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Fallout 3

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Additional Perks

By
Nathan Garvin

Additional perks are quest-based perks that you can get for completing specific quests specific ways. These are entirely missable, so they bear planning for BEFORE you start the quest.

Ant Might

Benefit: 25% resistance to fire, +1 bonus to Strength.

You’ll get to choose one of two injections as a reward from Doctor Lesko for completing the objectives he gives you during the quest “Those!” . You only get one, so choose what fits your character and play style best.

Ant Sight

Benefit: 25% resistance to fire, +1 bonus to Perception.

You’ll get to choose one of two injections as a reward from Doctor Lesko for completing the objectives he gives you during the quest “Those!” . You only get one, so choose what fits your character and play style best.

Auto Axpert (The Pitt)

Benefit: You’ve become an expert with the Auto Axe. You do +25% damage whenever you use it. Vroom.

You get this perk when you collect 10 steel Ingots. I don’t know about anybody else, but I didn’t really need any other weapons for The Pitt other than the Auto Axe. Getting 25% extra damage on these excellent Melee Weapons is a very welcome perk indeed.

Barkskin

Benefit: 5% damage reduction

Finish the quest “Oasis” by completing Harold’s objective. It beats the other rewards.

Booster Shot (The Pitt)

Benefit: Radiation Resistance +10%

Complete the quest “Free Labor” in the Pitt.

Covert Ops (Operation: Anchorage!)

Find all ten pieces of Intel during the “Operation: Anchorage!” expansion and you’ll get this perk… which seems to be strictly cosmetic.

Dream Crusher

Benefit: -50% chance to suffer a critical hit.

You can get this perk by convincing Moira to stop working on the Wasteland Survival Guide.

You won’t suffer many critical hits in this game already, and overall, they don’t seem to creep out of nowhere and ruin your day like in Fallout 1 & 2. Still, if you think it’s for you… look at the reward for finishing the quest first, then decide.

Ghoul Ecology (Point Lookout)

Benefit: +5 damage against Ghouls.

You get this perk from reading Plik’s Journal in the Coastal Grotto. Normally, a perk this limited wouldn’t seem all that great. Ghouls, even Glowing Ones, aren’t enough of a threat that you’d need the extra damage. With Feral Ghoul Reavers added into the game though… any help is welcome. And hey, it’s free. What’s even better is the fact that the game apparently applies this damage to everything, and not just Ghouls. Another +5 damage perk from Point Lookout that doesn’t work right-to your benefit. Its effects stack when dealing with rapid-fire weapons, causing guns like the 10mm Submachine Gun and the Chinese Assault Rifle to present damage totals that are simply silly.

Hematophage

Benefit: You can drink a Blood Pack to get healed for 20 Hit Points, instead of the usual 1 Hit Point. You can also sell Blood Packs for 15 caps.

Complete the quest “Blood Ties” by making a deal between the ‘vampires’ and Arefu. This… perk is of limited use, but still, why not?

Junior Survivor

Benefit: Varies based on post-quest responses (see table).

Response Reward
Normal +5 Hit Points
Smart +2 Medicine, +2 Science
Tough +2 Damage Resistance
Sneaky +2 Sneak, +2 Speech
Snide +1% Critical Hit Chance
Always +2% Poison and Radiation Resistance

Okay… When you complete quests for Moira, you’ll get a number of answers to choose depending on your stats. If you do few or none of the sidequests, or if you lie to Moira at any point, you’ll end up with the Junior Survivor perk, which is the worst of the bunch. Try and do ALL of her sidequests for the best benefits. You may have to do some drugs to raise your attributes if they’re not high enough. Buffout to raise Strength, or Mentats to raise Intelligence, for example, before you talk to Moira. Considering the rewards, acting tough or being a smartass are the two best ways to go. Damage Resistance is always nice, and so are Critical Hits. You’ll just have to choose whether you’d like x% Damage Resistance, or x% critical hit. You’ll always get the Poison and Radiation Resistance, no matter how you answer. If you complete a certain number of Moira’s optional objectives, you’ll get a better version of this perk..

Pitt Fighter (The Pitt)

Benefit: Damage and Radiation Resistance +3%

Commplete the pit fighting portion of The Pitt. An extremely easy quest, and an extremely rewarding one.

Power Armor Training

Benefit: You can wear Power Armor.

After the quest “The Waters of Life” is complete, you can get Elder Lyons to give you permission to recieve the training. Talk to Paladin Gunny in the Citadel to recieve this perk. You’ll also get this perk for completing the quest “Operation: Anchorage!” . Power Armor is cool… so long as it’s the Enclave kind. Get, wear it, love it. Do the whole sci-fi black knight thing. You know you want to.

