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Statistics/Skill/Perk/Trait Guide

by Absolute Steve

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 \       MMMMMM   MMMM    MMM     MMM     YMMM,  A   MMM   MMM MMMMMMMM
  \      MMM      MMMM    MMM     MMM    SMMM,  AM1  MMM   MMM\  MMMM
   \     MMM     $MMMMb   MMM     MMM    MMM,   AMM  MMM   MMM \ MMMM
    \    MMMMM   MM  MM   MMM     MMM    MM,   AMMM  MMM   MMM  \MMMM
     \   MMMMM  SMM  MMt  MMM     MMM    M,     `;M  MMM   MMM   MMMM
      \  MMM    MMM  MMM  MMM     MMM    MMMMM; ,MM  MMM   MMM   MMMM
       \ MMM   iMMMMMMMM. MMM     MMM    MMMM, ,MMM  MMM   MMM   MMMM
        \MMM   #MM7  bMMQ MMMMMM  MMMMMM iMM, ,MMMc  MMMMMMMMM   MMMM\
         MMM   MMM    MMM MMMMMM  MMMMMM   , ,MMB:    MMMMMMM    MMMM \
          \                               .,                           \
           \             _  _______      __   _   ______________   ____ \
            \           / |/ / __/ | /| / /  | | / / __/ ___/ _ | / __/  \
             \         /    / _/ | |/ |/ /   | |/ / _// (_ / __ |_\ \     \
              \       /_/|_/___/ |__/|__/    |___/___/\___/_/ |_/___/      \
               `------------------------------------------------------------`

            Statistics/Skills/Perks/Traits Guide by Absolute Steve
            ������������������������������������������������������

                    ___ _   ___ ___ ___  ___   ___  _  ___
                   | __/_\ / __| __| _ )/ _ \ / _ \| |/ / |
                   | _/ _ \ (__| _|| _ \ (_) | (_) | ' <|_|
                   |_/_/ \_\___|___|___/\___/ \___/|_|\_(_)

               Like this on Facebook!: facebook.com/absolutesteve
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         ___ _  _ _____ ___  ___  ___  _   _  ___ _____ ___ ___  _  _
        |_ _| \| |_   _| _ \/ _ \|   \| | | |/ __|_   _|_ _/ _ \| \| |
         | || .` | | | |   / (_) | |) | |_| | (__  | |  | | (_) | .` |
        |___|_|\_| |_| |_|_\\___/|___/ \___/ \___| |_| |___\___/|_|\_|
        ______________________________________________________________


This guide goes over all SPECIAL statistics, Skills, Perks and Traits in Fallout
New Vegas, and can be used as an appendix while playing the game.  The lists are
kept print-friendly and are a good reference source.  That's pretty much it.
Better yet, this is spoiler free stuff!

                 ___   ___  _  _   _ _____ ___ ___  _  _ ___  
                |   \ / _ \| \| | /_\_   _|_ _/ _ \| \| / __| 
                | |) | (_) | .` |/ _ \| |  | | (_) | .` \__ \ 
                |___/ \___/|_|\_/_/ \_\_| |___\___/|_|\_|___/ 
                ______________________________________________
                        [AND TERMS OF USE IN A SENSE]

                � If you found this guide helpful, feel free
                  to consider one of these options to donate:
                
                � 1. Paypal donation at: [email protected]
                                         ������������������
                � 2. Make a purchase at Amazon.com by searching
                     for your item through my referral search
                     box (this grants me 4% profit with no
                     additional costs for you), found at:
                     
                     http://www.shillatime.org/amazon.html 
                     �������������������������������������
                � 3. Tell someone dear how special they
                     are to you and remember their smile.
                     [And afterwards, of course, return to
                      blasting off heads in New Vegas!]
                
                  Thank you very much for your consideration!

 _____ _   ___ _    ___    ___  ___    ___ ___  _  _ _____ ___ _  _ _____ ___
|_   _/_\ | _ ) |  | __|  / _ \| __|  / __/ _ \| \| |_   _| __| \| |_   _/ __|
  | |/ _ \| _ \ |__| _|  | (_) | _|  | (_| (_) | .` | | | | _|| .` | | | \__ \
  |_/_/ \_\___/____|___|  \___/|_|    \___\___/|_|\_| |_| |___|_|\_| |_| |___/
_________________________________________________________________________[TOC]


            I. . . . . . . . . . . .  STATISTICS/SKILLS/PERKS/TRAITS
              1.1 ................... Are you S.P.E.C.I.A.L.? [STA-1]
              1.2 ................... Skills [STA-2]
              1.3 ................... Perks [STA-3]
              1.4 ................... Traits [STA-4]
              1.5 ................... Derived Statistics [STA-5]

            II. . . . . . . . . . . . . VIRGIN HISTORY [VIR]
            III . . . . . . . . . . . . CREDIT CHIPS [CRD]
            IV  . . . . . . . . . . . . RIGHTCOPY [COPS]


              ___     ___ _____ _ _____ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___
             |_ _|   / __|_   _/_\_   _|_ _/ __|_   _|_ _/ __/ __|
              | | _  \__ \ | |/ _ \| |  | |\__ \ | |  | | (__\__ \
             |___(_) |___/ |_/_/ \_\_| |___|___/ |_| |___\___|___/
             _________________________________________________[STA]

     _____________________________________________________________________
    |���������������������������������������������������������������������|
    |                 1.1 Are you S.P.E.C.I.A.L.? [STA-1]                 |
    |_____________________________________________________________________|
     ���������������������������������������������������������������������

S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stands for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma,
Intelligence, Agility, and Luck.  These are your primary stats, and they
directly influence your skills - and thus gameplay.  This section deals with
the effects that the SPECIAL stats have on your character and summarizes this.

STRENGTH
��������
Description: Strength allows you to hold more items in your inventory and
increases your unarmed damage.  It also influences which weapons you can and
cannot (effectively) use.
 _________ _______________________ ___________ ________________________________
|STRENGTH:|"RANK" NAME:           |MAX WEIGHT:|UNARMED DMG: |SKILL MODIFIERS:  |
|=-=-=-=-=|=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=|-=-=-=-=-=-|=-=-=-=-=-=-=|-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=|
|    1    |Wet Noodle             |    160    |     0.5     |Melee Weapons  +2 |
|    2    |Beached Jellyfish      |    170    |     1.0     |Melee Weapons  +4 |
|    3    |Doughy Baby            |    180    |     1.5     |Melee Weapons  +6 |
|    4    |Lightweight            |    190    |     2.0     |Melee Weapons  +8 |
|    5    |Average Joe            |    200    |     2.5     |Melee Weapons +10 |
|    6    |Barrel Chested         |    210    |     3.0     |Melee Weapons +12 |
|    7    |Beach Bully            |    220    |     3.5     |Melee Weapons +14 |
|    8    |Circus Strongman       |    230    |     4.0     |Melee Weapons +16 |
|    9    |Doomsday Pecs          |    240    |     4.5     |Melee Weapons +18 |
|   10    |Hercules' Bigger Cousin|    250    |     5.0     |Melee Weapons +20 |
 ��������� ����������������������� ����������� ������������� ������������������

Associated Skills: 1. Melee Weapons. 2. Unarmed

Associated Perks:  1. Heave, Ho!        (Minimum of 5 STR, LVL  2)
                   2. Stonewall         (Minimum of 6 STR, LVL  8)
                   3. Strong Back       (Minimum of 5 STR, LVL  8)
                   4. Super Slam        (Minimum of 6 STR, LVL  8)
                   5. Unstoppable Force (Minimum of 7 STR, LVL 12)
                   6. Weapon Handling   (STR < 10, LVL 16)
                   7. Strength Implant  (STR < 10, LVL --)


