Luck is one of the seven primary statistics in the SPECIAL character system.
Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics[]
In Fallout, Luck primarily affects the chances with the virtual dice of the game: a high Luck increases the likelihood to succeed a roll, while the opposite is also true. Luck also affects the chance to score a critical hit on a target, with the standard being that the Critical Chance is equal to the subject's Luck (keep in mind, standard means without perks, traits, or aimed shots). It also determines the initial level of the Gambling skill.
Ways to increase Luck in Fallout[]
- Chuck in the Boneyard - Adytum can increase Luck permanently by one point via the mysteries of the Tarot.
Ways to increase Luck in Fallout 2[]
- The Hubologists can be visited to gain a Luck bonus. Only one bonus can be gained, though they have two bases, one in the NCR and one in San Francisco. The NCR bonus can either boost Luck by 2 or reduce it by one, and the San Francisco base can either boost Luck and Intelligence by 1, or reduce Luck by 1.
- Taking the Gain Luck perk for an increase of 1 Luck.
- The Hubologists' zeta scans stop the decrease in Luck from the pariah dog's company, subsequently killing the dog will restore the player character's Luck as if it had remained decreased, resulting in a net gain in Luck.
Ways to increase Luck in Fallout Tactics[]
- Taking the Gain Luck perk for a permanent increase of 1 Luck.
- Consuming Voodoo will increase Luck by 3 points for 20 minutes.
Luck-based perks[]
Fallout 3[]
Modifies: All Skills and Critical Chance. Unlike other S.P.E.C.I.A.L. scores, Luck has no specific skills associated with it. Instead, every two points of Luck adds one point to all skills. Having a high Luck will also improve the Critical Chance with all weapons.
| Value | +Critical Chance | Skill Modifiers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1% | All Skills +1 |
| 2 | 2% | All Skills +1 |
| 3 | 3% | All Skills +2 |
| 4 | 4% | All Skills +2 |
| 5 | 5% | All Skills +3 |
| 6 | 6% | All Skills +3 |
| 7 | 7% | All Skills +4 |
| 8 | 8% | All Skills +4 |
| 9 | 9% | All Skills +5 |
| 10 | 10% | All Skills +5 |
Luck-based perks[]
| Perk | Required | Level | Additional Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fortune Finder | 5 | 6 | |
| Scrounger | 5 | 8 | |
| Mysterious Stranger | 6 | 10 | |
| Better Criticals | 6 | 16 | Perception 6 |
Ways to increase Luck[]
- Permanent
- Bobblehead - Luck (+1)
- Intense Training perk (+1)
No Weaknesses perk (will raise base to 5, if below 5)- Almost Perfect perk (will raise base to 9, if below 9)
- Temporary
- The Lucky 8-ball increases Luck by 1 as long as it is in the player's inventory.
- Armor and clothing
- Modified utility jumpsuit, naughty nightwear, Ranger battle armor (+1)
- Lucky shades, Three Dog's headwear (+1)
- Ashur's power armor, tribal power armor (+1)
Fallout: New Vegas[]
Luck functions in the same manner as Fallout 3. It raises the value of every skill (see chart at bottom of page) and affects Critical Chance. It also improves the odds of winning at any casino game; the higher the Luck, the more likely favorable outcomes on bets will be. If having won a casino bet through the influence of Luck, the "You feel lucky" message is displayed. A Luck of 6 will begin to influence Roulette and Slot machines, though rarely. A Luck of 7 is required to win with any regularity or to begin to influence Blackjack outcomes.
Luck-based perks[]
| Perk | Required | Level | Additional Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
Junk Rounds 
|
6 | 2 | Repair 45 |
| Fortune Finder | 5 | 6 | — |
| Scrounger | 5 | 8 | — |
| Miss Fortune | 6 | 10 | — |
| Mysterious Stranger | 6 | 10 | — |
| Better Criticals | 6 | 16 | Perception 6 |
Notes[]
- A Luck of 7 or an Intelligence of 2 or less opens up a dialogue option in REPCONN headquarters to guess the password and allow moving unharmed past the mobile facial recognition scanners on the top floor.
- The Courier can heal Caesar's brain tumor in the quest Et Tumor, Brute? with a Luck of 9.
- If the Courier's Luck stat is the most extreme (highest or lowest), Doc Mitchell will either say he is surprised their bullets did not "turn right around and climb back into the gun." (for highest) or that they seem to be "the luckiest son-of-a-gun in New Vegas." (For lowest)
- When Doc Mitchell refers to the bullets "climbing back into the gun" this is a nod to Fallout 1 and Fallout 2, referring to critical failures.
- When playing at casinos, a Luck of at least 7 is required to get favorable odds. Blackjack is the most affected by Luck; at 10, it will produce fairly constant patterns in what cards are dealt to based on the current total. Slots will turn out losses on most spins, but at higher Luck will produce an occasional jackpot. Roulette, like Slots, will produce a loss on most spins and requires prudent betting to gain much benefit from Luck.
Ways to increase Luck[]
- Permanent
- Luck Implant available at the New Vegas medical clinic (+1)
- Intense Training perk (+1)
- Completing the quest The Apocalypse or The End will allow raising any one primary statistic by 1.
