Optimized Start
Below are steps one can take to maximize their early game progress.
SPECIAL
33 points, up to 1 more each with implants, 1 to any after lonesome road and up to 10 more with intense training.
Strength 6
7 with implant. (33-5=28)
Strength helps carry weight, melee damage and weapon handling.
The highest needed for any perk is 7 base (1+5+implant),
The highest weapon needs 10 modified which can be reduced to 8 with the weapon handling perk. +2 is easily obtained through OWB
Perception 6
7 with implant (28-5=23)
Perception helps with vats accuracy, enemy detection and is used in some dialog checks.
7 base (1+5+implant) is enough for any perk. It's possible to boost it to 10 with apparel or drugs without much difficulty.
Endurance 7
Helps survival skill, HP, resistances, unarmed. Dictates the number of implants you can get.
8 is enough for all perks (1+6+implant)
8 after the implant. (23-6=17)
7 base is enough for all SPECIAL implants. 9 base is enough for all implants, but the CHA implant is not needed.
The Endurance bonus from the implant does not count toward your implant allowance.
- Strength
- Perception
- Endurance
- Charisma
- Intelligence
- Agility
- Luck
- Sub-dermal Armor
- Hyperbreeder
Without intense training, one must choose 2 implants to skip. Charisma and hyperbreeder are good choices
Charisma 1
No implant (17-0=17)
Impacts speech and barter. Increases companion damage output and is used in some speech checks (@7). 6 base is enough for either perk (animal friend, ferocious loyalty).
Unless you specifically want to use charisma perks like animal friend, and since it can be boosted 8+ points on demand with drugs, charisma is a dump stat that can be left at 1 without an implant.
Intelligence 9
10 after implant. (17-8=9)
Impacts the number of skill points per level. 7 base is enough for any perk, 9 modified is enough for all speech checks. Low int offers unique dialog options in many places. Can be boosted with drugs and apparel. Recommended to set at 9 (1+8) and then get the implant.
Since the first level up is even, the .5 points from INT 9 rounds to the full 15. Meaning you can get the implant any time before level 3 for maximum perk points.
Agility 6
(9-5=4) +5 & Small Frame (4) (8) AP, draw, reload, sneak 8 base is enough for any perk (1+5+SF+implant), an extra point can be gained through small frame (at the expense of slightly less melee damage and more easily crippled limbs). A melee focused build might want to skip small frame and bump one point with intense training if the highest perks are desired.
Luck 5
(4-4=0) +4 (0) (6) Crit chance, gambling odds, slight boost to all skills 6 base is enough for any perk (1+4+implant), 9 is enough for the single highest skill check (Et Tumor, Brute?). 7 is high enough to tip all casino games in your favor. +1 with naughty nightwear, +1 with lucky shades in legion safehouse.
Final Build
The build below offers max perk points and allows access to every non CHA perk
5,5,6,0,8,5,4 (33)
6,6,7,1,9,6,5 (40)
After implants and traits 7,7,8,1,10,8,6 (47)
Tag speech, barter (both low from CHA) and some other skill of choice. Repair, survival or sneak is good. Choose small frame for the +1 agility and Logan's loophole to remove addiction risk (can be changed later). Skilled in place of Logan's loophole will get you 65 skill points and give you more time to get the intelligence implant. Educated at level 4 for 2 extra skill points per level. Comprehension at 6 for additional points with Skill books (+1/3).
Strength
- Melee Weapons
Perception
- Energy Weapons
- Explosives
- Lockpick
Endurance
- Survival
- Unarmed
Charisma
- Barter
- Speech
Intelligence
- Medicine
- Repair
- Science
Agility
- Guns
- Sneak
Play
Locations
Go out of doc Mitchell's and turn right at the road. As you reach the end, go in the back door of the house on your left and grab the star bottle cap. Exit and fast travel to goodsprings, then tag the mailbox. Then head east toward the giant cross. When you crest a hill just north of some fences (on your right), turn to walk between with the map markers (SE, toward 2 antennas on the mountains. Once you reach the road, near a dead brahmin, turn east/northeast toward the most prominent nearby mountain. Travel southeast around it toward the map marker on the compass and you should discover hidden valley before you reach the fence.
Fast travel to that new location. Feel free to check the hollow rock in front of you, then turn east/northeast toward the hole in the fence. Run past the scorpions staying toward the Southeast/south. When you reach a giant scorpion, consider climbing up the rocks on the left and staying to that side to keep away from the rest of the scorpions. You'll come around to a valley that heads North/northeast. You'll see Helios one. As you exit, aim for the tower until you reach the uphill slope for the building. Then turn north.
You'll see a map marker, head toward that and turn east once you can see it's fence. Head toward the map marker until you crest the hill and can see the ants. Back down the hill and head ~north while keeping low and coming around toward the north east. Head toward the left most pylon and pass under it. Walk toward the overpass camp to get the marker and then move back to the pylon, continuing north/northeast past the billboard until you reach railroad tracks in the other side of the roads. Follow those tracks northwest until you see rail cars. Break right to go around them, walking the low area pointing toward the casino tower. Continue northwest until you pass under the overpass and follow that road north.
You'll reach a wooden bridge and map marker for durable Dunn's sacked caravan. Loot all the bodies and ash piles for weapons and armor. From end of the far bridge, aim toward the water tower and you'll reach Crimson Caravan (rad free water) and new Vegas medical clinic to its east. Talk to Alice McLafferty to start her quests - focusing on these will open up Cass as a companion. Go through crimson caravan to the far gate and turn south to reach the freeside gate and the gun runners. If you've aimed right, you'll have only discovered 8 locations and have 80xp of the 275 needed to level up. Travel to the silver rush, watch the show then steal everything (use z to pick stuff up and move it where you can't be seen in the back room). Carry the items back to the express box and ship them to Goodsprings.