PERCEPTION
����������
The better your perception, the quicker you'll spot enemies on the compass.
 ___________ ____________________ ___________________________________________
|PERCEPTION:|"RANK" NAME:        |SKILL MODIFIERS:                           |
|=-=-=-=-=-=|-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=|-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-|
|     1     |Deaf Bat            |Energy Weapons & Lockpick & Explosives  +2 |
|     2     |Senile Mole         |Energy Weapons & Lockpick & Explosives  +4 |
|     3     |Squinting Newt      |Energy Weapons & Lockpick & Explosives  +6 |
|     4     |Unsuspecting Trout  |Energy Weapons & Lockpick & Explosives  +8 |
|     5     |Wary Trout          |Energy Weapons & Lockpick & Explosives +10 |
|     6     |Alert Coyote        |Energy Weapons & Lockpick & Explosives +12 |
|     7     |Big-eyed Tiger      |Energy Weapons & Lockpick & Explosives +14 |
|     8     |Monocled Falcon     |Energy Weapons & Lockpick & Explosives +16 |
|     9     |Sniper Hawk         |Energy Weapons & Lockpick & Explosives +18 |
|    10     |Eagle with Telescope|Energy Weapons & Lockpick & Explosives +20 |
 ����������� �������������������� �������������������������������������������
Associated Skills: 1. Energy Weapons. 2. Explosives. 3. Lockpick.

Associated Perks: 1. Friend of the Night (Minimum of 6 PER, LVL  2)
                  2. Sniper              (Minimum of 6 PER, LVL 12)
                  3. Light Step          (Minimum of 6 PER, LVL 14)
                  4. Better Criticals    (Minimum of 6 PER, LVL 16)
                  5. Infiltrator         (Minimum of 7 PER, LVL 18)
                  6. Perception Implant  (PER < 10, LVL --)


ENDURANCE
���������
Endurance increases you maximum health, poison resistance, radiation resistance,
and an invisible stat named fatigue.  This governs how quickly you are knocked
down in combat (and how fast targets become "unconscious").

 ____ _______ _______________________ ___________ ___________ _________________
|END:|MAX HP:|SKILL MODIFIERS:       |PSN RESIST:|RAD RESIST:|FATIGUE:         |
|=-=-|=-=-=-=|-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-|=-=-=-=-=-=|-=-=-=-=-=-|=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=|
|  1 |  120  |Survival & Unarmed  +2 |     0%    |     0%    | 20 + (LVL x10)  |
|  2 |  140  |Survival & Unarmed  +4 |     5%    |     2%    | 40 + (LVL x10)  |
|  3 |  160  |Survival & Unarmed  +6 |    10%    |     4%    | 60 + (LVL x10)  |
|  4 |  180  |Survival & Unarmed  +8 |    15%    |     6%    | 80 + (LVL x10)  |
|  5 |  200  |Survival & Unarmed +10 |    20%    |     8%    |100 + (LVL x10)  |
|  6 |  220  |Survival & Unarmed +12 |    25%    |    10%    |120 + (LVL x10)  |
|  7 |  240  |Survival & Unarmed +14 |    30%    |    12%    |140 + (LVL x10)  |
|  8 |  260  |Survival & Unarmed +16 |    35%    |    14%    |160 + (LVL x10)  |
|  9 |  280  |Survival & Unarmed +18 |    40%    |    16%    |180 + (LVL x10)  |
| 10 |  300  |Survival & Unarmed +20 |    45%    |    18%    |200 + (LVL x10)  |
 ���� ������� ����������������������� ����������� ����������� �����������������
Associated Skills: 1. Survival. 2. Unarmed.

Associated Perks: 1. Lead Belly           (Minimum of 5 END, LVL  6)
                  2. Toughness            (Minimum of 5 END, LVL  6)
                  3. Stonewall            (Minimum of 6 END, LVL  8)
                  4. Strong Back          (Minimum of 5 END, LVL  8)
                  5. Radiation Resistance (Minimum of 5 END, LVL  8)
                  6. Long Haul            (Minimum of 6 END, LVL 12)
                  7. Life Giver           (Minimum of 6 END, LVL 12)
                  8. Solar Powered        (Minimum of 7 END, LVL 20)
                  9. Rad Absorption       (Minimum of 7 END, LVL 28)
                 10. Endurance Implant    (END < 10, LVL --)

CHARISMA
��������
Charisma improves your success when talking to people, and increases your
companions' armor and damage.
 ___________ __________________ ______________________ ____________________
|CHARISMA:  |"RANK" NAME:      |COMPANION ARMOR & DMG:|SKILL MODIFIERS:    |
|=-=-=-=-=-=|-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=|=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-|=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-|
|     1     |Misanthrope       |         + 5          |Barter & Speech  +2 |
|     2     |Old Hermit        |         +10          |Barter & Speech  +4 |
|     3     |Creepy Undertaker |         +15          |Barter & Speech  +6 |
|     4     |Peevish Librarian |         +20          |Barter & Speech  +8 |
|     5     |Substitute Teacher|         +25          |Barter & Speech +10 |
|     6     |Cheery Salesman   |         +30          |Barter & Speech +12 |
|     7     |Diplomat          |         +35          |Barter & Speech +14 |
|     8     |Movie Star        |         +40          |Barter & Speech +16 |
|     9     |Casanova          |         +45          |Barter & Speech +18 |
|    10     |Cult Leader       |         +50          |Barter & Speech +20 |
 ����������� ������������������ ���������������������� ��������������������

Associated Skills: 1. Barter. 2. Speech.

Associated Perks: 1. Ferocious Loyalty (Minimum of 6 CHR, LVL  6)
                  2. Animal Friend     (Minimum of 6 CHR, LVL 10)
                  3. Charisma Implant  (CHR < 10, LVL --)


INTELLIGENCE
������������
Intelligence increases the amount of skills points you gain to distribute over
your skills when you level up.  It also improves Medicine, Repair and Science.
Furthermore, Intelligence influences your converation level.  If you're dumb
your dialogue will reflect this.
   _____________ _____________ ______________________________________________
  |INTELLIGENCE:|"RANK" NAME: |SKILL POINTS |SKILL MODIFIERS:                |
  |             |             |PER LEVEL UP:|                                |
  |=-=-=-=-=-=-=|-=-=-=-=-=-=-|-=-=-=-=-=-=-|=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-|
  |       1     |Sub-brick    |     10.5    |Medicine & Repair & Science  +2 |
  |       2     |Vegetable    |      11     |Medicine & Repair & Science  +4 |
  |       3     |Cretin       |     11.5    |Medicine & Repair & Science  +6 |
  |       4     |Knucklehead  |      12     |Medicine & Repair & Science  +8 |
  |       5     |Knowledgeable|     12.5    |Medicine & Repair & Science +10 |
  |       6     |Gifted       |      13     |Medicine & Repair & Science +12 |
  |       7     |Smartypants  |     13.5    |Medicine & Repair & Science +14 |
  |       8     |Know-it-all  |      14     |Medicine & Repair & Science +16 |
  |       9     |Genius       |     14.5    |Medicine & Repair & Science +18 |
  |      10     |Omniscient   |      15     |Medicine & Repair & Science +20 |
   ������������� ������������� ������������� ��������������������������������
Note that half points are kept invisible and carry over to the next level-up.

Associated Skills: 1. Medicine. 2. Repair. 3. Science.

