Pip-Boy 3000

The Pip-Boy 3000 is a pre-War electronic Personal Information Processor (PIP) serving as a database for the wearer's personal information and inventory. It appears in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.

Background[]

The 3000 model, like the 2000 model, displays its information on a black, monochrome screen. Like the 2000 model, it is capable of keeping tabs on the user's health condition, mapping out areas, and taking and storing notes. Unlike its predecessor though, it also comes with added features, such as a built-in radio, Geiger counter and Pip-Boy light, used to illuminate dark areas.^[1] There are several models of Pip-Boy 3000 that are designated by letter, i.e. Pip-Boy 3000A.^[2] which keep a similar appearance but contain different hardware. The major difference from the 2000 model is its need to be worn as a gauntlet, which seals with a biometric lock^[3] the 3000A is locked with bolts and can be removed wholesale, replaced, or temporarily displaced to allow for clothing to pass under it.^{[Non-game 1]}

Manufactured by RobCo Industries, copies of the Pip-Boy 3000 model were distributed to the residents of Vault-Tec Vaults both in the American Southwest^[4] and on the East Coast^[5] prior to the Great War, in supplies large enough that generations over a span of 200 years were still able to receive one.

Characteristics[]

In both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, the Pip-Boy is worn on the character's left forearm. The default Pip-Boy access buttons are the <Tab> key on PC, the circle button on PS3, and B on Xbox 360. This multifunction device has been programmed by Pip-Boy developers to display the wearer's stats, area maps, inventory, and item properties. It also includes a Geiger counter and a radio. Its screen doubles as a flashlight for fixing visibility issues in dark or obscured areas (enabled by holding down the access button). A user can set their color preference for the display. The four colors available are amber, blue, green and white. The display color must be changed through the pause menu rather than the Pip-Boy itself.

Functions (Fallout 3)[]

STATS tab[]

• Status - Displays the user's condition, radiation levels, and any effects that are currently active.
  • CND - Condition: Status of limbs, number of stimpaks, and enables directional application of stimpaks to crippled areas or to the body as a whole.
  • RAD - Radiation: Precise reading of user's radiation level using internal Geiger counter and options to administer Rad-X and RadAway as necessary.
  • EFF - Effects: Displays effects of currently equipped clothing, radiation level, chemicals the user has ingested, the well-rested function, any addictions the user may have, as well as any crippled limbs.
• S.P.E.C.I.A.L. - Displays the user's SPECIAL information as well as indicating positive(+) or negative(-) effects on these levels.
• Skills - Displays the user's skill levels as well as indicating positive(+) or negative(-) effects on them.
• Perks - Displays a comprehensive list of the user's perks.
• General - Gives a rough indication of the user's Karma level and gives various interesting pieces of information about the user and their actions.

Extra information across the top in STATS tab

• LVL - The level the user has attained, as determined by the number of Experience Points that have been earned.
• HP - How many Hit Points the user has/the maximum Hit Points the user can have.
• AP - How many Action Points the user has/the maximum Action Points the user has.
• XP - How many Experience Points the user has/how many experience points are required to level up.

STATS tab > General :

Name	Increasing	Notes
Quests Completed	1 point per Main or Side Quest successfully completed.
Locations Discovered	1 point per World Map location discovered.
People Killed	1 point per human or non-feral ghoul killed.
Creatures Killed	1 point per animal, insect, or feral ghoul killed.
Locks Picked	1 point per lock successfully picked.
Computers Hacked	1 point per computer successfully hacked.
Stimpaks Taken	1 point per stimpak used on yourself.
Rad-X Taken	1 point per Rad-X used on yourself.
RadAway Taken	1 point per RadAway used on yourself.
Chems Taken	1 point per drug used on yourself.	Drugs counting towards this statistic are: Jet (ultrajet), Buffout, Mentats (Berry Mentats, Grape Mentats, Orange Mentats), Med-X, Psycho, beer, wine, whiskey, Scotch, vodka, moonshine and Nuka-Cola Quantum.
Times Addicted	1 point per addiction.
Mines Disarmed	1 point per disarmed mine (excluding your own mines placed).
Speech Successes	1 point per successful Speech challenge.
Pockets Picked	1 point per successful pickpocket attempt.
Pants Exploded	1 point per successful planting of a mine or grenade during pickpocketing.
Books Read	1 point per Skill book used.
Bobbleheads Collected	1 point per bobblehead acquired.
Weapons Forged	1 point per custom-built weapon you have created.
People Mezzed	1 point per person or non-feral ghoul successfully mezzed with the Mesmetron.
Captives Rescued	1 point per super mutant captive freed.
Sandman Kills	1 point per person killed using the Mister Sandman perk.
Paralyzing Punches	1 point per punch landed using the Paralyzing Palm perk.
Robots Disabled	1 point per robot deactivated using the Robotics Expert perk.
Contracts Completed	1 point per ear turned in with the Contract Killer perk. (points are not given for ears not sold to Daniel Littlehorn)
Corpses Eaten	1 point per corpse eaten using the Cannibal perk.
Mysterious Stranger Visits	1 point per visit of the Mysterious Stranger.

