“There's no place to hide! This doesn't allow shooting through impenetrable walls but does allow you to target partially obscured foes (like those behind trees, through windows, or behind barricades) if parts of them are visible. This is another good option to further enhance V.A.T.S. combat.”— Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide description
Penetrator is a Perception perk in Fallout 4.
Effects[]
Taking rank 1 of this perk grants the ability to deal damage to enemies in V.A.T.S. even if they are situated behind cover, though at a cost to accuracy. Rank 2 negates the accuracy decrease.
Ranks[]
Rank | Requirements | Description | Form ID |
---|---|---|---|
1 | PER 9 | There's no place to hide! In V.A.T.S. you can target an enemy's body parts that are blocked by cover, with a decrease in accuracy. | 00024AFF |
2 | PER 9, LVL 28 | In V.A.T.S. when you target an enemy's body parts that are blocked by cover, there is no decrease in accuracy. | 001D2477 |
Notes[]
- This perk is very useful against robots (particularly Sentry bots) and human enemies in Power Armor, because they generally have their fusion cores or combat inhibitors on their backs and/protected from direct damage. With it, the Sole Survivor can target these weak spots through their body. Even if they are facing towards the player character, it is still possible to hit the target. However, at least some portion of the enemy must be visible to be able to target them in V.A.T.S., whereas if they are completely behind cover and hidden, one will be unable to target them with non-zero accuracy ratings.
- Critical shots in V.A.T.S. with this perk will pierce anything, including multiple layers of walls and even the ground - useful for burrowing radscorpions and mole rats. Whether or not intended by Bethesda, plasma weapons won't penetrate any layer without the use of critical hits. However, a Gauss rifle will. Additionally, due to the unique nature of the Tesla rifle, shots won't penetrate without using a Critical for this gun either. The chances to hit in V.A.T.S. now properly reflect that fact by displaying "0" for body parts that are completely under cover - for the Tesla rifle as well as for the plasma weapons.
- There are certain things that cannot be shot through, even with this perk, such as certain pieces of glass or the ground.
- Even though this perk will allow for targeting enemies that are behind cover, explosive weapons will not transfer any of the damage through the cover, whereas ballistic or energy weapons will still be able to do damage.
- Non-hitscan weapons and any weapon with the Explosive modifier cannot use Penetrator. It may show a chance to hit for these weapons, but they will never hit.
- Instigating weapons can penetrate, but lose their effect while doing so.
- If a Protectron is destroyed while it is still in its charging station with the doors closed, it will not open the door if one attempts to activate the Protectron, meaning it cannot be looted.
- Even though the icon depicts shooting through walls, it appears that the perk has no effect on whether or not bullets are able to penetrate objects outside of VATS.
- There is a slight decrease in damage done when a shot penetrates through the terrain. A shot that could kill outright in the open may not do so through a penetrated shot. However, VATS only calculates the standard damage so it will still say that it's going to be a killing shot.
- There is often a dramatic loss of damage from the penetrating shot vs. regular one. This does not seem to be mentioned anywhere. The pattern follows logic - thick concrete columns, and rolled steel I-beams absorb a lot more that a 1/2 inch thick wooden board. However sometimes shots go through things that one would not expect, like a corner of a city house, two layers of bricks and everything in-between.
- Selecting a target behind another NPC will result in damage being inflicted on both characters.