SPECIAL

SPECIAL is a seven-letter acronym; each letter corresponds to one of Fallout's seven primary statistics: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck.

Each SPECIAL point grants all 9 of its corresponding bonuses and if a character reaches 20 points in any of the stats, both Masteries are unlocked.

Some bonuses (such as the party point bonus scaling with Charisma) are tied to your base SPECIAL but many can be obtained from temporary increases as well. Most notably, SPECIAL masteries can be unlocked via drugs.

Basic SPECIAL bonuses

	Bonus 1	Bonus 2	Bonus 3	Bonus 4	Bonus 5	Bonus 6	Bonus 7	Bonus 8	Bonus 9	Mastery	Mastery 2
Strength	+5% carry weight[1]	+1 throwing range[2]	+2 melee damage[3]	+5% max hit chance[4]	+1 Heavy Handed malus	+5% chance to avoid crippled arms	+8% chance to resist knockback	+8% knockout/lost turn resistance (requires Stonewall)	+1 crit power resistance	+35% critical chance resistance	Extra melee damage for aimed attacks[5]
Perception	+3 sight range	+10% accuracy	+1 sneak detection (requires Binoculars)	+2 sequence	Improved trap detection[6]	+1% chance to avoid weapon condition loss	Reduces targets' armor class by 8	Better positioning in random encounters[7]	+1% chance to resist weakness	+20 to critical roll	See others' AP (current/max)
Endurance	+1 healing rate	+5 poison resistance	+2 radiation resistance[8]	+5% healing rate effectiveness	+0.1% Damage Protection	+1 explosive DT	+1 negative HP capacity[9]	+1 HP per level (up to lvl 18)	+0.5% lethal damage resistance	+5% Damage Protection	+6% HP
Charisma	+10 party points	+0.5% damage to NPCs	+0.2% Damage Protection against NPCs	+0.2 extra PvE perks	+2% more XP gained	+2% world map traveling speed	+0.25 to SPECIAL implant limit[10]	+0.1 to combat implant limit[10]	+10 companion skill points	+35 HP	+1 to WE stat limit
Intelligence	+3 skill points per level[11]	+1% to all skill caps	+2% slow power resistance	+1 skill point from books	+3% gear XP gained	-1s to replication cooldown	+10% Science for dismantling	+1 lethal damage	+0.5% DR penetration resistance	Immunity to electrical damage	Autoblocks attacks on a cooldown (2s per 1dmg blocked)
Agility	+0.33 action points	+0.25 TB action points	+3 armor class	+5 armor class cap	+5 AP Regen	-1 AP lost via knockout	+1% chance to repeat tick effects	+1 sequence with one-handed weapons	+0.5% critical chance resistance	-10% max hit chance for attackers	+5 action points
Luck	+1% critical chance	+1% critical power	+4% chance to avoid poison from NPCs	+5% chance to avoid crippled legs	+4% bonus critical chance for aimed attacks	+10% gear XP when crafting	+50 Engineering for armor condition loss calculation	+0.25 damage per bullet	+1 item luck	25% damage converted to lethal damage (or 50% on crit); -25% target's lethal protection	Armor doesn't break

1. ↑ Characters with the Small Frame trait receive only 3% additional carry weight capacity per point of Strength. (↑ back)
2. ↑ Base throwing range is 5. (↑ back)
3. ↑ Characters with the Bruiser trait receive an additional +1 to melee damage per point of Strength. (↑ back)
4. ↑ Applied as penalty reduction; soft-capped by equipped weapon's Strength requirement. (↑ back)
5. ↑ The bonus depends on the tier of your weapon. If it's T1, you get +20%; T2: +30%; T3: +50%; T4: +70%; T6: +100%. (↑ back)
6. ↑ Modifies how close you need to be to a trap to actually see it. (↑ back)
7. ↑ The higher your Perception, the further away from hostile critters you initially spawn. This effect may be limited by the map's available spawn points. (↑ back)
8. ↑ Characters with the Fast Metabolism trait receive only 1% radiation resistance per point of Endurance. (↑ back)
9. ↑ Characters with the Dead Man Walking support perk receive twice the normal bonus. (↑ back)
10. ↑ Characters with the Cyborg class perk do not receive this bonus. (↑ back)
11. ↑ Characters with the Gifted trait receive only 2 additional skill points per point of Intelligence. (↑ back)