ITEMS tab[]

• Weapons - Lists all weapons that the user is carrying, their stats, and allows them to be repaired/maintained.
• Apparel - Lists the clothing the user is carrying, their stats, and similar to weapons, gives the option to repair them.
• Aid - Shows any food or medical items the user is carrying and their effects.
• Misc - Shows any items that do not fall into any of the above categories.
  • Keyring - Stores keys and keycards, and shows a list of the ones that have been found, when it is selected.
• Ammo - Gives details on the types and amounts of ammunition that the user is carrying.
  • CND - Condition: how worn the item is.
  • DAM - Damage: How much damage this weapon deals.
  • DR - Damage Resistance: how much damage resistance the item adds.
  • WG - Weight Gain: how much weight gain the item adds while being carried.
  • VAL - Value: how much the item can be sold for.
  • Ammo - The weapons screen has an unlabeled section that shows the type and number of ammo in the weapon/in inventory.
  • EFFECTS - Additional bonus effects the item provides while equipped, e.g. bonuses to primary statistics.

Extra information across the top in ITEMS tab

• Wg - Shows how much weight the user is carrying/the maximum that the user can carry without over-encumberment.
• HP - How many Hit Points the user has/the maximum Hit Points the user can have.
• DR - The Damage Resistance of the user obtained by armor and clothing, perks, drugs, and other.
• Caps - The number of bottle caps carried by the user.

DATA tab[]

• Local Map - Shows a detailed map of the user's local area. The local map will only show areas that the player character has already explored.
• World Map - Shows a map of the area. Locations already discovered are marked, and new locations are automatically added when discovered. Discovered areas can be fast-traveled to by clicking on them in the map. The Explorer perk will automatically show all undiscovered locations on the map, but they may not be fast-traveled to until discovered. Both maps feature a quest-linked map marker which appears on the Pip-Boy HUD as a large, solid arrow and guides the user to their current quest destination. There is a secondary, user-selectable marker that can be positioned anywhere on the map, which provides the same real-time guidance. This marker appears on the Pip-Boy HUD as a large, unfilled arrow. The maps can also show the location of one's current companions, who appear as small open triangles.
• Quests - Shows any quests the user has been given as well as a record of those completed. Selecting a quest makes it the active quest, and markers for the quest will now be found on the local and world maps.
• Notes - The notes section keeps a record of all notes that the user has discovered. Paper notes can be read here, and holotapes can be played.
• Radio - A built-in radio receiver that can tune into local radio stations that have been discovered. The radio does not affect sneaking.

Extra information across the top in DATA tab

• Location - Shows the user's current location.
• Date and Time - Date and time in the game world shows in the upper right corner.

Pip-Boy flashlight[]

The display of the Pip-Boy 3000 can be set to an over-bright mode and used to illuminate an area immediately around the user, acting as a makeshift flashlight in darkened areas. The user's color preference will not affect the color of the light, and even though the display is located on the person's arm, and is usually facing away from them while not in use, it still provides 360 degree, three-dimensional lighting.

To activate the Pip-Boy light, hold down the Pip-Boy access button. The default Pip-Boy access buttons are the <Tab> key on PC, the circle button on PS3, and B on Xbox 360. The Pip-Boy light can be deactivated the same way.

The Pip-Boy light increases visibility and makes the user easier to detect while sneaking, even in broad daylight and with a Stealth Boy or Chinese stealth armor.

