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For a cross-game overview of this skill, see Science. |
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“The Science skill represents your combined scientific knowledge and is primarily used to hack restricted computer terminals. It can be used for conversion and recycling of Energy Weapon ammunition at the workbenches. Some crafting recipes also require Science.”
Science is a skill in Fallout: New Vegas. It determines the chance to successfully hack computers and the ability to convert and recycle ammunition used in energy weapons. It also opens up dialogue options with certain characters for various results.
Initial level[]
Example: A starting Intelligence of 5 and Luck of 5.
Description[]
Like in Fallout 3, one's Science skill relative to the difficulty rating affects how hard the hacking mini-game is. At Science 100, even Hard terminals will have very few words to choose from. This can possibly be as low as 5 possible passwords which, combined with the Computer Whiz perk, means an 80% chance of getting most terminals off the bat without even having to look at the words.
Unlike Fallout 3, one's Science skill is used for more than dialogue checks and hacking. Many workbench crafting recipes, and some campfire recipes, rely on Science, specifically ones involving the creation and/or recycling of Energy Weapons ammunition and crafting chems.
Ways to increase Science[]
- Permanent
- Leveling up (up to +15 or +17 with Educated)
- Big Book of Science (+3 or +4 with Comprehension)
- Logic Co-Processor (+2 depending on Intelligence, a perfect Intelligence of 10 will see no benefit.)
- Good Natured (+5)
- Skilled (+5)
- Temporary
- Programmer's Digest (+10 or +20 with Comprehension)
- Night Person (+2-4 at night depending on Intelligence, a perfect Intelligence of 10 will see no benefit.)
- Mentats (+2-4 depending on Intelligence, a perfect Intelligence of 10 will see no benefit.)
- Party Time Mentats (+2-4 depending on Intelligence, a perfect Intelligence of 10 will see no benefit.)
- All-purpose science suit (+5)
- Scientist outfit (+5)
- Followers lab coat (+10)
- Followers doctor coat (+5)
- (Legacy content) Lesko's lab coat (+10)
Dr. Klein's scrubs (+10 up to +14 depending on current Intelligence)- Dr. Mobius' scrubs (+15 up to +19 depending on current Intelligence)
- Light Switch 01 Upgrade: "Smart Lights" (+5-9 (depending on current Intelligence) for 12 hours or until the player uses the Light Switch 02 Upgrade: "Mood Lights")
Black coffee (+2 to +4 depending on Intelligence; an Intelligence of 10 will see no benefit, Survival can increase the bonus by up to +12 at 100%)
Perks that require Science skill[]
| Perk | Requirement | Level | Additional Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
In Shining Armor 
|
70 | 2 | Repair 20 |
| Vigilant Recycler | 70 | 6 | — |
| Math Wrath | 70 | 10 | — |
| Nerd Rage! | 50 | 10 | Intelligence 5 |
| Robotics Expert | 50 | 12 | — |
| Computer Whiz | 70 | 18 | Intelligence 7 |
| Nuka Chemist | 90 | 22 | — |
Interactions that require Science skill[]
- 25 Science to use a chemistry set or Deluxe chemistry set to create either Stimpaks or Chems.
25 Science to use Elijah's chemistry set once every 24 hours to produce one jar of Cloud residue in the abandoned BoS bunker (50 Science required before completing the DLC to open the door it's behind, bypassed after completing the DLC).- 25 Science to inform Captain Gilles that the radioactive supply caches can be treated with Rad-X during No, Not Much.
- 25 Science to discover that Victor had his controls overridden, preventing him from participating in the showdown during Ghost Town Gunfight.
- 25 Science to discuss with Doctor Klein about the ability of the robo-scorpions to "consume" Intelligence.
- 30 Science to successfully reprogram Primm Slim to become the new Sheriff of Primm during My Kind of Town (bypasses Spare parts requirement).
- 35 Science to discuss with Pete how the Boomers figured out it was safe to inhabit the Nellis Air Force Base, gaining Boomers fame.
- 35 Science or 35 Explosives to defuse the bomb on the Camp McCarran monorail during I Put a Spell on You (bypasses activation code requirement).
- 35 Science to discuss with God about the typical cause of brain damage in super mutants from prolonged usage of Stealth Boys.
- 35 Science and 6 Perception or 8 Intelligence to discuss with God about blocking Father Elijah's eavesdropping through the collars.
- 35 Science to discuss with Doctor Klein about the Auto-Doc's successful brain extraction conducted by Doctor Mobius.
- 40 Science and 30 Barter to persuade Cliff Briscoe to sell the key to the supply of souvenir rockets in the Dino Bite gift shop that can power the REPCONN rockets during Come Fly With Me.
- 45 Science to repair the broken Mister Handy, PYTHON and have it fix the generator during That Lucky Old Sun (bypasses Poseidon Energy employee ID card requirement).
- 45 Science to show Jack how to assemble the rebreather during Volare! (bypasses Spare parts requirement).
