Fallout: New Vegas Best Traits Revealed (All Traits Ranked Worst to Best)
Traits can help set you up for a successful trip through the Wasteland.
What are traits in Fallout: New Vegas and how can they improve your playthrough?
Whether you’re looking for a taste of nostalgia or taking your first trip to the wasteland, Fallout: New Vegas offers endless chances to build a custom character. Traits modify your gameplay, giving you a bonus in one area at the cost of a drawback to another.
I’ve recently discovered the joys of mods for New Vegas, as you can see with many of the weapons, outfits, monsters, and overall graphic quality for many of my screenshots. Mods let me experience the New Vegas world in an entirely new way. I’ve been considering a series about the Tale of Two Wastelands, which combines Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas into a single playable world.
Up to two traits can be chosen during character creation and can help set the tone for the game. But what traits are the most effective? Between the base game and Old World Blues DLC, there are 16 traits available. Let’s rank them to see which is best!
16. Claustrophobia (Old World Blues)
Claustrophobia is good for people who don't care much about exploring the interior locations in Fallout.
Claustrophobia is a trait added with the Old World Blues DLC pack. This is my least favorite perk and not one I would ever choose. It grants a +1 bonus to all S.P.E.C.I.A.L. skills while outside, which is useful while exploring the landscape. But the penalty the player takes while inside is simply not worth it. You will be required to be inside to complete many of the quests and putting yourself at disadvantage just doesn’t make sense.
Claustrophobia Details:
Bonus — +1 to S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes while outside
Drawback — -1 to S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes while indoors
Why Claustrophobia is Unique:
- There are tons of places to explore outside in the Wasteland and the boost to all skills is nice.
- One of the activities players enjoy most in the wasteland is exploring the buildings left behind. Additionally, a lot of the combat you’ll take on in New Vegas happens inside, and a -1 penalty to all S.P.E.C.I.A.L. skills could mean the difference between living and dying—or failing to pick a lock/hack a terminal.
- Because of the way the game defines “indoors,” (buildings, caves, all locations not in the open world) this perk is only activated if the player transitions through a loading screen to reach a new area. Several unexpected locations are considered “outside,” such as Higgs Village, the cocktail lounge and penthouse of the Lucky 38, NCR Sharecropper greenhouses, and the REPCONN test site launch platform.
Check it out here.
15. Trigger Discipline
With Trigger Discipline, you'll be the most accurate shot in the West.
For me, speed is more valuable than accuracy, as that’s easier to boost elsewhere. I’m not a huge fan of this one, but I can see where it has its uses. Overall, losing damage per second (DPS) is too great a cost for me. There are other ways to improve firing accuracy, like crouching and using Steady, or boosting it through perks. Fully automatic weapons are not affected by Trigger Discipline, which instead falls under Fast Shot.
Trigger Discipline Details:
Bonus — Guns and energy weapons you fire are 20% more accurate
Drawback — Guns and energy weapons (except full-automatic) you fire have a 20% reduced rate of fire, and Action Point (AP) costs for your guns and energy weapons are 20% higher
Why Trigger Discipline is Unique:
- The Trigger Discipline and Fast Shot traits actively work against each other. I highly recommend against this combination. Taken together, the two traits result in a 4% decrease in both attack speed and accuracy.
- This trait can become more useful if you take it with certain perks. If you’re playing with a sniper build, where speed is not as much of a factor, Trigger Disciple becomes much more useful.
- Taking this trait alongside the Commando and Gunslinger perks can result in a nearly 88% headshot accuracy bonus in V.A.T.S. The Ain’t Like That Now perk taken with Trigger Discipline reduces the fire rate penalty down to 4%.
Check it out here.
14. Hot Blooded (Old World Blues)
If you're willing to get a little bloody, this trait is great for rampaging.
Also included with the Old World Blues DLC content, this is another trait that doesn’t mesh well with my play style. I actively avoid getting below 50% health, and I find the damage boost isn’t worth the cost here, especially with the penalty.
