Action Points

Derived statistic
Action Points
Perk image in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout / Fallout 2 / Fallout Tactics
Modifies	Number of things possible to do during one combat turn
Affected by	Agility
Base value	5 + Agility / 2
Related perks	Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics: Action Boy/Action Girl, Bonus HtH Attacks, Bonus Move, Bonus Rate of Fire, Quick Pockets Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics: HtH Evade, Quick Recovery Fallout Tactics only: Flexible
Related traits	Bruiser, Fast Shot Fallout Tactics only: Rabid, Targeting Computer
Fallout 3
Modifies	Number of things a player can do during V.A.T.S. mode
Affected by	Agility
Base value	65 + 2 * Agility
Related perks	Action Boy/Action Girl, Grim Reaper's Sprint, Nerves of Steel
Fallout: New Vegas
Modifies	Number of things a player can do during V.A.T.S. mode
Affected by	Agility
Base value	65 + 3 * Agility
Related perks	Action Boy/Action Girl, Beautiful Beatdown, Grim Reaper's Sprint, Math Wrath, Nerves of Steel, Plasma Spaz
Related traits	Fast Shot, Kamikaze, Trigger Discipline
Van Buren
Modifies	Number of action a player can perform during one V.A.T.S. sequence
Affected by	Agility
Base value	?
Related perks	?
Related traits	?
Fallout and Fallout Tactics perk icon

 

“The number of actions that the character can take during one combat turn.”— Fallout In-game description

Action Points (or AP) is a game mechanic governing the number of things a character can do during one combat turn in Fallout and Fallout 2. In Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, Action Points are used to attack in V.A.T.S..

Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics

Action Points are spent firing a weapon, reloading a weapon, fetching equipment from a character's backpack or moving to a new battlefield hex.

$\text{Initial level}=5+floor\left\lfloor\frac{\text{Agility}}{2}\right\rfloor$

Example: A starting Agility of 5.

$5+\left\lfloor\frac{5}{2}\right\rfloor=7~\text{Action points}$

Notes

• The Action Boy perk adds 1 AP per rank.
• The Bonus Move perk adds 2 special AP per rank that can only be used for movement.
• Notes: In Fallout and Fallout 2, the counter only shows up to 10 APs but internally it keeps track of any extras. In Fallout Tactics all APs show properly.

Fallout 3

Action points are used in the V.A.T.S. system to attack opponents, each weapon has it own cost per use and can be found on the weapons page. Unlike in the turn-based games, action points in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are not accumulated at the end of a turn. Instead, Action Points are regenerated over time.

$\text{Initial level}=65+(2\times\text{Agility})$

Example: A starting Agility of 5.

$65+(2\times5)=75~\text{Action points}$

Notes

• Maximum initial base is capped at 85 AP.
• This limit can be increased with the addition of bonuses (see table below).
• The Level 20 perk Grim Reaper's Sprint restores all Action Points if by successful killing during one round of V.A.T.S.

Fallout 3 AP Bonuses

Name	AP bonus	Duration	Value	Base ID	Notes
Agility	2-20	Permanent	N/A	N/A	2 AP per Agility point
Action Boy/ Action Girl	25	Permanent	N/A	00031DBA/ 0007V202	Level 16 Perk bonus
Nerves of Steel	None (see notes)	Permanent	N/A	xx0011C2	Perk that regenerates AP quickly. Only obtainable through Broken Steel.
Ledoux's hockey mask	25	While equipped	100	0007401C	Worn by Goalie Ledoux (quest: "The Nuka-Cola Challenge", optional objective "Just for the taste of it").
Ranger battle armor	5	While equipped	430	00023030	From the quest: Reilly's Rangers
Lag-Bolt's combat armor	10	While equipped	400	xx00B95F	Obtained through the unmarked quest The Sorrowful Suitor from Broken Steel.
Tribal power armor	15 (13 since it decreases Agility by 1)	While equipped	739	xx00B50F	Granted for finding all 100 steel ingots in The Pitt.
Nukalurk meat	10	4 minutes	7	00095F48	Duration doubled with Chemist
Nuka-Cola Quantum	20	4 minutes	30	000284F9	Duration doubled with Chemist
Mississippi Quantum Pie	20	4 minutes	20	00049076	Duration doubled with Chemist
Jet	30	4 minutes	20	00015164	Duration doubled with Chemist
Ultrajet	40	4 minutes	50	000C9CF4	Duration doubled with Chemist

