Fallout: New Vegas loading screens

This page is a list of loading screen hints found in Fallout: New Vegas.

Gameplay

 * Things a bit too tough, or too easy? You can pause the game and modify the difficulty at any time.
 * XP for kills made by companions is awarded to the player.
 * Sleeping in a rented or owned bed will give you a Well rested bonus that boosts your earned XP for several hours.
 * Though people around New Vegas have little interest in pre-War tourist trinkets, there is one influential figure who has a soft spot for snow globes...
 * Magazines provide temporary bonuses to skills but are much more common than the highly-prized skill books.
 * Players win and winners play, but The Strip's casinos generally don't tolerate openly worn weapons or gamblers who are too lucky at the tables.
 * Not sure what skill a weapon uses? Look at the lower left corner of its Pip-Boy icon and compare it to the weapon skills.
 * Stealing, hurting people, and otherwise being a nuisance can negatively impact your reputation with a group.
 * Drinking water provides healing but may increase your Radiation Level. In hardcore mode, drinking water is vital for keeping your dehydration level down.
 * In Casual Mode, limb damage can be repaired directly by applying stimpaks to affected areas, using the pip-boy. In Hardcore Mode, a doctor's bag or an actual doctor is required.
 * In Hardcore mode, keep an eye on your dehydrahtion (H20), starvation (FOD), and sleep deprivation (SLP) meters. If you let them get too high, you can suffer serious penalties - including death!
 * .38 Special can be fired from any weapon that uses .357 Magnum. Similarly, .44 Special can be fired from any weapon that uses .44 Magnum and .223 can be fired from any weapon that uses 5.56mm.
 * Crafting can be done at any workbench, campfire, or reloading bench. Some companions even have an ability to help the player craft anywhere in the wasteland.
 * Running is noisier than walking and makes you easier to detect, even if you are sneaking.
 * If you want to stay hidden, stick to the shadows, move slowly, try to stay behind your opponent...and turn off your Pip-Boy light!
 * The light generated form your Pip-Boy light actually makes you less stealthy. If you want to effectively sneak, turn it off.
 * Press and hold your Pip-Boy button to turn the Pip-Boy light off and on.
 * Once your weapons and armor reach a certain condition level, your Repair skill can be used to maintain them, keeping them at maximum power for longer.
 * Repair your weapons and armor regularly -- the lower their condition, the worse they will perform.
 * At 75% condition, a weapon will never jam and does maximum damage. At 50% condition, armor protects against maximum damage.
 * Picking someone's pocket and placing a mine or grenade in their inventory will activate the explosive...and cause one heck of a mess.
 * Whether you're good, bad, or somewhere in between, all major communities and organizations in the Mojave wasteland will pay attention to your reputation.
 * Caravan is not played in casinos, but is very popular among caravan guards and other frequent travelers on the Long 15.
 * Because Caravan allows players to build decks from any card they can find, crafty caravan guards often come up with devious decks and strategies.
 * Caravan is played for standard money of any and all kinds: caps, NCR dollars, or legion coins. Because the players are often poor, the stakes tend to be low.
 * You can run faster with your two-handed weapons holstered. One-handed weapons will not slow you down.
 * Raising the game's difficulty will make combat more challenging but has no effect on the amount of XP you receive.
 * All companions give the player a bonus perk while they are in the party. Keep two companions around for double the perks!
 * Wearing outfits that are associated with a high-profile faction can be an effective disguise...or a good way to get shot, depending on present company.

S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

 * Perception determines when red tick marks (which indicate threats) appear on your compass.
 * A high Endurance gives bonuses to health, environmental resistances, and the survival and Unarmed skills.
 * High Charisma gives bonuses to both the Barter and Speech skills as well as your companion's Nerve.
 * The higher the Charisma, the higher the Nerve. Nerve grants significant combat bonuses to all companions.
 * Intelligence determines your effectiveness with the Science, Repair and Medicine skills.
 * Agility affects your Guns and Sneak skills as well as the number of Action Points available for V.A.T.S.
 * Raising your Luck raises all of your skill values and improves your critical chance with all weapons. It also slightly influences the outcome of gambling games.