Bankroll
At some point Malcolm Holmes will show up to talk to you about your star caps. Kill him and take his barter gear/caps. Keep an eye on mailboxes for a salesman weekly. One can be stolen from the saloon office. You can find food in the house South of the saloon along with doc Mitchell's. You can store items safely in victors shack (the one with the lights). There's a weapon repair kit that can be used to repair your most valuable weapon. Best value using it on the most degraded item of a given value. Look for a repair boost to make the most. A grape mentat from any merchant would give you a +10 to barter.
At this point you have access to these merchants: 188 traders, roaming traders, new Vegas clinic, van Graff's, atomic wrangler, Mick and Ralph's, gun runners, crimson caravan, Dixon, chet, trudy and doc Mitchell. If you go to 188 you can get Veronica and go straight to the BoS Bunker. Enter the actual bunker and turn around to avoid picking up a quest. Getting one more merchant and a guard that can kill enemies without getting you more XP. Keep an eye out for scrap metal, sensors and scrap electronics.
Leave Veronica at victor's shack and walk Southeast out of Goodsprings. Avoid markers, heading to primm. Once you have the marker, fast travel to it to avoid the mines, sneak in to the office and repair ED-E. Sneak away and fast travel back to goodsprings to grab Veronica, looting any bodies if ED-E kills anyone. Go back to primm and navigate toward the canyon wreckage, letting them kill the coyotes (or go solo and run past to avoid the XP). Loot the area outside the base, access the missile base to get the repair upgrade for ED-E (25% condition boost once a day in dialog). Unlock the commissary. Use mentats and programmers digest if you want to pass ED-Es first science check.
ED-E can also be used as a mobile work/reloading bench. Use the repair to boost your item value before selling. Having a 35 repair will let you boost the repair percentage to 35%, but it may not be an option until a second upgrade is obtained. Waiting through the days to refresh inventories gives you more chances to repair stuff in the meantime.
Once you have your barter gear and salesman weekly, pass the days at victor's shack repairing weapons to increase their sale value. If you're playing survival, you can hunt coyotes and other wildlife around Goodsprings cave all the way down to the canyon wreckage to have "free" food. Take the weapons to the commissary to sell when you get them fully repaired. With starting cha of 1, luck of 5, and barter tagged barter should be 22. Barter gear would get that to 32, beer to 34, moonshine to 38, mentats to 40 and grape mentats to 50. Salesman weekly would get that to 60. Items will sell for 72% of the actual value. So you'll need 5556 caps worth of trade to have enough for the luck implant.
After that you can use that implant along with the naughty nightwear to close down all the casinos. Skip the Tops until you are ready to end act 1. Since you can get the INT implant any time before level 3, you can also hit level 2 and put all 15 points into barter to sell at around 78% face value. Check into saving outside the casino (or even different interior spaces) to see if the gambling cool down can be bypassed and "maximum" payout achieved on a slot or roulette bet before getting banned.
Trudy will sell 1:1 while accepted + without infamy
Chet will give a 50% discount after run Goodsprings run, 25% more with a mixed reputation (up to 75%). Selling prices unknown.
Johnson Nash will give a 75% discount if Meyers is made sheriff. Unknown boost to selling prices.
Cliff Briscoe will sell 1:1 with the discount from Jeannie Mae Crawford and some specific Barter value
Ada Straus discount for services with positive novac rep
Julie Farkas, Dr. Usanagi, 1:1 when accepted by the followers. Discounted medical services after addressing supplies.
Great Khans Armorer, 1:1 when accepted and barter of 25+
Dr. Kemp "discount on supplies" if Morales corpse is recovered. Supposedly more if reward is declined.
Cpl Farber, discount on food after repairing the food processor
Mixed freeside rep, discount at Mick and Ralph's
Unverified BoS discount with mixed reputation
Mortimer, beef discount?
Alice Maclafferty, gun discount after gun runner theft?
Contreras, special stash at a discount after quest
Jack, discount with mixed rep
Mr. Holdout discount based on rep
Street Vendor, discount based on strip rep?
Implants
Buy the luck implant for 4000 caps, buy the naughty nightware at Mick and Ralph's (luck to 7) and then gamble at the atomic wrangler to make enough for the int implant (another 4000) before you hit level 2. Educated at level 4, comprehension at level 6, save skill books until then. Well rested bonus will offset the skill point loss when possible. If you put all 15 points in barter, that will allow trades to the commissary at nearly 80% actual value at level 2 before you unlock the Khan armory. But at this point you can start your normal gameplay.
Boosts
Weapon repair kits, armor repair kits - cheap to make and can boost item value tremendously.
Free shovel at Goodsprings source
Mail boxes in settlements - Goodsprings, freeside, novac, primm, lvb station
Snow globes - Goodsprings, test site, the strip, Hoover dam, jacobstown, Mormon fort, nellis
Don't do ghost town gunfight until you've done the other powder ganger quests. Take the powder charge schematics from the cell block.
If you want to complete them all and not be attacked on site, don't kill any yourself during GTGF and tip them off about the pending attack (will make the NCR that appear hostile, but no others, faction armor if you want to come back)
Companions
Arcade at old Mormon fort, speech check
rex at the kings, dialog after starting GI blues
Cass at MO, speech or barter check during or after you can depend on me.
Boone in novac - kill Jeanie may and then retrieve the bill of sale from her safe in the motel office
lily in Jacobs town - dialog, possibly after speaking with doc Henry
Raul on black mountain - complete crazy³ or otherwise kill the super mutants
Gear
Chances knife
Walk the hill side West of town, going north until you reach the grave. Requires shovel to access, like the one at Goodsprings Source
Monorail access and sniper rifle
Sniper rifle in the barracks tent, grab a uniform from a fallen soldier South of the airport to use the monorail (or just run, they calm down after a couple days). Also, free energy weapons.