Associated Perks: 1. Retention            (Minimum of 5 INT, LVL  2)
                  2. Swift Learner        (Minimum of 4 INT, LVL  2)
                  3. Comprehension        (Minimum of 4 INT, LVL  2)
                  4. Educated             (Minimum of 4 INT, LVL  4)
                  5. Entomologist         (Minimum of 4 INT, LVL  4)
                  6. Pack Rat             (Minimum of 5 INT, LVL  8)
                  7. Nerd Rage!           (Minimum of 5 INT, LVL 10)
                  8. Computer Whiz        (Minimum of 7 INT, LVL 18)
                  9. Intelligence Implant (INT < 10, LVL --)


AGILITY
�������
Agility increases your Action Points in V.A.T.S., and improves how fast you
draw, holster and reload your weapons, as well as your running speed.
  _____________ ________________ ___________________ _______________________
 |AGILITY:     |"RANK" NAME:    |ACTION POINTS (AP):|Skill Modifiers:       |
 |=-=-=-=-=-=-=|-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=|-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-|=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=|
 |       1     |Walking Disaster|         68        |Small Guns & Sneak  +2 |
 |       2     |Accident Prone  |         71        |Small Guns & Sneak  +4 |
 |       3     |Oaf             |         74        |Small Guns & Sneak  +6 |
 |       4     |Butterfingers   |         77        |Small Guns & Sneak  +8 |
 |       5     |Under Control   |         80        |Small Guns & Sneak +10 |
 |       6     |Catlike         |         83        |Small Guns & Sneak +12 |
 |       7     |Knife Thrower   |         86        |Small Guns & Sneak +14 |
 |       8     |Knife Catcher   |         89        |Small Guns & Sneak +16 |
 |       9     |Acrobatic Marvel|         92        |Small Guns & Sneak +18 |
 |      10     |Walks on Water  |         95        |Small Guns & Sneak +20 |
  ������������� ���������������� ������������������� �����������������������

Associated Skills: 1. Guns. 2. Sneak.

Associated Perks: 1. Rapid Reload    (Minimum of 5 AGL, LVL  2)
                  2. Quick Draw      (Minimum of 5 AGL, LVL  8)
                  3. Silent Running  (Minimum of 6 AGL, LVL 12)
                  4. Sniper          (Minimum of 6 AGL, LVL 12)
                  5. Light Step      (Minimum of 6 AGL, LVL 14)
                  6. Action Boy/Girl (Minimum of 6 AGL, LVL 16)
                  7. Slayer          (Minimum of 7 AGL, LVL 24)
                  8. Nerves of Steel (Minimum of 7 AGL, LVL 26)
                  9. Agility Implant (AGL < 10, LVL --)


LUCK
����
Luck increases your chance to deliver critical hits and boosts all your skills.
Enemies will more often miss their shot at you.  Lastly, Luck also affects
gambling in a mysterious way.
       _________ ____________________ _________________ _________________
      |LUCK:    |"RANK" NAME:        |CRITICAL CHANCE: |SKILL MODIFIERS: |
      |=-=-=-=-=|-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=|-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-|-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-|
      |     1   |13 Pitch-black Cats |Critical Hit +1% |All Skills +1    |
      |     2   |Broken Gypsy Mirror |Critical Hit +2% |All Skills +1    |
      |     3   |Sickly Albatross    |Critical Hit +3% |All Skills +2    |
      |     4   |Spilled Salt        |Critical Hit +4% |All Skills +2    |
      |     5   |Coin Flip           |Critical Hit +5% |All Skills +3    |
      |     6   |Stacked Deck        |Critical Hit +6% |All Skills +3    |
      |     7   |Lucky 7             |Critical Hit +7% |All Skills +4    |
      |     8   |Leprechaun's Foot   |Critical Hit +8% |All Skills +4    |
      |     9   |21-Leaf Clover      |Critical Hit +9% |All Skills +5    |
      |    10   |Two-headed coin flip|Critical Hit +10%|All Skills +5    |
       ��������� �������������������� �����������������������������������
Associated Skills: ALL.

Associated Perks: 1. Fortune Finder      (Minimum of 5 LCK, LVL  6)
                  2. Scrounger           (Minimum of 5 LCK, LVL  8)
                  3. Miss Fortune        (Minimum of 6 LCK, LVL 10)
                  4. Mysterious Stranger (Minimum of 6 LCK, LVL 10)
                  5. Better Criticals    (Minimum of 6 LCK, LVL 16)
                  6. Luck Implant        (LCK < 10, LVL --)


     _____________________________________________________________________
    |���������������������������������������������������������������������|
    |                         1.2 Skills [STA-2]                          |
    |_____________________________________________________________________|
     ���������������������������������������������������������������������
There are 13 skills in New Vegas, and it's nearly the same set as in Fallout 3.
The differences are: 1. Small Guns has been renamed to Guns.  2. Big Guns is no
longer a skill in New Vegas.  3. The Survival Skill is new.

This section deals with all skills.  These are derived from one of your SPECIAL
stats, and are further increased by spending skill points after levelling up,
or by reading skill books or skill magazines.

Skill Books permanently increase a skill with 3 points.  If you have the
Comprehension Perk, Skill Books grant one additional point per book, for a
total of 4 points.
                                                  __________________
Skill Magazines temporarily increase a           |INT:|SKILL POINTS:|
skill by 10 points.  If you have the             |=-=-|=-=-=-=-=-=-=|
Comprehension Perk, they temporarily             |  1 |     10.5    |
increase the skill by 20 points.                 |  2 |      11     |
                                                 |  3 |     11.5    |
Intelligence is the SPECIAL stat that            |  4 |      12     |
influences how many skill points you get         |  5 |     12.5    |
for each level up.  Starting at 10.5 skill       |  6 |      13     |
points at 1 INT, this can become 15 points       |  7 |     13.5    |
at level 10.  This has been dumbed down          |  8 |      14     |
from 20 in Fallout 3.  It's a good idea	         |  9 |     14.5    |
to start out with a high INT stat.	         | 10 |      15     |
					          ������������������
An interesting shift from Fallout 3 to New Vegas is that skills such as Barter
and Speech have become a lot more useful.  Dialogue options are no longer
chance-dependent, but require a fixed amount of skill points.  You can now
expect to see dialogue options that require 50 speech - bottom line.  If you
don't have enough, you can't get the option to work, it's that simple.  There
are various options for Barter as well.  Other skills may also have dialogue
options, such as Medicine, Sneak, Repair or Science, although these are less
common than Speech and Barter dialogue options.


BARTER
������
Statistic:    � Charisma
Useage:       � Allows you to buy lower, sell higher.
              � Unlocks special dialogue options.
Unlocks Perk: 1. Pack Rat  (Minimum of 70 Barter, LVL  8)
              2. Long Haul (Minimum of 70 Barter, LVL 12)


ENERGY WEAPONS
��������������
Statistic:    � Perception
Useage:       � Increases effectiveness of Energy Weapons (such as Laser Pistol,
                Laser Rifle, Plasma Pistol, Plasma Rifle), and Flamer Weapons
                (such as Incinerator).
Unlocks Perk: 1. Run 'n Gun        (Minimum of 45 Barter, LVL 4)
              2. Plasma Spaz       (Minimum of 70 Barter, LVL 10)
              3. Meltdown          (Minimum of 90 Barter, LVL 16)
              4. Concentrated Fire (Minimum of 60 Barter, LVL 18)
              5. Laser Commander   (Minimum of 90 Barter, LVL 22)



EXPLOSIVES
����������
Statistic:    � Perception
Usage:        � Improves the damage you do with explosives, enhances your
                accuracy when throwing explosives, increases the ease with
                which you disarm mines, and improves damage of Missile Launchers
                Fat Men, and similar weapons.
Unlocks Perk: 1. Heave, Ho!        (Minimum of 30 Explosives, LVL  2)
              2. Demolition Expert (Minimum of 50 Explosives, LVL  6)
              3. Hit The Deck      (Minimum of 70 Explosives, LVL 12)
              4. Pyromaniac        (Minimum of 60 Explosives, LVL 12)
              5. Splash Damage     (Minimum of 70 Explosives, LVL 12)


