It can be difficult to get started in the popular and highly-modable Fallout: New Vegas, especially if this is your first in the Fallout series. There are a lot of stats to choose from, including Strength, Luck, Perception, and more. These traits will affect how your character performs at the beginning of the game, but you will be able to expand on them further as you progress.
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At the beginning, you’ll have more than 30 points to allocate between all seven stats. You’ll want to consider these points deeply, especially if you have a particular fighting style that you prefer. Here are some of the best ways to allocate your stats at the beginning of this beloved open-world game.
Updated on February 8, 2026, by Mark Sammut: To help players who are relative beginners, we have added a section explaining Fallout New Vegas’s stats, just to add more context to the subsequent builds.
What Are Fallout: New Vegas’s Stats? And, What Do They Mean?
A Crash Course In FNV’s Seven Stats
Known as the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system, every Fallout: New Vegas player has seven stats to play around with: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. Depending on how you spread your starting SPECIAL points into these stats, you will gain access to Traits, Skills, and Perks, and the latter two will evolve as you progress through the game.
Here is a crucial point to keep in mind: You cannot respec your stats after assigning them at the beginning of Fallout: New Vegas. You are stuck with the character you birthed, and you will need to start a new playthrough to change things. Consequently, every player must have a good understanding of what each stat represents, just so they can make an informed choice and not end up with a build that they cannot stand for more than a couple of hours.
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Stat |
Description |
A Few Associated Perks |
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Strength |
Directly connected to close-quarters damage and weapons, this stat is vital for builds that will focus on combat. However, Strength is especially crucial for melee builds, as each level grants a higher damage bonus and Skill Modifier for melee weapons. Also, the higher your Strength, the more you can carry. |
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Perception |
Useful for characters who want to stay a step ahead of enemies, Perception improves your detection, lockpicking, explosive expertise, and energy weapons proficiency. |
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Endurance |
One of the more self-explanatory stats, Endurance makes it so you can tank a hit and heal quicker from it. The higher the stat, the more of a survivor you become, and that includes higher resistance to hazards like radiation. |
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Charisma |
If you want to talk your way through Nevada, make sure to invest heavily in your Charisma. You will be able to sweet-talk companions to make them more useful in combat and barter for better prices. |
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Intelligence |
Do not underestimate this stat, as Intelligence impacts how many skill points you get for each level. It is arguably the most important stat in Fallout: New Vegas, as it also directly impacts crucial survival skills like Medicine and Repair. |
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Agility |
Similar to Intelligence’s influence on skill points, Agility does the same for action points, which impact how efficiently you can use V.A.T.S. |
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Luck |
Luck is often useless in most games, but that is not the case in Fallout, including New Vegas. The higher your stat, the better your skills become. For example, if you have Luck level 8, all your skills will be +4. |
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Best Starting Stats: Melee
Most Important Stats: Strength, Luck, & Endurance
For those who prefer to get up close and personal with their enemies, a melee style is the best choice. To enhance your stats to better fit this style, here’s where you should apply your points.
- Strength: 7
- Perception: 5
- Endurance: 8
- Charisma: 1
- Intelligence: 6
- Agility: 4
- Luck: 9
For starting skills, you’ll want to choose Melee Weapons, Medicine (or Survival), and Science (or Lockpick). Since you won’t be focusing on guns much, you’ll be better off choosing the Melee Weapons skill to enhance your abilities when using these types of weapons. Medicine or Survival is crucial for melee builds because you will probably be receiving the most damage from enemies out of the three builds due to the proximity of melee weapons. Science or Lockpick is necessary as well since you’ll need to be able to get through locked areas.
As for the two best traits to choose, you’ll want Built to Destroy and Kamikaze. Built to Destroy will give you a higher chance of getting Critical Hits, while Kamikaze will boost your Action Points significantly, which can be incredibly helpful in V.A.T.S. If you don’t plan on focusing on V.A.T.S., just take Built to Destroy.
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Best Starting Stats: Sniper
Most Important Stats: Intelligence, Luck, & Agility
This style is best for those who like to use sniper rifles and take out their enemies from incredible distances. This will also be a build that is focused on stealth and avoiding up-close fighting. Here’s how to allocate your stat points.
- Strength: 5
- Perception: 5
- Endurance: 4
- Charisma: 1
- Intelligence: 9
- Agility: 7
- Luck: 9
As for the best starting skills for a sniper build, you’ll want to choose Sneak, Guns, and Science (or Lockpick). These skills will allow you to remain undetected as a Sniper, while also making sure that your weapons take out enemies from afar in just a few hits. Science or Lockpick will be important for you as you reach new areas. You won’t be able to get very far if you don’t have one of these two unlocked.
As for the two traits you can pick, give yourself Small Frame and Built to Destroy. Small Frame will give you an additional Agility point, which will give you a higher chance of getting a headshot in V.A.T.S. Built to Destroy will allow you to also get a higher chance of getting a Critical Hit.
Best Starting Stats: Gunner
Most Important Stats: Intelligence & Luck
For this build, a gunner will be your typical all-rounder. You’ll focus more on using medium-range weapons like an Assault Rifle. If you prefer to take your enemies head-on but don’t want to get too close, like with melee weapons, this is a good option for you. Here’s how to allocate your stat points.
- Strength: 5
- Perception: 4
- Endurance: 6
- Charisma: 1
- Intelligence: 10
- Agility: 6
- Luck: 8
For the starting skills for a Gunner build, you’ll want to choose Guns, Repair, and Lockpick (or Science). Repair will be a necessary skill for this build since you will be using ammunition the most out of the three builds. This skill will allow you to easily fix weapons and create additional ammunition.
As for your two traits, choose Built to Destroy and Good Natured. Built to Destroy won’t affect you much since you have the Repair skill, so you’ll be able to easily repair your weapons when they decay. Good Natured will allow you to improve your Repair skills even further.
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Best Starting Stats: Tank
Most Important Stats: Strength & Perception
Finally, for those players who are looking for a build that provides a substantial amount of protection and defense, as well as a high amount of strength and ability to use hefty weapons, like a Mini-Gun, the Tank build is the best option for you. Here’s how you can allocate your stat points.
- Strength: 8
- Perception: 7
- Endurance: 6
- Charisma: 4
- Intelligence: 6
- Agility: 4
- Luck: 5
As you choose your starting Skills for the Tank build, the best options here are Guns, Explosives, and Repair. If you’d rather use weapons like Gatling Lasers, you can swap Guns for Energy Weapons. This option and Explosives are a necessity for Tanks to take out enemies in only a few hits.
For the two traits that you can pick at the start, we recommend taking Fast Shot and Loose Cannon. Loose Cannon will be especially useful since you will have the ability as a Tank to get up close to enemies, and you will be able to throw your grenades much faster. Fast Shot will also increase the speed of your Guns and Energy Weapons, though you will be less accurate.