Riot armor in LR
Access LR, release ED-E and activate the commissary terminal to purchase armor. Open the door and continue down the hallway to find an upgrade board that will give you a once a day free weapon repair (25%) through dialog with ED-E
Save Khans to get full barter, faction pricing with followers, novac, Goodsprings, etc.
Skill book recipes in OWB - good for 4 points each, require 25 in that skill (net) to craft.
Skill Books
Starting
| Start | Tag | Traits | L2 | LCK | INT | L3 | STR | PER | AGL | L4 | L5 | L6 | |
| Strength | 6 | 7 | |||||||||||
| Melee Weapons | 17 | 19 | |||||||||||
| Perception | 6 | 7 | |||||||||||
| Energy Weapons | 17 | 19 | |||||||||||
| Explosives | 17 | 19 | |||||||||||
| Lockpick | 17 | 19 | |||||||||||
| Endurance | 7 | ||||||||||||
| Survival | 21 | ||||||||||||
| Unarmed | 21 | ||||||||||||
| Charisma | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Barter | 22 | 37 | 52 | 67 | |||||||||
| Speech | 22 | 37 | |||||||||||
| Intelligence | 9 | 10 | |||||||||||
| Medicine | 23 | 25 | |||||||||||
| Repair | 38 | 53 | 55 | ||||||||||
| Science | 23 | 25 | |||||||||||
| Agility | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||||||||
| Guns | 19 | 21 | 23 | ||||||||||
| Sneak | 19 | 21 | 23 | ||||||||||
| Luck | 5 | 6 |
Level 2
Barter +15 to 37
- Naughty Nightwear
- luck implant +1 to all
- int implant +2 to medicine, repair, science
Level 3
Barter +15 to 53
- Strength implant +2 to melee
- Perception implant +2 to energy weapons, Explosives, Lockpick
- Agility implant +2 to guns, sneak
Level 4
Barter +15 to 68
Educated, 17 skill points when leveling
Level 5
Repair +17 to 58
Level 6
Repair +17 to 75
Comprehension, 4 points from skill books, 20 from magazines
- Science +4 to 30
- Sneak +8 to 30
- Medicine +8 to 34
- Repair +12 to 87
- Explosives +16 to 36
- Melee +8 to 28
- Guns +12 to 34
- Speech +12 to 35
- Energy Weapons +4 to 24
- Unarmed +8 to 30
- Barter +4 to 72
- Lockpick +4 to 24
- Survival +8 to 30
By this point you can boost your lowest stats to 50 and the highest to 100. Go play.
Locations
| Name | Closest map marker | Location description |
|---|---|---|
| Big Book of Science | Nipton | On the desk in Mayor Joseph B. Steyn's office on the top floor of the Nipton Town Hall building |
| Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual | Goodsprings | In the Goodsprings home inhabited by Trudy and Sunny Smiles, east from the schoolhouse, on a bookshelf |
| Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual | NCR sharecropper farms | On some papers, by the corner desk inside the sharecropper barracks near the four water towers in the northeast corner of the fenced-in area |
| D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine | HELIOS One | Upstairs in the main building, lying on a bed in the same room with the east terminal password |
| D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine | Novac | In the middle of the queen-sized bed, inside Ranger Andy's bungalow |
| Dean's Electronics | Abandoned Brotherhood of Steel bunker | On the metal sill, opposite the reloading bench, in the area with the office. Though the location exists without the add-on, it is sealed by a keyless lock. Note: If the game is unpatched, the door is unlocked and can be accessed. |
| Dean's Electronics | Nellis Air Force Base | Inside Loyal's house, on the long counter next to the ruined terminal |
| Dean's Electronics | Sloan | In the worker barracks, on the top shelf to the left of the entrance |
| Duck and Cover! | Mojave Outpost | Inside the Mojave Outpost barracks, below the bar counter in the middle of the bottom shelf |
| Duck and Cover! | Nellis Air Force Base | Among the books on the shelf, above the grenade rifle, inside Pearl's barracks |
| Duck and Cover! | Ranger Station Foxtrot | On the table next to Comm Officer Lenk. |
| Duck and Cover! | Sloan | It is inside the worker barracks on the back left shelf under a first aid box. |
| Grognak the Barbarian | Cannibal Johnson's cave | On the mattress near the radio, close to the campfire |
| Grognak the Barbarian | Jacobstown | Lying in front of the oven in the southernmost bungalow. |
| Guns and Bullets | Gomorrah | In Big Sal's office past a Hard locked door, upstairs from the main level of Brimstone, on the first low bookshelf on the left |
| Guns and Bullets | Nevada Highway Patrol station | On the desk without the computer in the entrance office room, nearest the door leading to the cells |
| Guns and Bullets | Raul's shack | Inside the shack, in the wooden crate next to the door |
| Lying, Congressional Style | Brooks tumbleweed ranch | On an open locker shelf, in the upstairs room with the chessboard |
| Lying, Congressional Style | Cerulean Robotics | On the floor among the office desks |
| Lying, Congressional Style | NCR Correctional Facility | Second floor of the NCR CF administration, on a desk |
| Nikola Tesla and You | Hidden Valley | Located on the first floor of the Hidden Valley bunker building, in the white plastic bin by the desk in Schuler's office, west of the central hub corridor junction |
| Pugilism Illustrated | Nipton Road reststop | Inside the store, lying on the wooden shelf on the left upon entering, close to the counter |
| Pugilism Illustrated | The Tops | Inside the presidential suite, inside the pool room, on the tiny table in the corner |
| Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor | Allied Technologies offices | In the largest room on the west side of the building, on the floor in front of the Nuka-Cola machine |
| Tumblers Today | Wolfhorn ranch | Inside the farmhouse, partially under the fridge without a door. |
| Wasteland Survival Guide | Lone Wolf Radio | Inside the radio trailer, near the mattress |
| Wasteland Survival Guide | Matthews Animal Husbandry Farm | Top balcony of the northern barn, near the barrel crate |