Punga Power! (Point Lookout)

Benefit: Boosts radiation recovery from eating Punga Fruits.

You get this perk for completing the Walking with Spirits quest in Point Lookout.

Rad Limb Healing

Benefit: You’ll regenerate crippled limbs when you are suffering from Advanced Radiation Poisoning (400+ Rads).

During the quest “ The Wasteland Survival Guide: Get Radiated!“ if you meet the sub-objective of suffering from Advanced Radiation Poisoning (600+ rads) you’ll get this perk.

Okay, well, granted there aren’t all that many opportunities for you to use this perk-ideally you don’t want 400+ rads-it’s still handy to get. Keep in mind that if you choose to be a Dream Crusher , you can’t, obviously, get this perk.

Superior Defender

Benefit: +5 damage and +10 armor when standing still.

Get this perk by completing “The Local Flavor” quest in the Point Lookout DLC. Despite its misleading language, you are almost always standing still, as far as the game is concerned, especially if you V.A.T.S. often. You can count this as a flat bonus to damage and armor, and a hefty one. This is a rather ridiculously strong perk.

Survivor Expert

Benefit: Varies based on post-quest responses (see table)

Response Reward
Normal +10 Hit Points
Smart +4 Medicine, +4 Science
Tough +4 Damage Resistance
Sneaky +4 Sneak, +4 Speech
Snide +2% Critical Hit Chance
Always +4% Poison and Radiation Resistance

Like Junior Survivor , but better. You completed some, but not all of Moira’s objectives. If you complete ALL of Moira’s optional objectives, you’ll get the best variant of this perk…

Survivor Guru

Benefit: Varies based on post-quest responses (see table)

Response Reward
Normal +15 Hit Points
Smart +6 Medicine, +6 Science
Tough +6 Damage Resistance
Sneaky +6 Sneak, +6 Speech
Snide +3% Critical Hit Chance
Always +6% Poison and Radiation Resistance

You’ll get this perk if you complete ALL of the optional objectives for Moira in the quest “The Wasteland Survival Guide” . This is the best version of the perk reward, certainly better than Dream Crusher .

Wired Reflexes

Benefit: V.A.T.S. accuracy improved by 10%.

After completing the quest “The Replicated Man” , talk to Dr. Zimmer and reveal everything you discovered about the android’s identity. Keep in mind you can get the android to let you kill Dr. Zimmer before talking to Zimmer, and receive the unique Plasma Rifle. You can then sell the android out and recieve the Wired Reflexes perk. If you still want to be a good guy, it’s good fun to slip a Frag Mine into Dr. Zimmer’s pants as he walks away. Wait, that’s good? It’s Fallout 3. Moral relativism rocks.

Xenotech Expert (Mothership Zeta)

Benefit: 20% extra damage with alien weapons.

In the Mothership Zeta expansion, in the Weapons Lab area. Find the firing range (which is to the north of the room where you find the Drone Cannon Ex-B, you’ll also find the Destablizer in the firing range.) And activate the northern-most ‘Control’ near the Healing Arch. A number of Raiders will warp in along with a random strong enemy-such as an Albino Radscorpion, Deathclaw, or Sentry Bot. Kill whatever gates in, then activate the ‘Control’ to teleport some more in. Keep killing enemies (or letting them kill each other) and you’ll get this perk.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Bethesda Softworks
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS3, XB 360
  • Genre
    Action RPG
  • Guide Release
    7 February 2015
  • Last Updated
    7 December 2020
  • Guide Author
    Nathan Garvin

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War never changes. The Fallout franchise certainly has, however. In 2008 Bethesda revived Interplay’s famous “Post Nuclear Role Playing Game”, moving from third person to first person, and from the west coast to the east coast. You are the Lone Wanderer, an outcast from Vault 101 who sacrifices a relatively easy life in order to brave the terrors of the post-apocalyptic Wasteland and find your Dad, whose mysterious departure from Vault 101 sets a chain of events in motion that will change the Capital Wasteland forever…

This guide is intended to be the ultimate completionist’s guide to Fallout 3.

  • Every area in the game covered extensively including all side quests and main quests.
  • All the Bobbleheads, skill books and schematic locations.
  • A full trophy/achievement guide.
  • An in-depth information about character creation is also provided so you can create whatever Vault Dweller suits you best.
  • Good, evil and neutral alternatives to quests will be presented where applicable.

Become the Last, Best Hope of Humanity… or add to the continuing sum of human misery in your selfish quest for survival. Sneak past foes, talk your way out of confrontations, shoot everything in the head, or create a character who can do it all. The Wasteland is a big, dangerous place, and this guide will help you experience as much as possible.

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