Maximum AP

The maximum figure achievable without chems is 148. Starting AP = 65 + 10 Agility (85) + the Action Boy perk at level 16 (110) + Ledoux's hockey mask (135) + the tribal power armor (148). The +15AP bonus is negated by the -1 Agility penalty which the armor carries. An alternative to negate the -1 Agility is to use the Chinese stealth armor multiple hat glitch/exploit to wear Poplar's hood which has a +1 Agility bonus and stack it with Ledoux's mask for the +30 AP, making the maximum total 150 AP.

The maximum figure achievable with items and chems is a massive 280. (148) + Jet (178) + Ultrajet (218) + Nukalurk meat (228) + Nuka Cola Quantum (248) + Mississippi Quantum pie (268) + alien biogel (278). The -1 Agility/ -2AP penalty carried by the tribal power armor can be negated using either more alien biogel or fire ant nectar (280). An alternative to negate the -1 Agility is to use the Chinese stealth armor multiple hat glitch/exploit to wear Poplar's hood which has a +1 Agility bonus and stack it with Ledoux's mask for the +30 AP.

Fallout: New Vegas

Action Points in New Vegas function mechanically identical to those in Fallout 3, however the agility bonus is multiplied by 3 instead of 2.

$\text{Initial level}=65+(3\times\text{Agility})$

Example: A starting Agility of 5.

$65+(3\times5)=80~\text{Action points}$

Notes:

• Maximum initial base is capped at 95 AP.
• This limit can be increased with the addition of bonuses (see table below).

Fallout New Vegas AP Bonuses

Name	AP bonus	Duration	Value	Base ID	Notes
Agility	3-30	Permanent	N/A	N/A	3 AP per Agility point
Kamikaze	10	Permanent	N/A		Trait
Action Boy/ Action Girl	15(per rank)	Permanent	N/A		Level 16 Perk bonus
Nerves of Steel	None (see notes)	Permanent	N/A		Perk increasing AP Regen rate by +20%.
Grim Reaper's Sprint	None (see notes)	When triggered	N/A		Perk restores 20 AP on a kill in V.A.T.S.
General Oliver's uniform	20	While equipped	100
Courier duster	15	While equipped	1700		"Fighting Chance" (Legion variant) in Lonesome Road
Armor of the 87th Tribe	10	While equipped	6500		Found in Lonesome Road
Nuka-Cola Victory	14	1 hour	75
Rocket	30	1/2 hour
Dixon's jet	10	2 hour	5
Jet	15	2 hour	20
Ultrajet	40	2 hour	50
Trail mix	7	1/4 hour
Mushroom Cloud	4
Sugar Bombs	13	1/4 hour	5
Battle brew	40	1/6 hour	150		Found in Old World Blues - the "Red Mist" effect

Regeneration Rate

A character will take 16.66 seconds to recover their AP bar to full regardless of their AP total, unless their AP is modified by perks. It should be noted that AP gained through perks do NOT count towards regeneration rate. Therefore a player charcter with 115 AP, 30 of which were gained through Action Boy perks, would actually take over 23 seconds to fully recover their AP bar. Furthermore, the perk Nerves of Steel decreases this regeneration period by 20%, to a potential minimum recovery period of 13.33 seconds.

The exact recovery time can be derived from the GECK variable Action Points Restore Rate, which in Fallout: New Vegas is the inverse of the number of seconds required to fully restore the AP bar. The default value is 0.060 (1/0.06 = 16.66 seconds).

Derived statistics Defensive stats Armor Class · Damage Resistance · Damage Threshold · Defense · Energy Resistance · Fatigue · Fire Resistance · Hit Points · Poison Resistance · Radiation Resistance Gameplay stats Action Points · Bonus Damage · Carry Weight · Critical Chance · Healing Rate · Melee Damage · Perk Rate · Skill Rate · Sequence · Unarmed Damage Survival stats Dehydration/Thirst · Starvation/Hunger · Sleep