| Name | Closest map marker | Location description |
|---|---|---|
| Big Book of Science | Ashton missile silo Lonesome Road (add-on) | In the north corner of launch deck, level 3 of the silo wreckage just past a Hard locked safe |
| Big Book of Science | Brewer's beer bootlegging | In the cellar, in the back room on a table to the left of the chemistry set |
| Big Book of Science | Camp Forlorn Hope | In the command center, in the southeast corner, on the desk |
| Big Book of Science | HELIOS One Dialogue | Reward from Ignacio Rivas for distributing power to entire grid during That Lucky Old Sun |
| Big Book of Science | Nipton | On the desk in Mayor Joseph B. Steyn's office on the top floor of the Nipton Town Hall building |
| Big Book of Science | REPCONN headquarters | Located on the ground floor through the door next to the radioactive barrel display, located on a shelf past the Hard locked door |
| Big Book of Science | Sierra Madre Casino Dead Money | On a bookshelf in Vera's room, which is found in the Executive suites area of the Sierra Madre casino |
| Big Book of Science | Y-0 Research Center Old World Blues (add-on) | In a corner of the canyon south of the Y-0 building, between two xander root plants by the hand of a skeleton |
| Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual | Camp Searchlight | In the east church's basement, by the eastern wall, at the foot of the metal shelves, on the floor. |
| Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual | Goodsprings | In the Goodsprings home inhabited by Trudy and Sunny Smiles, east from the schoolhouse, on a bookshelf |
| Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual | NCR sharecropper farms | On some papers, by the corner desk inside the sharecropper barracks near the four water towers in the northeast corner of the fenced-in area |
| Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual | Puesta del Sol switching station Dead Money | In the easternmost room of the switching station there is a large machine on the south side of the room, located on the catwalk that runs around the machine |
| Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual | Sunstone Tower roof Lonesome Road (add-on) | On a bookshelf facing the wall (hidden from view) on the southeast landing up one flight of stairs from the ground floor interior entrance, acquired by placing/throwing explosives onto the bookshelf underneath the filing cabinet |
| Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual | Vault 3 | In the living quarters on a shelf, down the stairs from the recreation area through an Average locked door |
| Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual | X-13 research facility Old World Blues (add-on) | On the floor, opposite the door in the room where the chest plate for the stealth suit Mk II is found |
| Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual | X-13 research facility Old World Blues (add-on) | In the testing facility section, in the reward safe upon completion of all the stealth suit tests |
| D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine | Cave of the Abaddon Lonesome Road (add-on) | After exiting the Cave of the Abaddon, in the south corner under a nightstand, in the room with the bed and the exit to The Divide (In the "Buried Building"), underneath the RALPHIE poster |
| D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine | Followers safehouse | On the bedside table shelf, by the bed on the right, in the second room. Entry requires a key. |
| D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine | HELIOS One | Upstairs in the main building, lying on a bed in the same room with the east terminal password |
| D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine | Hell's Motel | The shack inside the Mesquite Mountains crater, below the globe with a hat, on the table with the radio and repair kit |
| D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine | Novac | In the middle of the queen-sized bed, inside Ranger Andy's bungalow |
| D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine | Villa clinic Dead Money | In the Villa clinic basement, in a tool cabinet next to some fire extinguishers |
| Dean's Electronics | Abandoned Brotherhood of Steel bunker Dead Money | On the metal sill, opposite the reloading bench, in the area with the office. Though the location exists without the add-on, it is sealed by a keyless lock. Note: If the game is unpatched, the door is unlocked and can be accessed. |
| Dean's Electronics | Hopeville Missile Silo Bunker Lonesome Road (add-on) | When walking into the room with the first missile, the book is located to the left of the stairs, amongst some rubble |
| Dean's Electronics | Nellis Air Force Base | Inside Loyal's house, on the long counter next to the ruined terminal |
| Dean's Electronics | Puesta del Sol switching station Dead Money | Puesta del Sol switching station in the south center of the map on the upper level next to the terminal that shuts off power to the protected speakers. It is very difficult but possible, to reach without Christine and disarm the tripwire before the collar detonates |
| Dean's Electronics | Sloan | In the worker barracks, on the top shelf to the left of the entrance |
| Dean's Electronics | Southern Nevada wind farm | In the shack, on the table with the clipboard and scrap metal |
| Duck and Cover! | Collapsed overpass tunnel Lonesome Road (add-on) | Just south of the exit to The High Road, behind some sandbags, in a crate underneath a teddy bear |
| Duck and Cover! | Mojave Outpost | Inside the Mojave Outpost barracks, below the bar counter in the middle of the bottom shelf |
| Duck and Cover! | Nellis Air Force Base | Among the books on the shelf, above the grenade rifle, inside Pearl's barracks |