Hot Key[]

Hot Key can be used to bind a shortcut to a key or button on the D-pad of the controller or a number key on the keyboard in order to quickly equip weapons, clothing, aid, or other items without having to pull up the Pip-Boy and navigate the inventory. To hotkey an item on PC, hold a number key (1-8) and then left-click on an item in the Pip-Boy. To hotkey an item using a controller, hold the right bumper and use one of the eight directions on the D-pad to select a hotkey slot. Now when the Pip-Boy is closed, that item can be used or equipped simply by pressing the corresponding D-pad or number key. Holding down the D-pad or number key will display all of the current hotkey assignments.

Functions (Fallout: New Vegas)[]

The Pip-Boy 3000A that the Courier is given by Doc Mitchell operates in the same manner as its Fallout 3 counterpart. There are a few differences in the display:

• The default interface color is set to amber instead of green. Despite this, the Pip-Boy flashlight is still green.
• In the stats menu, doctor's bags can be administered in addition to stimpaks.
• The stats menu general screen includes the Courier's reputation with different factions, if they have achieved one with them, in addition to karma.
• The items menu shows the user's DT for Damage Threshold in addition to DR, which automatically toggles back and forth if the user has any DR.
• The items menu weapons display now includes a weapon mod option along with the repair option. This is used to add any mods possessed to the weapon they are intended for.
• The items menu weapons display also shows the skill requirement and strength requirement of weapons.
• In the items menu Ammo tab, different types of the same caliber can be selected, which allows for easy ammo cycling with a hotkey from the HUD.
• Poison can be hotkeyed in order to easily apply the poison to an equipped weapon.
• The data menu world map will display reputation with the faction associated with any location highlighted.
• The data menu now has a misc tab instead of notes, which includes all of the old notes functions as well as challenges.
• In Hardcore mode, the "stats" page also has tabs for dehydration, starvation and sleep deprivation, which are only enabled in hardcore mode. The Hardcore mode factors are as follows:
  • H2O - Shows a number between 0-1000 representing how dehydrated the user is, and any stat reductions due to dehydration.
  • FOD - Shows a number between 0-1000 that represents how much food the user has eaten lately, and any effects caused by hunger.
  • SLP - Shows a number between 0-1000 that tells the user how much rest their body needs to function well, along with any effects caused by sleep deprivation.

Pimp-Boy 3 Billion[]

A hand-crafted modification of the standard Pip-Boy 3000A, the extravagant Pimp-Boy 3 Billion is solid gold and encrusted with diamonds. It can be obtained from Mick at Mick & Ralph's in Freeside as a reward for persuading the Omertas to return to Mick for their weapon needs. Mick will switch the user's Pip-Boy between the 3000A and the 3 Billion upon request. The Wild Wasteland trait causes disco music to play each time it is equipped.

Glove[]

When first equipping the Pip-Boy 3000, the player character is also given a Pip-Boy glove, considered a separate item with a weight of 0, a health of 100,000, an armor rating of 0, and a value of 30. However, the item is marked as "unplayable," and therefore cannot be removed and sold normally. It only fits over the left hand.

Notes[]

