Action Points (or AP) is a game mechanic governing the number of things a character can do during one combat turn in Fallout and Fallout 2. In Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, Action Points are used to attack in V.A.T.S. In Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, Action Points are also used to attack in V.A.T.S., in addition to holding breath while using scopes, sprinting and operating the jet pack.
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Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics
Action Points are spent firing a weapon, reloading a weapon, fetching equipment from a character's backpack or moving to a new battlefield hex.
Example: A starting Agility of 5.
Notes
- The Action Boy/Action Girl perk adds 1 AP per rank.
- The Bonus Move perk adds 2 special AP per rank that can only be used for movement.
- In Fallout and Fallout 2, the counter only shows up to 10 AP but internally it keeps track of any extras. In Fallout Tactics all AP show properly.
- In Fallout Tactics in continuous turn-based mode, the AP regeneration rate is directly proportional to the amount of AP a character has.
Fallout 3
Action points are used in the V.A.T.S. system to attack opponents, each weapon has its own cost per use and can be found on the weapons page. Unlike in the turn-based games, action points are not accumulated at the end of a turn. Instead, Action Points are regenerated over time.
Example: A starting Agility of 5.
Notes
- Maximum initial base is capped at 85 AP.
- This limit can be increased with the addition of bonuses (see table below).
- The Level 20 perk Grim Reaper's Sprint restores all Action Points by successfully killing an enemy during one round of V.A.T.S.
AP bonuses
| Name | AP bonus | Duration | Value | Form ID | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agility | 2-20 | Permanent | N/A | N/A | 2 AP per Agility point |
| Action Boy/Action Girl | 25 | Permanent | N/A | 00031DBA/ 0007B202 |
Level 16 Perk bonus |
| Nerves of Steel | None (see notes) | Permanent | N/A | xx0011C2 | Perk that regenerates AP quickly. Only obtainable through Broken Steel. |
| Ledoux's hockey mask | 25 | While equipped | 100 | 0007401C | Worn by Goalie Ledoux (quest: "The Nuka-Cola Challenge", optional objective "Just for the taste of it"). |
| Ranger battle armor | 5 | While equipped | 430 | 00023030 | From the quest: Reilly's Rangers |
| Lag-Bolt's combat armor | 10 | While equipped | 400 | xx00B95F | Obtained through the unmarked quest The Sorrowful Suitor from Broken Steel. |
| Tribal power armor | 15 (13 since it decreases Agility by 1) | While equipped | 739 | xx00B50F | Granted for finding all 100 steel ingots in The Pitt. |
| Nukalurk meat | 10 | 4 minutes | 7 | 00095F48 | Duration doubled with Chemist |
| Nuka-Cola Quantum | 20 | 4 minutes | 30 | 000284F9 | Duration doubled with Chemist |
| Mississippi Quantum Pie | 20 | 4 minutes | 20 | 00049076 | Duration doubled with Chemist |
| Jet | 30 | 4 minutes | 20 | 00015164 | Duration doubled with Chemist |
| Ultrajet | 40 | 4 minutes | 50 | 000C9CF4 | Duration doubled with Chemist |
Maximum AP
The maximum figure achievable without chems is 148. Starting AP = 65 + 10 Agility (85) + the Action Boy/Action Girl perk at level 16 (110) + Ledoux's hockey mask (135) + the tribal power armor (148). The +15AP bonus is negated by the -1 Agility penalty which the armor carries. An alternative to negate the -1 Agility is to use the Chinese stealth armor multiple hat glitch/exploit to wear Poplar's hood which has a +1 Agility bonus and stack it with Ledoux's mask for the +30 AP, making the maximum total 150 AP.
The maximum figure achievable with items and chems is a massive 280. (148) + Jet (178) + Ultrajet (218) + Nukalurk meat (228) + Nuka-Cola Quantum (248) + Mississippi Quantum pie (268) + alien biogel (278). The -1 Agility/ -2AP penalty carried by the tribal power armor can be negated using either more alien biogel or fire ant nectar (280). An alternative to negate the -1 Agility is to use the Chinese stealth armor multiple hat glitch/exploit to wear Poplar's hood which has a +1 Agility bonus and stack it with Ledoux's mask for the +30 AP.
Fallout: New Vegas
Action Points in New Vegas function mechanically identical to those in Fallout 3, however, the agility bonus is multiplied by 3 instead of 2.
Example: A starting Agility of 5.
Notes:
- Maximum initial base is capped at 95 AP.
- This limit can be increased with the addition of bonuses (see table below).