| Duck and Cover! | Ranger Station Foxtrot | On the table next to Comm Officer Lenk. |
| Duck and Cover! | Residential District Dead Money | It is stuck underneath the bed in the room Dean Domino is first encountered, only obtainable by using explosives or other simlilar mechanisms to force the book out |
| Duck and Cover! | Sloan | It is inside the worker barracks on the back left shelf under a first aid box. |
| Grognak the Barbarian | Cannibal Johnson's cave | On the mattress near the radio, close to the campfire |
| Grognak the Barbarian | Cottonwood Cove | Inside Aurelius of Phoenix's office on the upper floor of the HQ, inside the nightstand next to the bed |
| Grognak the Barbarian | Hidden supply cave | Resting on one of the large metal crates in the cave, sometimes behind the metal crates. Cave is behind an Average locked door. |
| Grognak the Barbarian | Hopeville women's barracks Lonesome Road (add-on) | At the back of the barracks on a small table under a ruined book |
| Grognak the Barbarian | Jacobstown | Lying in front of the oven in the southernmost bungalow. |
| Grognak the Barbarian | Villa police station Dead Money | Inside the police station basement, on the floor in the room in the northwest corner in front of the filing cabinets |
| Guns and Bullets | Gomorrah | In Big Sal's office past a Hard locked door, upstairs from the main level of Brimstone, on the first low bookshelf on the left |
| Guns and Bullets | Hopeville Armory Lonesome Road (add-on) | Underneath the desk in northeast corner, with a bed that can be slept on |
| Guns and Bullets | Nevada Highway Patrol station | On the desk without the computer in the entrance office room, nearest the door leading to the cells |
| Guns and Bullets | Raul's shack | Inside the shack, in the wooden crate next to the door |
| Guns and Bullets | Sierra Madre casino Dead Money | On the floor behind the cashier's desk, accessible by the ceiling beams |
| Guns and Bullets | Vault 34 | On the small metal table between the sofas by the pool table, in the armory common room |
| Lying, Congressional Style | Brooks tumbleweed ranch | On an open locker shelf, in the upstairs room with the chessboard |
| Lying, Congressional Style | Cerulean Robotics | On the floor among the office desks |
| Lying, Congressional Style | Lucky Jim Mine | Inside the Lucky Jim Mine house, on the bottom shelf below a varmint rifle |
| Lying, Congressional Style | NCR Correctional Facility | Second floor of the NCR CF administration, on a desk |
| Lying, Congressional Style | The Tampico Dead Money | On a shelf, opposite the holotape projector |
| Lying, Congressional Style | Third Street Municipal Building Lonesome Road (add-on) | In the eastern most corner underneath a physician's desk (may have fallen off building after detonating warhead) |
| Nikola Tesla and You | Hidden Valley | Located on the first floor of the Hidden Valley bunker building, in the white plastic bin by the desk in Schuler's office, west of the central hub corridor junction |
| Nikola Tesla and You | Hopeville Missile Base Headquarters Lonesome Road (add-on) | Located in the first room, on the wooden shelf directly on the right upon entering, hidden underneath a burned book |
| Nikola Tesla and You | Old nuclear test site | Inside the nuclear test shack on the small table opposite to the exit |
| Nikola Tesla and You | REPCONN headquarters | On the first floor, past the Very Hard locked door, on top of the safe. The key is on the third floor from a suitcase next to a skeleton. The room can also be accessed through a hole in the floor of a western room on the second floor, past a Hard locked door. |
| Nikola Tesla and You | REPCONN headquarters | A second copy can be found on the second floor, through the first door on the left, on the desk with the very easy locked terminal. |
| Nikola Tesla and You | Sierra Madre vault Dead Money | In the pipes below the vault, in a duffle bag |
| Pugilism Illustrated | Fisherman's Pride shack | On the bedside table, inside the shack |
| Pugilism Illustrated | Nipton Road reststop | Inside the store, lying on the wooden shelf on the left upon entering, close to the counter |
| Pugilism Illustrated | The Tops | Inside the presidential suite, inside the pool room, on the tiny table in the corner |
| Pugilism Illustrated | Vault 11 | Inside the living quarters, in the first female dorm, by the fallen dresser near a small sign on the ceiling that says "ladies" |
| Pugilism Illustrated | Villa Dead Money | Behind the fountain at the entrance of the Dead Money add-on |
| Pugilism Illustrated | Wastewater treatment plant Lonesome Road (add-on) | In the northeast corner of the third room, behind a set of tipped-over lockers |
| Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor | Allied Technologies offices | In the largest room on the west side of the building, on the floor in front of the Nuka-Cola machine |
| Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor | Cap counterfeiting shack | On the suitcase by the bed, in the small back cellar room |
| Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor | Marked men guard outpost Lonesome Road (add-on) | Located through a cellar door on the eastern wall of the building, downstairs on a table near some gore on the northwest wall |
| Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor | Primm | Inside the Bison Steve Hotel, on the floor of the gift shop, behind the counter |
| Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor | Salida del Sol South Dead Money | In a building opposite the door to Salida del Sol house, on a book shelf |
| Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor | Vault 22 | In the lab room up the stairs from the elevator in pest control, on the table with the bubbling vials |
