“Your heart is back in your body, but some advanced technologies remain: You are more resistant to poison (50%) and robots are only somewhat confused by you (25% less likely to score a critical hit) now. But on the bright side, healing items (chems) are even more effective!”— Fallout: New Vegas description
Cardiac Arrest is a special perk in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Old World Blues.
Obtaining[]
This perk can be acquired by successfully convincing the Courier's brain to return to its body or return to the Sink and then going to the Think Tank to confront the Think Tank during Old World Blues. If one enters the Sink from the balcony instead and if it was installed, the Sink Auto-Doc can optionally be used to restore the heart and swap out Heartless for the perk and vice versa.
Effects[]
Gaining this perk grants a permanent 50% increase to Poison Resistance, a 25% decrease to the critical chance of robots when attacking the player character, and a bonus to HP restored by using certain consumables.
Affected items[]
- Stimpak
- Nightstalker squeezin's
- Thin red paste (requires Them's Good Eatin')
- Blood sausage (requires Them's Good Eatin')
- Black blood sausages (requires Them's Good Eatin')
- Thick red paste (requires Them's Good Eatin')
- Coyote tobacco chew
- Healing powder
- Leg. healing powder
- Human remains (requires Cannibal and Dine and Dash)
- Bitter drink
- Buffout
Notes[]
- Compared to Heartless, the perk grants slightly more healing from consumables at the cost of a 25% increase to the critical chance of robots and only 50% higher Poison Resistance instead of complete immunity.
- That said, for the latter, it still adds to achieving the maximum 85% Poison Resistance when combined with an Endurance attribute of 8, the maximum achievable in derived statistics.
- Cardiac Arrest shares the same Vault Boy image as Heartless.
Behind the scenes[]
"Cardiac arrest" is a medical term that refers to a sudden loss of blood flow resulting from the failure of the heart to pump effectively. While cases of cardiac arrest may be caused by myocardial infarctions (heart attacks) or congestive heart failure, both are distinctly different conditions.
Bugs[]
This perk grants -50% critical chance from enemy robots, rather than the listed -25%. [verified]- The Sink Auto-Doc message for this perk erroneously states "healing items (chems) are twice as effective (+50%)".[verification overdue]
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