GUNS
����
Statistic:    � Agility
Usage:        � Increases effectivity of guns that use conventional ammunition
                (such as Pistol, Rifles, etc).
Unlocks Perk: 1. Rapid Reload      (Minimum of 30 Guns, LVL  2)
              2. Run 'n Gun        (Minimum of 45 Guns, LVL  4)
              3. Shotgun Surgeon   (Minimum of 45 Guns, LVL  6)
              4. Cowboy            (Minimum of 45 Guns, LVL  8)
              5. Center of Mass    (Minimum of 70 Guns, LVL 14)
              6. Concentrated Fire (Minimum of 60 Guns, LVL 18)

                                              ___________ _______________
LOCKPICK                                     |DIFFICULTY:|REQUIRED SKILL:|
��������                                     |=-=-=-=-=-=|=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=|
Statistic:    � Perception                   |Very Easy  |        0      |
Usage:        � Allows you to pick locks.    |Easy       |       25      |
                See ratings on the left.     |Average    |       50      |
Unlocks Perk: 1. Infiltrator (Minimum of     |Hard       |       75      |
                 70 Lockpick, LVL 18)        |Very Hard  |      100      |
                                              ����������� ��������������� 

MEDICINE
��������
Statistic:    � Intelligence
Usuage:       � Increases the effectiveness of medicine (RadAway, Rad-X,
                Stimpaks, Super Stimpaks, etc.).  At skill level 100, the
                initial effects of medicine is doubled (?).
Unlocks Perk: 1. Living Anatomy (Minimum of 70 Medicine, LVL  8)
              2. Chemist        (Minimum of 60 Medicine, LVL 14)
              3. Chem Resistant (Minimum of 60 Medicine, LVL 16)


MELEE WEAPONS
�������������
Statistic:    � Strength
Usage:        � Increases effectivity of melee weapons (Combat Knife, Machete,
                Tire Iron, etc..)
Unlocks Perk: 1. Cowboy            (Minimum of 45 Melee Weapons, LVL 8)
              2. Super Slam        (Minimum of 45 Melee Weapons, LVL 8)
              3. Unstoppable Force (Minimum of 90 Melee Weapons, LVL 12)
              4. Ninja             (Minimum of 80 Melee Weapons, LVL 20)


REPAIR
������
Statistic:    � Intelligence
Usage:        � Increases your ability to repair weapons and armor, and also
                affects your ability to create items and gun ammunition at
                reloading benches.
Unlocks Perk: 1. Hand Loader  (Minimum of 70 Repair, LVL 6)
              2. Jury Rigging (Minimum of 90 Repair, LVL 14)


SCIENCE                                         ___________ _______________
�������                                        |DIFFICULTY:|REQUIRED SKILL:|
Statistic:    � Intelligence                   |=-=-=-=-=-=|=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=|
Usage:        � Used for hacking terminals.    |Very Easy  |        0      |
                See ratings on the left.       |Easy       |       25      |
                It is also used to recycle     |Average    |       50      |
                Energy Weapon ammo at          |Hard       |       75      |
                reloading benches.             |Very Hard  |      100      |
                                                ����������� ��������������� 
Unlocks Perk: 1. Vigilant Recycler (Minimum of 70 Science, LVL  6)
              2. Math Wrath        (Minimum of 70 Science, LVL 10)
              2. Nerd Rage!        (Minimum of 50 Science, LVL 10)
              3. Robotics Expert   (Minimum of 50 Science, LVL 12)
              4. Computer Whiz     (Minimum of 70 Science, LVL 18)
              5. Nuka Chemist      (Minimum of 90 Science, LVL 22)
              

SNEAK
�����
Statistic:    � Agility
Usage:        � Increases you speed, your ability to stay hidden from enemies
                when crouching and during pickpocketing.  Attacking while hidden
                grants you a Sneak Attack Critical Hit.
Unlocks Perk: 1. Friend of the Night (Minimum of 30 Sneak, LVL  2)
              2. The Professional    (Minimum of 70 Sneak, LVL  6)
              3. Mister Sandman      (Minimum of 60 Sneak, LVL 10)
              4. Silent Running      (Minimum of 50 Sneak, LVL 12)
              5. Ninja               (Minimum of 80 Sneak, LVL 20)


SPEECH
������
Statistic:    � Charisma
Usage:        � Increases your success when talking to people, often granting
                you special priviledges.
Unlocks Perk: 1. Terrifying Presence (Minimum of 70 Speech, LVL 8)


SURVIVAL
��������
Statistic:    � Endurance
Usage:        � Increases the amount of health you gain from eating and drinking
                food and water, and improves creating items at campfires.
Unlocks Perk: 1. Hunter         (Minimum of 30 Survival, LVL  2)
              2. Entomologist   (Minimum of 45 Survival, LVL  4)
              3. Rad Child      (Minimum of 70 Survival, LVL  4)
              4. Travel Light   (Minimum of 45 Survival, LVL  4)
              5. Lead Belly     (Minimum of 40 Survival, LVL  6)
              6. Rad Resistance (Minimum of 40 Survival, LVL  8)
              7. Animal Friend  (Minimum of 45 Survival, LVL 10)


UNARMED
�������
Statistic:    � Endurance
Usage:        � Increases damage when fighting bare handed/with knuckles.
                Also decreases the damage taken when blocking with your hands.
Unlocks Perk: 1. Piercing Strike (Minimum of 70 Unarmed, LVL 12)
              2. Paralyzing Palm (Minimum of 70 Unarmed, LVL 18)
              3. Slayer          (Minimum of 90 Unarmed, LVL 24)


     _____________________________________________________________________
    |���������������������������������������������������������������������|
    |                          1.3 Perks [STA-3]                          |
    |_____________________________________________________________________|
     ���������������������������������������������������������������������

CONFIRMED BACHELOR/CHERCHEZ LA FEMME
������������������������������������
Level:        2
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*****] / [**...]
Prerequisite: Male/Female gender
Description:  In combat, you do +10% damage against opponents of the same sex.
              You sometimes get access to unique dialogue options when dealing
              with the same sex.  While Confirmed Bachelor is supremely useful,
              as a woman you're better off taking the Black Widow perk.  There
              are simply more men than women in the game.


LADY KILLER/BLACK WIDOW
�����������������������
Level:        2
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...] / [*****]
Prerequisite: Male/Female gender
Description:  In combat you do +10% damage against opponents of the other sex.
              You sometimes get access to unique dialogue options when dealing
              with the other sex.  While Black Widow is supremely useful,
              as a man you're better off taking the Confirmed Bachelor perk.
              There are simply more men than women in the game.

FRIEND OF THE NIGHT
�������������������
Level:        2
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: Sneak: 30, Perception: 6
Description:  Your eyes adapt quickly to low-light conditions indoors and when
              darkness falls across the post-nuclear wastelend.  Well that's
              just great, but it's better to turn up your TV's brightness a 
              little (or better yet, check the in-game options) than to waste
              a perk spot.


HEAVE, HO!
����������
Level:        2
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Explosives: 30, Strength: 5
Description:  All thrown weapons fly farther and faster for you.  Nothing more,
              nothing less.


HUNTER
������
Level:        2
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Survival: 30
Description:  In combat, you do +75% *critical* damage against animals and
              mutated animals.  So your regular damage stays the same.  When
              you do get a critical, it's not even twice the extra damage, but
              only 75% extra, and only against animals and mutated animals.
              Ever been scared of Mole Rats?


INTENSE TRAINING
����������������
Level:        2
Ranks:        10
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  Put a single point in a SPECIAL stat of your choice.


RAPID RELOAD
������������
Level:        2
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Guns: 30, Agility: 5
Description:  Makes all your weapon reloads 25% faster than normal.  This can
              make a little difference, but it's better to always keep your gun
              reloaded anyway.  Reloading in the heat of battle can be annoying,
              but there are many other great perks to be chosen.

RETENTION
���������
Level:        2
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Intelligence: 5
Description:  The bonuses granted by skill magazines last three times as long.
              You usually only need these bonuses for a very short while anyhow,
              for a dialogue challenge, picking a lock, hacking a terminal, etc.