Skills

 * The Energy Weapons skill determines your effectiveness with any weapon that uses energy cells, microfusion cells, electron charge packs, microfusion breeder, or flamer fuel as ammunition.
 * The Science skill represents your combined scientific knowledge, and is primarily used to hack restricted computer terminals.
 * At Workbenches, the Science skill can help you recycle Energy Weapon ammunition and craft other useful items like stimpaks.
 * The Repair skill allows you to optimize and maintain weapons and apparel. At reloading benches it also allows you to craft ammunition for your Guns.
 * Sneak is affected by many factors, including light level, sound generated, weight and bulk of worn apparel, and line-of-sight.
 * 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 Medicine skill determines the effectiveness of drugs that help manage radiation, like Rad-X and RadAway.
 * The Medicine Skill determines the effectiveness of a stimpak, super stimpak, and doctor's bag used to heal Health or Damaged limbs.
 * The Lockpick skill is used to open locked doors and containers.
 * 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.).
 * Wen your character's Melee Weapons score hits 50, you will be able to perform special power attacks and V.A.T.S. moves with different Melee Weapons.

Perks and Traits

 * The Meltdown perk creates a damaging corona of energy every time you vaporize or melt a target with lasers or plasma.
 * 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 rehack any computer you were previously locked out of.
 * With the Light Step perk, you'll never set off an enemy's mines or floor-based mechanical traps.
 * Sad that you're too weak to keep a light machine gun on target? Take the Weapon Handling perk to remove 2 points from all weapon Strength requirements.
 * When you take the Pack Rat perk, the weight of all lightweight items is cut in half.
 * The Ninja perk grants you the power of the fabled shadow warriors, and increase your chance to do critical hits, and the damage of each.
 * With the Cowboy perk, attacking enemies with revolvers, lever-action firearms, dynamite, knives, and hatchets does +25% damage.
 * With the Better Criticals perk you get 50% damage bonus every time a critical hit is scored on an opponent.
 * With the Sniper perk, your chance to hit and opponents head in V.A.T.S. is significantly increased.
 * With the Finesse perk, you gain and additional +5% chance to score a critical hit on an opponent in combat.
 * The Wild Wasteland trait converts a few normally "ordinary" occurrences into zany, wacky encounters. Do not take this trait unless you prefer your Fallout experience to be a bit more goofy than usual.
 * With the Comprehension perk, you gain more skill points when reading skill magazines and one additional skill point whenever a skill book is read.
 * With the Strong Back perk, you can carry 50 more pounds of equipment.
 * If you have the Robotics Expert perk and sneak up on a hostile robot undetected, you can put that robot into a permanent shutdown state.
 * With the Robotics Expert perk you do an additional 25% damage to any robot in combat.
 * With the Intense Training perk. You can put a single point into any of your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes.
 * The Here and Now perk immediately grants an additional experience level, complete with all the advantages that brings.
 * With the Toughness perk, you gain +3 to your Damage Threshold.
 * Rad Resistance allows you to—what else? -- resist radiation. This perk grand an additional 25% to Radiation Resistance.
 * With the Silent Running perk, running no longer factors into a successful sneak attempt.
 * With the Fortune Finder perk, you'll find considerably more Nuka-Cola caps in containers than you normally would.
 * With the Life Giver perk, you gain an additional 30 Hit Points.
 * With the Entomologist perk, you do an additional +50% damage every time you attack a mutated insect.
 * WIth the Pyromaniac perk, you do +50% damage with fire-based weapons, like the flamer and Shishkebab.
 * 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.
 * With each rank in the Swift Learner perk, you gain an additional 10% to total Experience Points whenever Experience Points are earned.
 * With the Plasma Spaz perk, all AP costs for plasma weapons (including grenades) are reduced by 10%.
 * When you choose the Explorer perk, every location in the world is revealed on your map, so get out there and explore!
 * With the Paralyzing Palm perk, you will sometimes perform a special V.A.T.S. palm strike that paralyzes your opponent for 30 seconds.
 * With the Educated perk, you gain two more skill points every time you advance in level.
 * The Run 'n Gun perk reduces accuracy penalties with one-handed Guns and Energy Weapons while walking or running.
 * With the Infiltrator perk, you gain one more chance to pick any lock broken by an unsuccessful "Force Lock" attempt.
 * With each rank of the Demolition Expert perk, all of your explosive weapons do an additional 20% damage.
 * The Math Wrath perk optimizes your Pip-Boy's V.A.T.S. logic, reducing all AP costs by 10%.
 * With the Friend of the Night perk, you gain low-light vision after the sun goes down.
 * WIth the second rank of the Animal Friend perk, animals will come to your aid in combat (but not against other animals).
 * Tired of having to drop gear to make a trip back to the store? With the Long Haul perk, you can fast travel even when you are over-encumbered.
 * The Slayer perk increases the speed of your attacks with all unarmed and melee weapons.

