Level



Levels are the general competency of the player character in the SPECIAL character system. A measure of experience and abilities. The level is determined by the number of Experience Points the player character has earned throughout their adventure.

In Fallout Shelter, levels are associated with each dweller independently, and there is no global level given to the player.

Level up
Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics Level Up

Fallout 3 Level Up Fallout New Vegas Level Up Each time the player character levels up, they have the option to modify skills but not primary statistics. They can also gain special perks. Therefore, the player character becomes stronger and better with each level gained.

Level cap
The maximum level reachable varies from game to game:
 * Fallout: 21
 * Fallout 2 and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel: 99
 * Fallout Tactics: should be 99, but can't go past 50 despite of amount of required experience being displayed/reached as well as applied "Here and now" perk.
 * Fallout 3: 20 (30 with the Broken Steel add-on)
 * Fallout: New Vegas: 30–50; each of the four add-ons raises the level cap by 5 levels
 * Fallout 4 does not have a level cap; however, the game crashes upon leveling past 65,535.
 * Fallout 76 does not have a level cap; however additional SPECIAL points cease to be received after level 50, capping a player character's total number of SPECIAL points at 56.
 * Fallout Shelter: 50 for each dweller.

Bugs

 * There may be a glitch that will not let you keep your perks after level 30.
 * Levels 20-29 will all register as Last, Best Hope of Humanity for a good Karma player character in the Pip-Boy Stats screen.

Fallout: New Vegas

 * * Must also not have the Logan's Loophole trait, as this caps the level at 30.

Behind the scenes

 * The level 29 neutral karma title "Gray Stranger" is a reference to the Gray Fox, a character in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion who, when not wearing his mask, is called "The Stranger."

Fallout 4

 * When the Sole Survivor levels up, they can choose to either increase one of the seven S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats or rank up one of the seventy perks available.
 * Fallout 4 does not have an actual level cap, but the hard limit is 65,535 (hex number FFFF). Trying to level past this point by any means will crash the game due to the value overflowing back to zero.
 * Reaching level 272 will allow the player character to acquire all perks and 10 S.P.E.C.I.A.L. (11 if bobbleheads are taken with 10 of a stat). This level is increased to 286 if both Far Harbor and Nuka-World are installed.

The number of points to earn in level n in order to progress to the next are:
 * $$\Delta\mathrm{XP}_n=75\cdot(n-1)+200\,.$$

Simplified:
 * $$\Delta\mathrm{XP}_n=75n+125\,.$$

The XP thresholds for level n are thus:
 * $$XP_n=37.5\cdot n^2+87.5\cdot n-124\,.$$

Fallout 76

 * At level 1, player characters start out with a single point in each S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attribute. Every level up, the player character gains an additional point they can distribute to a single attribute, up to level 50.
 * Every time player characters level up, they may also select a perk card. After level 50, the selection of a new perk card is no longer automatic and requires loading the Pip-Boy and selecting the Perks screen.
 * The player character gains one S.P.E.C.I.A.L. point with each level up, which they can assign to a SPECIAL stat of their choosing, until they reach level 50. From level 25 onward, punch card machines can be utilized for different SPECIAL loadouts. They allow for easy (re-)distribution of SPECIAL points for loadouts, and also for changing the currently active loadout.
 * After reaching level 50, player characters are no longer able to gain S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points, meaning the maximum number of base points available is 56. However, SPECIAL stats may be further raised by unlocking and equipping legendary perks.

The number of points to earn in level n in order to progress to the next are:
 * $$\Delta\mathrm{XP}_n=160\cdot(n-1)+200\,.$$

Simplified:
 * $$\Delta\mathrm{XP}_n=160n+40\,.$$

The XP thresholds for level n are thus:
 * $$XP_n=80n^2-40n-40\,.$$