How to Get Stronger in Fallout: New Vegas: A Comprehensive Guide

Getting stronger in Fallout: New Vegas isn’t just about brute force; it’s a multifaceted process that involves strategic character building, clever resource management, and a deep understanding of the game’s mechanics. Essentially, you can get stronger in Fallout: New Vegas by maximizing your SPECIAL attributes, particularly Strength and Endurance, selecting beneficial perks, increasing your skills, utilizing implants, and equipping the right gear. It’s a combination of permanent enhancements and temporary boosts that allow you to tackle the Mojave Wasteland’s toughest challenges. This article will break down all the ways to empower your Courier, making you a force to be reckoned with.

Understanding the Core Mechanics

Before diving into specifics, it’s crucial to grasp the foundation of character development in Fallout: New Vegas. Your SPECIAL attributes (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck) are the backbone of your character. Strength directly impacts your melee damage and carry weight, while Endurance increases your health and the number of implants you can receive. These are the primary stats you’ll want to focus on for a physically stronger character. Alongside these attributes, there are also skills that relate to your combat abilities (Guns, Melee, Unarmed, Explosives, Sneak), your utility abilities (Lockpick, Science, Repair, Medicine) and your social abilities (Speech, Barter, Survival).

Improving Your SPECIAL Stats

The first step towards becoming stronger is to optimize your SPECIAL stats during character creation. While a balanced build can be effective, if your goal is to be exceptionally strong, prioritize Strength and Endurance. You can start with a base Strength of 6 or 7 and then use clothing bonuses to increase it.

SPECIAL implants, available from Doctor Usanagi at the New Vegas Medical Clinic, can further boost your attributes. You can purchase one implant for every point of Endurance you have. These implants provide a permanent +1 boost to the related SPECIAL, making them invaluable. For a physically dominant character, getting the Strength and Endurance implants as soon as possible is critical.

Leveling Up and Perks

Every time you level up, you gain skill points to invest in your chosen skills and an opportunity to select a perk. Perks are unique abilities that can drastically enhance your character, and selecting the right ones is essential. For a stronger character, consider perks like:

• Toughness: Increases your damage threshold, making you more resistant to attacks.
• Super Slam!: A powerful melee perk which increases your chance of inflicting critical hits with melee weapons.
• Unstoppable Force: Melee attacks can temporarily knock opponents down and break through blocks.
• Implant GRX: A late game perk, which allows you to use temporary stat boosts with no time limits.
• Jury Rigging: Allows you to repair weapons and armor with similar or related items, meaning you will always be at optimum combat effectiveness.

Utilizing Skills

While not as direct as SPECIAL attributes, certain skills contribute to your overall strength. For example, raising your Melee Weapons or Unarmed skill directly increases the damage you deal with close combat attacks. Repair is crucial for keeping your weapons and armor in peak condition. Survival can greatly enhance your recovery and food effectiveness, keeping your health topped off.

Gear and Consumables

The equipment you use also plays a vital role in becoming stronger. Look for armor with high Damage Threshold (DT), which reduces incoming damage. Weapons with high base damage are obviously ideal, but remember to consider perks that may boost your weapon of choice (such as guns or melee).

Consumables offer temporary but potent boosts. Buffout provides a significant but temporary boost to strength, among other stats. Other chems can provide other advantages such as faster speed or damage resistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you max out all skills in Fallout: New Vegas?

Yes, it is possible to max out all skills if you have all the DLCs, which raise the level cap. However, you’ll need to carefully choose perks and hunt down skill books throughout the wasteland to achieve this.

How much Strength do you need in Fallout: New Vegas?

A base Strength of 5 is a good starting point. An implant can push it to 6, and there are perks that can reduce weapon strength requirements, allowing you to wield powerful firearms more easily.

What is the best skill to level up in Fallout: New Vegas?

While it depends on your play style, Guns, Speech, and Medicine are often considered among the most important skills to level up first. Repair and Survival are also very powerful skills.

What are the best traits to choose in Fallout: New Vegas?

Skilled is often considered the best trait, giving you 5 skill points to every skill at the cost of -10% experience gain, while Good Natured, Built to Destroy, and Small Frame are also effective.

Can you go over 100 on a skill in New Vegas?

No, 100 is the maximum skill level in Fallout: New Vegas. Any stat-boosting items or perks that you use after reaching 100 will be rendered null.

Can stats go above 10 in New Vegas?

You cannot raise your SPECIAL attributes above 10. Implants and other temporary boosts will only improve it when it’s below 10. If you have 10 in a SPECIAL attribute, additional boosts will provide no benefit.

How important is agility in Fallout: New Vegas?

Agility is important for those interested in Unarmed or Guns combat, as well as increasing AP in VATS.

What skills should I prioritize in New Vegas?

Barter, Repair, and Survival are great early picks for resource management and crafting, while Speech is a very powerful social skill.

What is the most important stat in Fallout New Vegas?

Intelligence and Endurance are considered the most crucial stats. Intelligence governs the number of skill points you get per level, while endurance dictates health and the number of implants you can have.

How do you get implants in Fallout New Vegas?

You can purchase implants from Doctor Usanagi in the New Vegas Medical Clinic. You can have one implant for every point of Endurance that you have. Each installation process takes 3 hours of in-game time.

What are the best three skills to pick in Fallout New Vegas?

Guns, Speech, and Medicine are the three skills that players tend to focus on due to their importance in combat and dialogue.

Do weapons scale in Fallout: New Vegas?

Yes, weapons do scale with enemy levels. At higher levels, enemies will carry more powerful weapons.

What perks are good in Fallout: New Vegas?

Jury Rigging, Implant GRX, Better Criticals, Chemist, Finesse, Educated, and Black Widow/Confirmed Bachelor are all very useful perks.

How much intelligence do you need in Fallout: New Vegas?

With the Educated perk and all the skill books, you only need a base Intelligence of about 6 or 7 to max out all your skills.

Does difficulty affect XP in Fallout: New Vegas?

No, difficulty does not affect the amount of XP you gain in Fallout: New Vegas.

Conclusion

Becoming stronger in Fallout: New Vegas is a complex journey. It’s about meticulously crafting your character, making smart decisions about perks and skills, using the right gear, and knowing when to utilize consumables. By combining these elements, you can transform your Courier into a powerhouse capable of conquering anything the Mojave Wasteland throws at them. By understanding and implementing the information given in this guide, you will be well on your way to becoming a fearsome wasteland warrior.