Heavy Handed (Fallout: New Vegas)

	For a cross-game overview of this trait, see Heavy Handed.

Heavy Handed is a trait in Fallout: New Vegas.

Effects[]

Taking this trait grants a benefit of a 20% bonus to damage when using melee and unarmed weapons and a penalty of a 60% decrease to critical hit damage when using melee and unarmed weapons.

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

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

Example: Using a cattle prod.

${\displaystyle 5 \times 40\% \times 150\%=3}$

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.

Notes[]

• Since one inflicts more damage consistently with this trait, Critical Hits are less of an issue, unless one relies on sneak attack criticals as a major source of damage or if the character inflicts critical hits often due to perks, high Luck, and/or high weapon multipliers.
• Taking this trait has the effect of improving the utility of some low-damage weapons into the mid-game that would otherwise be ignored after early-game (and further enhances a few end-game weapons), such as:
  • 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: Only 10 critical damage

See also[]

• Critical Chance
• Fallout: New Vegas combat