Understanding Traits in Fallout New Vegas
Fallout New Vegas is renowned for its player choice, and that all starts in character creation. Picking the right traits can mean the difference between a cakewalk in the Mojave Wasteland and a constant struggle for survival. The dusty landscape hides danger around every corner, and your carefully selected characteristics will greatly determine how you navigate those challenges. This guide will break down some traits to make the wasteland a little easier, helping you create a character tailored to your preferred playstyle and maximize your effectiveness in the Mojave Wasteland. Prepare to analyze how to optimize your Courier and dominate the Mojave.
Traits are permanent character attributes that are selected during character creation in Fallout New Vegas. Unlike skills, which can be improved over time, traits are fixed and offer distinct advantages or disadvantages that remain throughout your entire playthrough. You are limited to choosing only two traits when you start, making each selection particularly critical. These are not like the character defining skills; they are fixed attributes from the start.
The impact of traits on gameplay is significant. A trait might affect your ability to pass dialogue checks, your effectiveness in combat, your resource management, or your overall survival in the harsh environment. For instance, someone taking a trait like “Good Natured” starts with bonuses to certain skills but takes a hit to combat skills. This choice significantly impacts how you approach conflicts and the kind of role-playing options you’ll be inclined to pursue. While the *Old World Blues* expansion does provide a means to respec your traits later in the game, relying on that alone isn’t a sustainable strategy. It’s far better to make informed decisions early on to optimize your character from the beginning. Choosing traits that complement your intended playstyle ensures a smoother and more enjoyable journey through the wasteland.
Top Traits for Combat Focused Builds
For those who prefer to meet the challenges of the Mojave with guns blazing, these traits are essential for maximizing your combat effectiveness.
Bloody Mess
This trait turns every encounter into a gory spectacle. With Bloody Mess, all enemies have a greatly increased chance of exploding into a bloody mess upon death, regardless of weapon used. More than just visual flair, this trait provides a flat five percent damage bonus to all attacks.
The appeal of Bloody Mess extends beyond the entertainment value of seeing enemies explode. The damage bonus provides a tangible advantage, especially during the early game when resources and powerful weapons are scarce. Every little bit of extra damage helps overcome tougher enemies and survive challenging encounters. There are not really any drawbacks to picking this trait. More damage and more gore is something anyone can love.
Built to Destroy
This trait is perfect for players who thrive on dealing critical hits. Built to Destroy provides a three percent increase to your critical hit chance, making your attacks more likely to land devastating blows. However, this bonus comes at a cost: your weapons degrade fifteen percent faster than normal.
The power of critical hits in Fallout New Vegas cannot be overstated. Critical hits bypass enemy armor and deal significant bonus damage, making them essential for taking down heavily armored foes or quickly eliminating weaker enemies. Built to Destroy enhances the effectiveness of builds that focus on maximizing critical hit chance through perks, equipment, and weapon modifications. The drawback of increased weapon degradation can be mitigated by investing in the Repair skill or obtaining the Jury Rigging perk, which allows you to repair weapons using similar weapon types.
Fast Shot
For players who prefer a rapid fire approach to combat, Fast Shot is a valuable trait. It allows you to fire weapons twenty percent faster, greatly increasing your damage output in close quarters engagements. However, this comes at the cost of twenty percent reduced accuracy.
Fast Shot shines in situations where you need to quickly eliminate targets at close range. It’s particularly effective with automatic weapons, shotguns, and other weapons that benefit from a high rate of fire. The reduced accuracy can be a hindrance at longer ranges, but this can be compensated for with skill investment and gun modifications. Remember to always aim down the sights.
Top Traits for Social and Skill Focused Builds
Not all players enjoy engaging in direct combat. For those who prefer to talk their way out of situations, solve problems through ingenuity, or rely on stealth, these traits offer distinct advantages.
Four Eyes
This trait is a simple but effective way to boost your Perception stat early in the game. While wearing glasses, your Perception is increased by one point. Without glasses, it decreases by one point.
Perception is a crucial stat for several skills, including Lockpicking, Explosives, and Energy Weapons. It also influences your ability to detect enemies on the world map. Four Eyes provides an easy and consistent way to enhance these skills, especially during the early game when stat points are limited. The drawback of needing to wear glasses is easily managed, as glasses are common and readily available throughout the Mojave Wasteland.
Skilled
For players who want a head start in multiple skills, Skilled provides a significant boost. This trait grants a five-point bonus to all skills but reduces experience gained by ten percent.
The benefits of Skilled are most apparent during the early game, when those five extra points can make the difference between passing a skill check and failing. It allows you to access more dialogue options, bypass obstacles, and craft better items from the very beginning. The reduced experience gain is a drawback that can affect your leveling speed in the long run.
Small Frame
This trait gives you an extra point in Agility, which can be a pivotal skill during gameplay. The downside is that limbs break easier.
Getting that extra point in Agility is essential, as Agility is an extremely useful stat for action points and certain skill checks. More points mean more action points for the V.A.T.S. system, which allows you to perform actions in combat. You will be using more Doctor’s bags and stimpaks, but the versatility from this skill can make up for that.
Top Traits for Survival and Utility Builds
The Mojave Wasteland is a harsh and unforgiving environment. These traits will help you stay alive, manage your resources effectively, and make the most of your surroundings.
Good Natured
If you want to be a good guy, or someone who makes friends, this trait can help you on your journey. This trait gives you plus five to Speech, Medicine, Science, Repair, and Barter, which can help you during conversations and navigating the wasteland. However, it reduces your effectiveness in combat skills.
This is an excellent choice for non combat playthroughs, or for when you are starting out in the game and want to pass early skill checks. There are drawbacks, as you will be less effective in combat skills. However, if you level up as you go, the differences between combat skills and helpful skills should even out.
Wild Wasteland
This trait is all about injecting some unexpected humor and randomness into your playthrough. Wild Wasteland increases the frequency of bizarre encounters, references, and easter eggs throughout the game. While these encounters are generally harmless, it may slightly alter some quests.
The main appeal of Wild Wasteland is that it makes the game more fun and surprising. You never know what wacky situation you might stumble into, which keeps the exploration fresh and engaging. The minor alterations to quests are typically minor and can add to the overall experience. Not ideal for players who want a strictly ‘canon’ experience.
Honorable Mentions
While the traits listed above are generally considered to be among the most useful, there are several other traits that can be beneficial for specific builds or playstyles. Hot Blooded, is a decent selection for Melee builds that want to increase damage output. Heavy Handed for a very specific melee build.
Traits to Avoid
Not all traits are created equal. Some traits offer minimal benefits, while others come with drawbacks that significantly outweigh any potential advantages. It’s important to be aware of these traits and avoid them during character creation.
Claustrophobia is generally considered to be a negative trait. This trait causes your character to suffer a penalty to their attributes while indoors. This can be a major disadvantage in a game where you spend a significant amount of time exploring buildings, caves, and other enclosed spaces. Trigger Discipline is situational at best.
Conclusion
Choosing the right traits can dramatically affect your experience in the Mojave Wasteland. Whether you prefer to be a combat expert, a smooth talker, or a resourceful survivor, there are traits that can help you achieve your goals. Remember, the ‘best’ trait is subjective and depends on your playstyle and the kind of character you want to create. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different trait combinations to find what works best for you. Share your favorite trait combinations in the comments below!
In the end, the Mojave Wasteland is your canvas. Choose your traits wisely, and paint a masterpiece. With careful planning and the right traits, you can dominate the challenges of the Mojave and emerge as a true legend.