Hot Blooded Details:
Bonus — +15% damage increase while below 50% health
Drawback — -2 to Perception and Agility while below 50% health
Why Hot Blooded is Unique:
- While melee and some specialized builds can benefit from the damage boost, I tend to go for a more hybrid build and play on the highest difficulty. Because of that, I find other traits are more useful to me than Hot Blooded. I don’t want to take significant damage to access the damage boost.
- This trait doesn’t do much if you are above 50% health, so it is usually easy to avoid the drawback.
Check it out here.
13. Small Frame
I tend not to use this trait, as healing a crippled limb on higher difficulties requires a Doctor’s Bag or finding an actual doctor. While I don’t use it and didn’t rank it high on this list, I can see why it would be useful to others. Unlike most of the traits granting S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points, this one applies to perks that require a certain Agility level.
Small Frame Details:
Bonus — +1 Agility
Drawback — Fragile Limbs (Your limbs take 25% extra damage)
Why Small Frame is Unique:
- The increased limb damage penalty isn’t too much of a pain at the lower difficulties, but with the way I play, it’s just not for me.
- I’d also like to note that this trait does not affect the hit point (HP) damage you take, just how quickly your limbs break.
- This trait can be removed through the Sink Auto-Doc, and if you do, any perks already taken using the Agility bonus will not be lost. Also, most of the limb damage penalty can be mitigated by completing the Tough Guy challenge (have your limbs crippled 50 times) and earning a 20% limb damage reduction.
Check it out here.
12. Kamikaze
For when you just need a little extra oompf to shoot the bad guys.
I am not a fan of Kamikaze. You gain an extra 10% AP, but your DT drops by 2 and damage resistance by 15%. This is far too high a cost for me when 10 AP can easily be gained through Agility, which other traits offer.
Kamikaze Details:
Bonus — +10% Action Points
Drawback — -2 Damage Threshold (DT) and -15% Damage Resistance
Why Kamikaze is Unique:
- I’m sure some builds can take advantage of this, but the bonus is too small to make up for the drawback, in my opinion.
- Compensate for the loss with the Toughness perk.
- The loss to DT doesn’t matter much if you are wearing power armor.
Check it out here.
11. Four Eyes
Need an extra set of eyes?
This trait would be much more useful if the Perception bonus was applied toward qualifying for Perks. Because it doesn’t, this trait never ranks high for me. I find Perception to be an incredibly valuable skill and taking this trait lowers your base Perception stat by one.
Four Eyes Details:
Bonus — +2 Perception while wearing glasses. Bonus does not apply to Perk requirements
Drawback — -1 Perception reduction without glasses. Penalty applies to Perk requirements
Why Four Eyes is Unique:
- There is a pair of glasses in Doc Mitchell’s house the player can grab at the start of the game, which helps negate some of the drawback of this trait.
- If you boost your Perception to 7 during character creation, you will still qualify for the Perception—
- based perks.
- If the Courier’s Perception is set to either 10 or 1 at character creation, this trait cannot be taken. The Lucky Shades grant +3 to Perception, while most glasses only grant +2. Biker Goggles are not affected by this trait.
Check it out here.
10. Loose Cannon
There's nothing like throwing an ax at your enemies. Now you can throw it faster!
The trait works by increasing your attack speed by 30% and reducing the AP consumption by 30% for thrown weapons. However, 25% of the thrown weapon’s speed is lost, meaning it will not travel as far. Forcing the Courier closer to the enemy can be particularly dangerous if the thrown weapon is an explosive of some sort.
Loose Cannon Details:
Bonus — Attack speed with thrown weapons increased by 30%
Drawback — Thrown weapons have 25% less range
Why Loose Cannon is Unique:
- This trait does not affect hit percentage at all in V.A.T.S., so you can negate the drawback if you make sure to always use it.
- You will occasionally still miss even with a high hit chance in V.A.T.S. because the enemy is out of range.
- The penalty can be negated by taking the Heave, Ho! perk later in the game, which increases thrown weapon speed and distance by 50%. I don’t use thrown weapons very often. If I must be even closer to my enemy, I’m taking the melee route.
Check it out here.
9. Heavy Handed
Get up close and personal with Mojave monsters and take them out by hand.
