How To Max Out SPECIAL Stats In Fallout: New Vegas

How to max out your character's SPECIAL points (all to 10) without the use of console commands or mods. This method also works on the console versions of Fallout: New Vegas. This guide was originally posted on my blog in 2013.

How To Max Out SPECIAL Stats In Fallout: New Vegas

I'm a completionist. I love to collect every item, finish every quest and max out all of my characters' stats and abilities. This was easy enough in Fallout 3 - you practically tripped over skill books everywhere you went and with the Almost Perfect perk, it was easy to raise your SPECIAL to 9 across the board, then collect all of the Bobbleheads in order to bring them all up to 10.

Unfortunately, Fallout: New Vegas made maxing out your SPECIAL quite a bit more difficult. I've heard people say that it's impossible even. Well it's not. I've done it. On the Xbox 360 version, so I can guarantee there were no console commands involved. If you wish to max out your character's SPECIAL, follow my simple guide below:

(You will NEED to buy 3 of the 4 DLCS - Dead Money, Old World Blues and Lonesome Road.)

First off, when you first interact with the Vigour Tester machine in Doc Mitchell's office - set your starting stats as follows:

Strength - 7 (This MUST be 7!)
Perception - 6 (This MUST be 6!)
Endurance - 9
Charisma - 1
Intelligence - 9
Agility - 1 (The lower, the better!)
Luck - 7 (This MUST be 7!)

Following this, you need to take the Four Eyes trait and another trait of your choice, if you wish. You can take the Small Frame trait if you need an initial boost to your Agility. I chose Wild Wasteland, which doesn't affect SPECIAL.

This is just the way I personally did it, but there are different ways to do it - I chose to raise my Intelligence to 9 to make it easier to max out all of your skills, which is fairly easy to do providing you take the Comprehension perk and collect the extra skill books hidden in the DLCs.

In order to max out your Perception, you will need to get the Lucky Shades item, which is located at the Caesar's Legion Safehouse - so try and stay on their good side until you've gotten the keys to the safehouse if you intend to work against them. :)

You will also need to take the Intense Training perk 9 times, so remember to make allowances with your level-up perks.

You will also need to wear glasses, so you may not be able to wear Power Helmets.

Now I'll go into detail on how to max out each individual stat:


Strength

• Take the implant from Dr. Usanagi at the New Vegas Medical Centre to increase it to 8.
  
• Take the Reinforced Spine perk included in the Old World Blues DLC to increase it to 10.

Perception

• The Four Eyes perk will reduce your base stat initially, so your stat becomes 5.
  
• Put a point into Perception with an Intense Training perk to increase it to 6.
  
• Take the implant from Dr. Usanagi at the New Vegas Medical Centre to increase it to 7.
  
• Wearing the Lucky Shades provides a +3 to Perception, which will increase it to 10.

Endurance

• Take the implant from Dr. Usanagi at the New Vegas Medical Centre to increase it to 10.

Charisma
- Put 8 points into Charisma using the Intense Training perk 8 times to increase it to 9.
- Take the implant from Dr. Usanagi at the New Vegas Medical Centre to increase it to 10.

Intelligence

• Take the implant from Dr. Usanagi at the New Vegas Medical Centre to increase it to 10.

Agility

• Take the implant from Dr. Usanagi at the New Vegas Medical Centre to increase it to 2. (Optional!)
  
• Here is where we will abuse a little glitch in the Dead Money DLC. Whenever you find some light clothing, equip it and then return it to the vending machine. You will lose the item but retain the Agility boost permanently. Do this 8 times to increase it to 10. (Or 9 times if you choose not to buy the implant.)

Luck

• Take the implant from Dr. Usanagi at the New Vegas Medical Centre to increase it to 8.
  
• Complete the Lonesome Road DLC to receive a permanent boost to one of your SPECIAL stats, use this to increase it to 9.
  
• Wearing the Lucky Shades will provide a +1 boost to Luck to increase it to 10.

And our stats will end up looking like this:
Strength - 10 (+)
Perception - 10 (+)
Endurance - 10
Charisma - 10
Intelligence - 10
Agility - 10 (+)
Luck - 10 (+)

Good luck! :D

[user750]

IDK if it's patches or my extended edition, but +AGI bug from clothes is gone, you cannot hand piece of clothes you are wearing.

[EBOW-VARNA]

Instructions unclear, my 10 10 10 10 10 STAT gigachad teleported to me in real life and commited unconsentual butt sex with me

[Puro "Dingus" Zazahitter]

Alternatively, you could just allocate your points from strength into Charisma and then get Nerd Rage

[Riot Control]

Speaking frankly charisma can be a dump stat typically, perception is nice mainly to unlock certain useful perk perquisites, and agility does a similar function albeit short of faster reloads isn't 100% needed (short of being AP starved). Still nice to see the lucky shades integrated (really nifty item).

[Ninjamantis]

just use intense training for 9/15 perk slots and then be a crumpled paper ball because charisma number go up, i know this is a guide for how to do it even if it's not a good idea but boy is this a bad idea

[Lofef]

charisma is useless anyway so just do this withought the intense training waste!

[houseofworship]

A neat guide for sure, but for true min-maxing, wasting so many perk points on Intense Training is a horrible idea.

[Lotus Pleiades]

The agility glitch won't let me exchange the equipped clothing.

[The Kitness]

Intelligence, Perception, and Luck are all in the head, but the head only allows two slots. How are we supposed to equip all three at once?

[Quadriplegic Noodle]

You know you can get a +1 Perception from any Cowboy hat. Just keep a few of them around, and there's your boost. No need to waste a perk on Intense Training.