AP bonuses
| Name | AP bonus | Duration | Value | Form ID | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agility | 3-30 | Permanent | N/A | N/A | 3 AP per Agility point |
| Kamikaze | 10 | Permanent | N/A | 00135F05 | Trait |
| Action Boy/Action Girl | 15(per rank) | Permanent | N/A | 00031DBA (Action Boy) 0007B202 (Action Girl) |
Level 16 Perk bonus |
| Nerves of Steel | None (see notes) | Permanent | N/A | 000E2C49 | Perk increasing AP Regen rate by +20%. |
| Atomic! | None (see notes) | While irradiated | N/A | xx008011 | Perk increasing AP Regen rate with radiation level. |
| Grim Reaper's Sprint | None (see notes) | When triggered | N/A | 00099834 | Perk restores 20 AP on a kill in V.A.T.S. |
| General Oliver's uniform | 20 | While equipped | 100 | 0015E35D | |
| Courier duster | 15 | While equipped | 1700 | xx009253 (Yes-Man variant) | "Fighting Chance" (Legion variant) in Lonesome Road |
| Armor of the 87th Tribe | 10 | While equipped | 6500 | xx00C716 | Found in Lonesome Road |
| Nuka-Cola Victory | 10 | 2 minutes | 75 | 000E2F6C | |
| Rocket | 30 | 1 minute | 20 | 00146CCD | |
| Dixon's Jet | 10 | 4 minutes | 5 | 00122B49 | |
| Jet | 15 | 4 minutes | 20 | 00015164 | |
| Ultrajet | 40 | 4 minutes | 50 | 000C9CF4 | |
| Trail mix | 5 | 30 seconds | 5 | 0013D572 | |
| Mushroom Cloud | 3 | 20 seconds | 50 | 0015E3A4 | |
| Sugar Bombs | 5 | 30 seconds | 5 | 0008C551 | |
| Battle Brew | 40 | 20 seconds | 150 | xx01495E | Found in Old World Blues - the "Red Mist" effect |
| Nuka-Cola Quantum | 20 | 4 minutes | 30 | 000284F9 | Found in Lonesome Road 
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Regeneration rate
A character will take 16.66 seconds to recover their AP bar to full regardless of their AP total unless their AP is modified by perks. It should be noted that AP gained through perks do NOT count towards the regeneration rate. Therefore, a player character with 115 AP, 30 of which were gained through Action Boy/Girl perks, would actually take over 23 seconds to fully recover their AP bar. Furthermore, the perk Nerves of Steel decreases this regeneration period by 20%, to a potential minimum recovery period of 13.33 seconds.
The exact recovery time can be derived from the GECK variable Action Points Restore Rate, which in Fallout: New Vegas is the inverse of the number of seconds required to fully restore the AP bar. The default value is 0.060 (1/0.06 = 16.66 seconds).
Reloading Cost
For all firearms, a reloading cost of 10 AP will automatically be applied once the last round in a clip is selected to be fired in V.A.T.S. If the combined AP cost to fire the last round in a clip and the additional reload cost's total is too high, the last round cannot be fired. Reloading cost is affected by the Math Wrath perk and Fast Shot trait, and when used together can reduce reloading cost to 7 AP per reload. The Trigger Discipline trait has the opposite effect, raising the cost per reload to 12 AP when used alone.
Calculating AP With Rounding
While having the Math Wrath perk, and/or the Fast Shot and Trigger Discipline traits, decimal AP costs per shot will usually be created. The three aforementioned perk/trait's effects are multiplicative and work together rather than be applied individually, the result rounded, then the next applied.
Rounding when firing in V.A.T.S. will be applied to the final round queued. For example, Christine's CoS silencer rifle had a 38 AP per shot, whilst with Math Wrath and Fast Shot, the cost is reduced to 26.6 AP per shot. If two shots were queued, resulting in a total of 53.2 AP, the rounded cost would be 53 AP. If three shots were queued, the resulting total would be 79.8, becoming 80 when rounded. Every shot queued uses the actual decimal cost, it is only after the last shot is queued that rounding is applied.
Fallout 4
Action Points in Fallout 4 function mechanically identically to those in Fallout 3 and New Vegas; however, Agility is multiplied by 10 instead of 2 or 3 to calculate how many you have.
Example: A starting Agility of 5.
The base action points regeneration rate is 6.0% per second or 16.66 seconds ( 100/6.0 ) from 0 to 100%.
Action Points can now be used to sprint. The rate at which they deplete while sprinting relies on Endurance.
Action Point cost per shot
Weapon mods can affect AP cost. V.A.T.S. will only allow 16 shots to be queued, regardless of any remaining AP afterward.
- Lower cost: anything with the prefix "Light, Quick, Hair Trigger, Advanced, Reflex, or Sharpshooter" reduces AP cost in V.A.T.S.
- Higher cost: anything with the prefix "Heavy, Long, Rapid, Piercing, Automatic, Large, Drum, Full, Scope and Sniper" increases AP cost in V.A.T.S.
Fallout 76
Action Points in Fallout 76 function similarly to those in Fallout 4 ; starting at 60 AP and increasing by 10 for every level in Agility.
The base action point regeneration rate is 6.0 per second or 16.66 seconds ( 100/6.0 ) from 0 to 100%.
Action Points can also be used to jump and sprint. The rate at which they deplete while sprinting relies on Endurance, the Agility perk card Marathoner, and being overencumbered.
Action points are also spent when attempting to enter VATS while no VATS targets are visible. The cost of this is 5 action points per attempt. No action points are spent when successfully targeting, however.
Hunger and Thirst also directly affect the number of action points a player character has, as well as the regeneration rate. So staying full and hydrated is recommended to be in top shape.
Action Point cost per shot
Weapon mods can affect AP cost. V.A.T.S. will only allow 16 shots to be queued, regardless of any remaining AP afterward.
- Lower cost: anything with the prefix "Light, Quick, Hair Trigger, Advanced, Reflex, Marksman or Sharpshooter" reduces AP cost in V.A.T.S.
- Higher cost: anything with the prefix "Heavy, Long, Rapid, Piercing, Automatic, Large, Drum, Full, Scope and Sniper" increases AP cost in V.A.T.S.
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