This trait is a solid option for a melee build. There are other ways to boost your critical hit chance to make up for the drawback. The constant extra damage boost will have you cutting your way through the Wasteland in no time.Heavy Handed Details:
Bonus — Melee and unarmed attacks do 20% more damage
Drawback — Melee and unarmed attacks do 60% less critical hit damage
Why Heavy Handed in Unique:
- For a melee build, this trait can be a good option. Most of New Vegas’ melee weapons have low critical hit damage anyway, so you aren’t losing that much. Because the 20% bonus is guaranteed for all normal hits, you still come out ahead.
- Stealth melee builds might want to avoid this one though. Sneak attack critical hits would be ruined with Heavy Handed. Characters with frequent critical hits should stay away, too.
Check it out here.
8. Built to Destroy
This trait tends to cost a lot... in weapon repairs.
With this trait, hits with all the Courier’s weapons are 3% more likely to result in a critical strike, but it does come with higher maintenance costs. This is a mid-level trait for me because it can be quite useful, but if you forget to keep an eye on weapon condition, it could be trouble.
Built to Destroy Details:
Bonus — +3% critical hit chance
Drawback — Weapon condition decays 15% faster
Why Built to Destroy is Unique:
- I am a bit of a hoarder in the Wastelands, so money is usually not an issue for me after the first few hours of a new game. Critical hits are always useful, and the Built to Destroy trait equals out to three points of Luck. This trait is a must for builds based on critical hits.
- There are multiple ways to negate the condition decay increase. A high repair skill and the Jury Rigging perk can counter the weapon degrade rate, making Built to Destroy a solid choice.
- ED-E can repair your weapon once a day for free, once the eyebot is upgraded. Raul the ghoul is also a valuable companion, as his Regular Maintenance perk makes all equipment degrade 50% slower.
Check it out here.
7. Good Natured
I'm pretty sure I can talk my way out of this.
I like fighting too much to take this trait seriously. I can be a lot more of a murder hobo than a diplomat. But for those wanting to walk the path of the pacifist, you can’t beat the Good Natured trait.
Good Natured Details:
Bonus — Increase Speech, Medicine, Repair, Science, and Barter skills by 5
Drawback — Decrease Energy Weapons, Explosives, Guns, Melee Weapons, and Unarmed skills by 5
Why Good Natured is Unique:
- Quite a bit of the violent situations in New Vegas can be avoided through speech or skill checks. Taken early on, a player could drastically change the outcome of many interactions with this trait.
- Similar to previous Fallout games, you can tag one of these weapon skills during character creation and negate some of the drawback of this trait.
Check it out here.
6. Logan’s Loophole (OWB)
It's all about efficiency.
I ranked this trait higher because the level cap can be removed by visiting the Sink Auto-Doc in Old World Blues. For the first 30 levels, the Courier can go wild with their chems, which will last twice as long and cause no addiction. Then just remove the level cap when ready to move on.
Logan’s Loophole Details:
Bonus — Chems last twice as long and are not addictive
Drawback — Level cap is locked at 30 instead of 50
Why Logan’s Loophole is Unique:
- Logan’s Loophole is useful for those who feel the Courier becomes too overpowered at level 50 and want to keep a lower power structure in place for both the player and NPCs. Level 30 is plenty strong enough to finish the game and all DLCs.
- Chems offer a wide range of effects and undeniably add to gameplay as a whole. Being able to partake with no side effects and essentially no drawback makes Logan’s Loophole a valuable trait.
Check it out here.
5. Early Bird (OWB)
They always say, "the early bird gets the worm."
For those playing outside of Hardcore mode, the Early Bird trait is top tier. It grants +2 to all S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. From 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., the Courier suffers from a -1 penalty to all S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats. However, outside of Hardcore mode, you can wait until morning in most places at no cost. This lets you keep the +2 bonus active all the time with little effort.
Early Bird Details:
Bonus — +2 to S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes during the hours of 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Drawback — -1 to S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes during the hours of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Why Early Bird is Unique:
- This trait works extremely well with the Night Person perk, which gives a +1 Intelligence and +1 Perception at night to mitigate some of the drawback.
- Early Bird also goes well with the Solar Powered perk, which gives +2 Strength while in sunlight.
Check it out here.
