Note that most of the perks don't really require a specific order save the first two. Intensive Training is taken at level 2 because.. well, there's little else worth taking at that level, and Educated is taken at level four to maximize its usefulness. If I'm playing a female character, I find it worth my while to pick Black Widow, since there are some interesting dialogue options for it, and since there are a lot of male enemies in the game (for example, all of Caesar's Legion?) After that, it's really just preference and how you've allocated skill points that should determine your perk picks. Note that my build is considered the 'base build' for this FAQ, to which extra skill/perk choices are added at your discretion to make your own ideal character. Some sample builds are included after the text for the base build. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Level 2 Black Widow/Intensive Training 4 Educated 6 Comprehension 8 Hand Loader 10 Finesse 12 Silent Running 14 Toughness (1) 16 Weapon Handling 18 Better Criticals 20 Toughness (2) 22 -- 24 -- 26 -- 28 -- 30 -- This build makes for a pretty proficient Guns-user, who is also adept at sneaking. This can arguably be called the 'sniper' build, as it is mostly designed to take advantage of the good range of Guns weapons, and the ability to make shots from stealth. Note that while this build isn't specifically married to Guns, they've got a low Strength requirement and do great damage, and I really see no good reason to not use guns.. just like I don't see why this build can't spend skill points to be able to use Energy Weapons and Explosives, as well. "Guns" If you want to make a more 'rangery' version of this build, consider getting Melee Weapons up to 45, Repair to within striking range of 90, and pick the Cowboy perk to take advantage of the benefits it'll give the Brush Gun. With the Brush Gun, using V.A.T.S. to pick off enemies at close to mid range becomes a more rewarding option, meaning that in addition you can consider the Grim Reaper's Sprint and Nerves of Steel Perks. Also, for any ranged fighter Commando and Sniper are fair perks, especially considering that many of the better weapons in the game are two-handed 'rifles', and shooting enemies in the head is almost always better than shooting them somewhere else. "Unarmed" There are also enough free perks to pick up some essential Unarmed perks, although you'll have to settle for a Displacer Glove, as this build has nowhere near enough Strength for a Ballistic Fist. Purifier, Piercing Strike, and Slayer come to mind as perk choices for the really dedicated melee characters. "Energy Weapons" The only changes that really have to be considered in this build for Energy Weapons is with the Laser Commander perk. Frankly, however, most of the weapons that are good in the Energy Weapons category either require too much Strength for this build, or aren't even lasers. In my mind, there's no real reason to specialize in Energy Weapons-related perks at all. Even a diehard Energy Weapons supporter would be hard- pressed to say that there are a great number of useful perks for the skill set. At least, honestly. Frankly, perks like Nerves of Steel, Grim Reapers Sprint, Commando, and Sniper affect all weapons (or at least all ranged weapon) enough to make them recommendable, whatever your favorite weapon type. If you're a die-hard Energy Weapons fanatic, go for Vigilant Recycler to save some Caps (and perhaps Jury Rigging). The biggest difference between Energy Weapons and Guns is cost per caps. o======================================================================o | | | Getting Started in the Mohave {MOH001} | | | o======================================================================o This little section of the FAQ is less character creation and more character establishment. Since obtaining the Implants from the New Vegas Medical Clinic greatly affects your character build, it is fairly essential for a guide of this sort. The early loot locations, unique weapons, and various exploits are thrown in just because I like you. New Vegas Medical Clinic Run {MOH002} o======================================================================o My first goal is to make it all the way to the New Vegas Medical Clinic as quickly as possible. This is in every way reminiscent of the Rivet City run from Fallout 3.. except this time around we can score our bonus Intelligence before we hit level two. We'll do our best to do so, at least, and since this is a fairly important part of the guide, I'll help you get there as best as I can. For Hardcore players, you may as well postpone this journey and try to reach the New Vegas area by questing your way there. Save your game before you head off. You never know what might happen, so play it safe and keep a save of your character before you go running out into the Mohave. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> 1) First step, follow the road south east out of Goodsprings until you find Jean Sky Diving. From here head east along I-15 until you find some railroad tracks. You may want to get off I-15 sooner to avoid any hostile Powder Gangers you see. The Bloatflies in the desert will mostly leave you alone unless you get too close. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> 2) Get on the railroad tracks and follow it south past the Powder Ganger Cap South area until you reach the Emergency Service Railyard. You now have to follow the railroad south past Nipton until it connects with a road running east-west. Don't follow along the road, as there are Viper Gangers set up in ambush, instead head through the hills to the north of the road. This will let you bypass the enemies. Once you reach the road continue east until you find a road sign that directs you to turn north to find Novac. You now want to continue north up these roads for the foreseeable future. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> 3) You SHOULD find a merchant caravan heading north here. They'll be attacked by Caesar's Legion Recruits. Stay nearby but don't get involved in the fight. Once the fight is over, loot the bodies. It doesn't matter who wins, and none of this gear is going to be all that useful, but it will sell for enough to earn you a handful of Caps with which you can gamble yourself a small fortune later. If you want to play it safe, you can follow the caravan up to Novac, letting them handle whatever baddies you may find. You will pass near Ranger Station Charlie on your way north, which can (like all locations) be avoided if you wish to forgo gaining experience. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> 4) Either way, follow the road with the railroad tracks running next to it to find Novac. North of here you can find the Gibson Scrap Yard and the HELIOS One power plant. Cross the desert to the east of the HELIOS One plant and avoid any Fire Ants you find until you find another road running north-south. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> 5) You'll find yourself on I-95, near the El Dorado Gas & Service station. The road will will run north and connect to I-93 at a site wisely called the 188 Trading Post. Our journey is, surprisingly, mostly over. Continue past the 188 Trading Post and follow I-95 west, then north into the outskirts of New Vegas. When you're getting close you'll pass under a few underpasses and start seeing billboard signs promoting the casinos on the strip. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> 6) Once you start find numerous standing buildings.. well, you've found the outskirts of New Vegas. Visual confirmation can be obtained by checking to the west to locate the lights of New Vegas in the not-so-distant distance. The New Vegas Medical Clinic is between the Crimson Caravan Company to the west, and the Mole Rat Ranch to the east. I managed to reach this area with a total of 60 experience. Now that you're here you just need.. oh.. 4,000 Caps to get yourself a shiny new Implant. There are two feasible ways of doing this. Scavenging.. I mean, 'prospecting' and selling any and all loot you find. This route seems the most sensible, but since you will most likely have to discover new areas and/or kill things, it might be somewhat counter-productive. The second way is to head west to Freeside's East Gate. Enter Freeside and find the Atomic Wrangler. If you are attacked by thugs, just run back to the entrance of Freeside and let the Bodyguards for Hire kill them. At the Atomic Wrangler, save your game and play some slots, blackjack, or roulette to get money.. what else? If you win, save, if you lose, reload. Is there a better way to make money in a game called Fallout: New Vegas? I didn't think so. Sure, there's a wait period for reloads.. anti-cheating measure