Built to Destroy

 is a Trait which only appears in Fallout: New Vegas.

Though it says that "The flamer that burns..." it is not directly referring to the flamer weapon; instead it is substituting "flamer" for "candle" in the proverb: "The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long." By choosing this trait, you are increasing the chances for your weapon to do critical damage in combat as well as increasing the rate at which it will eventually break.

Do not be misled by the apparent disparity in numbers; a 15% increase in wear-and-tear is fairly modest, essentially meaning that you'll do the same wear in 7 shots that a player without this trait would do in 8 shots, while a 3% increase in critical hit chance can have significant effects on damage output (particularly with weapons with x5 critical multipliers) considering that it is rather difficult to raise critical chance.

However, the additional loss of weapon condition can be an aggravating effect on expensive or hard to find weapons. One recommendation is for characters to pick up the Jury Rigging perk as soon as possible, but Weapon Repair Kits are also easier to come by with the Dead Money DLC at a Sierra Madre vending machine.