Perception

	Primary statistic Perception
	Fallout modifies Sequence, ranged combat distance modifiers, dialogue options, distance from enemies in random encounters, First Aid, Doctor, Lockpick, Traps. related perks Awareness, Better Criticals, Bonus Rate of Fire, Earlier Sequence, Empathy, Friendly Foe, Healer, Night Vision, Ranger, Scout, Sharpshooter, Sniper, Bonus Rate of Fire. related traits Gifted, Night Person Fallout 2 modifies Sequence, ranged combat distance modifiers, dialogue options, distance from enemies in random encounters, First Aid, Doctor, Lockpick, Traps related perks Awareness, Better Criticals, Bonus Rate of Fire, Cautious Nature, Earlier Sequence, Empathy, Healer, Night Vision, Ranger, Scout, Sharpshooter, Sniper related traits Gifted Fallout 3 modifies Explosives, Lockpick, Energy Weapons, minimum distance for red compass markers related perks Better Criticals, Infiltrator, Light Step, Sniper, Thief Fallout: New Vegas modifies Energy Weapons, Lockpick, Explosives, minimum distance for red compass markers related perks Better Criticals, Friend of the Night, Hobbler, Infiltrator, Light Step, Sniper related traits Four Eyes Fallout Tactics modifies Sequence, ranged combat distance modifiers, distance from enemies in random encounters, First Aid, Doctor, Lockpick, Traps, Pilot related perks Sniper, Bonus Rate of Fire, Awareness, Night Vision, Sharpshooter, Healer, Ranger, Scout, Death Sense Van Buren, J.E. Sawyer's Fallout RPG modifies ? related perks ? related traits ?

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“

The ability to see, hear, taste and notice unusual things. A high Perception is important for a sharpshooter.

”— Fallout In-game description

Perception is one of the seven Primary Statistics in the SPECIAL system.

Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics

Modifies: Sequence, ranged combat distance modifiers and the First Aid, Doctor, Lockpick, Traps and Pilot skills. A player character with higher Perception may notice things that allow them to open up new dialogue options on occasion. It also determines how far away your character starts from hostile critters in random encounters.

Perception is required for many perks, notably PE 8 for Sniper in Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics.

In Fallout 2, Perception can be raised with the Green memory module using ACE (+1, permanent) and Mentats (+2, temporary).

Fallout 3

Modifies: Explosives, Lockpick and Energy Weapons skills

Perception determines how far away you can detect enemies on your compass (enemies show as red bars). When playing with a high Perception, you will be able to "sense" your enemies even before they come into view.

Having enough perception can yield dialog options with some NPCs, such as Moira Brown, Mel and Machete.

Value	Skill Modifiers
1	Energy Weapons +2, Explosives +2, Lockpick +2
2	Energy Weapons +4, Explosives +4, Lockpick +4
3	Energy Weapons +6, Explosives +6, Lockpick +6
4	Energy Weapons +8, Explosives +8, Lockpick +8
5	Energy Weapons +10, Explosives +10, Lockpick +10
6	Energy Weapons +12, Explosives +12, Lockpick +12
7	Energy Weapons +14, Explosives +14, Lockpick +14
8	Energy Weapons +16, Explosives +16, Lockpick +16
9	Energy Weapons +18, Explosives +18, Lockpick +18
10	Energy Weapons +20, Explosives +20, Lockpick +20

Perception-Based Perks

Perk	Requirement	Level	Additional Requirements
Thief	4	2	Agility 4
Sniper	6	12	Agility 6
Light Step	6	14	Agility 6
Better Criticals	6	16	Luck 6
Infiltrator	7	18	Lockpick 70

The benefit of the Survival Expert perk is affected by what you say to Moira Brown after each portion of The Wasteland Survival Guide quest. Having a perception of 7 yields relevant "smart" dialog options at the end of the Contract Radiation Sickness and Traversing a Mine Field objectives.

Ways to increase Perception

• The Perception Bobblehead can be found in the Museum of Dave at the Republic of Dave, located in the extreme northeastern area of the Wasteland.
• The perk Ant Sight can be obtained from completing the quest Those!, which permanently increases perception by 1.
• The Intense Training perk will allow you to increase your Perception (or any other S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat) once for each time that you take it by one point.
• The Night Person Perk increases your Perception and Intelligence when the sun is down
• Wearing certain pieces of armor such as Maple's Garb, Vance's Longcoat Outfit, and various pieces of headwear will increase your Perception by 1.
• Mentats and Orange Mentats can be used to temporarily increase Perception by 5.

Fallout: New Vegas

Perception affects the distance at which your character is able to detect other creatures. It also factors into a few Speech checks.

Perception-based perks

Perk	Requirement	Level	Additional Requirements
Friend of the Night	6	2	Sneak 30
Alertness Lonesome Road	6 - 9	12	—
Sniper	6	12	Agility 6
Hobbler Dead Money	7	12	—
Light Step	6	14	Agility 6
Better Criticals	6	16	Luck 6
Infiltrator	7	18	Lockpick 70

Ways to increase

• Absinthe
• Coyote Tobacco Chew
• Mentats
• Party Time Mentats
• Hat-like Headgear (e.g. Pre-war Ball Cap)
• 1st Recon beret
• Implants (New Vegas Medical Clinic)
• Intense Training Perk
• Night Person Perk
• Glasses (with Four Eyes trait)
• Stealth suit Mk II Old World Blues

Level names and statistics

Value	Name	Tick mark distance	Skill Modifiers
1	Deaf Bat	?	Energy Weapons/Lockpick/Explosives +2
2	Senile Mole	?	Energy Weapons/Lockpick/Explosives +4
3	Squinting Newt	?	Energy Weapons/Lockpick/Explosives +6
4	Unsuspecting Trout	?	Energy Weapons/Lockpick/Explosives +8
5	Wary Trout	?	Energy Weapons/Lockpick/Explosives +10
6	Alert Coyote	?	Energy Weapons/Lockpick/Explosives +12
7	Big-eyed Tiger	?	Energy Weapons/Lockpick/Explosives +14
8	Monocled Falcon	?	Energy Weapons/Lockpick/Explosives +16
9	Sniper Hawk	?	Energy Weapons/Lockpick/Explosives +18
10	Eagle with Telescope	?	Energy Weapons/Lockpick/Explosives +20

Notes

• Perception does not increase V.A.T.S or regular accuracy at all, has been tested thoroughly and has been proven to be false.
• If the player has a Perception of 8 while having no stats at 1 or a Luck of 10/1, Doc Mitchell will say "Nothing gets by you, huh? Coulda used you when I lost my keys last month."
• If the player has a Perception of 1, Doc Mitchell will say "Now I ain't no optometrist, but maybe we should fit you for some glasses while you're here."
• There are a lot of perception and Intelligence checks of 7+ in the Dead Money DLC
• You can max out Perception starting with only 6 points in it, Four Eyes trait + Lucky Shades + Hat + Implant (6 - 1 + 3 + 1 + 1 =10).

Lionheart

This is the ability to perceive the environment and notice things that others might miss. It is a combination of the individual’s senses, including touch, sight, taste, smell and hearing. This attribute factors strongly into a character’s ability to notice unusual things about the environment. Magic Wielders use this ability to understand their spirit, so Mana is partially determined by this attribute.

References

Primary statistics Strength · Perception · Endurance · Charisma · Intelligence · Agility · Luck