| Tumblers Today | Bitter Springs recreation area | Inside the office shack to the west, on the desk in the smaller of the two rooms. |
| Tumblers Today | Hopeville Missile Base Lonesome Road (add-on) | Inside the Hopeville men's barracks, in the toilets underneath an overturned box. |
| Tumblers Today | Prospector's Den | Inside the caves, in the subterranean den structure, in the large barracks room, on the floor in the far right corner. |
| Tumblers Today | Sierra Madre Casino Dead Money | In the casino floor area, in the southeast third floor office on top of the tool cabinet. |
| Tumblers Today | Silver Peak mine | Inside the shack, behind the two small tables, on the ground in an open locker, to the right of the entrance. |
| Tumblers Today | Wolfhorn ranch | Inside the farmhouse, partially under the fridge without a door. |
| Wasteland Survival Guide | Lone Wolf Radio | Inside the radio trailer, near the mattress |
| Wasteland Survival Guide | Matthews Animal Husbandry Farm | Top balcony of the northern barn, near the barrel crate |
| Wasteland Survival Guide | Mesquite Mountains camp site | Inside the western tent, behind the bedding and toolbox, may glitch into the ground) |
| Wasteland Survival Guide | Scavenger platform | Among the books under the fallen metal bookshelf, on the northern platform section |
| Wasteland Survival Guide | Waste disposal station Lonesome Road (add-on) | In the middle of the fallen radioactive barrels, behind a skeleton draped over one of the barrels, between two lead-lined metal boxes |
| Workbench crate | Angel cave | To the right of Joshua Graham. |
| Workbench crate | Cueva Guarache | In the Survivalist's room. |
| Workbench crate | Fallen Rock cave | In the same room as the Compliance Regulator. |
| Workbench crate | Stone Bones cave | In the same room as the Desert Ranger combat armor. |
Locations of recipes
| Skill Book Recipe | Closest Map Marker | Location Description |
|---|---|---|
| Barter | Signal Hills Transmitter | On the ground to the right upon entering, underneath the bottom of the shelves, next to a piece of scrap electronics. |
| Energy Weapons | Z-38 Lightwave Dynamics Research | Inside, on the very top catwalk, under the screen of a microfilm reader in the little piece of catwalk that juts out to the left. |
| Explosives | X-7a "Left Field" artillery launch | In the Artillery Command Center, on the lip of the main console. |
| Guns | X-7b "Boom Town" Target Zone | From fast traveling to the location, head forward through fence, third crater on left with the footlocker near the NW corner of the area, after firing the artillery cannon at X-7a "Left Field" Artillery Launch. |
| Lockpick | X-13 research facility | Hidden inside the SW vent in the Reception Observation Area of the X-13 stealth testing lab. Go across the center bridge (the one with the toolbox and footlocker at the end). When reached, look to the left to see a rectangular vent which can be opened by jumping toward it and activating it in mid-air. The recipe is inside along with some random loot. |
| Medicine | Higgs Village | In House #103, upstairs in a bedroom, on the shelf by the desk. |
| Melee Weapons | Y-0 Research Center | On the roof. |
| Repair | Higgs Village | Inside House #00. Sandwiched in a rack of old world scientific equipment on the upstairs landing. Look opposite the table with the toolbox, and it is between the lowest two items of equipment. |
| Science | Higgs Village | In House #102 upstairs in the back room, on top of a black box. |
| Sneak | X-13 research facility | In the X-13 stealth testing lab, inside the Testing Area, found on the floor of the kitchen area, between the 2 fridges. |
| Speech | Higgs Village | On top of a radio on the second floor of House #104. |
| Survival | Little Yangtze | Bed to the right after entering the tent. |
| Unarmed | Big MT West Tunnel | Inside, behind a locked door (Easy) to the right upon entering. |
Perks
| Name | Level req | Other requirements | Ranks | Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 Black Widow Lady Killer |
2 | Female PC Male PC |
1 | +15% damage to the opposite sex and unique dialogue options with certain characters. |
| Cherchez La Femme Confirmed Bachelor |
2 | Female PC Male PC |
1 | +10% damage to the same sex and unique dialogue options with certain characters. |
| Friend of the Night | 2 | PER 6, Sneak 30 | 1 | Your eyes adapt quickly to low-light conditions. |
| 03 Heave, Ho! | 2 | STR 5, Explosives 30 | 1 | +50% thrown weapon velocity and range. |
| Hunter | 2 | Survival 30 | 1 | In combat, you do 75% more critical damage against animals and mutated animals. |
| Intense Training | 2 | 10 | You can put a single point into any of your SPECIAL attributes. | |
| In Shining Armor | 2 | Repair 20, Science 70 | 1 | +5 DT against energy weapons while wearing metal armor, with a further +2 DT while wearing reflective eyewear or helmets. |
| Junk Rounds | 2 | LCK 6, Repair 45 | 1 | You can craft Junk rounds using scrap metal and tin cans. |
| Light Touch | 2 | AGL 6, Repair 45 | 1 | While wearing light armor you gain +5% critical hit chance and your enemies suffer a -25% critical hit chance. |
| Old World Gourmet | 2 | END 6, Survival 45 | 1 | +25% addiction resistance. +50% health bonus from snack foods. Scotch, vodka and wine now give you health in addition to their normal effects. |
| Rapid Reload | 2 | AGL 5, Guns 30 | 1 | All of your weapon reloads are 25% faster than normal. |
| Retention | 2 | INT 5 | 1 | Skill magazines last for 3 real-time minutes. |
| Swift Learner | 2 | INT 4 | 3 | You gain an additional 10% whenever experience points are earned. |
| Cannibal | 4 | 1 | When you're in Sneak mode, you gain the option to eat a human corpse to regain hit points, but lose Karma. | |