Combat

 * Explosive weapons are best used when dealing with crowds or in situations where precision is not a high priority.
 * If you start a fight you can't finish, try putting away your weapon. Your opponent just might forgive you...
 * You can toggle "true" iron sights for firearms on and off in your Game Settings.
 * Want to prevent an enemy from fleeing? Cripple the legs.
 * All weapons have two Requirements: Strength and Skill. If you don't meet the requirements, the weapon may be less accurate (if a firearm) or attack more slowly (if an Unarmed or Melee Weapon).
 * A weapon's DAM indicates its damage per shot, and is modified by factors like the weapon's condition and its associated skill.
 * Most Melee Weapons are completely silent, making them excellent stealth weapons.
 * Most energy weapons fall into one of two categories: laser, which is fast, accurate, and low damage; and Plasma, which is slow-moving and very high damage.
 * Energy weapons are less common and varied than guns, but have a small number of ammunition types and can be quite potent.
 * Guns are the most common ranged weapons of the Mojave Wasteland. They are numerous and varied and ammunition is relatively easy to acquire.
 * If you see a shield next to your health HUD, it means that your Damage Threshold is absorbing an enemy weapon's damage. A broken shield means they have completely negated your Damage Threshold.
 * If your weapons aren't strong enough to penetrate an enemy's armor, use armor piercing ammunition, attack from stealth, or use a weapon with higher DAM!
 * Damage Threshold is subtracted directly from the DAM a weapon does. If DT is higher than the DAM of a weapon, very little damage gets through.
 * Weapon mods can increase ammunition capacity and damage, reduce spread and weight, or add special equipment like scopes.
 * Disable a robots combat inhibitor and the confused machine will go into a killing frenzy, attacking friend and foe alike.
 * Disabling the antennae of insects, like giant ants or giant mantises, will make them frenzy and attack anything nearby.
 * For ideal shooting conditions, make sure you stop, crouch, and aim before firing.
 * Some individuals in the wasteland have the ability to teach you special unarmed moves.
 * A wide variety of weapon mods are available from merchants for Guns, Energy Weapons, and even a few explosives. Attaching them is as simple as using your Pip-boy and opening the mod menu for your weapon.