- Temporary
- Armor and clothing.
- Naughty nightwear (+1)
- Lucky shades (+1) (Added to the game after the 1.2 patch.)
- "Blackjack" variant of the Courier duster (+1)
- Perks
- Meat of Champions perk (+1 for 60 seconds after eating a corpse.)
- Just Lucky I'm Alive (+4 after finishing a fight with less than 25% health)
- Traits
- Claustrophobia (+1 while outdoors, but -1 indoors)
- Early Bird (+2 between 6am and 12pm, but -1 between 6pm and 6am)
Level names and statistics[]
| Value | Name | Critical Chance | Skill Modifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 Pitch-black Cats | +1% | All Skills +1 |
| 2 | Broken Gypsy Mirror | +2% | All Skills +1 |
| 3 | Sickly Albatross | +3% | All Skills +2 |
| 4 | Spilled Salt | +4% | All Skills +2 |
| 5 | Coin Flip | +5% | All Skills +3 |
| 6 | Stacked Deck | +6% | All Skills +3 |
| 7 | Lucky 7 | +7% | All Skills +4 |
| 8 | Leprechaun's Foot | +8% | All Skills +4 |
| 9 | 21-Leaf Clover | +9% | All Skills +5 |
| 10 | Two-headed Coin Flip | +10% | All Skills +5 |
Fallout 4[]
Luck determines the recharge rate of the Critical Hit meter. It can indirectly improve how much caps and ammo one finds through one of two associated Luck perks (see below). It can also give the player a chance to not catch a disease from a molerat bite in Vault 81. Luck can affect the chances of quickly receiving a perfectly preserved pie from the Port-A-Diner (the lower your luck stat, the longer it can take).
Here is a table that shows how many hits one needs to refill the critical meter for different luck values. This does not include the effects of perks or legendary prefixes.
| Luck | hits required |
|---|---|
| 1 | 14 |
| 2 | 12 |
| 3 | 10 |
| 4 | 9 |
| 5 | 8 |
| 6-7 | 7 |
| 8-9 | 6 |
| 10-12 | 5 |
| 13-18 | 4 |
| 19-29 | 3 |
| 30-62 | 2 |
| 63+ | 1 |
Luck-based perks[]
| Perk | Luck Required |
|---|---|
| Fortune Finder | 1 |
| Scrounger | 2 |
| Bloody Mess | 3 |
| Mysterious Stranger | 4 |
| Idiot Savant | 5 |
| Better Criticals | 6 |
| Critical Banker | 7 |
| Grim Reaper's Sprint | 8 |
| Four Leaf Clover | 9 |
| Ricochet | 10 |
Ways to increase Luck[]
- Permanent
- Level (+1)
- Luck bobblehead (+1)
- You're SPECIAL! book (+1)
- Temporary
- Armor and clothing
- Greaser jacket and jeans, Atom Cats jacket and jeans, DB Tech varsity uniform, and Mark 4 synth left leg (+2)
- Undershirt & jeans, battered fedora, chef hat, crumpled fedora, dirty fedora, gray knit cap, Triggerman bowler, yellow slicker hat, Nuka-World geyser shirt & jeans, Bottle and Cappy shirt & jeans, Bottle shirt & jeans, Cappy shirt & jeans, and Nuka-World shirt & jeans (+1)
- Legendary armor effects
- Lucky (+2)
- Unyielding (+3 Health<25%)
- Chems
- Day Tripper (+3)
- X-cell (+2)
- Perks
- Party Boy/Party Girl - +3 Luck at rank 3 when drinking alcohol.
- Magazine
- Live & Love #5 - +1 Luck when drinking alcohol while having a companion.
- Settlement objects
- Slot machine (prototype) (+1)
Ways to decrease Luck[]
- Temporary
- Day Tripper addiction (-1)
- X-cell addiction (-2 all stats)
- Tattered rags (-1)
Fallout 76[]
Luck is a measure of general good fortune, and affects the recharge rate of Critical Hits as well as the condition and durability of items that the player loots.
Fallout Shelter[]
Modifies: Increases the chance of a Rush being successful, the amount of power/food/water obtained from rooms, the chance of finding items when exploring and the chance of getting caps when harvesting power/food/water from a room.
Ways to increase Luck[]
- Permanent
By training Luck in game room.
- Temporary
By equipping outfits that raises Luck.
Fallout: The Board Game[]
Unlike other games, Luck is not treated as a variable ranging from 1 to 10, but instead as a token that can be obtained at the start or when leveling up. A player character with the Luck token gets free rerolls during certain tests, as well as during fights if equipped with a Luck-based weapon.
The Vault Dweller player character always begins the game with Luck. Any player character wearing the singed duster gains one hit during a Luck test. During any Luck test or fight, Day Tripper can be used to gain one free hit. While not a Luck-based weapon, if a player character goes into a fight with the Fat Man, they must succeed at a Luck test or be unable to perform any rerolls during the fight.
Luck-based perks[]
- Fortune Finder
- Grim Reaper Sprint
Luck-based weapons[]
- Plasma gun
- Super sledge
Gallery[]
Video[]
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