Heavy Handed

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Trait
Heavy Handed
Vault Boy image, as first appeared in Fallout
Fallout / Fallout 2
benefits	+4 Melee Damage
penalties	Critical hits have a -30% modifier to the critical hit tables
Fallout: New Vegas
benefits	+20% damage (Melee and Unarmed only)
penalties	-60% Critical damage. (Melee and Unarmed only)
form id	00135EC5
Fallout Tactics
benefits	+4 Melee Damage
penalties	Critical hits have a -20% modifier to the critical hit tables
Fallout: New Vegas

 

“You swing harder, not better. Your attacks are very brutal, but lack finesse. You rarely cause a good critical hit, but you always do more melee damage.”— Fallout 2 in-game description

Heavy Handed is a trait in Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout Tactics.

Fallout and Fallout 2

One receives +4 points to Melee Damage, but critical hits have a -30% modifier to the critical hit tables.

Fallout: New Vegas

Melee and Unarmed attacks do more damage, but less critical hit damage. Melee and Unarmed damage is increased by 20%, but Critical Hit damage is reduced by 60%, but only for those two weapon types. However, since one inflicts more damage consistently with Heavy Handed, Critical Hits are less of an issue, unless one relies on sneak attack criticals as a major source of damage or if the character criticals often due to perks, Luck, and high weapon modifier.

Weapons most useful with Heavy Handed

• Thermic lance: Only 10 critical hit damage.
• Chainsaw: Only 8 critical hit damage.
• Ripper: Only 5 critical hit damage.
• Rebar club: Extremely low critical hit chance (maximum critical chance of 33%).
• Nailboard: x0 critical hit multiplier.
• Pool cue: x0 critical hit multiplier.
• Rolling pin: x0 critical hit multiplier.
• Cattle prod: Only 5 critical hit damage.
• Two-Step Goodbye (GRA): Only 10 critical damage

Heavy Handed with Criticals

Assuming a Critical Hit chance of 7.5% (base 5%, multiplied by a machete's x1.5 Critical Hit chance), a player character will be able to utilize a Critical Hit once out of 13 to 14 swings on average. A machete's damage with and without Heavy Handed works out to the following:

• Without Heavy Handed: 13 swings * 11 damage + 1 crit (+11 damage) = 154 damage
• With Heavy Handed: 13 swings * 13.2 damage + 1 crit (+4.5 damage) = 175 damage

${\text{Base crit}}\times (1-{\text{Heavy handed}})\times (1+{\text{Better crits}})={\text{Crit damage}}$

Example: Using a cattle prod.

$5\times 40\%\times 150\%=3$

As with most percentages in Fallout: New Vegas, the penalty functions as a multiplier instead of subtracting from the base. Therefore, when combined with perks such as Better Criticals, Elijah's Ramblings or Just Lucky I'm Alive, the final critical damage dealt will be 40% * 150% = 60 rather than 90% or 72%. Since critical hits are considered before Damage Threshold as opposed to damage buffs such as this perk are considered afterward, the benefit will be lower in practice.

Fallout Tactics

One receives +4 points to Melee Damage, but critical hits have a -20% modifier to the critical hit tables.

See also

• Critical chance
• Fallout: New Vegas combat

Traits Fallout/Fallout 2/Tactics Bloody Mess · Bruiser · Chem Reliant · Chem Resistant · Fast Metabolism · Fast Shot · Finesse · Gifted · Good Natured · Heavy Handed · Jinxed · Kamikaze · Night Person (FO1/FOT) · One Hander · Skilled · Sex Appeal (FO2 only) · Small Frame Fallout Tactics only Super mutants Ham Fisted · Vat Skin Ghouls Fear the Reaper · Glowing One · Tech Wizard Deathclaws Domesticated · Rabid Robots Beta Software · EMP Shielding · Targeting Computer · Tight Nuts Fallout: New Vegas Built to Destroy · Claustrophobia · Early Bird · Fast Shot · Four Eyes · Good Natured · Heavy Handed · Hoarder · Hot Blooded · Kamikaze · Logan's Loophole · Loose Cannon · Small Frame · Skilled · Trigger Discipline · Wild Wasteland Italics in Fallout: New Vegas traits denote traits available through Old World Blues.