| 05 Comprehension | 4 | INT 4 | 1 | You gain one additional skill point for reading books and double the skill points for reading magazines. |
| 04 Educated | 4 | INT 4 | 1 | You gain two more skill points every time you advance in level. |
| Entomologist | 4 | INT 4, Survival 45 | 1 | You do an additional 50% damage every time you attack a mutated insect. |
| Rad Child | 4 | Survival 70 | 1 | Regenerate 2 HP per second per 200 rads accumulated. |
| Run 'n Gun | 4 | Guns 45 or Energy Weapons 45 | 1 | Halved spread with one-handed ranged weapons while walking or running. |
| Travel Light | 4 | Survival 45 | 1 | While wearing light armor or no armor, you run 10% faster. |
| Bloody Mess | 6 | 1 | +5% overall damage; more violent death animations. | |
| 07 Demolition Expert | 6 | Explosives 50 | 2 | Each rank grants +10% damage and +10% larger explosion radius. |
| 06 Mad Bomber | 6 | Repair 45, Explosives 45 | 1 | Enables you to create special explosive recipes at any workbench. |
| Ferocious Loyalty | 6 | CHA 6 | 1 | When you drop below 50% HP, companions gain +50 DR. |
| Fortune Finder | 6 | LCK 5 | 1 | Considerably more bottle caps will be found in stockpiles. |
| Gunslinger | 6 | 1 | +25% accuracy in V.A.T.S. with one-handed weapons. | |
| Hand Loader | 6 | Repair 70 | 1 | When using Guns, you are twice as likely to recover cases and hulls. You also have all hand load recipes unlocked at any reloading benches. |
| Lead Belly | 6 | END 5 | 1 | -50% radiation taken from food and water sources. |
| Shotgun Surgeon | 6 | Guns 45 | 1 | When using shotguns, regardless of ammunition used, you ignore an additional 10 points of a target's Damage Threshold. |
| The Professional | 6 | Sneak 70 | 1 | Your Sneak Attack Criticals with revolvers, pistols, and submachine guns (guns and energy weapons) all inflict an additional 20% damage. |
| Toughness | 6 | END 5 | 2 | +3 DT permanently. |
| Vigilant Recycler | 6 | Science 70 | 1 | When using Energy Weapons, you are twice as likely to recover drained ammunition. You also have more efficient recycling recipes available at workbenches. |
| Commando | 8 | 1 | +25% accuracy in V.A.T.S. with two-handed weapons. | |
| 08 Cowboy | 8 | Guns 45, Melee 45 | 1 | +20% damage done by dynamite, hatchets, knives, revolvers, and lever-action guns. |
| Living Anatomy | 8 | Medicine 70 | 1 | Shows health and Damage Threshold of any target. +5% bonus to damage against humans and non-feral ghouls. |
| 09 Pack Rat | 8 | INT 5, Barter 70 | 1 | Items with a weight of two pounds or less now weigh half as much. |
| Quick Draw | 8 | AGL 5 | 1 | Makes weapon equipping and holstering 50% faster. |
| Rad Resistance | 8 | END 5, Survival 40 | 1 | +25% radiation resistance permanently. |
| Scrounger | 8 | LCK 5 | 1 | Considerably more ammunition in stockpiles. |
| Stonewall | 8 | STR 6, END 6 | 1 | +10 DT against melee and unarmed attacks and cannot be knocked down during combat. |
| 11 Strong Back | 8 | STR 5, END 5 | 1 | +25 Carry Weight. |
| Super Slam! | 8 | STR 6, Melee Weapons 45 | 1 | All melee (except thrown) and unarmed attacks have a chance of knocking your target down. 15% for Unarmed or one-handed melee, 30% for two-handed melee. |
| Terrifying Presence | 8 | Speech 70 | 1 | Can intimidate foes through dialogue; closing dialogue results in the foe fleeing for 5 seconds. |
| 10 Grunt | 8 | Guns 45, Explosives 20 | 1 | 20% more damage with 9mm pistols and SMGs, .45 pistols and SMGs, service rifles, assault and Marksman carbines, light machine guns, frag grenades, grenade rifles and launchers and combat knives. |
| Home on the Range | 8 | Survival 70 | 1 | Whenever you interact with a campfire, you have the option of sleeping, with all the benefits that sleep brings. |
| Sneering Imperialist | 8 | 1 | +15% Damage and +25% accuracy in V.A.T.S. to various tribal and raider characters. | |
| Tribal Wisdom | 8 | Survival 70 | 1 | -50% limb damage from animals, mutated animals, and mutated insects, +25% to Poison Resistance, ability to eat mutated insects in sneak mode. |
| Fight the Power! | 10 | 1 | +2 Damage Threshold and +5% NCR, Legion or Brotherhood of Steel armor. | |
| Here and Now | 10 | 1 | You instantly level up again. | |
| Animal Friend | 10 | CHA 6, Survival 45 | 2 | With the first rank, hostile animals become neutral. With the second rank, they assist in combat, but not against other animals. |
| Finesse | 10 | 1 | +5% Critical Chance. | |
| Math Wrath | 10 | Science 70 | 1 | Reduces all AP costs by 10%. |
| Miss Fortune | 10 | LCK 6 | 1 | 10% chance that Miss Fortune will incapacitate a target in V.A.T.S. |
| Mister Sandman | 10 | Sneak 60 | 1 | Can instantly kill a sleeping non-player character and earn bonus XP when doing so. |
| Mysterious Stranger | 10 | LCK 6 | 1 | 10% chance that the Mysterious Stranger will finish off a target in V.A.T.S. |
| Nerd Rage! | 10 | INT 5, Science 50 | 1 | +15 DT and STR increased to 10 whenever health is 20% or lower. |
| Night Person | 10 | 1 | +2 INT and +2 PER between 6:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M. | |
| Plasma Spaz | 10 | Energy Weapons 70 | 1 | AP costs for all plasma weapons are reduced by 20%. Increases attack rate with plasma weapons by 20%. |
| And Stay Back | 10 | Guns 70 | 1 | Shotguns have a 10% chance, per pellet, of knocking an enemy back. |
| Alertness | 12 | PER between 6 and 9 | 1 | +2 PER when crouched and still. |
| Heavyweight | 12 | STR 7 | 1 | Weapons with a weight of more than 10 are cut in half. This does not affect weapons modded to under 10 wg. |
| Hobbler | 12 | PER 7 | 1 | Your chance to hit an opponent's legs in V.A.T.S. is increased by 25%. |
| Fast Metabolism | 12 | 1 | +20% Hit Points restored with stimpaks. | |
| Ghastly Scavenger | 12 | Cannibal perk | 1 | When you're in Sneak mode, you gain the option to eat a super mutant or feral ghoul corpse to regain hit points, but lose Karma. |