indeed.. but it's a painless way to make money without leveling up.. so long as you don't accidently complete too many challenges, anyways. Within 20 minutes I was 4,200 Caps richer, and off to get my Intelligence Implant. Note: You can bypass the waiting period if you don't exit the game in order to reload. You can also visit Durable Dunn's Sacked Caravan and loot the dead Van Graff guys there for some Combat Armor, which sells very well if you're tight on experience. Durable Dunn's is south west of New Vegas, and can easily be found during your trip there. ***ALTERNATE ROUTES*** {MOH003} o======================================================================o Status: Tested/Dubious Results My suggestion for how to reach New Vegas is certainly not the quickest route, but it might just be the safest. I have received several other route suggestions, which I have tried to duplicate myself with varying degrees of success. First there's the option to head north of Goodsprings and run past the Radscorpians and Cazadors.. letâs just say that didn't end well. Between not being able to outpace Cazadors and hitting invisible walls while trying to climb up rocks, it was just more trouble than it was worth. Then there is Primm Pass, which was previously mentioned in this FAQ but removed on the basis of the fact that there's almost always a Deathclaw in the pass. Lastly there's the suggestion to head to Hidden Valley, find Neil's Shack, and make your way along the cliffs there to avoid both Super Mutants and Deathclaws while heading east, which is actually possible and a good bit quicker. My way, the worst you'll face are some Bark Scorpions, Coyotes, Mole Rats, and, if you fail to avoid them, some gangers, most of which aren't too aggressive and are territorial, so they can be fairly easily avoided. ***JACKPOT WINNER*** {MOH004} o======================================================================o Status: Test/Confirmed (Xbox 360, unpatched) It's also possible here to be greedy, especially if you have a lot of luck (both you personally and your character.) Since you can't really win that much money at the Atomic Wrangler and stay under the cap.. why not just blow the winnings cap all to hell? Play Black Jack and win nine times, saving after every win, and loading after every loss. After nine wins you should have at least 1800 Caps if you were betting max every time. Now that you've got a windfall of Caps, be sure that you have NOT completed the Black Jack challenge, "Double Down", which will get you 100 unwanted experience points.. or just make sure you're not within 100 Experience of hitting level 2. If you haven't played ten games of Black Jack, you should be fine. You can also gamble on Roulette, if you're more the big-rewards big risk kind of person. Save your game, then make a bet of 200 Caps on whatever number you think is lucky. At 35:1 odds, a single win can net you 7000 Caps, which is pretty good money.. good enough to get you ready for the real money winner.. Leave the Black Jack tables and go over to the slot machines and save your game. Now for the lengthy part.. bet max and play slots, reloading if you lose all your caps, or if your winnings exceed 4000 Caps (which will get you banned from the casino). If you're lucky you will win one of the higher payouts, which at 200 Caps a gamble, even a x30 payoff can win you well more caps than the Atomic Wrangler would normally allow you to win. If you're patient and lucky, you may just win the jackpot of 32,000 Caps, which is enough to let you buy most of the implants you'll want. Sure, it's time consuming, but it doesn't advance game time any (for Hardcore mode players) and walking out of the Atomic Wrangler with 10,000 to 30,000 Caps is much better than walking out with 4,000. If you're super greedy, you can rob every casino in the game this way. ***INFINITE EXPERIENCE, VERSION 1**** {MOH005} o======================================================================o Status: Tested/Confirmed (Xbox 360, unpatched) At the Aerotech Office Park (Aerotech Suite 200) you'll find a man in a red jumpsuit named Keith. You can attempt a Barter challenge (Barter 45) with him right from the get-go, which, if successful prompts him to sell you some Jet. Decline and the option to make a Barter attempt with him will still-or should I say-always be available. Just keep making the Barter check for endless experience. ***INFINITE EXPERIENCE, VERSION 2**** {MOH006} o======================================================================o Status: Tested/Confirmed (Xbox 360, unpatched) Another infinite experience glitch, pretty much the same thing as the one above, but more rewarding, simpler to accomplish, and easier to reach. Find Deputy Beagle in the Bison Steve in Primm. Don't free him, instead ask him about the man in the checkered suit who passed through town. He'll try to negotiate to get himself free. Succeed at a Speech challenge [Speech 40] and he'll agree to tell you what he knows, without actually doing so. You'll then get the option to ask him about the people who came through town again.. which will lead to the Speech challenge again. Simply continue to succeed at the Speech challenge for 40 XP a pop to get as much experience as you wish. ***INFINITE EXPERIENCE, VERSION 3**** {MOH007} o======================================================================o Status: Tested/Confirmed (Xbox 360, unpatched) Here's yet another infinite experience glitch (Obsidian was lazy eh? But we all knew this already.) In Vault 11 - Lower Level, after accessing the Overseer's terminal and opening the way to the sacrificial chamber, kill all the robots that ambush you, then activate the Vault 11 Mainframe. Select the option 'Automated Response: Vault 11 Solution' and you'll be rewarded with a hefty 500 experience. Note that the option will not go away after selected. Continue to select the option as many times as your little heart desires. Each time you select it, you'll get 500 experience. If you exit the screen anytime after selecting the response, it'll be gone when you mess with the Vault 11 Mainframe again, so be sure to get all the experience you want in one go. The good thing about this method is it's extrememly fast and mindless, just click until you're as experienced as you want. The problem with this method is that you've got to trek all the way through Vault 11, and then kill a handful of robots and turrets before you can reap your ill-gotten gains. It's really not for weak characters. ***"FREE" REPAIRS*** {MOH008} o======================================================================o Status: Tested/Confirmed (Xbox 360, unpatched) Get your gear repaired by Paladin Sato (Brotherhood Safehouse), Major Knight (Mohave Outpost), or your sidekick Raul (Black Mountain/Raul's Shack), then pick-pocket your Caps back. Talk about a money saver-this little trick makes perks like Vigilant Recycler and Jury Rigging even more obsolete! It'll take a few tries-and hence some patience, even with a fairly high Sneak score, but it is possible. I imagine this is possible with most any character who will repair stuff for you, but I have the uncanny knack of failing to pick-pocket people even with (or I should say, especially with) a Sneak score of 100. Early Combat Armor {MOH009} o======================================================================o There are many ways to score yourself some Combat Armor early on in the game, but these two methods require no fighting, and they can be easily done during or immediately after your New Vegas run. First, simply search Durable Dunn's Sacked Caravan, where you'll find plenty of corpses with Combat Armor just waiting for you to grab it. Also, you can be rewarded with Combat Armor by winning enough at Gommorrah. Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle {MOH010} o======================================================================o This wonderful weapon is a must if you're a Guns user. To get it, just head over to the Sniper's Nest area, where you'll find a locked [Very Hard] footlocker. This gun is inside. sure, you need a 100 Lockpick skill to get it, but it's slightly more damaging than a normal Sniper Rifle, carries an extra round per clip, weighs almost half as much, and has the same skill and strength requirements (75/6, respectively.) Q-35 Matter Modulator {MOH011} o======================================================================o A unique version of the Plasma Rifle, this weapon has the same damage as a normal Plasma Rifle-but double the DPS. Why? It fires much faster. Too bad it has half the ammo-but huzzah!