Level 50 critical energy weapons build, optimized around achieving max possible critical hit chance, high damage output (with ranged weapons), max base HP, max base DT (so we can withstand while wearing light armor), utilizes energy weapons, as well as crafting magazines for endless supply of True Police Stories.
 
 

Preview

 
 
 

Introduction

Before we begin, this build requires you have all DLCs, and if you are a beginner, be aware that early levels will be tedious and relatively tough and know that this guide contains spoilers and is primarily focused on seasoned players who are more familiar with the game mechanics and are ready to take a challenge.
 
 

 
 
 

SPECIAL

 

Base	Implants	Gear & Perks	Total
S 5	+1 Strength Implant	+2 Reinforced Spine	8
P 5	+1 Perception Implant	+1 1st Recon beret	7
E 8	+1 Endurance Implant	+1 Atomic-valence tri-radii-oscillator	10
C 1	+1 Charisma Implant	+1 1st Recon beret	3
I 6	+1 Intelligence Implant		7
A 7	+1 Agility Implant		8
L 8	+1 Luck Implant	+1 Divide Survivor	10

 
 
 

Traits

Name	Benefit	Penalty	Notes
Built to Destroy	+3% Critical Chance	+15% weapon wear	+3% crit chance for +15% weapon wear isn’t bad, Jury Rigging and weapon repair kits make this a negligible issue.
Hot Blooded	+15% damage when your health is below 50%	-2 to Perception and Agility when your health is below 50%	An overlooked perk, +15% damage (every type) when below 50% HP is a no brainer here, also negative effects could be easily negated by reading skill books to offset the penalties.

 
 
 

Tag Skills

Guns, Energy Weapons, Sneak
 
 
Note: Guns, Energy Weapons, Sneak, Repair, Science, Lockpick, Medicine are fine choices.
 
By level 50 we’ll have enough skill points already, but being ranged focused build means we don’t need to invest in Melee Weapons, Unarmed and Explosives skills before maxing out other more important skills.
 
 
 

Perks

Pick perks in order you prefer.
 
 

Level #	Name	Level req	Other requirements	Ranks	Benefit
2	Rapid Reload	2	AG 5, Guns 30	1	All of your weapon reloads are 25% faster than normal.
4	Comprehension	4	IN 4	1	You gain one additional skill point for reading books and double the skill points for reading magazines.
6	Cherchez La Femme – Confirmed Bachelor	2	Female PC – Male PC	1	+10% damage to the same s*x and unique dialogue options with certain characters.
8	Stonewall	8	ST 6, EN 6	1	+5 DT against melee and unarmed attacks and cannot be knocked down during combat.
10	Finesse	10	None	1	+5% Critical Chance.
12	Life Giver	12	EN 6	1	+30 hit points.
14	Silent Running	12	AG 6, Sneak 50	1	Running no longer factors into a successful sneak attempt.
16	Jury Rigging	14	Repair 90	1	Repair any item using a roughly similar item.
18	Better Criticals	16	PE 6, LK 6	1	+50% damage with critical hits.
20	Nerd Rage	10	IN 5, Science 50	1	+15 DT and Strength increased to 10 whenever health is 20% or lower.
22	Toughness	6	EN 5	2	+3 DT permanently.
24	Toughness	6	EN 5	2	+3 DT permanently.
26	Black Widow – Lady Killer	2	Female PC – Male PC	1	+10% damage to the opposite s*x and unique dialogue options with certain characters.
28	Living Anatomy	8	Medicine 70	1	Shows health and Damage Threshold of any target. +5% bonus to damage against humans and non-feral ghouls.
30	Implant GRX       (Optional)	30	Endurance 8	2	You gain a non-addictive subdermal turbo (chem) injector. This perk may be taken twice, with the second rank increasing the effect from 2 to 3 seconds and the uses per day from 5 to 10 (activated in the Pip-Boy inventory).
32	Implant GRX       (Optional)	30	Endurance 8	2	You gain a non-addictive subdermal turbo (chem) injector. This perk may be taken twice, with the second rank increasing the effect from 2 to 3 seconds and the uses per day from 5 to 10 (activated in the Pip-Boy inventory).
34	Chemist	14	Medicine 60	1	Chems and (in Hardcore) stimpaks last twice as long.
36	Voracious Reader	22	IN 7	1	Damaged books become blank magazines; can copy existing magazines into blank magazines.
38	Laser Commander	22	Energy Weapons 90	1	You do an extra 15% damage and have a 10% extra chance to critically hit with any laser weapon.
40	Bloody Mess	6	None	1	+5% overall damage; more violent death animations.
42	Retention	2	Intelligence 5	1	Skill magazines have a longer duration.
44	Light Touch	2	AG 6, Repair 45	1	While wearing light armor you gain +5% critical hit chance and your enemies suffer a -25% critical hit chance.
46	Meltdown	16	Energy Weapons 90	1	Foes killed by player Energy Weapons emit a corona of harmful energy. (Note: May cause a chain reaction)
48	Vigilant Recycler	6	Science 70	1	Recover drained ammunition twice as often for energy weapons and all recipes for recycling recipes are unlocked.
50	Just Lucky I’m Alive	50	Neutral Karma	1	+4 Luck for 3 minutes upon finishing a battle with less than 25% health; immunity to critical hits, +50% critical damage.