SWIFT LEARNER
�������������
Level:        2
Ranks:        3
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: Intelligence: 4
Description:  You gain +10% extra experience points whenever EXP is given.
              Considering you'll reach Level 30 by yourself, this is only a
              waste of a perk spot.  Why hurry?  It's only 10%.
________________________________________________________________________________

CANNIBAL
��������
Level:        4
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  With the Cannibal perk you can eat corpses when in sneak bodies,
              allowing you to regain hit points with this action.  Everytime
              you feed, you lose Karma and if the act is witnessed, well, you
              get attacked.  This isn't one of the best perks..

COMPREHENSION
�������������
Level:        4
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*****]
Prerequisite: Intelligence: 4
Description:  You get double the temporary bonus from reading skill magazines
              (+20 points instead of +10), and one extra permanent point from
              reading skill books (+4 instead of +3).  A very useful perk as
              this allows you to boost a whole lot more skills.


EDUCATED
��������
Level:        4
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*****]
Prerequisite: Intelligence: 4
Description:  You get two more skill points every time you level up.  Take this
              perk at level 4 to get the most out of it: +52 skill points baby!


ENTOMOLOGIST
������������
Level:        4
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Survival: 45, Intelligence: 4
Description:  You deal +50% extra damage to mutated insects such as Radroaches,
              Giant Mantises and Radscorpions.  Decent, but not more than that.


RAD CHILD
���������
Level:        4
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Survival: 70
Description:  The higher your radiation sickness stage, the more health you
              recover.  Preferably, you don't even want to have radiation
              sickness because it comes with stats penalties..


RUN 'N GUN
����������
Level:        4
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Guns: 45 OR Energy Weapons: 45
Description:  Reduces accuracy penalties when running and shooting with one-
              handed weapons (guns and energy weapons).


TRAVEL LIGHT
������������
Level:        4
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Survival: 45
Description:  While wearing light armor or no armor, you run 10% faster.  Cute,
              but hardly essential.
________________________________________________________________________________

BLOODY MESS
�����������
Level:        6
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  Enemies will often explode into a red, gut-ridden paste, and you
              do +5% extra damage with ALL weapons.  The gore is cute, but the
              additional damage - even though it's only 5% - is very welcome.


DEMOLITION EXPERT
�����������������
Level:        6
Ranks:        3
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: Explosives: 50
Description:  All explosive weapons (including mines, grenades, missile launcher
              and Fat Men) do +20% damage.  That's quite a good bonus if you'd
              like to specialise in explosives.


FEROCIOUS LOYALTY
�����������������
Level:        6
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Charisma: 6
Description:  When you drop below 50% health, your companions gain much greater
              resistance to damage.  Useful if you hate to see your companions
              die in Hardcore mode, but otherwise not useful.


FORTUNE FINDER
��������������
Level:        6
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Luck: 5
Description:  You find more bottle caps in containers than you normally would.
              Meh.. Compared to other perks this one just doesn't compare,
              especially because you only receive around +20% extra.


GUNSLINGER
����������
Level:        6
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  Your accuracy in V.A.T.S. is improved when using one-handed guns
              like a Pistol.  Handy, but you could always stand a little closer
              to your target.  Or, you know, use a Sniper Rifle.


HAND LOADER
�����������
Level:        6
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [***..]
Prerequisite: Repair: 70
Description:  You know your way around reloading benches and don't let good
              brass and hulls go to waste.  When you use guns you're more likely
              to recover cases and hulls.  You also know all hand load recipes
              at all reloading benches.  A very decent perk to say the least.


LEAD BELLY
����������
Level:        6
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: Survival: 40, Endurance: 5
Description:  You take -50% radiation when consuming food and drinks.  What can
              I say?  RadAway!


SHOTGUN SURGEON
���������������
Level:        6
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [***..]
Prerequisite: Guns: 45
Description:  When using shotguns, regardless what ammo you use, you ignore an
              additional 10 points of the targets Damage Treshold.  Quite nice!


THE PROFESSIONAL
����������������
Level:        6
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: Sneak: 70
Description:  Sneak Attack Criticals with Pistols, Revolvers and Submachine Guns
              (both Guns and Energy Weapons) all inflict +20% damage.  That's
              quite a big bonus and you should definitely consider this perk.


TOUGHNESS
���������
Level:        6
Ranks:        2
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: Endurance: 5
Description:  Adds +3 to Damage Treshold.  This is s decent boost to your DT,
              and you can take two ranks in it.


VIGILANT RECYCLER
�����������������
Level:        6
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [***..]
Prerequisite: Science: 70
Description:  When using Energy Weapons you are more likely to recover ammo.
              You also have more efficient recipes available at workbenches.
________________________________________________________________________________

COMMANDO
��������
Level:        8
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [***..]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  Your accuracy is improved in V.A.T.S. with two-handed weapons
              (such as rifles).  Could be useful for those who like to play
              around with Sniper Rifles.


COWBOY
������
Level:        8
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [***..]
Prerequisite: Guns: 45, Melee Weapons: 45
Description:  You do +25% damage with revolvers, lever-action firearms,
              dynamite, knives and hatchets.  Not bad.


LIVING ANATOMY
��������������
Level:        8
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [***..]
Prerequisite: Medicine: 70
Description:  Allows you to see the health and Damage Treshold of any target.
              You also do +5% damage against humans and non-feral ghouls.  This
              is quite cool to have, and the damage bonus is nice too, but at
              this point there's many competition..


PACK RAT
��������
Level:        8
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   Hardcore: [*****] / Non-hardcore [.....]
Prerequisite: Barter: 70, Intelligence: 5
Description:  Items with a weight of 2 or less only weigh half as much.  You'll
              definitely want to take this perk if you're playing on Hardcore.
              Otherwise, don't bother.


QUICK DRAW
����������
Level:        8
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: Agility: 5
Description:  You equip and holster weapons 50% faster.  The holstering part
              is completely useless and ... so is the equipping part to a great
              extent.  Worthless.


RAD RESISTANCE
��������������
Level:        8
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Survival: 40, Endurance: 5
Description:  Rad resist +25%.  Nothing more, nothing less.


SCROUNGER
���������
Level:        8
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Luck: 5
Description:  You find more ammo in containers.  Can be useful, but the
              perk competition is getting tighter.


STONEWALL
���������
Level:        8
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Strength: 6, Endurance: 6
Description:  +5 Damage Treshold against melee weaons and unarmed attack.
              You can also no longer be knocked down in combat.


STRONG BACK
�����������
Level:        8
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: Strength: 5, Endurance: 5
Description:  Increases Carry Weight by +50.  Niiice!


SUPER SLAM
����������
Level:        8
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Melee Weapons: 45, Strength: 6
Description:  All melee weapons (except thrown ones) and unarmed attacks have a
              chance of knocking your target down.  Handy, but not essential.
              Only useful if you're specialising in Unarmed.


TERRIFYING PRESENCE
�������������������
Level:        8
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [?????]
Prerequisite: Speech: 70
Description:  In some conversations, you gain the ability to initiate combat
              while terrifying a mob of opponents, sending them fleeing away
              for safety.  I don't know what the **** that means, but when I
              find out, this vague description will hit the garbage bin.
________________________________________________________________________________

ANIMAL FRIEND
�������������
Level:        10
Ranks:        2
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Survival: 45, Charisma: 6
Description:  Rank 1: Animals don't attack you.  Rank 2: Animals aid you in
              combat, but never against other animals.  The first rank is
              arguably useless, and it's too big a price to pay TWO perk spots
              just to get the effects from rank 2.  Furthermore, animals usually
              come in packs and won't attack each other.


FINESSE
�������
Level:        10
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [***..]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  You have a higher chance to score critical hits, equivalent to
              5 extra points of Luck.  Well, that's not too bad, actually.