• In Fallout 3, a message about the upkeep of a Pip-Boy is broadcast through the Vault radio: "Remember - your Pip-Boy is not a toy. Proper cleaning and maintenance will ensure its operation for this and future generations."
• It seems that depending on which vault the Pip-Boy comes from, the numbers on the Vault Boy's jumpsuit change accordingly.
• Non-player characters' Pip-Boys all show the Status page in the stats tab but never change when they are wounded.
• It is not possible to save while viewing the Pip-Boy. The same occurs with the Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV in Fallout 4.
• The Pip-Boy can act as a "pause screen." If viewing the Pip-Boy, time will not pass in-game, making this an excellent secondary pause feature.
• The device apparently has the ability to transfer files from terminals.
• In Fallout: New Vegas, the Pip-Boy reserves the up-directional/number key 2 space for changing ammunition types, leaving only 7 hotkeys available instead of the 8 available in Fallout 3.
  • In the PC version of the game, the key for changing ammo can be rebound to a key other than 2. Doing so will not open up an 8th hotkey, however, and the 2 key will become unusable.
  • Implant GRX cannot be added to a hotkey.
• In Fallout 3 and New Vegas, the Pip-Boy will not display bottle cap amounts over one million (1,000,000+), however the buy/sell screen at a trader will display amounts higher than this.
• When using a Stealth Boy and looking at the Pip-Boy, only the screen will be visible as the stealth field affect applies to the player character's model.
• Even if the color of the Pip-Boy screen is changed, in third-person mode it always stays green. This also applies to the one worn by NPCs.
• One can see a fingerprint on the Pip-Boy screen near the bottom right side, it is most easily seen on the Status screen or the weapon selection screen.
• The Pip-Boy appears to be equipped with a motion sensor and compass, as it feeds real-time directions via the HUD.
• It is known that the map for the Pip-Boy is moved with a small device on the left side of the screen, along with the control on the glove portion of the device.
• The Pip-Boy's design placing the buttons and knobs on the left side, while also worn on the left arm, would have led to the user having to cover the screen with their hand in order to reach them; in-game the buttons and knobs can be seen being pressed and turned by themselves. The developers revealed in The Art of Fallout 3 included with the Fallout 3 Collector's Edition that they only realized this years after the game's release, stating "It's only years later that I realized we should have put the knobs and control on the right side of the screen as opposed to the left, this would have been considerably more ergonomic. Oh well, ergonomics were never a priority in design for this era." The Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV in Fallout 4 remedied this design oversight and even showed the player character's hand interacting with the controls.
• Stanley Armstrong comments that the Pip-Boy 3000 is so durable that he guesses one could drop a bomb on it and it would still work. He then adds "In fact, I know you could." This turns out to be true as, should the player character be attacked/attack themselves with a Fat Man and survive, the Pip-Boy will still be completely functioning and undamaged.
  • According to Stanley Armstrong, biometric seals prevent the device from being removed, and Gary 23 in the Outcast outpost had his arm cut off because the Outcasts needed his Pip-Boy to unlock a weapons vault in the add-on Operation: Anchorage. However, this portrayal is notoriously inconsistent, as clothing in Fallout 3 is depicted as fitting under the Pip-Boy, with sleeves coming out on the other side, while in New Vegas this issue is not mentioned at all. The Courier directly receives a Pip-Boy from Doc Mitchell that he states he once wore and can also freely switch between the 3000 model and the Pimp-Boy 3 Billion when available. Ricky in Honest Hearts wears a Pip-Boy he claims to have found.
  • Despite their devastating effects on electronics, pulse grenades and other EMP-based weaponry don't seem to affect the Pip-Boy, despite it being an electronic device.
  • When swimming or diving the Pip-Boy does not short-circuit or malfunction in water, which points to the device being waterproof.
• Christine Royce indicates the Pip-Boy contains a fission battery when describing the process of making Sierra Madre chip "slugs" with the Coin Operator perk in Dead Money.
• Father Elijah in Dead Money refers to the Pip-Boy as a "piece of Rob-Co trash," though he wears one himself.

Behind the scenes[]

• In early concept art (see below), the Pip-Boy was named "Pit-Boy."
• In the cover illustration for Lonesome Road, the Pip-Boy is incorrectly worn on the Courier's right wrist.
• Amazon.com's Survival Edition of Fallout 3 was made available April 11, 2008 and included a life-size model of the Pip-Boy, with a fully functional digital clock screen, which could be worn on the wrist and came with a stand for display as a clock. This collection also included the Fallout 3 game, a metal Vault-Tec lunch box, 5" Vault Boy Bobblehead, The Art of Fallout 3 hardcover book, and The Making of Fallout 3 DVD, and sold for $120 on PC and $130 on PS3 and Xbox 360.
• In Valve Software's game Team Fortress 2, if a player had purchased Fallout: New Vegas before August 8, 2011, on Steam, they received a free cosmetic item modelled after the Pip-Boy 3000 as a promotional Item which can be equipped on the Engineer class. For players who didn't purchase the game at that time, they can purchase the Pip-Boy from the in-game item store. Equipping the Pip-Boy will visually change the interface for the Engineer's build/destroy menus. This special HUD also features a Vault Boy-style Engineer giving the Vault Boy's signature thumbs up.
• In March 2024, a crossover set for Magic: The Gathering strategy card game was released, with several of the cards featuring a Pip-Boy in the artwork.