-it uses half the ammo per shot. The skinny? It's requirements for strength are lower and it pumps out damage faster. To get your hands on it, you'll need to visit the REPCONN Headquarters. It's on the first level, behind a locked [Very Hard] door-but you can also use a [Very Hard] terminal! That, or go up to the second level, then take another door down to the first level, go through a hole in the floor and bypass all those nasty locks entirely. Pew-Pew {MOH012} o======================================================================o At the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters, cash in your Star Sunset Sarsaparilla Caps to Festus, then make your way to the southern end of the level and loot the body of Allen Marks for this interesting little gun. If you ever wanted to use a pistol Energy Weapon, but didn't want to sacrifice the YCS/186.. well, this is as good as it gets. It deals out a whopping 119 damage and has no real requirements. The catch? It eats up a whopping 15 Energy Cells per shot, and only gets two shots off per clip. You might not want to use it against groups of enemies, and against singular foes.. make sure they die in two shots. Remnant Power Armor {MOH013} o======================================================================o One of the most interesting items in the game to find-in part because it's the most protective armor in the game, but mostly because of the fighting involved. Head east from the Techatticup Mine across the Colorado River to find a beach with a slope leading up through the cliffs. You'll find that this side of the river is infested with Death Claws. Kill them and search to the south east. Once the first wave is dead, another pack of Death Claws will spawn, including a Mother Death Claw and an Alpha Male Death Claw. So long as you stay on cliffs, you can simply snipe the Death Claws at will. Once they're dead, go search near where they were walking to find two dead Remnant Power Helmet {MOH014} o======================================================================o Enter the Silver Peak Mine and enter the actual mine through the mine house. Inside you'll find swarms of Cazedors. Make your way through the mine to find a tunnel leading up to a ledge in a large room. You'll find plenty of loot here, including the Remant Power Helmet. Unfortunately, once you're up on the ledge you'll more Cazedors will spawn, including a Legendary Cazedor. On the bright side, you just need to make it out alive to keep your prize. This Machine {MOH015} o======================================================================o To get ahold of this gun, do errands for Sgt. Daniel Contreras (found at Camp McCarran Supply Shack). What you'll get us a weapon that does more damage (per shot, at least) than Gobi. It uses the same .308 ammo, and hence gets the same wonderful damage boosts from using JSP Hand Load ammo. With the same strength and skill requirements, it seems like a pretty obvious compliment for the Gobi, too. If that's not good enough, it's got an eight round clip and fires twice as fast in V.A.T.S., making it an ideal short to mid-ranged weapon for when trouble gets too close. Sure, the Brush Gun out-performs it, but This Machine is cheaper to use, and doesn't force you to hunt for 45-70 Gov't ammo. YCS/186 -or- Alien Blaster {MOH016} o======================================================================o Head over to Brooks Tumbleweed Ranch, which is north west of New Vegas. From the Tumbleweed Ranch, head east over some hills. If you have the Wild Wasteland Trait you'll find a group of Aliens just hanging around. If you don't, you'll encounter some Mercenaries. Kill them and you'll obtain the Alien Blaster (in the former case) or the YCS/186, a unique version of the Gauss Rifle. Sure, the Alien Blaster has a ridiculous critical hit rate, but since the YCS/186 is the best long-ranged Energy Weapon in the game, and quite possibly the best sniper weapon overall (certainly the most damaging), we'll consider it the real prize. o======================================================================o | | | IssacFrost's Energy Weapons Build {EWB001} | | | o======================================================================o Note from Nathan: Who the hell is Nathan? The bum who wrote this FAQ. IssacFrost has submitted this build to me, over much correspondance and editing on his part. Since it's his build, I'll post his email here so you can question the source directly. If you as me about this build theendbringer (at) hotmail (dot) com, I'll just refer your email to him, so you might as well cut out the middle man. Besides, this will let you tell IssacFrost directly how much you think his build is better than mine. So, to get in contact with IssacFrost and save me the trouble of forwarding your e-mail, contact him at: issacfrost (at) gmail (dot) com. My buddy IssacFrost has gone through some considerable effort testing out Energy Weapons.. it's a labor of love (love of Energy Weapons, that is) that has driven him to suggest the following build. It's play tested in Hardcore mode on the Very Hard difficulty setting (at least, that's what he tells me) so if you need any credentials.. well, what more can you ask for? Note that this description is a little.. long winded and it jumps from subject to subject. Also note that it does include some spoilers, so only use it if you're a veteran looking for some solid hardcore Energy Weapon's advice that'll really hold your hand until you're established in Hardcore mode, or if you don't mind a few spoilers in exchange for some great advice. Here's his build in his own words: Attributes {EWB002} o======================================================================o This is the best an EW can be as this build is deadly and has the Caps to maintain it with ease (ie rich.) Any EW aficionado can try, if they can, to say otherwise but the results speak for themselves: this build is powerful, stupidly powerful. Specially since it's played on Very Hard: Hardcore from the very start to the very end. New Vegas Energy Weapons Build By IssacFrost This build is effective in Very Hard: Hardcore Initial After Implants Strength 4 Strength 6 (+1 Implant, +1 T51-b PA) Perception 5 Perception 6 (+1 Implant) Endurance 8 Endurance 9 (+1 Implant) Charisma 1 Charisma 1 (+1 T51-b Power Helmet) Intelligence 8 Intelligence 9 (+1 Implant) Agility 6 Agility 8 (+1 Implant, +1 Small Frame) Luck 8 Luck 10 (+1 Implant, +1 Int. Train.) Perks {EWB003} o======================================================================o Level Perk 2 Intensive Training (Luck) 4 Educated 6 Vigilant Recycler** 8 Toughness (1) 10 Finesse 12 Bloody Mess 14 Toughness (2) 16 Weapon Handling 18 Better Criticals 20 Grim Reaper's Sprint* 22 Jury Rigging** 24 Sniper* 26 Silent Running* 28 Nerves of Steel* 30 Laser Commander* ** Optional but helps to considerably reduce costs of weapon maintenance and shots per cap. * Optional Luck is very important in this build and an Intense Training (Luck) plus the Luck Implant are necessary for a 10% crit chance. Educated is just good for extra skill points. It gives you 2 points for every level when taken. That is +52 more skill points and that's a good thing. Level up your Science to 70 as fast as you can so you can get Vigilant Recycler at level 6. This will increase the efficiency of recycling your energy ammunition as well as make you recover consistently more drained ammo which will help with the cost efficiency of this build. With your first rank in Toughness you will benefit from a +3 DT. With the Sub Dermal Implant, +4DT, your total will be +7DT. Finesse adds +5% more to your natural crit and with the 10 LK that's a 15%. Add Built to Destroy and you have a natural critical rate of 18%. Bloody Mess synergizes very well with Lord Death R3 for an 8% damage boost with all weapons. This increases your EW damage output exponentially with all the other Damage Bonus Challenge Perks. You get your second rank of Toughness adding another +3 DT making the total with the first rank and the Sub Dermal Implant to +10 DT. By level 16 you should have 100 Energy Weapons skill. And with Weapon Handling you can start making use of the Plasma Caster. Try to get it's mod so it's fire rate becomes faster. You definitely want Better Criticals for it's additional +50% damage which will make ALL your EW weapons criticals truly devastating. Grim Reaper's Sprint recharges 20 AP every time you make a kill in VATS and with the efficiency of consistent crit kills it should be helping you to get back some much needed AP for whenever you are using the Multiplas Rifle, Q-35 or even the Pew Pew if you want. By level 22 you should have a Repair of 90. Jury Rigging is a handy perk to have as it increases repair options for your gear as well as, if used correctly, net you LOTS of Caps by repairing much more valuable and expensive items of a category with cheaper and common items of that same category. Sniper is probably