HERE AND NOW
������������
Level:        10
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  Instantly grants you a level.  Absolutely worthless, considering
              there's a limited amount of levels and you *will* get there
              anyway, but to waste a perk spot with this would be ridiculous.


MATH WRATH
����������
Level:        10
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: Science: 70
Description:  Reduces all Action Points (AP) costs by 10%.  Quite nice,
              especially in combination of other AP boosting perks!  You can
              make a realy V.A.T.S. killer character eventually.


MISS FORTUNE
������������
Level:        10
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [***..]
Prerequisite: Luck: 6
Description:  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.


MISTER SANDMAN
��������������
Level:        10
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: Sneak: 60
Description:  When in sneak mode you can silently kill any sleeping human or
              ghoul, gaining experience too.  But.. if they're sleeping, why
              not just grab a Silenced Pistol or powerful melee weapon?  This
              perk is worthless compared to all others you can choose.


MYSTERIOUS STRANGER
�������������������
Level:        10
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Luck: 6
Description:  The Mysterious Stranger will randomly appear if the opponent is
              still alive with 150 HP or less, with a chance of 10%, finishing
              it off.  Probably interferes with Grim Reaper's Sprint (although
              dumbed down still preferable), so the Mysterious Stranger is not
              too useful.


NERD RAGE!
����������
Level:        10
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Science: 50, Intelligence: 5
Description:  When health is at 20% or below (like, the point where any sane
              person starts healing - I mean, c'mon, there's a *reason* your
              health dropped that low, and that reason is likely to be four
              sentry bots or a pack of ferocious deathclaws), only THEN will
              your Strength get raised to 10, and do you gain +15 Damage
              Treshold.  Extremely conditional usage.


NIGHT PERSON
������������
Level:        10
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  When the sun is down this perk grants +2 INT and PER (max = 10).
              This works both outside and inside.  Did I mention it's worthless?


PLASMA SPAZ
�����������
Level:        10
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Energy Weapons: 70
Description:  Action Point costs for Plasma Weapons (including Plasma Grenades)
              are reduced by 10%.  Since Math Wrath reduces *ALL* AP costs by
              10%, you should always take that one first.  Regardless, this
              could still be a decent choice if you really want to make a
              killer character in V.A.T.S., equipped with a Plasma Rifle
              (because let's face it, that'd be the sole reason to take this
              perk, because who cares about Plasma Grenades Action Point costs?)
              I'm not going to make a joke about the name Plasma Spaz, because
              I'm not *that* dirty.
________________________________________________________________________________

FAST METABOLISM
���������������
Level:        12
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  +20% Stimpak effectiveness.  Quite useful, but you can also be
              more careful or hold more Stimpaks close to your heart..


GHASTLY SCAVENGER
�����������������
Level:        12
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: Cannibal Perk
Description:  You can now also devour Super Mutants and Feral Ghouls.  Once
              again a worthless perk.


HIT THE DECK
������������
Level:        12
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [***..]
Prerequisite: Explosives: 70
Description:  Damage Treshold +50% against *ALL* explosions.  Can be useful!


LIFE GIVER
����������
Level:        12
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [***..]
Prerequisite: Endurance: 6
Description:  Grants +30 Health Points.  Unique and useful.


LONG HAUL
���������
Level:        12
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Barter: 70, Endurance: 6
Description:  Being overcumbered no longer prevents you from Fast Travelling.
              Brings mixed feelings.  Sounds great, right?  Grab everything you
              want (at least on the Mojave Wasteland), then Fast Travel to a
              place where you can sell it all and dump it.  But this still
              requires an *entire* perk spot and the competition is big.  Can't
              you just dump your companion full with items anyway?


PIERCING STRIKE
���������������
Level:        12
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: Unarmed: 70
Description:  When strikeing unarmed or melee weapons (including thrown ones),
              this perk negates 15 Damage Treshold points.  Very useful for
              Unarmed character builds, arguably even essential.  It can also
              have its uses for regular characters, as this greatly improves
              melee combat in general.


PYROMANIAC
����������
Level:        12
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Explosives: 60
Description:  +50% damage with fire-based weapons like Flamer and Shishkebab.
              Useful, sure, but essential?  Maybe for melee characters.


ROBOTICS EXPERT
���������������
Level:        12
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: Science: 50
Description:  +25% damage to all robots.  Sneaking up to a robot undetected
              gives you the option to permanently shut them down.  Good stuff!


SILENT RUNNING
��������������
Level:        12
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Sneak: 50, Agility: 6
Description:  You run just as silently as crouched.  But in all seriousness,
              learn to sneak properly by staying undetected and save a perk
              spot for something more useful.


SNIPER
������
Level:        12
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Perception: 6, Agility: 6
Description:  The chance to hit an opponent's head is significantly increased.
              Probably by 25%.  Decent, not more than that.


SPLASH DAMAGE
�������������
Level:        12
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Explosives: 70
Description:  +25% area effect for all explosions you cause.  If you're a pyro,
              this is for you!  Otherwise, well, it's decent.


UNSTOPPABLE FORCE
�����������������
Level:        12
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Melee Weapons: 90, Strength: 7
Description:  You do a large amount of additional damage through enemy blocks
              with all Unarmed and Melee attacks.  Sounds great, but think about
              what it says.  It increase your damage when an enemy is blocking
              only.  It might be semi-handy for Unarmed characters, but even
              then you might want to pick an other precious perk.
________________________________________________________________________________

ADAMANTIUM SKELETON
�������������������
Level:        14
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  Your limbs only receive 50% of the damage they normally would.
              Sounds amazing, but this does nothing with regards to the regular
              damage taken.  And how often are your limbs crippled in combat?
              Well.., yeah, *sometimes*, but not *that* often.  This perk has
              limited use.


CENTER OF MASS
��������������
Level:        14
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [***..]
Prerequisite: Guns: 70
Description:  +15% damage in V.A.T.S. when targetting the torso.  Certainly
              a notable perk, especially for V.A.T.S. lovers.


CHEMIST
�������
Level:        14
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Medicine: 60
Description:  Chems last twice as long.  Nice, but can't you just take a second
              one when it wears off?  Sure, sure, you might get addicted, but
              that chance isn't too high and you can always cure that "Ave"!


JURY RIGGING
������������
Level:        14
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: Repair: 90
Description:  You possess the amazing ability to repair any item using a roughly
              similar item.  Fix a Trail Carbine with a Hunting Rifle, a Plasma
              Defende with a Laser Pistol, or even Power Armor with Metal Armor.
              How does it work? Nobody knows... except you.  This is actually
              a unique and quite handy perk, allowing you to fix a wider
              arsenal of weapons and equipment.


LIGHT STEP
����������
Level:        14
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: Perception: 6, Agility: 6
Description:  You never set off enemy mines or floor-based traps.  Who cares?
              Just be more careful and save often, or disarm the things.

PURIFIER
��������
Level:        14
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   Unarmed Builds: [****.] / All-Round: [**...]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  +50% damage with Unarmed and Melee Weapons against Centaurs,
              Nightstalkers, Spore Plants, Spore Carriers, Deathclaws, Super
              Mutants and Feral Ghouls.  Only useful for unarmed character
              builds.
________________________________________________________________________________

ACTION BOY
����������
Level:        16
Ranks:        2
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: Agility: 6
Description:  You gain +15 AP.  Nice!


BETTER CRITICALS
����������������
Level:        16
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: Perception: 6, Luck: 6
Description:  +50% damage bonus for all critical hits you deliver.  Very nice
              indeed.  Unfortunately it requires relatively high PER and LCK
              stats, so you might need to skip it with certain character builds.


CHEM RESISTANT
��������������
Level:        16
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Medicine: 60
Description:  50% less chance to develop an addiction to chems.  Then again, if
              you're careful you'll never need to build up an addiction at all.