Factions

 * Established long ago in California, the Crimson Caravan Company and the Gun Runners are two of NCR's oldest and most powerful merchant houses.
 * "Prospector" is a polite word for "scavenger". Prospectors can be found all over the Mojave Wasteland, usually looking for the rare unopened safe at the bottom of an irradiated mineshaft.
 * Troopers are volunteer and conscripted forces in the NCR's military. They vary widely in devotion, experience, and even in basic equipment. What they lack in consistency they make up for in numbers.
 * The NCR's military doesn't like being in the role of "peace-keeper". Crimes across the Mojave are typically punished by death.
 * In 2277, NCR forces defeated Caesar's Legion during the Battle of Hoover Dam. The NCR has held Hoover Dam since then but the Legion has not made it easy for them.
 * Chief Hanlon is the head of the NCR Rangers and is one of its longest serving members. He coordinates the actions of the rangers from the headquarters at Camp Golf.
 * The distinctive black ranger combat armor consists of the Desert Rangers' tradiational trench coat worn with pre-War riot armor. Ranger patrol armor is hand-manufactured in the NCR.
 * The New California Republic Rangers are volunteer elite special forces renowned as much for their shrewd reconnaissance capabilities as their bravery and combat prowess.
 * The NCR has maintained an embassy on The Strip for several years, but has had little success in building friendly relations with Mr. House or the ruling families.
 * Explorers are Caesar's advance scouts. Typically equipped in light armor and carrying binoculars, they are the Legion's message runners and keen eyes across the Mojave.
 * Legionaires are the standard soldier in Caesar' Legion. Their level of experience and overall toughness can be determined by noting the color of their armor.
 * Not commonly seen on the front lines, the vexillarius is a standard-bearer for Caesar's Legion. Their presence on the battlefield inspires legionaries to fight to the death for the glory of Caesar.
 * Caesar's most trusted commanders are the centurions: battle-hardened front-line officers who dress in patchwork armor pierced together from their fallen foes.
 * The Followers of the Apocalypse are an organization with roots in the pre-NCR Boneyard. Dedicated to teaching the poor and healing the sick, they are also considered anarchist revolutionaries by many people in positions of power.
 * Due to their brutal initiation rituals, Great Khans are extremely tough. Don't expect them to go down easily.
 * Though they have had a rough history, the legendary Great Khans are one of the longest-lived gangs to come out of the southwest.
 * Securitrons are a creation of Mr. House, the enigmatic de facto ruler of New Vegas.
 * Mr. House is the mysterious overlord of the Strip. He controls his small empire from the confines of the Lucky 38 casino, where no other living person has set foot for over two hundred years.
 * The families that now run the Strip of New Vegas were little more than squabbling tribes a few decades ago.
 * Due to disagreements over how technology should be controlled in the wasteland, the Brotherhood of Steel waged a long and bloody war against the NCR. Despite superior equipment and training, the Brotherhood went into retreat.
 * Though their power in the west has diminished greatly over the years, the Brotherhood of Steel still maintains hidden, heavily fortified bunkers throughout the Mojave.
 * Made savage by excessive chem use, the Fiends of New Vegas are the most numerous and troublesome raiders of the Mojave Wasteland.
 * Though they were a powerful force in the west decades ago, the Enclave has not been seen or heard from in the Mojave Wasteland for years. Members who were not hunted down are believed to have traveled east - or successfully integrated into the NCR.
 * Brutalized by the NCR, the once legendary Vipers and Jackals gangs have become little more than opportunistic, petty raiders.
 * Super Mutants in the Mojave Wasteland are remnants of the Master's Army and the Enclave's experiments at Mariposa Military Base.
 * The King is dedicated to the cause of independence and personal liberty in Freeside. His gang, The Kings, attempts to keep some semblance of order in the streets.
 * The Boomers are said to be xenophobic tribals armed with even more firepower than the Gun Runners. No one ventures into or out of their heavily guarded lands.
 * Couriers for the Mojave Express regularly and rapidly carry packages between convenient (for the Mojave Wasteland) drop boxes in several communities.
 * With the expansion of post-apocalyptic society across the American southwest, courier groups like the Mojave Express have appeared to take on the difficult task of carrying letters and packages over enormous distances.
 * Aaron Kimball is a former war hero and the current president of the New California Republic. His insistence on defending Hoover Dam has kept NCR troops in Nevada for years.
 * Legate Lanius, the Monster of the East, is the military commander of all Caesar's forces in the field. He is legendary for his devotion to Caesar and for his ability to sense weakness in any army.
 * After the Legion lost the Battle of Hoover Dam, Caesar had his legate, Joshua Graham, covered in pitch, set on fire, and thrown into the Grand Canyon. Superstitious legionaries and tribals believe he lives on as the Burned Man.

Enemies

 * A glowing one is a unique feral ghoul that has become a living conduit of radiation.
 * A glowing one uses its special ability to deliver radiation to its enemies and heal any nearby feral ghouls.
 * Feral ghouls have lost the ability to reason, and will attack any human on sight.
 * Ghouls, both "normal" and Feral, are not only immune to radiation...they are healed by it.
 * The Robobrain, constructed by General Atomics International before the great nuclear war, is unique in that it uses an actual organic brain as its central processor.
 * The sturdy Protectron model of robot was created before the Great War, and served as a security automaton in both the private and business sectors.
 * Mister Gutsy is a combat variant of the popular Mister Handy, and is equipped with a Plasma weapon and flamethrower.
 * The Mister Gutsy model of robot was commissioned by the U.S. Army just before the atomic apocalypse of 2077.
 * Nightstalkers are fearsome nocturnal predators created by splicing together coyote and rattlesnake DNA.
 * Cazadores are a new predator in the Mojave Wasteland and often fight with Night Stalkers over their prey.
 * Dogs and Coyotes can be found throughout the Mojave, typically wherever humans are traveling.
 * Lakelurks ue a devastating sonic attack to debilitate their foes from afar.
 * Despite the best efforts of well-equipped hunters, Deathclaws continue to establish nests across the Mojave Wasteland.