PvP-exclusive SPECIAL bonuses

Stat	Bonus (per point)	Condition	Maximum bonus
Strength	+2% melee power	If you're faster than your opponent	+40% melee power
Perception	+1% normal/explosive/fire DR penetration	If you have higher critical chance than your opponent	+20% Normal/Explosive/Fire DR penetration
Endurance	+1% reduced chance to be hit	If you have more APs than your opponent	+20% reduced chance to be hit
Charisma	+1% DR penetration resistance	If you deal more melee damage than your opponent	+20% DR penetration resistance
Intelligence	+2% damage multiplier	If you have more HP than your opponent	+40% damage multiplier
Agility	+0.2 DT penetration	If you deal more damage per bullet than your opponent	+4 DT penetration
Luck	+1% critical power resistance	If you have more implants than your opponent	+20% critical power resistance

Gifted caps

Gifted is a trait that raises the SPECIAL cap to 40, allowing most of the bonuses to be acquired 40 times.

However, each stat has one bonus that remains capped at 20x even if you have the Gifted trait:

• Strength: +2 melee damage (3 with Bruiser)
• Perception: +3 sight range
• Endurance: +1 HP per level (up to level 18)
• Charisma: +0.25 SPECIAL implant limit (for non-Cyborgs)
• Intelligence: +0.5 DR penetration resistance
• Agility: +0.33 action points
• Luck: +1% critical power

Strength

Strength lets you carry more and punch harder.

Every character needs at least the amount of Strength that their weapon of choice requires due to the -5% max hit chance penalty for each missing point.

You can temporarily increase your Strength by taking drugs: Buffout (+2), Gamma Gulp Beer (+1), or Liver (+2, Cannibal only), or equipping armor with the Bonus Strength gear perk. If you're looking for something more permanent, consider installing Hypertrophy Accelerator implants, WE stats ST (T1) and S.HTH (T2), or picking the Gain Strength level perk.

• Each SPECIAL point invested in Strength gives you:
  • +5% carry weight capacity (reduced to 3% if you have the Small Frame trait)
  • +1 throwing range
  • +2 melee damage (or 3 if you have the Bruiser trait)
  • +5% max hit chance (applied as weapon Strength requirement penalty reduction until the penalty is fully neutralized)
  • +1 Strength for the Heavy Handed effect calculation
  • +5% chance to resist having your arms crippled
  • +8% chance to resist knockback
  • +8% knockout/lost turn resistance (requires Stonewall)
  • +1% critical power resistance
• If you manage to raise your Strength all the way up to 20, you will be rewarded with the following Strength Mastery bonuses:
  • +35% critical chance resistance
  • Extra melee damage for aimed attacks that scales with the tier of your weapon (if it's T1, you get +20%; T2: +30%; T3: +50%; T4: +70%; T6: +100%)

Perception

Perception allows you to spot potential threats before they spot you.

Every character should have at least the amount of Perception required to take full advantage of their weapon's range.

You can temporarily increase your Perception by smoking Cigarettes (+1), or eating Eyes (+2, Cannibal only), or equipping armor with the Bonus Perception gear perk. If you're looking for something more permanent, consider installing Optics Enhancer implants, WE stats PE (T1) and S.RNG (T2) , or picking the Gain Perception level perk.

• Each SPECIAL point invested in Perception gives you:
  • +3 sight range
  • +10 accuracy
  • +1 sneak detection (requires Binoculars)
  • +2 sequence
  • Improved trap detection
  • +1% chance for your weapon to fire without losing any condition
  • -8 to targets' armor class
  • Better positioning in random encounters
  • +1% chance to resist Weakness
• If you manage to raise your Perception all the way up to 20, you will be rewarded with the following Perception Mastery bonuses:
  • +20 to critical roll
  • Ability to see other characters' current/maximum action points