MELTDOWN
��������
Level:        16
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: Energy Weapons: 90
Description:  Enemies killed by Energy Weapons give off a corona of harmful
              energy.  This can cause a chain reaction.  More a fun perk than
              actually helpful - it won't happen all that often to have enemies
              grouped together tightly enough for this to cause a lot of damage.


TAG!
����
Level:        16
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  Raises one skill with +15 points.  Would've been "cute" at level
              10, but at level 16, this is simply not worth the effort.  There
              are better ways to raise your skills.


WEAPON HANDLING
���������������
Level:        16
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Strength lower than 10.
Description:  Weapon strength requirements are now 2 points lower than normal.
              Again, this has limited usefulness.  It'd be better to select
              Intense Training - besides, you wouldn't want to have low strength
              in any character build.
________________________________________________________________________________

COMPUTER WHIZ
�������������
Level:        18
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: Science: 70, Intelligence: 7
Description:  If you are locked out of a computer, you get a second attempt.
              They're back, the two useful hacking and lockpicking perks.  The
              solution is simple: Save before hacking, and don't force locks.


CONCENTRATED FIRE
�����������������
Level:        18
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [***..]
Prerequisite: Energy Weapons: 60, Guns: 60
Description:  Your accuracy to hit any body part in V.A.T.S. increases slightly
              with each subsequent hit on that body part.  All in all this
              results in a decent increase of accuracy.


INFILTRATOR
�����������
Level:        18
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: Lockpick: 70, Perception: 7
Description:  If you break a lock you get a second chance. This is the worthless
              twin of Computer Whiz, and no one should ever bother with it on
              a level as high as 18.  Even at level 2 it would be bad!


PARALYZING PALM
���������������
Level:        18
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   Unarmed Builds: [*****] / All-Round Builds: [*....]
Prerequisite: Unarmed: 70
Description:  You will sometimes perform a special V.A.T.S. palm strike that
              paralyzes your opponent for 30 seconds.  You must be completely
              Unarmed for this to sometimes happen.  A good perk for Unarmed
              builds, otherwise it's kind of got a limited use.
________________________________________________________________________________

EXPLORER
��������
Level:        20
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [**...]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  All locations are revealed on the Mojave Wasteland.  It's a quick
              practical solution, but it's nothing you can't do yourself.  Two
              stars for practical uses, but otherwise zero for completionists.
              It can be very annoying to not know which locations you haven't
              explored yet, though, so keep that in mind.


GRIM REAPER'S SPRINT
��������������������
Level:        20
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*****]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  If you kill a target in V.A.T.S., twenty Action Points (AP) are
              restored upon exiting V.A.T.S. mode.  Although heavily dumbed down
              from Fallout 3 (where it restored all AP), this is still a great
              perk to take.


NINJA
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Level:        20
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   Unarmed Builds: [*****] / All-Round Builds: [***..]
Prerequisite: Melee Weapons: 80, Sneak: 80
Description:  When attacking with Melee Weapons or Unarmed you gain a +15%
              critical chance on every strike.  Sneak Attack Criticals do 25%
              more damage than normal.  A must for all Unarmed builds, and even
              decent for All-Round Builds.


SOLAR POWERED
�������������
Level:        20
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: Endurance: 7
Description:  When walking in direct sunlight: +2 Strength and slow health
              regeneration.  It's like getting 'Night Person' at level 20, and
              yes, it's worthless.
________________________________________________________________________________

LASER COMMANDER
���������������
Level:        22
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: Energy Weapons: 90
Description:  +15% damage and +10% chance to get critical hits with all
              Laser Weapons.  Well, that *is* quite useful!


NUKA CHEMIST
������������
Level:        22
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [?????]
Prerequisite: Science: 90
Description:  You can now create a special kind of Nuka-Cola at workbenches.


SPRAY AND PRAY
��������������
Level:        22
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [*....]
Prerequisite: ---
Description:  Your attacks do much less damage to your companions.  (Oh, right,
              I'm level 22, so we must be so dumb to actually start randomly
              "spraying" bullets at my companions when firing at enemies).  The
              only useful scenario would be when explosions are involved.
________________________________________________________________________________

SLAYER
������
Level:        24
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   Unarmed Builds: [*****] / All-Round Builds: [**...]
Prerequisite: Unarmed: 90, Agility: 7
Description:  Speed of all Unarmed and Melee Weapon attacks increased by +30%.
              Again, this really shows how much the developers wanted people to
              "like" Unarmed builds.  It's a must for Unarmed builds, but not
              more than decent for all-round builds.
________________________________________________________________________________

NERVES OF STEEL
���������������
Level:        26
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [****.]
Prerequisite: Agility: 7
Description:  Action Points recover much more quickly than normal.  Yet another
              crown for V.A.T.S. lovers.
________________________________________________________________________________

RAD ABSORPTION
��������������
Level:        28
Ranks:        1
Usefulness:   [.....]
Prerequisite: Endurance: 7
Description:  Your radiation level slowly decreases on it's own over time.  It
              removes -20 RAD every 20 seconds.  The real question is, who
              really cares?  I say, RadAway!
________________________________________________________________________________
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������
BETTER HEALING
��������������
Companion:    Arcade Gannon
Usefulness:   [***..]
Description:  You regain more health from all consumable sources.  Quite handy!


ENHANCED SENSORS
����������������
Companion:    ED-E
Usefulness:   [*....]
Description:  You can detect enemies from very long distances, and stealthed
              enemies can also be detected.  Nifty, but not very useful.


REGULAR MAINTENANCE
�������������������
Companion:    Raul
Usefulness:   [***..]
Description:  Your weapons and equipment condition decays 50% slower.  That
              is actually decently useful.


SCRIBE ASSISTANT
����������������
Companion:    Veronica
Usefulness:   [*....]
Description:  You are allowed to craft workbench items through dialogue options
              with Veronica.  Sounds awesome, but you might as well be patient
              and find a Workbench.


SEARCH AND MARK
���������������
Companion:    Rex
Usefulness:   [.....]
Description:  Chems, firearms and ammo in your close surroundings are all
              highlighted when you zoom in with the camera.  Hardly useful at
              all.


SPOTTER
�������
Companion:    Craig Boone
Usefulness:   [.....]
Description:  Hostile targets are highlighted when you're actively aiming.
              Not very useful either.


STEALTH GIRL
������������
Companion:    Lily
Usefulness:   [****.]
Description:  Increases Stealth-Boy duration by 200% and also increases Sneak
              Attack Critical hits by +10% damage.  Very nice for a companion
              perk!


WHISKEY ROSE
������������
Companion:    Cass
Usefulness:   [****.]
Description:  Consuming Whiskey doesn't reduce your SPECIAL stats and you are
              no longer at risk of getting addicted to Whiskey, but you do raise
              your Damage Treshold.  Useful to say the least!

     _____________________________________________________________________
    |���������������������������������������������������������������������|
    |                         1.4 Traits [STA-4]                          |
    |_____________________________________________________________________|
     ���������������������������������������������������������������������

Traits make their return in Fallout New Vegas, and while similar to perks, they
have two major differences:  1. Traits are chosen at the very start of the game,
during your character build.  Your character's traits will remain with you after
finalizing your character build.  2. Traits have negative effects besides the
benefits they can provide.  All traits have one rank, and you can either choose
none, one or a maximum of two.  This section analyses all available traits and
gives you some advice on which to pick.


BUILT TO DESTROY
����������������
Positive effects: +3% chance for all weapons to deliver a critical hit.
Negative effects: +15% faster condition decay for all weapons.

This trait is best taken if you want to maximize your combat potential, and if
you like to rely on luck.  The downside is a fairly big one:  All your weapons
will last about 1/6th less long than they normally would, which brings a lot of
costs along.  Should you pick this trait, be sure to quickly invest in your
Repair skill early on.  I personally wouldn't recommend this trait.