Bugs[]

• PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 When viewing in Third-Person mode, the Pip-Boy 3000 glows green. It has been known to stay glowing as you bring it up to your face, rendering it almost impossible to read it. Usually, you can just exit the menu and turn it off for it to work, if not restarting the game. The easiest way of removing the green light is to turn on your Pip-Boy light which usually gets rid of the green light. If not, enter a house, and load the autosave, at which point the green light should be gone. ^[verified]
• Playstation 3 Xbox 360 There is a bug where the top of the Pip-Boy screen is cut off. It usually happens when viewing the Pip-Boy while getting shot at. This may be due to using the Chinese stealth armor. ^[verified]
• PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 When viewing the maps section of the Pip-Boy and then pausing for a period of time the background will disappear, easily fixed by lowering and raising it again. ^[verified]
• Playstation 3 Xbox 360 Occasionally, if one steps out of a building and directly views the Pip-Boy, the screen will be extremely bright, causing the screen to be almost unreadable. To fix this, load a previous (auto)save or turn on the light of the Pip-Boy itself. ^[verified]
• PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 Usually when you zoom all the way in on a location and try to place marker it will not mark, this can be solved by zooming out a little bit and placing. ^[verified]
• PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 In Fallout: New Vegas the Pip-Boy glove can sometimes disappear and not enable to take it back often due to the use of the space suit. ^[verified]
• Playstation 3 Sometimes when set on fire the Pip-Boy will stay on fire until you restart the game, loading doesn't fix the bug and can be seen in third person. ^[verified]
• PC Xbox 360 In Fallout: New Vegas the Pip-Boy will sometimes randomly move up the screen and be cut off from the player's view. It will continue to slowly move up the screen (regardless of reloading or sleeping) until you unequip all items. ^[verified]
• Playstation 3 Xbox 360 Sometimes the Pip-Boy glove disappears and is replaced with the right hand or just the left hand without glove. ^[verified]
• Xbox 360 Having a lot of items in the inventory can slow down load times, causing a delay when opening the Pip-Boy. ^[verified]
• Xbox 360 Rarely when opening the Pip-Boy, it will fly right, and all that can be seen is a blurred vision and the character's fingers. ^[verified]
• Playstation 3 In Fallout 3, sometimes when using the auto axe then opening the Pip-Boy menu, only the screen will appear. The frame will be invisible. This can be fixed by unequipping the auto axe and then equipping it again. ^[verified]
• PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 Sometimes when first receiving the Pimp-Boy 3 Billion, the PC's arm will turn sideways. There is no known way to fix this. ^[verified]
• PC Xbox 360 There have been reports of some bugs which cause the Pip-Boy glove to end up unequipped. If this happens and one wants the glove back, use the console command: “player.equipitem 25b83”. ^[verified]
• Playstation 3 Xbox 360 In Fallout: New Vegas, sometimes removing the marker on the Pip-Boy map can make the map itself disappear, however the map markers will still be available. This can be fixed by simply exiting and re-opening the Pip-Boy. ^[verified]
• PC If wishing to re-equip the Pip-Boy 3000 while using the Pimp-Boy 3 Billion, there are times it will not change back to the 3000 model. Loading a previous (auto)save fixes the issue. ^[verified]
• Playstation 3 Xbox 360 There is a bug when removing a marker on the world map, where the background map will appear completely blank but leave all icons visible. This can happen when changing tabs from 'DATA' to 'ITEMS' or 'STATS', or switching from 'World Map' to 'Local Map' or 'Quests'. Can be fixed by closing and opening the Pip-Boy. ^[verified]

Gallery[]

Pip-Boy screens[]

Icons and loading screens[]

Concept art[]

Other[]

References[]

Non-game

See also[]

• Lil' Pip 3000
• Pip-Boy 2000
• Pimp-Boy 3 Billion
• Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV

External links[]

• Another real-world PIP-Boy 3000 introduced as the LH HX2

v · d · e Pip-Boy models Canon models Pip-Boy 1.0 · Pip-Boy 2000 (Mark VI · B.E.) · Pip-Boy 3000 (Mark IV · Pimp-Boy 3 Billion) Non-canon models Lil' Pip 3000 · PIP-Pad · Super Pip-Boy Related RobCo Industries · Pip-Boy (character)