Objects

 * The Pip-Boy 3000 is a safe, secure piece of Pre-War technology. It guarantees privacy, safety, and guidance in times of need.

Locations

 * Vault 11 has been abondoned for decades, though few people know the story of its terrible past.
 * Mr. House's Lucky 38 casino towers over the New Vegas Strip, mysterious and impenetrable to visitors and locals alike.
 * Fully renovated by the Chairmen, The Tops is billed throughout New Vegas as a place for men to kick back, drink, laugh, and have a good time.
 * The pinnacle of New Vegas refinement and class, the Ultra-Luxe casino is home to the most discriminating White Glove Society and their pampered guests.
 * The Silver Rush casino was in competition with The Atomic Wrangler until the owners ran afoul of the Van Graff family.
 * Travelers say there are two ways to get into the New Vegas Strip: through Freeside or via the monorail to Camp McCarran. Only military personnel and NCR VIPs are allowed to use the monorail.
 * Travelers from the northern NCR have been whispering about a small community of super mutants located high in the snow-capped mountains west of New Vegas.
 * Mojave Outpost is the site where the NCR Rangers and the Desert Rangers of Nevada signed the Ranger Unification Treaty. It also marks the boundary of fully NCR-controlled territory.
 * Two major routes lead into the city of New Vegas from the south: Interstate 15 and Highway 95.
 * At the Battle of Hoover Dam, the tide turned for the NCR when Rangers and 1st Recon sharpshooters lured Caesar's soldier into the booby-trapped ruins of Boulder City.
 * The Old Mormon fort is the oldest building in New Vegas and was recently occupied by the Followers of the Apocalypse.
 * The Strip is the heart of New Vegas, where Mr. House and the casino families are rebuilding the city in the image of its Pre-War glory.
 * Freeside was built up around the intersection of Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard. The influx of destitute travelers in recent months has created problems for its local residents.

Dead Money

 * The origins of the Ghost People are a mystery, as is their strange reverence of the holographic ghosts that fill the city streets.
 * The Ghost People are difficult to kill, and anyone who has survived an encounter with them suggests simply avoiding their attention.
 * According to prospector stories, the Sierra Madre lies in a dead city, surrounded by a poisonous cloud.
 * Speakers were specially shielded to prevent vandalism. Some have broken over time, however, and these damaged speakers can be destroyed.
 * Radios that interfere with collars can be shot or switched off. Speakers, however, may be shielded depending on the activation light.
 * While radios can be destroyed, destroying the Villa speakers depend on how well the speakers have held up, and if there are terminals controlling them.
 * The strength of the Sierra Madre broadcast is unusual, as is the frequency, normally reserved for emergency broadcast signals before the war.
 * Construction of the Sierra Madre casino began a few years before the Great War.
 * All of the Madre's and Villa's conveniences were supplied by machines tied to the casino.
 * Where the Vending Machine technology came from is unknown. While they take Sierra Madre Chips, they seem to supply a number of non-commercial services.
 * As part of casino policy, Sinclair forbade chems and "foreign substances" in the Villa and the Sierra Madre.
 * The Sierra Madre was believed nothing more than a Mojave legend, a fabled City of Gold, where fortune could be found.
 * The Sierra Madre chief architect and financier was Frederick Sinclair. The casino was intended as a place for guests to reverse their fortunes and "begin again."
 * The Villa streets are filled with evidence of the previous teams. Graffiti suggests they turned on each other, even when their lives were at stake.
 * Due to the toxic atmosphere surrounding the Sierra Madra, it is impossible to sleep on any beds exposed to the outside air.
 * In Hardcore mode, the poisonous Cloud that blankets the Sierra Madre slowly reduces health the longer one is outside.
 * The Sierra Madre's concentrated toxic clouds erode health more quickly.
 * It is easy to become seperated and lost in the Cloud and the Villa. Keep teammates close - or tell them to wait in a place where you can find them again.
 * Both Puesta del Sol and Salida del Sol had switching stations regulating their power.
 * It is unknown why Sinclair tied the opening of the casino's gates to the Gala Event.
 * The alloy that makes up the Pre-War kitchen knives is unknown, and seems to have decayed in contact with the toxic cloud.
 * It is said that a Sierra Madre snowglobe survives somewhere in the Villa.
 * Mojave travelers have mysteriously vanished after claiming to have heard a woman's voice on a Pre-War radio broadcast. They are never heard from again.