FAST SHOT
���������
Positive effects: +20% firing rate with Guns and Energy Weapons.
Negative effects: -20% accuracy with Guns and Energy Weapons.

A typical specialisation trait, forcing you to choose between a faster firing
rate at the cost of accuracy.  Its counterpart is the Trigger Discipline trait.


FOUR EYES
���������
Positive effects: +1 PER when wearing any type of glasses.
Negative effects: -1 PER when not wearing glasses.

To be honest, this one's quite awful.  It reduces your characters natural PER
by 1 point, and increases the bonus you get from glasses by 1 point (making +2).
This means that when taking perks, you'll actually need one ADDITIONAL point of
Perception to be allowed to select the perk.  Friend of the Nigh, for example,
will now require 7 PER instead of 6 PER.  This Trait is therefore garbage.


GOOD NATURED
������������
Positive effects: +5 points in Barter, Medicine, Repair, Science and Speech.
Negative effects: -5 points in Energy Weapons, Explosives, Guns, Melee Weapons
                  and Unarmed.

A specialisation in skill sets, laying focus on negotiation skills and problem
solving skills, while deteriorating weapon skills.  Depending on how you'd like
to play the game early on, this can actually be a decent pick, but remember that
it'll be  more difficult to eventually create a balanced all-round (nearly)
maxed character build.


HEAVY HANDED
������������
Positive effects: Melee and unarmed attacks do more damage.
Negative effects: Melee and unarmed attacks do less critical damage.

Only important for characters who'll focus on being a melee and/or unarmed
fighter, this trait increases the damage you do with each regular hit, but it
reduces the damage that your critical hits do.  If you don't like to rely on
luck all too much, this is a great trait to boost your melee/unarmed damage
with.


KAMIKAZE
��������
Positive effects: Grants you a extra whopping of +10 Action Points.
Negative effects: -2 Damage Treshold.

Arguably one of the best traits, this increases your V.A.T.S. with 10 AP!  Since
perks such as Grim Reaper's Sprint have been dumbed down, AP has become more
important, and if you find that you're using V.A.T.S. quite often, you simply
can't let this one slip away.  The -2 DT is neglectible, and a good armor will
more than make up for it soon enough.


LOOSE CANNON
������������
Positive effects: +30% faster speed with throwing weapons.
Negative effects: -25% range with throwing weapons.

This allows you to throw faster, but also less far with throwing weapons.  It's
one of those traits that makes you wonder how the development went: "Hmm, hey
guys we only have 9 traits, shouldn't we, like, make 10?  Boss: "Yeah, ten's a
nice number, what do you think?" Fat Joe: "Hey, um, why don't we, like, reduce
the range of throwing weapons. Oh, and um .., we'll just increase the speed!"
Boss: "Do it, the game's deadline is in two months."  It *can* have its uses,
though.  If you like to use grenades and/or dynamite in small corridors, then
range isn't a big issue, but throwing one faster could save your hide.


SMALL FRAME
�����������
Positive effects: +1 AGL.
Negative effects: Your legs are more easily crippled.

Well, if you're a stats maximizer, this one's for you!  It does require you to
be more careful around explosives, mines, grenades and the like.  You'll want
to invest more money in Doctor Bags and Stimpaks than you'd normally would, but
combined with a slight increase in your Medicine Skill, this can be a very
decent trait. 


TRIGGER DISCIPLINE
������������������
Positive effects: -20% firing rate with Guns and Energy Weapons.
Negative effects: +20% accuracy with Guns and Energy Weapons.

The counterpart of the Fast Shot trait, this one reduces your firing rate for
an increase in accuracy.  If you're not into brutal characters with machine guns
and plasma rifles, but more a sniper kind of person, this could be a decent
choice for you.


WILD WASTELAND
���������������
Positive effects: Adds some (random) events and (unique) weapons.
Negative effects: Removes some (random) events and (unique) weapons.

This Perk makes the game more 'Wacky'.  A notable change appears to be the
removal of the Gauss Rifle, being replaced by an Alien Blaster.  It's an
attempt to 'add' replay value.

 ___ ___    __   _____ ___  ___ ___ _  _   _  _ ___ ___ _____ ___  _____   __
|_ _|_ _|   \ \ / /_ _| _ \/ __|_ _| \| | | || |_ _/ __|_   _/ _ \| _ \ \ / /
 | | | | _   \ V / | ||   / (_ || || .` | | __ || |\__ \ | || (_) |   /\ V / 
|___|___(_)   \_/ |___|_|_\\___|___|_|\_| |_||_|___|___/ |_| \___/|_|_\ |_|  
 ________________________________________________________________________[VIR]
 

� 0.69 [19 October 2010]
====== =================
o The first virgin has been released publicly.
  Handle with care!

� 0.70 [20 October 2010]
====== =================
o SPECIAL section complete.



      ___ ___ ___      ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ _____    ___ _  _ ___ ___  ___
     |_ _|_ _|_ _|    / __| _ \ __|   \_ _|_   _|  / __| || |_ _| _ \/ __|
      | | | | | | _  | (__|   / _|| |) | |  | |   | (__| __ || ||  _/\__ \
     |___|___|___(_)  \___|_|_\___|___/___| |_|    \___|_||_|___|_|  |___/
     ________________________________________________________________[CRD]

    This document is written by Stephan Huijboom 2010. All Rights Reserved.

Credits:
��������
� Richard:         You're one of the administrators of Supercheats.com, and
                   this guide wouldn't have existed without your support!
� SBAllen:         You're the administrator of GameFAQs.
� Absolute Daniel: Thank you very much, my little brother!  You've been a great
                   help with various sections.  Be sure to check out his guides
                   when he starts to publish his own work!
� All readers:     Thank you very much for reading this, sending me donations,
                   enjoyable thankyous and for even reading the boring sections.

              _____   __  ___ ___ ___ _  _ _____ ___ ___  _____   __
             |_ _\ \ / / | _ \_ _/ __| || |_   _/ __/ _ \| _ \ \ / /
              | | \ V /  |   /| | (_ | __ | | || (_| (_) |  _/\ V /
             |___| \_(_) |_|_\___\___|_||_| |_| \___\___/|_|   |_|
            __________________________________________________[COPS]

I merely created a copy of a great copyright notice, but to get away with it I
swapped the phrase copyright for rightcopy.  An other reason is so people do not
read this section as copy right (which is a great thing, as this gives you the
right to copy other people's stuff)!  Furthermore, this entire document falls
under the protection of the feodal laws not written by Super Mutant Fawkes in
the year 2223.  Plagiarism would be unwise, and may result in severe rapage by
Super Mutants.  Most Super Mutants have one form or another of herpes. Online,
this document can only be found at GameFAQs.com and Supercheats.com. Offline,
this document can only be found at my laptop, which is at all times at a secret
location at an even more secret Vault.  After my death in 2077, you may do
whatever you wish with this document, a sole exception being printing it out
with the intention to wipe, because that's just unfunny.  Closing words,
rightcopy was not at all inspired by 1984.

[But in case you were wondering, no, it really may not be reproduced under any
 circumstance except for personal, private use.  It may not be placed on any
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 Use of this guide on any other website or as a part of any public display is
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________________________________________________________________________________

            .    .             .      .         .-.  .                
           / \   |             |     _|_       (   )_|_               
          /___\  |.-. .--. .-. | .  . |  .-.    `-.  |  .-..    ._.-. 
         /     \ |   )`--.(   )| |  | | (.-'   (   ) | (.-' \  / (.-' 
        '       `'`-' `--' `-' `-`--`-`-'`--'   `-'  `-'`--' `'   `--'
     � Stephan Huijboom [Absolute Steve] 2010. Contact: [email protected]

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                          ��������������������������
________________________________________________________________________________
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