the best VATS accuracy related Perk because frankly you will be aiming for the head most of the time. This gives some extra range in VATS for the Multiplas Rifle, Q-35 and Pew Pew. Silent Running is the best Sneak related perk you can get and since you are using Heavy PA it can help you a lot when you are moving in for the kill. Mostly so you can pull off sneak criticals with a Multiplas Rifle which are extremely deadly, more so if aimed to the head. Best used for enclosed areas where YCS is not that useful. Nerves of Steel was retooled from Fallout 3 to be more effective then it used to be. Now it increases AP regeneration by 20%. This is good because you don't want to stay in VATS you want to trigger VATS pull of a shot or two and move. Laser Commander is there mostly for Pew Pew and any other laser weapon that strikes your fancy as it increases damage by a +15% and critical chance by +10% making your laser weaponry crit more often then your plasma based ones. With Bloody Mess and Lord Death R3 your laser weapons do 23% more damage. Challenge Perks you want are Abominable R3 +10% damage to abominations, Animal Control R3 +10% damage to mutated animals, Bug Stomper R3 +10% damage versus mutated insects and Mutant Massacrer R3 +10% damage versus Super Mutants and Set Lasers for Fun R2 +4% critical chance with all energy weapons. You won't really need Machine Head as the Pulse Gun makes short work of them. With the above perks mentioned Bloody Mess and Lord Death R3 that's an 18% damage against bugs, animals, mutants and abominations. If using laser based weaponry with, Laser Commander, that's a 33% damage increase. Skills/Traits {EWB004} o======================================================================o Tag Energy Weapons and two more skills then when approaching Jenny Sky Diving respec for Science, Lockpick, Speech TraitsSmall Frame for Agility +1. The tradeoff to this Trait is that you will take 25% more limb damage which translates to getting crippled much more easily. Since this build doesn't take Adamantium Skeleton your best option is to get into PA as quickly as possible and to stock up on Doctor's Bag. The good news is that with a Medicine of 40 and Forceps, Medical Braces, Scalpels and Surgical Tubing you can craft Doctor's Bags via Veronica. Also with the Tough Guy challenge perk this drawback is cut down to 5%. Built to Destroy for 3% critical chance with the tradeoff of having a 15% increased weapon degradation. Due to access to the "free" full repairs of people such as Paladin Sato, Mayor Knight and even Raul whom can fix your gear and then you can pickpocket your caps back this tradeoff is negligible. With a Repair of 50 you can craft and stock up on Weapon Repair Kits through Veronica and I suggest you save up on every Scrap Metal, Scrap Electronic, Wonderglue, Duct Tape and Wrench you can get a hold off. Skill Points Barter 78 Energy Weapons 100 Lockpick 78 Repair 90 Science 78 Speech 78 +12 to a skill if finding all 4 skill books +20 to Science if finding all 5 skill books Weapon Selection {EWB005} o======================================================================o What's the best EW weapon? Ken Egervari has done a lot of work on breaking down every weapon and shows you what weapons are the best. EW proponents beware that Guns trumps EW heavily in New Vegas but that's nothing new. A EW Specialist can be as deadly efficient as a Guns Specialist but it will require more cost then a Guns Specialist needs to produce the same effect of deadliness. Thus Guns are more powerful and varied then EW as it requires less costs to do exactly what an EW would even with lower crit rates. Thankfully you still have some pretty solid options. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Q-35 Matter Modulator (2) - This is the "best" Plasma Rifle you can get as it counts like a Plasma Rifle+ but only uses up one Microfusion Cell. It is easily trumped by Multiplas Rifle and Plasma Caster+ but used against low tier DT enemies it's deadly and efficient, given it's ammo usage, slow degradation and the fact it crits consistently. When it crits it tends to do astounding damage even to high DT opponents. But I don't recommend it for high DT opponents; stick to Plasma Caster+, Multiplas or YCS. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Multiplas Rifle (1) - Even though it uses a lot of Microfusion Cells it is one of the best plasma weapon you can get for it's low strength. This is the closest an EW has to a VATS weapons. If this weapon performs a sneak critical to the head of a target the damage it does is astronomically high. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Plasma Caster+ (1) - A ST 8 and EW skill of 100 is needed to properly wield this weapon. When mod acts as the Turbo Plasma Rifle. This is probably the best EW Weapon you can have. It's fast rate of fire and high damage gives this weapon an incredibly high DPS. This weapon is bugged in third person and VATS and the blast hits an invisible wall but you shouldn't use it in VATS anyway to benefit of it's DPS. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Pew Pew (2.5)- It uses 15 energy cells but the damage output and crit rate are astounding. Since this build becomes self sufficient and rich just stock up on lots of SEC MC and make sure you have Laser Commander and most things will die with one shot. The best pistol an EW Specialist has access too, but an expensive one to use. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> YCS/186 (2) This is the upgrade to the Gauss. Don't use in VATS as it is bugged. Stick to sniping and whatever you snipe at dies, snipe something else and it dies too as simple as that. Whenever you plan on using YCS, switch to the 1st Recon Beret and if possible use MFC MC. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> Pulse Gun - This is a great weapon for any build. It simply owns all robots and people in power armor. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> (Optional) Euclid C Finder (50) - Deals one shot every 28 hours and does massive damage and an insane range but quite a delay before the blast hits. I find this more of a fun novelty weapon. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> A person using 10 LK, Finesse, Built to Destroy, Set Lasers for Fun R2, 1st Recon Beret, Laser Commander if using laser based weapon, VATS and boosted with True Police Stories would have a natural crit rate of 37%/47%. Since this build doesn't use comprehension and preferably uses the T-51b set your natural critical rate will be 22/32 out of VATS, 27/37 in VATS, 27/37 if wearing the Beret and 32/42 if using the Beret and VATS. Ammo charge options: Over ChargeDeals 25% more damage per shot and accelerates degradation by 50%. Max Charge Deals 75% more damage and degrades condition by 150%. Companions {EWB006} o======================================================================o Veronica, E-DE I really love having these two as companions. E-DE is an amazing pack mule surprisingly being able to lug around with a lot of gear. For this reason I tend to have it storing all the equipment, ammo and miscellaneous based items. His Enhanced Sensors perk is great as it allows you to ambush your enemies via sniping. Veronica is an unarmed expert, breaking the limits at an Unarmed skill of 103 and with Bonds of Steel and Remnants Armor set she gains +40DT. Always make sure she is armed with the Ballistic Fist, which is a non unique weapon, and she becomes a powerful ally despite the fact she is stuck at level 12. Also she can soak up more hits than you can despite the fact you are a higher level with more health and more DT. Overall Veronica is your BEST melee/unarmed oriented character despite the bug. Her Scribe Assistant perk means you have access to a workbench 24/7 and this is quite useful. Getting Established in the Mohave {EWB007} o======================================================================o This is where IssacFrost goes into quite a bit of detail about how to get his Energy Weapons character started.. And honestly, mostly finished. Have your hand held as much as you wish, the first steps-the New Vegas run-should be familiar to any player using this FAQ, the others.. well, they mostly include quick ways to score top-notch loot. (Note from Nathan: IssacFrost quotes the Fallout Wiki [http://fallout.wikia.com] as his source for some of the following information he gives. I have no idea how much of this information he pulled from the wiki, or even then, how much he paraphrased-if at all.) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Do the New Vegas Medical Clinic Run from Nathaniel Garvin's FAQ-During the run make sure you get Veronica at the 188 Trading Post. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Get banned from gambling in Atomic Wrangler. First max bet on BlackJack and reaload if you lose. Rack up some wins at least nine. Then save the game and start playing the slots on max bet until you hit the jackpot of three oranges. Reload if you see you have lost and repeat until you get it. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Go buy the following Implants: +1 IN Implant, +1 LK Implant, +1 AG Implant +4 DT Subdermal Armor, +1 Health/10 seconds Regeneration. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Return to Gun Runners. You should still have enough money to buy the Combat Armor Reinforced Mark II set if not then proceed to the next step and purchase it when you have the Caps. (Note from Nathan: Don't bother buying Combat Armor Mark II. You can find some Combat Armor at Durable Dunn's Sacked Caravan on one of the ash piles. You'll also get some Combat Armor for being a high-roller at Gommorrah.) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Steal all weapons from Silver Rush by using the Left Trigger click and carrying them to the bathroom. Drop them there and repeat. When you have everything close the door and pick everything up. Transfer as much as you can to Veronica. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Go to Gun Runners or Mick and Ralph's and sell some of the stuff you don't need. Keep the Plasma Caster and Multiplas Rifle and any other weapon that strikes your fancy. I personally sold everything except Plasma Caster, the Multiplas Rifle and a Plasma Rifle. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Accept the guard job and let the fourth man in without patting him down. Then wait for the explosion and Simon to rush in. Once Simon rushes in go inside and talk to Simon then kill him. Now loot all the Van Graff corpses and on your way out kill the Silver Rush Crier then sell all you can. (Note from Nathan: This might affect some of the sidequests related to the NPC Cassidy.) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Show your 2000 credit and enter New Vegas, you may want to go to Lucky 38 and 'accept' to work for House to get access to the Presidential Suite but this is purely optional. Although I recommend it to stash the Plasma Caster and anything else you don't need to carry at the moment. As well as take care of SLP and H2O by sleeping and drinking water from the bathroom sink. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Get banned from gambling at Gomorrah just as you did in Atomic Wrangler by trying to win slowly until you build up for the jackpot that way you can reap the house rewards. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Get banned from gambling at Tops just as you did in Atomic Wrangler but this time try to win slowly until you build up for the jackpot that way you can reap the house rewards. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Make sure you have Reinforced Combat Armor MK II Set and that Veronica is wearing the Reinforced Combat Armor you won at Gomorrah. At the Tops confront Benny and let him convince you to use the Suite. Go up there and he is going to tell you via intercom that he isn't showing up. Kill the thugs by using the pool cues. This should trigger Wild Card: Ace in the Hole. Go check Benny's room to find Yes Man. (Note from Nathan: If your character is female and has the 'Black Widow' perk, you can seduce Benny and kill him in his sleep. Now that's the definition of a Black Widow!) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Talk to Yes Man and use up all the dialogue. He should give you map markers to the minor factions and you should level up twice when you are done. Get up to Science 70 if you haven't to get Vigilant Recycler. Also one of the map markers is Hidden Valley. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Buy the remaining Implants: +1 ST Implant, +1 PE Implant, +1 EN Implant. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Make sure you have Multiplas Rifle and a Plasma Rifle, preferably modded, as well as MFC OC. Fast travel to Jean Sky Diving then go straight to Hidden Valley and start the quest for the Elder McNaran but first help Hardin find the information he needs to overthrow the Elder. Alternatively you could keep doing some more quests for McNaran to build your reputation with the Brotherhood. (Note from Nathan: Do NOT try to play both sides. It might seem like a sly idea to do McNamara's quests, then turn the holotapes into Hardin after you report to McNamara, but this can cause the quest to permanently freeze. No follow up quests, no Power Armor Training. That's not a good thing.) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Perform the quest and then report the holotapes to Hardin. Wait three days then after that talk to him again and tell him you want to join the Brotherhood of Steel and he will accept and give you the task to kill the Van Graff. Wait a bit and talk to him again and an option appears where you let him know you took care of the Van Graff. He will give you a T-45d set and Power Armor Training. You will also would have gotten access to the Brotherhood Safehouse as a way of thanks for helping him become the elder. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> During the quest McNaran gives you, you have to go to Repconn. Make sure to get the Q-35 as it is a "better" upgrade to your Plasma Rifle+, firing at fast speeds, doing slightly more damage and using up only one Microfusion cells it isn't the best EW weapon but it will remain useful and reliable until you can wield Plasma Caster+. Accessing the weapon without 100 in Science or 100 Lockpick: Floor 1: Take the tour. The tour guide will open the room to the planetarium (average locked door if you do not like the Long tour or the robot is dead) and go to the room back in the left. Walk upstairs and there is a key card for the main floor. Go back to the entrance and enter the room at the right (4 dead fiends in front of it) and walk up the stairs. Go to Floor 2. Floor 2: In the room on the left is an easy terminal to add facial data recognition (optional if you have the key card). At the southwest corner of the 2nd floor is a staircase which will guide you to Floor 3. Floor 3: There is a Mr. Handy who asks for the password, with luck 7 you can say Ice Cream. Otherwise you have 30 seconds to find the next key card (see below) before an alarm sounds, all the Mr. Handys turn hostile, and hostile heavy combat bots appear from hidden compartments in the walls. Where the roof collapsed there are lying 2 Brotherhood Paladins (holotape for accessing Hidden Valley) and next to the collapsed roof at the other side (go all the way around) is a skeleton with a briefcase with 200 Pre war money and key card for Floor 3. Back to Floor 2: Get to floor 2 again and find the door for floor 1 access (not the main door). Back to Floor 1Use the keycard on the door and in the next room (where the floor has collapsed) walk in to it and in the right corner you see the Q-35 matter modulator!If you can't find the correct door on the 2nd door, you can also unlock the very hard door on the main floor now with the key card to enter the same room. If you do not meet some of the stat/skill requirements mentioned above, you can simply kill all the hostile robots.If the gun is not there make sure to check your companions inventory as they may have taken it before you get to it. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Go to the Quartermaster in Hidden Valley and buy the T-51b set, repair with the Brotherhood T-51b armor you got from the Elder's quest. Do not use the Brotherhood T-51b as it makes NCR hostile to you. Give Veronica the T-45d set and buy her Ballistic Fist if available. Sell whatever you don't need like the Plasma Rifle+ since the Q-35 is better. (Note from Nathan: If you don't care about who gets what armor, Veronica can wear Brotherhood T51-b Power Armor just fine without arousing any hostility.) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Go to Brooks Tumbleweed Ranch, which is close to a double road that heads northwest from the Strip. Once you arrive at the Ranch head east of it and go up the hill and you should find a mercenary camp. The leader is carrying the YCS so use the Multiplas for quick carnage and get the YCS. This is going to be your main sniping weapon. (Note from Nathan: If you have the Wild Wasteland trait, you will find some aliens here instead of Mercenaries. Accordingly, you will recieve the Alien Blaster instead of the YCS/186.) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Head to the Brotherhood Safehouse but be careful as you may encounter some Young Deathclaws. Snipe them with the YCS. Once in the Safehouse talk to Paladin Sato so he can repair everything you can at 100% condition. Then steal the caps back from Paladin Sato, keep trying until you get them back. Finish repairs and re steal the caps again. You might have to wait a few days for him to appear. Use the cot to sleep and drink from the water fountain but make sure you have food with you. