Melee Weapons

Melee weapons is a Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout Tactics, Van Buren and J.E. Sawyer's Fallout Role-Playing Game skill (in Van Buren and J.E. Sawyer's Fallout Role-Playing Game, it is renamed to simply "Melee").

This skill determines your combat effectiveness with all melee weapons. In Fallout: New Vegas, it's also determines your combat effectiveness with non-explosive throwing weapons.

Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics
$$\text{Level}=55\%+\left\lceil\frac{1\%\times(\text{Strength}+\text{Agility})}{2}\right\rceil$$

Example: A starting Strength of 5 and Agility of 5.

$$55\%+\left\lceil\frac{1\%\times(5+5)}{2}\right\rceil=60\%$$

In Fallout 2, you start out with only a spear, making melee weapons a highly valuable skill from the beginning.

Fallout 3

 * $$\text{Level}=2+(2\times\text{Strength})+\left\lceil\frac{\text{Luck}}{2}\right\rceil$$

Example: A starting Strength of 5 and Luck of 5.
 * $$2+(2\times5)+\left\lceil\frac{5}{2}\right\rceil=15$$

As this skill increases, so does the damage inflicted with all of these weapons, both in and out of V.A.T.S. mode. The melee weapons skill also allows you to use a melee weapon to block an attack; the higher the skill, the more damage is absorbed.

In choosing a melee weapon, don't focus too heavily on which weapon has the highest damage. A fast weapon like a combat knife or Ripper can make more attacks in a given length of time than a heavy sledgehammer, potentially generating more damage in a shorter amount of time. More attacks also means more chances to stagger an opponent so they can't attack back as quickly, reducing the damage you take. The Shishkebab is generally considered the best melee weapon available as it has the highest base DPS, which is only improved further when combined with Pyromaniac. However, Jack can, depending on whether or not you have a high base critical chance and/or the Ninja, Better Criticals or Finesse perks, deal an astounding amount of damage far superior to that of the Shishkebab in a damage-per-second sense. Jack is especially effective when performing a sneak attack critical hit, since these are known to instantly splatter most enemies.

Melee Weapons-based perks
Perks that improve damage:
 * Black Widow improves damage by 10% vs. male humans/ghouls.
 * Lady Killer improves damage by 10% vs. female humans/ghouls.
 * Entomologist improves damage by 50% vs. insects.
 * Robotics Expert improves damage by 25% vs. robots.
 * Bloody Mess improves damage by 5% against all targets.
 * Finesse increases the chance of getting a critical hit by 5%.
 * Better Criticals increases the damage of critical hits by 50%.
 * Ninja increases melee/unarmed critical hit chance by +15% and sneak attack critical damage by +25%.
 * Survival Expert increases the chance of a critical hit by 1, 2 or 3%.
 * Ghoul Ecology improves damage by +5 against ghouls (bugged and effects all targets).
 * Superior Defender improves damage by +5 when standing still.

Consumables that improve damage:
 * Yao guai meat improves damage by 10%.
 * Psycho improves damage by 25%.

Ways to increase Melee Weapons
Note: Only items adding +5 or more are included.
 * Bobblehead - Melee Weapons (permanent +10)
 * Grognak the Barbarian (permanent +1 or +2 with Comprehension)
 * Little Leaguer (permanent +5 with each rank)
 * Tag! (permanent +15)
 * Ant nectar (temporary +2-8 depending on Strength, a perfect Strength of 10 will see no benefit)
 * Buffout & alcohol (temporary +2-6 depending on Strength, a perfect Strength of 10 will see no benefit)
 * Vault 77 jumpsuit (temporary +5)
 * Tunnel Snake outfit (temporary +5)
 * Takoma Park little leaguer cap (temporary +5)
 * Kid's baseball cap (temporary +5)
 * Samurai armor (temporary +10, +10 melee weapon damage, requires Mothership Zeta)
 * Tribal power armor (temporary +5, requires The Pitt)
 * Pint-Sized Slasher mask (temporary +5, requires Point Lookout)

Fallout 3 Melee Weapons
See Fallout 3 weapons.

Fallout: New Vegas

 * $$\text{Level}=2+(2\times\text{Strength})+\left\lceil\frac{\text{Luck}}{2}\right\rceil$$

Example: A starting Strength of 5 and Luck of 5.
 * $$2+(2\times5)+\left\lceil\frac{5}{2}\right\rceil=15$$

As this skill increases, so does the damage inflicted with all of these weapons, both in and out of V.A.T.S. mode.