- 45 Science to point out Ricky's Pip-Boy is broken and non-functional.
- 50 Science to hack the terminal of Sgt. Contreras and download the weapons manifest to get the weapon This Machine during Dealing with Contreras.
- 50 Science to repair the terminal network connection in the East pump station during Hard Luck Blues.
- 50 Science to point out to Primm Slim that he was hacked to cover up the theft of Vance's 9mm submachine gun from the Vikki and Vance Casino.
- 50 Science to teach Jack how to make Party Time Mentats, Slasher, Rocket and super stimpaks during Aba Daba Honeymoon.
- 50 Science to explain to Loyal how overcharging the sonic emitter can drive off the giant ants during Ant Misbehavin'.
- 50 Science to activate the anti-aircraft gun at Hoover Dam to shoot down President Kimball's Vertibird during Arizona Killer.
- 50 Science to suggest Jacob Hoff try a one-time dose of a drug cocktail to fix his addiction during High Times (bypasses Fixer requirement).
- 50 Science to discuss with Doctor Mobius about how he trapped the Think Tank.
- 50 Science along with two Fixer and Whiskey to help Bill Ronte with his addiction in High Times.
50 Science to discuss with Ulysses about what caused the destruction of Hopeville.- 55 Science to improve the trajectory of the REPCONN rockets during Come Fly With Me.
- 55 Science to run a bypass on ED-E (reduces Repair requirement to 35) (Note, on the Xbox 360 (no patches), this is reversed to 55 Repair lowered to 35, requiring 65 Science).
- 55 Science to demonstrate to the Think Tank the Courier's intact bodily autonomy during Welcome to the Big Empty.
- 60 Science to repair the broken Mister Handy, Rhonda during Crazy, Crazy, Crazy.
- 60 Science to reprogram Fisto into working for James Garret during Wang Dang Atomic Tango (bypasses getting a program disc from Ralph).
- 60 Science to discuss with Clanden about making a chlorine bomb to attack the Strip during How Little We Know.
- 60 Science to trick Ralph into giving his supply of chlorine for free during How Little We Know.
- 60 Science to persuade Dean Domino that turning on the hologram security in the Villa will keep him safe during Strike Up the Band.
- 65 Science to point out to Doctor Klein that the X-2 antenna can focus brainwave patterns and combined with the other tech, can break into Doctor Mobius's Forbidden Zone.
- 65 Science to discuss with Ulysses about the origins of the tunnelers.
- 67 Science or 85 Repair to disarm the laser tripwires that release the four Protectrons in the solar collection tower at HELIOS One during That Lucky Old Sun.
- 70 Science to point out to Keely during There Stands the Grass that it's better to keep and learn from the Vault 22 research data than delete it and possibly allow the dangerous experiments to happen again.
- 70 Science to discuss with Scribe Ibsen about partitioning the virus-infected files in the bunker terminals during Hidden Valley computer virus.
- 70 Science to persuade Doctor Klein to share some of the Think Tank's collective knowledge.
- 75 Science to correctly interpret Christine's thoughts about Father Elijah's using a Pip-Boy to communicate through the Villa fountain's holo-projector.
- 75 Science to point out to Dean Domino during Curtain Call at the Tampico that getting backstage is pointless if the security terminal can't be found quickly.
- 75 Science to threaten Father Elijah about ruining the data contents of the Sierra Madre vault and getting him to personally intervene during Heist of the Centuries.
- 75 Science to identify Doctor 8's broadcasts as RobCo termlink protocols and how they can be hacked during On the Same Wavelength.
- 75 Science to successfully persuade the Courier's brain with scientific logic into going back to its body during Old World Blues.
- 80 Science to bypass the 2000-caps credit check needed to enter The Strip.
- 80 Science to convince Scribe Ibsen to delete the Brotherhood of Steel's files on the computers at Hidden Valley.
- 85 Science to point out to Doctor Klein that the technology seems to be more biologically-adapted than the Think Tank originally thought.
- 90 Science to discuss with Doc Henry about testing the Stealth Boy Mark II prototype on an altered night stalker brain instead of Lily during Guess Who I Saw Today.
- 100 Science to activate the self-destruct sequence in the Hidden Valley bunker without the Hidden Valley self-destruct password.
- 100 Science to persuade General Oliver to order an NCR military withdrawal from Hoover Dam during All or Nothing by stating that running the Dam at full efficiency requires a technical skill that only Mr. House can achieve.
- 100 Science to hack the remote maintenance terminal in the Switching station during Mixed Signals (bypasses Remote maintenance terminal password requirement).
- 100 Science and 75 Speech to convince Doctor Klein to surrender to Mobius and end the conflict (bypasses getting 3 votes from the other Think Tank members).
- 100 Science or 100 Repair to disable the eyebots in Ulysses' Temple during The Courier.
Notable Science experts[]
- Elizabeth Kieran (98) - NCR Major providing aid to NCR squatters living in Freeside.
- Lady Jane (98) - a caravan merchant living in Freeside.