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Go back to Good Springs and do the quests you where supposed to do a long time ago. First do the full tutorial and then kill Cobbs and side with Good Springs during the Ringo storyline. Talking to Sunny or Trudy will let you learn about Primm. Get the parts necessary to repair E-DE: 3 Scrap Metals, 2 Sensor Module and 1 Scrap Electronics. (Note from Nathan: If you have a high enough Repair score, or a high Science and moderate Repair score, you can just repair him without using up components.) <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Once you have these items head over to Primm enter the Mojave Express at your right and look at E-DE then go to the Vicky and Vance Casino a nd talk to John Nash about E-DE. Go repair E-DE and gain it's Enhanced Sensors perks which is invaluable to ambush enemies or snipe them. Also E-DE is an excellent pack mule. Have him carry most of your weight affecting gear and miscellaneous but try not to give him any aid supplies as he may end up attacking non hostile NPC. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Since you are in Primm do any quests related to it. Once you can head over to the NCR Correctional Facility head there and kill all the convicts. Talk to Meyers but tell him you will think about his proposition. I suggest you reverse pickpocket a Combat Armor Reinforced then accept his deal. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Travel to the Mojave Outpost and kill all the creatures and enemies you can to rack up experience. Then at the Mojave talk to Mayor Knight then get your weapons and armor repaired. Pickpocket back the caps and go talk to Ranger Jackson and take his quest, then talk to Ranger Ghost and take her quest as this will help you gain some much needed experience. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -If you have a Speech of 50 travel to Black Mountain and talk to the friendly mutant Neil and convince him to join forces with you. Proceed up Black Mountain and kill Super Mutants. You will be coming here often to grind for Caps so know the layout of the area quickly. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Carry out the Caesar quest so you can have access to Fortification Hill on friendlier terms. Talk to Caesar and act as you are going to do what he wants and he will give you the Platinum Chip. Talk to Benny on your way out and learn all you can. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Go to the bunker area near Caesar's Tent: Weather Monitoring Station. You'll get your equipment. Head on inside and do what House tells you and upgrade the Securitrons. Return to Caesar then kill Benny and loot him. Talk to Caesar again and act as if you will do what he wants. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -By now Veronica should have triggered her quest and I suggest you go do it. At its conclusion tell her to stay so she can gain Bonds of Steel if she gets stuck go visit Gibson's Shack re download the information, talk to her use the option that you completed the quest then sneak. If you go into Sneak and she sneaks she is following you again. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Go for the Pulse Gun quest for Veronica as it is good experience and because it is a great weapon against robots and people wearing PA. Stock up on Radaway and Rad-X because the Vault you are headed to is irradiated. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -(Optional for Euclid C Finder) Do the Lucky Old Sun quest and route power to Archimides II and buy the Euclid C Finder from Max at East Freeside. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Make sure you are stocked up on MFC OC/MC and you are at least level 18 with an EW skill of 100 and that you have Plasma Caster+, Multiplas Rifle and YCS/186, the Q-35 is more of a cheap reliable "sidearm" for the weaker enemies. Head to Silver Pike Mine and obtain the Remnants Helmet, be wary as you will be going up against Cazadores. My advice is set up your partners on aggressive and to wait a little bit off where the Cazadores are then YCS snipe if you can when they start to approach let it rip with the Plasma Caster+ and once they are close switch to the Multiplas Rifle and VATS while leading them towards your companion's ambush. Silver Pike Mine is home to the Legendary Cazador so take it slow, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Go to the Safehouse and get the Remnant Helmet repaired and hold on to it.- For the next part make sure you are stocked up on a LOT of MFC OC and MC. You are going up a buttload of Deathclaws so my advice is that to be at least level 18 with a 100 in EW, and you have brought Plasma Caster+, Multiplas Rifle and YCS/186. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Travel sort of north east from Cottonwood Cove until you find the Cliffside Prospector Camp then head east. From here make it to the water by hugging the cliff and cross to the other side. Be wary of Lakelurkers. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -At the other side, you should time wait to get your partners and have them stay in a safe area. Clear the first area of Deathclaw by YCS sniping and if they discover you let then meet your Plasma Caster+ if they make it close pull out the Multiplas and VATS, although the Plasma Caster+ should make short work of them. If they get close you can backtrack towards the water. The Deathclaws will not go into the water and you can clear the area by using this tactic. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Once the first area is clear, very slowly approach the southern eastern area making use of cliffs and cover to snipe at the Deathclaws from a safe range. A safe range being that when you sneak critical one and go into Caution they cannot detect you, reload if this doesn't happen and find a better sniping position. You can then proceed to snipe or wait until returning to hidden status to sneak critical. Once you have cleared ALL the Deathclaws (they don't respawn) search the south eastern area for two dead prospectors one of them has the Remnant Armor which is what you really came for. Loot the corpses, Deathclaws and get the eggs in the south eastern most areas. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Then, if overloaded, walk slowly back to your companions. Spread the loot so you can fast travel to the Safehouse and get the Remnants Armor repaired. Give the Remnant set to Veronica, which along with Bonds of Steel should have 40 DT. <----------------------------------------------------------------------> -Proceed with the game as you wish. o======================================================================o | | | Books {BOK001} | | | o======================================================================o In this section I will list the books I have found so far in this game. If they're not listed here, it doesn't mean they don't exist, it just mean I have not personally found them, and hence, have no business commenting on their locations. As a rule of thumb there are about four of each type of book in the game, save Big Books of Science. Big Book of Science o======================================================================o [ ] Brewer's Beer Bootlegging In the cellar, in the back room. The book is on a table next to a chemistry set. [ ] Camp Forlorn Hope - Camp Forlorn Hope Command Center In the south eastern corner of the command tent, on a table. [ ] HELIOS One - HELIOS One Power Plant In order to get this you'll need to side with Ignacio Rivas during the quest 'That Lucky Old Sun' and distribute power evenly to all the settlements. Since the alternatives-pissing off the NCR or helping Fantastic-are both unsavory, this isn't too terrible of an option, anyways. [ ] Nipton - Town Hall Steyn's Office This book is in Steyn's Office (the room, not just the level), on the desk near 'Mayor Steyn's Terminal.' [ ] REPCONN Headquarters - REPCONN Offices Main Level In the first room of the REPCONN tour you'll find a door to the east that leads to the Gift Shop. Inside the Gift Shop there is a locked [Hard] door to the north. The book is inside, on a metal shelf. Chinese Army: Spec. Ops. Training Manual o======================================================================o [ ] Camp Searchlight - Searchlight Church Basement You can find this basement within a chapel on the eastern end of Searchlight. The book is on the floor near some metal shelves. [ ] Goodsprings - Goodsprings Home In the house