 
 
 

Special Perks

Name	Unlock conditions	Ranks	Benefit
Lonesome Road	Leave ED-E behind in Ulysses’ Temple.	1	+10% damage and +10% V.A.T.S. hit chance when you have no companions.
Reinforced Spine	Sink Auto-Doc after Old World Blues is finished (optional to get if you take your organic spine back).	1	Strength +2, Damage Threshold +2

 
 
 

Alternative Perks

You can drop Implant GRX and choose other perks instead, below are some examples with synergizing perks.
 
 

Implant GRX (2)	If you like utilizing Implant GRX
Shotgun Surgeon & And Stay Back	If you like shotguns.
Cowboy & Quick Draw	If you like being a cowboy.
Sneering Imperialist & Fight the Power!	More damage and critical hit chance against certain types of NPCs.
Tunnel Runner & Travel Light	Faster movement while wearing light armor.
Grunt, Run ‘n Gun, or The Professional	Other guns oriented perks.
Fast Metabolism, Old World Gourmet, or Chem Resistant	Other potential perks.

 
 
 

Apparel

Name	Effect
1st Recon beret	PER +1       Crit. Chan. +5
Ulysses’ duster	Crit. Chance +5%       CH +1
Atomic-valence tri-radii-oscillator	DT 4       Endurance +1       Health Regeneration

 
 
 

Attributes, perks and traits that increase critical chance include:

Name	Crit chance	Total
Luck	Permanent +1-10%	10
Built to Destroy	Permanent +3%	13
Light Touch	Temporary +5% while wearing any light armor	18
Finesse	Permanent +5%	23
Laser Commander	Permanent +10% with lasers	33
Set Lasers for Fun	Permanent +2/4% with energy weapons	37
1st Recon beret	+5 Critical Chance	42
Ulysses’ duster	+5% Critical Chance	47
True Police Stories	Temporary +5% (+10% with Comprehension)	57
Just Lucky I’m Alive	Temporary +4 Luck for 3 minutes when ending combat with 25% health or less, effective +4%.	57/61
Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System	Temporary +5% critical hit chance when using V.A.T.S.       (Note: The critical chance added by V.A.T.S. is a flat bonus and is not affected by your weapon’s critical multiplier.)	61/66

 
We have total 57 crit hit chance with apparel and True Police Stories, and up to 9 extra situational bonus equaling to 66.
 
 
 

Tips

• After initial dialogues with Doc Mitchell, avoid leveling up and head straight to gambling (Blackjack) to make enough caps to buy implants from Doctor Usanagi which is located at New Vegas medical clinic. Note: You can find a Sexy Sleepwear at Mick & Ralph’s for +1 LK, also remember to install intelligence implant before starting to level up.
• Farm skill books as much as you can (prioritize Sneak skill books first), but do not read them until you obtain Comprehension perk.
• Check your perk requirements and plan ahead.
• Sneaking is extremely helpful during early-mid levels so don’t forget to increase your sneak skill whenever you can.
• Don’t be afraid to do chems! Chems are powerful that give powerful boosts to the user, Med-X, Slasher, Turbo, etc., are all helpful, also don’t be afraid of addiction, there are plenty of fixers and curing addiction is cheap.

 
 
 

I guess this is it…

 
 
I’d just like to thank everyone that read and found this guide helpful. I’ll be updating the guide whenever I can, don’t forget to rate and like, also let me know if there are any errors.
 
 
Stay safe wastelanders!
 
 

 
 
I hope you enjoy the Guide we share about Fallout: New Vegas – Critical Energy Build + Weapon + Perks/Skills; if you think we forget to add or we should add more information, please let us know via commenting below! See you soon!