Perks/traits/chems that improve melee damage
Anything which boosts Strength can also potentially boost melee weapon damage, though only if the player is below 10 Strength, otherwise the effects are useless.
 * Lvl 1: Built to Destroy - +3% critical hit chance, weapons degrade 15% faster.
 * Lvl 1: Heavy Handed - +20% melee and unarmed damage, -60% critical hit damage.
 * Lvl 2: Black Widow/Lady Killer - +10% damage versus opposite sex humans and non-feral ghouls.
 * Lvl 2: Cherchez La Femme/Confirmed Bachelor - +10% damage versus same sex humans and non-feral ghouls.
 * Lvl 2: hunter - +75% critical hit damage versus animals.
 * Lvl 4: Entomologist - +50% damage versus insects (cazador, radscorpion, bloatfly, mantis and giant ant).
 * Lvl 6: Bloody Mess - +5% damage versus all targets.
 * Lvl 8: Cowboy - +25% damage with dynamite, knives, hatchets, revolvers and lever-action guns.
 * Lvl 8: Living Anatomy - +5% damage versus all humans and non-feral ghouls.
 * Lvl 8: Super Slam - Melee (except throwing weapons) and unarmed attacks have a chance to knock down the enemy, preventing them from defending themselves.
 * Lvl 10: Finesse - +5% critical hit chance.
 * Lvl 12: Piercing Strike - Your melee and unarmed attacks ignore 15 damage threshold.
 * Lvl 12: Robotics Expert - +25% damage versus robots.
 * Lvl 12: Unstoppable Force - You deal additional damage through enemy blocks with melee and unarmed attacks.
 * Lvl 14: Purifier - You deal extra damage (+50%) with melee and unarmed attacks versus centaurs, night stalkers, spore plants, spore carriers, deathclaws, super mutants and feral ghouls.
 * Lvl 16: Better Criticals - +50% damage with critical hits.
 * Lvl 20: Ninja - +15% critical hit chance with melee and unarmed weapons, +25% sneak attack critical damage with those same weapons.
 * Lvl 24: Slayer - +30% melee and unarmed attack speed.
 * Companion perks that improve damage -
 * Stealth Girl - Requires Lily Bowen. +200% Stealth Boy duration, +10% sneak attack critical damage.
 * Challenge perks that improve damage -
 * Abominable - +3/6/10% damage versus abominations.
 * Animal Control - +3/6/10% damage versus animals.
 * Bug Stomper - +3/6/10% damage versus insects.
 * Lord Death - +1/2/3% damage versus all enemies.
 * Machine Head - +3/6/10% damage versus machines.
 * Melee Hacker - +5/10% melee attack speed.
 * Mutant Massacrer - +3/6/10% damage versus super mutants.
 * Consumables that improve damage -
 * Psycho improves damage by 25%.
 * Slasher improves damage by 25%.

Ways to increase Melee Weapons
Note: Only permanent gains or items adding +5 or more are included.
 * Grognak the Barbarian (permanent +3 or 4 with Comprehension)
 * Tag! (permanent +15)
 * Tales of Chivalrie (temporary +10 or 20 with Comprehension)

Fallout: New Vegas Melee Weapons
See Fallout: New Vegas weapons.

Fallout: New Vegas special melee moves
When the player has 50 Melee skill points, they have access to special melee moves which consumes a certain amount of AP for a variety of effects in V.A.T.S.
 * All one handed edge weapons (such as combat knives) have the Back Slash special which, at the cost of less damage, delivers a quicker attack.
 * All one handed blunt weapons (such as the lead pipe) have the Lights Out special, which does twice as much damage. This move is identical to the one used by super mutants.
 * All two handed melee weapons (such as the sledgehammer) have the Mauler special, which causes knockback but does much less damage.
 * Staff-like weapons (such as baseball bats) have the Grand Slam special, which does twice as much damage and causes a chance of knockback against the enemy.
 * Unique to the 9 iron is the Fore! special; it does more damage as well as a high chance to cripple a target's head.
 * All "Grinding Melee" weapons like the Ripper and the chainsaw have a skill that delivers an overhead swing which does more damage per hit.

It's possible to execute all special melee moves outside of V.A.T.S., although the animation is very different from first person view to third person view, usually being only correct displayed in third person view. The advantage of this technique, while requiring more timing, is that you don't need 50 points on the skill to perform the moves.

For performing ANY special move described above, initiate a power attack while moving forward.

Fallout

 * Lasher, high elder of the Children of Cathedral.

Fallout 2

 * Frank Horrigan, secret service agent of Enclave and president bodyguard.
 * Lil' Jesus Mordino, son and right hand of Big Jesus Mordino.
 * Sulik, tribal warrior of the Primitive Tribe and a possible companion of the Chosen One.

Fallout 3

 * Cross, star paladin of the Capital Wasteland Brotherhood of Steel and a possible companion of the Lone Wanderer.
 * Fawkes, an intelligent Vault 87 super mutant and possible companion of the Lone Wanderer.
 * Jackson, founder and leader of the Point Lookout tribals.
 * Jingwei, Chinese Army general who commanded the Chinese troops during the Invasion of Alaska.
 * Toshiro Kago, an old samurai of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
 * Vance, leader of the Family.

Fallout: New Vegas

 * Aurelius of Phoenix, centurion of the Caesar's Legion and commander of Cottonwood Cove.
 * Davison, leader of the Davison's nightkin.
 * Joshua Graham, co-founder of the Caesar's Legion and ex-legate.
 * Lanius, legate of the Caesar's Legion.
 * Lily Bowen, 203-year old nightkin and a possible companion of the Courier.
 * Neil, confidence man and spy of Marcus.
 * Tabitha, leader of the State of Utobitha.
 * Vulpes Inculta, frumentarii leader of the Caesar's Legion.

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

 * Attis, former commander in the Master's army and founder and general of the Attis Army.
 * Blake, founder and high priest of the Church of the Lost.

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