east of the Goodsprings Schoolhouse, this book is in the living room (in the north east corner of the area map). It's on a bookshelf amongst a bunch of other, mundane, books. [ ] NCR Sharecropper Farms - Sharecropper Barracks This book is in the south eastern corner of the barracks, on the floor near a desk, on top of some papers. [ ] Vault 3 - Vault 3 Living Quarters When entering from the Vault 3 Entrance you'll find a locked door [Average] at the bottom of the staircase. Get inside and you'll find this book on a bookshelf near the door. D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine o======================================================================o [ ] HELIOS One - HELIOS One Power Plant In the upstairs bedroom, on the bed. [ ] Mesquite Mountains Crater - Hell's Motel In the first room, this book is on a counter along the northern wall, behind a globe, harmonica, and an ashtray. [ ] Novac - Ranger Andy's Bungalow This book is on the bed in Ranger Andy's house. Dean's Electronics o======================================================================o [ ] Abandoned BoS Bunker - Brotherhood of Steel Bunker Go down the stairs and head down the tunnel to the west, taking the first left (south). The book is in the room at the end of the hall, in a niche. (Note: Apparently in the v1.01 patch for this game, Obsidian in their infinite wisdom decided to lock this bunker and make the book inaccessible. Why, I have no idea, but to get this book you'll have to play the game unpatched.. at least until you get the book.) [ ] Nellis Air Force Base - Loyal's House You can find this book on the table along the southern side of the room, near a broken computer. [ ] Sloan - Worker Barracks In the Worker Barracks, on a shelf in the eastern corner. The book is near a radio. There is also a Duck and Cover! in the same room. [ ] Southern Nevada Wind Farm - Wind Farm Maintenance Shack This book is on the tables in the middle of the room. Duck and Cover! o======================================================================o [ ] Mohave Outpost - Mohave Outpost Barracks You'll find this guy behind the bar in the first room. It's in a cupboard built into the bar counter facing the door, near the floor. [ ] Nellis Air Force Base - Pearl's Barracks In the room with two couches you'll find a bookshelf along the wall to the south, south-east. The book is standing between a bunch of Pre-War Books. Note that this is also the shelf with some 40mm Grenades and a Grenade Rifle on it. [ ] Sloan - Worker Barracks On the metal locker to the left (the unlocked one), on a shelf near some ruined Pre-War Books. Grognak the Barbarian o======================================================================o [ ] Cannibal Johnson's Cave On the corner of the mattress near the fire. [ ] Cottonwood Cove - Office of Aurelius of Phoenix In the south western corner of the room, on a bedside table. [ ] Hidden Supply Cave On top of a crate south of the first aid box. [ ] Jacobstown - Jacobstown Bungalow In front of the Jacobstown Lodge is a lake, to the east of which lie several bungalows. In the southern-most bungalow you'll find this book. It's on the floor in front of the stove, Guns and Bullets o======================================================================o [ ] Nevada Highway Patrol Station Inside the station, on top of the southwestern most desk in the first room. [ ] Raul's Home This book is inside a wooden crate on the floor near the entrance. [ ] Vault 34 - Armory In the room with the couches and pool table in the north eastern corner of the level. The book is on a metal object. Lying, Congressional Style o======================================================================o [ ] Brooks Tumbleweed Ranch - Tumbleweed Ranch House On the second floor on the shelf of a locker. [ ] Lucky Jim Mine - Lucky Jim Mine House You can find this book in the southern corner of the house, on a metal shelf near the floor. [ ] NCR Correctional Facility - NCRCF Administration On the second level, in the room across from the Warden's Office (the room in the north eastern corner of the level.) The book is on a desk near a broken computer terminal. Nikola Tesla and You o======================================================================o [ ] Hidden Valley - Hidden Valley Bunker L1 In the Surgery room where Scribe Schuler spends most of her time, in a plastic bin next to the desk. [ ] Old Nuclear Test Site - Nuclear Test Shack This book is on a table along the south eastern wall of the shack, under another book near a Hunting Shotgun. [ ] REPCONN Headquarters - REPCONN Office 2nd Floor In the north eastern corner of the level, on a desk next to a terminal [Very Easy] from which you can add your facial data to the database for the 2nd floor. [ ] REPCONN Headquarters - REPCONN Office Main Floor In the north western corner of the level, behind a locked door [Very Hard]. This book is on top of a safe, amidst numerous Microfusion Cells. Note that it's possible to reach this room by going through a locked door [Hard] on the REPCONN Office 2nd Floor. Pugilism Illustrated o======================================================================o [ ] Fisherman's Pride Shack This book is in the eastern corner of the shack, on a table near the bed. [ ] Nipton Road Reststop - Nipton Road General Store This book is on a wooden shelf along the southern wall. [ ] The Tops Casino - The Tops Presidential Suite In the first room you enter after taking the elevator, on a table in the north western corner of the room. You can get access to this room by being a high-roller (win 7500 or so Caps at casino games) or by hearing Benny out. [ ] Vault 11 - Vault 11 Living Quarters From the door leading to Vault 11, head down the stairs into the first room. Head through a door to the south and go down some more stairs. At the bottom turn west where you'll find four rooms. The book is in the second room on the right, on the floor near an overturned dresser. Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor o======================================================================o [ ] Allied Technologies Offices In the south west corner of the level, on the floor just north of the Nuka-Cola Vending Machines. [ ] Cap Counterfeiting Shack Enter the Cap Counterfeiting Shack and go through a cellar door to reach.. well, the cellar. Go down some stairs and search the suitcases near the bed along the south eastern wall. This book is on top of one of the suitcases. [ ] Primm - The Bison Steve Hotel In the north eastern corner of the level you'll find the Gift Shop. The book is behind the counter, on top of a lock safe [Hard]. [ ] Vault 22 - Pest Control Take the Elevator down from any level to Pest Control. From where you arrive head east and take the first left, which will take you up two flights of stairs and ultimately into a lab. The book is inside the lab, on a counter near a chemistry set along the northern end of the room. Tumblers Today o======================================================================o [ ] Bitter Springs Recreation Area - Bitter Springs Recreation Office In the room to the south, on a desk near a paperweight and a broken terminal. Note that Bitter Springs and Bonne Springs are not the same area, and that Bitter Springs Recreation Area is not a sub-area of Bitter Springs. It's got its own map marker and everything. [ ] Silver Peak Mine - Silver Peak Mine Shack Along the northeastern wall of the shack you'll find some lockers. This book is inside one of the bottom lockers, near the floor. Note that the Silver Peak Mine itself contains the Remnant Helmet, which is yours for the taking.. if you're up to fighting some Cazadors, that is. [ ] The Prospector's Den Inside the actual den, in the middle room. The book is on the floor by the bed in the north eastern corner of the room. [ ] Wolfhorn Ranch Inside the ranch you you'll find this book, on the floor near the fridge. Wasteland Survival Guide o======================================================================o [ ] Lone Wolf Radio The books is on the floor near a metal box in the back of the trailer, by the bed. [ ] Matthews Animal Husbandry Farm In one of the barns, on the upper level. The book is on the ground near some metal boxes and a crate. [ ] Mosquite Mountain Camp Site You'll find this book inside the southern most tent, on the ground behind a Toolbox. [ ] Scavenger Platform In one of the shacks there is are some fallen metal shelves. This book is on the floor in between some of the shelves. o======================================================================o | | | Updates/Thanks {UPD001} | | | o======================================================================o Version 1.01 Information: Completed 11/13/2010, (139,306 