Critical Chance

Derived statistic
Critical Chance
Fallout / Fallout 2 / Fallout Tactics
Modifies	Chance to cause a critical hit
Fallout 3
Modifies	Chance to cause a critical hit
Fallout: New Vegas
Modifies	Chance to cause a critical hit

 

Critical Chance is a derived statistic in Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.

Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics

“The chance to cause a critical hit in combat is increased by this amount.”— Fallout In-game description

An Aimed Shot has a higher chance to score a critical hit than an unaimed shot. In Fallout Tactics, the Science skill also apparently has an effect on critical chance against robotic enemies.

$\text{Initial level}=\text{Luck}\times1\%$

• The Finesse trait increases the critical chance by 10%.
• The More Criticals perk increases the critical chance by 5% per rank.
• The Sniper perk increases the critical chance to 10*Luck for ranged weapons.
• The Slayer perk increases the critical chance to 100% for melee weapons.

Fallout 3

Base Chance

Luck in the main base factor that determines the chances of a critical strike on a opponent.

$\text{Initial level}=\text{Luck}\times1\%$

Example: A starting Luck of 5.

$5\times 1=5\%~(\text{Base chance})$

Notes:

• Maximum initial base is capped at 10%.
• Ninja perk can increase this limit by another +15% for Melee and Unarmed weapons.
• Finesse perk can increase this limit by another +5%.
• Survival Expert perk can increase this limit by another +3%.
• Strikes dealt in V.A.T.S have additional +15% critical chance added.
• Some weapons have 0% chance of a critical strike (see Critical Multiplier for detail of effects).

PCYou can also check your critical chance with the console command: player.getav critchance

Critical Multiplier

All weapons have a critical multiplier that modifies the player's base critical chance to create a new percentage to score a critical hit. This may improve or hinder the player's ability to score a critical hit depending on the weapons Critical multiplier.

$\text{Base Chance}\times\text{Critical Multiplier}$

Example: A starting Luck of 5 and using a Sniper Rifle, which has a x5 Critical Multiplier.

$5\times 1=5\%~(\text{Base chance})\times5~(\text{Critical Multiplier})=25\%~(\text{Critical Chance})$

Notes

• The critical multiplier for fully automatic weapons is much lower than for single-shot weapons.
• There are a few weapons that have a x 0 multiplier, which makes it impossible to score a critical hit
• For a detailed list of weapon critical multipliers see Fallout 3 weapons.

Weapon Condition

The final critical chance is also modified by weapon condition.

$\mbox{Base chance} \times \mbox{Critical multiplier} \times \mbox{Condition}$

For example, a character with 5 Luck and using a Sniper Rifle in 50% condition would have,

$5\times 1=5\%~(\text{Base chance})\times5=25\%~(\text{Critical multiplier})\times50\%~(\text{Condition})=12.5\%~\text{Critical chance}$

Fallout: New Vegas

The formulas for critical chance seem unchanged from Fallout 3. You receive 1% of critical chance for each point placed into Luck. At character creation you can add an additional 3% for all weapons by choosing the Built to Destroy trait.

Attributes, perks and traits that increase critical chance include

• Luck (permanent +1-10%)
• Built to Destroy (permanent +3%)
• Light Touch¹ (temporary +5% while wearing any light armor)(Dead Money)
• Finesse (permanent +5%)
• Ninja² (permanent +15% for melee and unarmed weapons)
• Laser Commander¹ (permanent +10% with lasers).
• Set Lasers for Fun¹ (permanent +2/4% with energy weapons)
• Meat of Champions (temporary +1 Luck when eating a fresh corpse)
• Intense Training (permanent +1 Luck if selected)
• Luck Implant (permanent +1 Luck if purchased)

¹ The critical chance added by these perks is a flat bonus and is not affected by your weapon's critical multiplier.

² Ninja multiplies your total critical chance after all modifiers by 1.15; thus it adds 15% of your normal critical chance, not a flat 15% boost.

Items that increase critical chance

• 1st Recon beret (+5%)
• Naughty Nightwear (+1 Luck, effective +1%)
• True Police Stories (temporary +5% (+10% with Comprehension))
• Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System¹ (temporary +5% critical hit chance when using VATS)
• Lucky shades (+1 Luck, effective +1%)
• Armor of the 87th Tribe (+3%)(Lonesome Road (add-on))
• Elite Riot Gear (+5%)(Lonesome Road (add-on))
• Ulysses' duster (+5%)(Lonesome Road (add-on))
• Joshua Graham's armor (+3%) (Honest Hearts)
• Salt-Upon-Wounds' helmet (+2%)(Honest Hearts)

¹ The critical chance added by V.A.T.S. is a flat bonus and is not affected by your weapon's critical multiplier.

Currently, the highest possible critical chance that will be affected by your multiplier is 38% (10 Luck, Finesse, Built to Destroy, 1st Recon Beret, Elite Riot Gear/Ulysses' Duster, True Police Stories with Comprehension). As mentioned above, Light Touch, Laser Commander, Set Lasers for Fun, Ninja, and V.A.T.S. can further increase your chance.

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

In Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, a critical hit allows to exceed the maximum limit of damage for a weapon.

Some weapons are very powerful with a high critical chance, such as the Double-Barrel Shotgun or The Slugger and also the weapons in bursts.

An energy weapon with the skill Energy Charge or a Melee weapon with the skill Special Attack can be extremely powerful if the charged attack is a critical hit.

The chance to cause a critical hit in combat is increased by

Initial Level: Each character starts with a 1% critical chance.

• The Butcher skill (only Cain) increases the critical chance by 5% only for blades for each ranks until a total of 25%.
• The Desert Soldier skill (only female character) increases the critical chance by 5% only for conventional weapons (weapon that uses 9mm) for each ranks until a total of 25%.
• The Future Woman skill (only female character) increases the critical chance by 5% only for energy weapons for each ranks until a total of 25%.
• The Heavy Hitter skill (only human male character) increases the critical chance by 5% only for Blunt weapon (Gloves, Clubs and Hammers) for each ranks until a total of 25%.
• The Pyromaniac skill (only Cain) increases the critical chance by 5% when using a fire-based weapon (like the frag grenade, flamer, etc.) for each ranks until a total of 25%.
• The Slayer skill increases the critical chance by 5% for each ranks until a total of 25%.
• The Wastelander skill (only human male character) increases the critical chance by 10% only when using home-made weapons for each ranks until a total of 50%.

The type of weapon with a maximum critical chance with the skill required is the home-made weapons with a total of 75%.

Gallery

Fallout Critical Chance icon

Derived statistics Defensive stats Armor Class · Damage Resistance · Damage Threshold · Defense · Energy Resistance · Fatigue · Fire Resistance · Hit Points · Poison Resistance · Radiation Resistance Gameplay stats Action Points · Bonus Damage · Carry Weight · Critical Chance · Healing Rate · Melee Damage · Perk Rate · Skill Rate · Sequence · Unarmed Damage Survival stats Dehydration/Thirst · Starvation/Hunger · Sleep