4. Fast Shot
Go ahead. Make my day.
Fast Shot is always a top-tier trait for me. Passively increasing your fire rate for all weapons while reducing accuracy by 20%. I tend to think that speed is more important than accuracy in this particular Wasteland.
Fast Shot Details:
Bonus— Guns and energy weapons fire 20% faster, and AP cost is 20% lower in V.A.T.S.
Drawback— You are 20% less accurate with guns and energy weapons
Why Fast Shot is Unique:
- Hitting the target can be made easier in other ways, like using V.A.T.S. and taking various chems, and Fast Shot gives you a noticeable boost to speed not available anywhere else in the game.
- This trait is cemented as a solid choice with the knowledge that you can completely negate the accuracy penalty by taking the Gunslinger and Commando perks.
- Do not take this trait alongside Trigger Discipline, as it will result in an overall 4% loss of speed and accuracy.
Check it out here.
3. Skilled (OWB)
I have a very particular set of skills.
Skilled is arguably one of the best traits available. It grants a total of 65 skill points and the experience penalty can be mostly negated through the first rank of the Swift Learner perk. I highly recommend this combination. The Well Rested bonus is another way to get around most of the experience loss.
Skilled Details:
Bonus— Gain +5 points to every skill
Drawback— You suffer from -10% experience gained
Why Skilled is Unique:
- I have never found the experience lacking in New Vegas. It is freely available, and if anything, I find the 10% penalty to extend the game and be an overall positive thing for me. Once you leave Goodsprings, levels tend to come fast and relatively easy. I favor long games and enjoy having to work for milestones.
- Skilled is the only trait that offers bonuses to the Sneak, Lockpick, and Survival skills. It is a great choice for anyone considering a stealth build.
- If you choose Skilled during character creation, you will experience its normal effects. But, if you re-apply Skilled when revising your character before heading into the Wasteland, you can enjoy double the positive effects for the same 10% experience gain penalty. The drawback of this trait can also be removed at the Sink Auto-Doc, leaving the positive effects.
Check it out here.
2. Hoarder (Old World Blues)
I pick up every single thing I can. Someone needs to clean up the Wasteland.
I tend to pick up everything I can get my hands on, whether to build my collection or to sell. This trait is a must-have for me. I rarely have less than 160 pounds of equipment in my bag at any given time, so the drawback is nothing, and carry weight is something the player completely controls.
Hoarder Details:
Bonus — +25 pounds to carry weight
Drawback — -1 to S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes while carrying less than 160 pounds
Why Hoarder is Unique:
- In Hardcore mode, ammunition has weight and makes it even easier to maintain the required load.
- If the Courier finds the NCR Courier Duster from Ulysses, it grants +1 Endurance and another +25 Carry Weight.
- Combined with the Courier Duster, Burden to Bear, and Strong Back perks, the Courier can get to a total carry weight of 400 pounds.
Check it out here:
1. Wild Wasteland
Things are about to get weird.
Wild Wasteland is a trait that adds a bit of the quirky and unusual to the world of New Vegas. I personally enjoy things outside the ordinary and this one is another must-have trait for me.
Wild Wasteland Details:
Bonus — Adds additional “wacky” content and modifies existing content and S.P.E.C.I.A.L. encounters
Drawback — Access to some “sane” content removed
You crashed into the wrong Wasteland, pal.
Why Wild Wasteland is Unique:
- Aliens and Fallout just belong together in my opinion. After all, what’s an apocalypse without some extra-terrestrials? The only way to encounter friendly aliens (and gain the Alien Blaster gun) in New Vegas is through the Wild Wasteland trait. You will need to stealth kill the hostile alien commander before approaching to meet the friendly aliens.
- From a gang of grandmothers swinging by for a mugging to Rodents of Unusual Size, players can expect the unexpected with the Wild Wasteland trait. It adds or modifies a total of 15 encounters throughout New Vegas, as well as affecting numerous base game things.
Check it out here.
You may also be interested in:
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- [Top 10] Fallout New Vegas Best Armor Mods
- [Top 15] Best Fallout New Vegas Mods For A Brand New Experience
- [Top 10] Fallout New Vegas Best Weapons And How To Get Them
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