Chance's knife is a unique weapon in Fallout: New Vegas and features prominently in All Roads.
Background[]
Previously owned by Chance, a member of the Great Khans, it was in his possession when he was recruited by Jessup along with McMurphy to carry out a job working under the leader of the Chairmen, Benny. He carried it with him on their trek across the Mojave Wasteland to reach Goodsprings intending to set up an ambush for a courier carrying an important package. At one point, he used it to carve out a map of the Mojave in the dirt to help the group plan their journey.
The weapon saw prominent action when the group passed near a tribal village north of Goodsprings that was under attack by a raiding party of Fiends. The sight of the burning bodies triggered Chance's traumatic memories of the Bitter Springs Massacre, spurring him into attacking the raiders alone. While the others eventually joined him in fighting the Fiends, Chance suffered near-fatal wounds from being torched by a flamer-wielding Fiend. He ultimately passed away after Benny offered him spiked Psycho to euthanise himself, which he took during the night. The next morning, despite Benny's objections, Jessup and McMurphy gave Chance a burial worthy of a Khan, leaving his bloodied knife with him.
Characteristics[]
Compared to the standard combat knife, Chance's knife deals more damage per strike at a higher attack speed, thus having a higher damage-per-second (DPS) value. It deals more critical hit damage, costs the same amount of AP, weighs the same, and has a higher caps value.
Visually, the weapon has a dark blue grip, and the blade is visibly covered in dried bloodstains. It is considered an improved holdout weapon.
Special attack[]
Chance's knife has a special Back Slash attack, which does 70% damage in V.A.T.S. at the cost of 3 fewer action points (requires a Melee skill of 50).
| Legend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | - Type of attack |  | - Skill required | |
 | - Damage per attack in V.A.T.S. |  | - Action point cost | |
 | - Damage per action point |  | - Additional effects | |
| | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 0 | 44 | 17 | 2.59 |
| Back Slash | 50 | 30.8 | 14 | 2.2 |
- Note: Melee weapons do double normal damage in V.A.T.S.
It is possible to execute Back Slash outside of V.A.T.S. (without the required Melee skill of 50 to perform the move) by initiating a power attack (hold attack button) while moving forward.
Durability[]
Chance's knife can successfully strike about 445 times from full condition before breaking.
Variants[]
- Combat knife - the standard variant found throughout the Mojave Wasteland.
- Assassin's combat knife - a unique non-player weapon used by the Legion assassin disguised as an NCR engineer that attempts to kill President Kimball during You'll Know It When It Happens. It is only different from the standard variant in that it cannot be looted nor pickpocketed from the assassin but is identical in stats.
- Cass's combat knife - a unique non-player weapon used by Rose of Sharon Cassidy.
Comparison[]
| Legend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | - Weapon name (melee or unarmed) |  | - Attacks in V.A.T.S. | |
 | - Weapon name (gun, energy or explosive) | | - Action point cost | |
| - Damage per attack (damage per projectile) | | - Damage per action point | |
 | - Damage per second |  | - Weapon spread | |
 | - Area of effect damage |  | - Magazine capacity (shots per reload) | |
| - Effect damage & duration |  | - Durability (number of attacks before breaking) | |
 | - Bonus effects |  | - Weight | |
| - Attacks per second |  | - Value in caps | |
 | - Critical chance % multiplier |  | - Value to weight ratio | |
 | - Critical damage | | - Skill required | |
 | - Critical effect damage & duration |  | - Strength required | |
 | - With all mods attached | |||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat knife | 15 | 48.5 | 3.23 | x2 | 15 | 17 | 1.8 | 445 | 1 | 500 | 500 | 50 | 3 |
| Chance's knife | 22 | 91.4 | 4.15 | x2 | 22 | 17 | 2.6 | 445 | 1 | 900 | 900 | 50 | 3 |
- Note: Melee damage is doubled in V.A.T.S.
Location[]
The weapon can be found in Chance's grave, north of Goodsprings, on a hill near the tribal village along with Great Khan simple armor. A shovel is needed to access the loot. Once at the tribal village, backtrack towards the main road while looking south where there should be a path leading up the hill. At the top is Chance's grave.
Notes[]
- Due to being near to Goodsprings, either utilizing a Stealth Boy (one can always be acquired from the Goodsprings schoolhouse inside the safe with an Easy-level lock) or by moving over the mountain ridges west of the northbound road, one can safely reach the gravesite without being attacked by the nearby cazadores and acquire this powerful weapon in the early game.
- With 100 Melee Weapons and all of the related damage and attack speed boosting perks, the weapon's DPS becomes as prominent as Oh, Baby!, notable because it has 5% of the weight (2.5% with Pack Rat). The only downside is that the lower damage makes it more vulnerable to high-DT enemies, which is offset somewhat by using poison.
- Chance's knife, like all combat knives, gets the damage bonus from both the Cowboy and the Grunt perks, making it the only Unique weapon that benefits from both perks.
- In combination with perks such as Better Criticals, Elijah's Ramblings and Just Lucky I'm Alive to increase critical hit damage and Finesse to increase critical hit chance, a high Luck stat and gear to increase critical chance (such as 1st Recon beret and Ulysses' duster), Chance's knife ties with Blood-Nap for some of the strongest weapons in-game: Both will be capable of over 600DPS even without chems. Heavy Handed will heavily penalize this, however, as it will reduce the damage dealt by 60%.
- With the Slayer and Ain't Like That Now perks, one can gain a faster movement speed by power attacking (provided never taking any movement speed perks activated by wearing light armor). Rushing water can be used to increase movement speed again.
Gallery[]