| 12 Hit the Deck | 12 | Explosives 70 | 1 | +25 DT against explosives. |
| Life Giver | 12 | END 6 | 1 | +30 hit points. |
| Long Haul | 12 | END 6, Barter 70 | 1 | Being over-encumbered no longer prevents you from using fast travel. |
| Piercing Strike | 12 | Unarmed 70 | 1 | All your unarmed and melee attacks negate 15 points of DT. |
| Pyromaniac | 12 | Explosives 60 | 1 | +50% damage with fire-based weapons. |
| Robotics Expert | 12 | Science 50 | 1 | +25% damage to robots; can shut down robots by sneaking up on them and deactivating. |
| 15 Silent Running | 12 | AGL 6, Sneak 50 | 1 | Running no longer factors into a successful sneak attempt. |
| Sniper | 12 | PER 6, AGL 6 | 1 | 25% more likely to hit the target's head in V.A.T.S. |
| 13 Splash Damage | 12 | Explosives 70 | 1 | Explosives have a 25% larger area of effect. |
| Unstoppable Force | 12 | STR 7, Melee Weapons 90 | 1 | x4 normal damage through enemy blocks with melee and unarmed attacks. |
| 14 Adamantium Skeleton | 14 | 1 | Damage taken by limbs reduced by 50%. | |
| Center of Mass | 14 | Guns 70 | 1 | In V.A.T.S., you do an additional 15% damage when targeting the torso. |
| Chemist | 14 | Medicine 60 | 1 | Chems and (in Hardcore) stimpaks last twice as long. |
| Jury Rigging | 14 | Repair 90 | 1 | Repair any item using a roughly similar item. |
| Light Step | 14 | PER 6, AGL 6 | 1 | Floor traps or mines will not be set off. |
| Purifier | 14 | 1 | You do 50% extra damage with melee and Unarmed weapons against centaurs, night stalkers, spore plants, spore carriers, deathclaws and super mutants. | |
| Action Boy/Action Girl | 16 | AGL 6 | 2 | +15 Action Points. |
| Better Criticals | 16 | PER 6, LCK 6 | 1 | +50% damage with critical hits. |
| Chem Resistant | 16 | Medicine 60 | 1 | Half as likely to get addicted. |
| Meltdown | 16 | Energy Weapons 90 | 1 | Foes killed by your Energy Weapons emit a corona of harmful energy. |
| 16 Tag! | 16 | 1 | Fourth "tag" skill: +15 points to that skill. | |
| Weapon Handling | 16 | STR < 10 | 1 | Weapon STR requirements are now 2 points lower than normal for you. |
| Walker Instinct | 18 | Survival 50 | 1 | +1 PER and AGL when outside. |
| Computer Whiz | 18 | INT 7, Science 70 | 1 | Can make one extra attempt to hack a locked-down terminal. |
| Concentrated Fire | 18 | Energy Weapons 60, Guns 60 | 1 | +5% accuracy in V.A.T.S. with every subsequent attack on a given body part queued. |
| Infiltrator | 18 | PER 7, Lockpick 70 | 1 | Can make one more attempt to pick a broken lock. |
| Paralyzing Palm | 18 | Unarmed 70 | 1 | Can paralyze an enemy for 30 seconds with a V.A.T.S. unarmed attack. |
| Eye for Eye | 20 | 1 | For each crippled limb you have, you do an additional 10% damage. | |
| Atomic! | 20 | END 6 | 1 | In irradiated areas, +25% move and attack speed, +2 DT, +2 ST. With excess rad level, AP regen scales from 1.1 times to 1.5 times normal. |
| Mile in Their Shoes | 20 | Survival 25 | 1 | You have come to understand night stalkers. Consuming night stalker squeezin's now grants +1 PER, +5 Poison Resistance, and +5 Sneak in addition to the normal benefits. |
| Them's Good Eatin' | 20 | Survival 55 | 1 | Any living creature you kill has a 15% chance to have the potent healing items thin red paste or blood sausage when looted. |
| Explorer | 20 | 1 | All locations are marked on your map. | |
| Grim Reaper's Sprint | 20 | 1 | A kill in V.A.T.S. restores 20 AP immediately. | |
| Ninja | 20 | Melee Weapons 80 OR Unarmed 80, Sneak 80 | 1 | Increase Critical Chance by 15% with melee and unarmed weapons and grants +25% damage with melee/unarmed sneak attack criticals. |
| Solar Powered | 20 | END 7 | 1 | +2 STR and +1 HP per second while outside, from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. |
| Irradiated Beauty | 22 | END 8 | 1 | Sleep removes all Rads (Hardcore: only -100 Rads). |
| Voracious Reader | 22 | INT 7 | 1 | Damaged books become blank magazines; can copy existing magazines into blank magazines. |
| Laser Commander | 22 | Energy Weapons 90 | 1 | You do an extra 15% damage and have a 10% extra chance to critically hit with any laser weapon. |
| Nuka Chemist | 22 | Science 90 | 1 | Unlocks special Nuka-Cola recipes at the workbench. |
| Spray and Pray | 22 | 1 | Your attacks do 75% less damage to companions. | |
| Slayer | 24 | STR 7, AGL 7, Unarmed 90 | 1 | The speed of all your melee and unarmed attacks is increased by 30%. |
| Broad Daylight | 24 | Sneak 70 | 1 | No Sneak penalty for using Pip-Boy light. |
| Certified Tech | 24 | Science 90 | 1 | +25% critical hit chance against robots, 85% chance of finding an extra crafting component on destroyed robots. |
| Nerves of Steel | 26 | AGL 7 | 1 | 20% faster AP regeneration. |
| Lessons Learned | 26 | INT 6 | 1 | +1% XP gain per player level. |
| Tunnel Runner | 26 | AGL 8 | 1 | +25% sneaking speed when wearing light or no armor. |
| Roughin' It | 28 | Survival 100 | 1 | Sleeping outside gives Well Rested benefit. |
| Rad Absorption | 28 | END 7 | 1 | -1 Rad every 2 seconds. |
| Implant GRX | 30 | END 8 | 2 | You gain a non-addictive subdermal turbo (chem) injector. This perk may be taken twice, with the second rank increasing the effect from 2 to 3 seconds and the uses per day from 3 to 5 (activated in the Pip-Boy inventory). |
| Burden to Bear | 30 | STR 6, END 6 | 1 | +50 carry weight. |
| Ain't Like That Now | 34 | Karma less than -250 | 1 | Karma reset to 0, +25% AP regeneration rate, +20% attack speed, immunity to critical hits. |
| Just Lucky I'm Alive | 34 | Karma between -250 and 250 | 1 | +4 LCK for 3 minutes upon finishing a battle with less than 25% health; immunity to critical hits, +50% critical damage. |
| Thought You Died | 34 | Karma at least 250 | 1 | +10 Health per 100 Karma; Karma reset to 0, +10% damage, immunity to critical hits. |