bytes) o======================================================================o To all you crazy gamers who gave me such great advice and righteously chastised me for being ignorant, this is where you get yours. Credit where credit is due, right? I can't pretend that I found out everything in this guide on my own-well, I could, but then I'd be some kind of jerk.. Anyways, this is where I thank the people who helped bring this FAQ up to snuff, and where I make notes of the changes over the versions so we can all see just exactly how things have changed. Version 1.02 Notes o======================================================================o Immediately after GameFAQs got off of its lazy ass and posted this FAQ (seriously, how long does it take to add a 150kb FAQ?) I was met with a swarm of E-mails. The sheer fact that this FAQ received 13,000 hits in two days should say enough. Sure, it might not be a viral Youtube video, but it's certainly a faster pace than the rest of my FAQs hit. I guess it pays to post near the game launch, eh? Some were critical, most were complimentary, and all containing a few things I missed, alternative ways of doing things, or simply contrary opinions. I have read and responded to all the E-Mails I received (at least, to my knowledge anyways) and made a host of changes depending on the input you guys gave me. After all, the point of this FAQ isn't to necessarily have my ideas and my builds pushed on everybody-it is, to a large extent-to be accurate. Mistakes have been changed, alternative viewpoints considered (and added to the FAQ when they seemed to have merit.) However, keep in mind that the goal of this FAQ is to create a strong character, and even if you don't follow my advice, I hope to give you enough facts that you can make your informed decisions. Builds and play styles are pretty personal, and you can really make arguments for most any build. I try to be fairly neutral, but there are just some things this guide is tailored for-which is optimal efficiency. A character with a lot of skills, a strong combat presence and overall the ability to solve nearly every quest and get into nearly every area. For this reason I tend to exclude 'niche' builds that sacrifice playability in exchange for role-playing, or higher SPECIAL stats, or something else that I just don't feel coincide with the goals of this FAQ. If you wrote me a lovely E-mail and gave me a build idea or some other advice, that's great. The more ideas thrown at me, the better this guide will be. If I didn't put your ideas in here, that doesn't mean they weren't valid.. they just might not have been a good fit for this particular FAQ and the goals set out herein. Also, when multiple people E-mailed me about a problem, I typically credited the first person who pointed it out.. the rest of you will just have to be satisfied with the fact that you're in the (and many others) category. version 1.03 Notes o======================================================================o Version 1.03 is less essential of a change than Version 1.02 was. Honestly, V1.01 was horrible in a lot of ways. Mostly, V1.03 was adding IssacFrosts Energy Weapons build, putting in the locations of some of the more useful loot in the game (or at least some of the more easily obtained loot), and correcting some information. I had lots of school between the V1.02 and V1.03 FAQs, (being one semester away from graduating with a BA with two minors will do that) and there were lots of changes and errors I just didn't have time to make.. that and the fact that I hate releasing 'minor' updates, when possible. The V1.03 FAQ just contains a lot more information on how to get your character off the ground, and few build 'revelations', something we can all be thankful for, I think. 5/28/2011: It's after school, and I finally went back to pay this FAQ some attention. I found a few problems, changed the rating of Strong Back and Pack Rat, and added the Tough Guy earnable Perk. It's not quite enough of a change to warrant V1.04 (I'm saving that for when I get around to buying some of the DLCs), but it's not insignificant enough to ignore. o======================================================================o Version 1.01 to 1.02 changes: Completed 11/27/2010, (170,216 bytes) o=o Fixed some bad math in the skill point section. o=o Added Book information to skill point builds. o=o Added some text on the effects of Charisma on companion's Nerve. o=o Added some generic information regarding the use of skill point boosting apparel. o=o Changed the description and/or ratings of the Good Natured trait, and the Hand Loader, Ninja, and Pyromaniac perks. o=o Fixed some typos and dinosaurs. o=o Vastly increased the number of books found, improved vague directions to books, and edited the skills section by adding the possible number of skill points obtained by books into consideration. o======================================================================o Version 1.02 to 1.03 changes: Completed 3/15/2011, (215,740 bytes) o=o Removed the Respec exploit. o=o Confirmed various exploits and glitches, hoping to avoid posting false info (see above.) o=o Added IssacFrost's exhaustive Energy Weapons build. o=o Reorganised the "Implant" section (formerly {IMPxxx} and made the "Getting Started in the Mohave" section {MOHxxx} in its place. o=o Added numerous weapon and armor locations, for those of you who hear of all the weapons the various builds talk about, but have no clue have to find them. o=o Added the 'Tough Guy' Perk. o=o Removed the Intensive Training (Luck) pick as the first Perk. I've long since been using Black Widow, instead. Also, with a starting Luck of 9, an implant, and Intensive Training, how do I end up with 10 Luck? That's right, the max is 10, and 9 + 2 doesn't equal 10. (Note: Intensive Training is still a decent Perk pick at level 2, but with a starting Luck of 9, it's not what I'm looking for.) o=o Re-rated the Strong Back and Pack Rat perks, due to their helpfulness in Hardcore mode games where the goal is to actually play-not just beat-the game. o======================================================================o Special Thanks to: {UPD002} o=o My fiancé, for dutifully hovering around as I wrote this FAQ, created build after build, and always told her 'this is the last one'. She really helped morale by telling me she was going to wait 'until I figured it out' before she made a character. o=o Shimagami, (and many others) for pointing out that the Good Natured trait is can be exploited to score some extra skill points. o=o David Streitman (and many others) for pointing out the fact that I left a reference to Rivet City in the guide. o=o Sean Johnson, for pointing out that I was a moron for making a Guns build without the Hand Loader perk, and for pointing out that the Sniper Rifle owns the Anti-Material Rifle. o=o Adam Lowe, for pointing out a problem with my Charisma score in the build. o=o Keith Causin, for pointing out exactly what Charisma does in regards to companion's nerve. Also for putting forward the idea of wearing clothes to boost checked skills, grabbing the Pyromaniac perk to boost the Shishkebab-melee build, and for pointing out some problems with the Ninja perk. o=o Leon Kennedy, for saying that my guide was "more helpful" than the official guide, and for giving me the locations of all the books in the game. What a great guy! o=o Mark, for pointing out a infinite experience glitch. Hey, it never hurts to stay informed, right? o=o Paul Williamson, for also showing me where all the books were located. Sometimes it just helps getting two descriptions of where something is to find it. o=o Roberto Moutran, for telling me that you can grab some Combat Armor at Durable Dunn's Sacked Caravan on your way to New Vegas. o=o Mr. Galindo, for pointing out a contradiction with the Luck attribute in the build and in the descriptive paragraph for Luck. o=o Ken Egervari, for valiantly defending the Brush Gun, Jury Rigging, and for doing stellar statistical work breaking down the damage of the better weapons in the game to show which ones were up to snuff. For more information than my guide offers on weapons, check out his FAQ on Gamefaqs.com. My FAQ will tell you what weapons to build your character around, but his tells you why. http://www.gamefaqs.com/xbox360/959557-fallout-new-vegas/faqs/61255 o=o IssacFrost, for his continued correspondance following from Fallout 3 to Fallout: New Vegas. Both of our tentative pre-release builds for this game weren't able to hold water in the end, but it was still extremely valuable to have somebody to bounce ideas off of. Also, he deserves a medal for his submission of his own Energy Weapons build. Again, here's his email so you can contact him directly about his build: issacfrost (at) gmail (dot) com