Perception

Perception is one of the seven primary statistics in the SPECIAL system.

Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics
Modifies: Sequence, ranged combat distance modifiers and the First Aid, Doctor, Lockpick, Traps and Pilot skills. A player character with higher Perception may notice things that allow them to open up new dialogue options on occasion. It also determines how far away they start from hostilities in random encounters. A combination of the Traps skill and Perception is used to detect traps on the ground. In Fallout Tactics, the Perception skill is used to determine the range at which sneaking characters get detected. Perception is required for many perks, such as PE 8 for Sniper in Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics.


 * Ways to increase Perception
 * In Fallout, Dr. Lorri in the Brotherhood of Steel's Lost Hills bunker can perform an operation to permanently increase Perception by 1, assuming it can be afforded.
 * In Fallout 2, Perception can be permanently raised by 1 with the Green memory module using ACE, or by taking the Gain Perception perk.
 * Also in Fallout 2, Perception can be temporarily raised by 1 with jet.
 * In both Fallout and Fallout 2, Mentats can be used to temporarily raise Perception by 2.

Fallout 3
Modifies: Explosives, Lockpick and Energy Weapons skills

Perception determines how far away enemies can be detected on the compass (enemies show as red bars). When playing with a high Perception, it is possible to "sense" the enemies even before they come into view.

Having a high Perception can yield dialogue options with some NPCs, such as Moira Brown, Mel and Machete.

Perks
The benefit of the Survival Expert perk is affected by what is said to Moira Brown after each portion of the Wasteland Survival Guide quest. Having a Perception of 7 yields relevant "smart" dialogue options at the end of the Contract Radiation Sickness and Traversing a Mine Field objectives.


 * Ways to increase Perception
 * Permanent
 * Bobblehead - Perception (+1)
 * Ant Sight quest perk (+1)
 * Intense Training perk (+1)
 * Night Person perk (+2 between 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM)
 * No Weaknesses perk (will raise base to 5 if below 5)
 * Almost Perfect perk (will raise base to 9 if below 9)
 * Temporary

Fallout: New Vegas
Modifies: Explosives, Lockpick and Energy Weapons skills

Perception affects the distance at which the Courier is able to detect other creatures. It also factors into some conversations with some NPCs.

Perception-based perks

 * Ways to increase Perception
 * Permanent
 * Perception Implant available at the New Vegas medical clinic (+1)
 * Intense Training perk (+1)
 * Completing the quest The Apocalypse or The End will allow raising any one primary statistic by 1.
 * Temporary


 * Level names and statistics

Fallout 4
With the removal of skills in Fallout 4, Perception now directly affects accuracy in V.A.T.S., and indirectly (through perks) affects pickpocketing and lockpicking attempts. (In Fallout 4, Agility is the statistic that directly affects pickpocketing chance.)

The main difference from Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas is that perception no longer affects the distance at which enemies appear on the player character's compass. Enemies do not appear on the compass in Fallout 4 unless they are looking for the player character (Caution in sneak mode) or are fighting the player character (Danger in sneak mode). Friendly NPCs do not appear on the compass at all. Perception does, however, increase accuracy in V.A.T.S. by 10% per point invested into it, but V.A.T.S. accuracy cannot go above 95%.

Perks

 * Ways to increase Perception
 * Permanent;
 * +1 Perception Training upon level-up (up to 10 Perception)
 * You're SPECIAL! - optional +1 Perception upon acquiring
 * Perception bobblehead (+1)
 * V.A.N.S. 2 (+2)


 * Temporary;

Bugs
It is possible that your perception will be reduced with a "(-)" shown to indicate a temporary effect, even if there are no visible temporary effects. This usually is caused by using Med-X after Stingwing attack. Console commands can only mask the issue, not solve it. For players on Survival mode, the lack of a console means that they are stuck with a low perception.
 * Because the (-) indicates a temporary effect, perks can still be chosen as normal based on your "true" perception.
 * A commonly reported culprit is being crippled in the head; having your head cured may not remove the debuff. Having your head re-crippled and cured may resolve the issue, but is inconsistent.
 * It can be fixed by unequiping poisoner armor after Stingwing attack. When you get blurred image, immediately remove poisoner armor piece and run away. This can take few tries, because it can result higher/lower perception than SPECIAL defined.

Fallout 76
Modifies: V.A.T.S. Accuracy, Compass Range

As with all SPECIAL stats, each time you create a new character, your Perception starts at 1. The max cap for the Perception stat is 15 as with the other SPECIAL stats.

V.A.T.S. accuracy bonus starts out at +0.4% with a Perception at 1. Each subsequent level in Perception increases this bonus by +0.4%. At the max Perception of 15, the accuracy bonus is +6.0%.

Similarly, the compass range (minimum distance for red enemy compass markers) at a Perception of 1 is 85 feet. Each additional level in Perception increases this range by 12 feet. At the max Perception of 15, the range is 253 feet.

Perks
Note that all stat boosts in Fallout 76 are temporary.
 * Ways to increase Perception
 * Bobblehead: Perception (+2 for 1 hour or 2 hours with Curator)
 * Armor and Clothing:
 * Garb of Mysteries (+1)
 * Tattered dress (+1)
 * "Enclave" or "raider" underarmor with a treated lining mod (+1)
 * "Enclave", "Marine", or "raider" underarmor with a resistant lining mod (+1)
 * "Marine" underarmor with a protective lining mod (+1)
 * "Enclave", "raider", or "Secret Service" underarmor with a protective lining mod (+2)
 * "Marine" underarmor with a shielded lining mod (+1)
 * "Enclave" or "Secret Service" underarmor with a shielded lining mod (+2)
 * "Raider" underarmor with a shielded lining mod (+3)
 * Legendary Effects:
 * Perception (+1)
 * Magazines:
 * U.S. Covert Operations Manual 5 (+1)
 * Mutations:
 * Herd Mentality (+2 if grouped, -2 if solo)
 * Eagle Eyes (+4)
 * Perks:
 * Night Person (+1 per rank, up to +3, during the night)
 * Consumables:
 * Food:
 * Gourd soup (+2)
 * Pumpkin soup (+2)
 * Radrat steak (+2)
 * Drinks:
 * Carrot flower nectar (+1)
 * Steeped carrot flower tea (+2)
 * Sweetwater Special Blend (+2)
 * Chems:
 * Bufftats (+3)
 * Calmex (+3)
 * Daddy-O (+3)
 * Mentats (+2)
 * Orange Mentats (+5)
 * Psychotats (+3)
 * X-cell (+2)

Fallout: The Roleplaying Game
Perception's only derived statistic is a character's Initiative which is added with Agility. Perception is also used as the default for skill tests involving Energy Weapons, Explosives, Lockpick, and Pilot (the most skills of any primary stat).

Fallout Shelter
Perception affects how efficient a dweller is while working in the water treatment and water purification facilities, chances of finding locations when exploring the Wasteland, and the speed of the critical hit arrows. It can be increased on different dwellers by assigning them to the armory.

Fallout: The Board Game
Unlike other games, Perception is not treated as a variable ranging from 1 to 10, but instead as a token that can be obtained at the start or when leveling up. A player character with the Perception token gets free rerolls during certain tests, as well as during fights if equipped with a Perception-based weapon.

The Ghoul player character always begins the game with Perception. During any Perception test or fight, Calmex or Mentats can be used to gain one free hit.
 * Perks
 * Night Person
 * Sniper
 * Perception-based weapons
 * Pipe rifle
 * Sniper rifle