Melee Damage

Derived statistic
Melee Damage
Fallout (left) and Fallout 3 icon
Fallout / Fallout 2 / Fallout Tactics
Modifies	Amount of bonus damage a character does in hand-to-hand combat
Affected by	Strength
Base value	Strength - 5 (minimum 1)
Related perks	Bonus HtH Damage
Related traits	Heavy Handed
Fallout 3 / Fallout: New Vegas
Modifies	Amount of bonus damage a character does with Melee Weapons
Affected by	Strength
Base value	Strength * 0.5
Related perks	Nerd Rage!
Van Buren
Modifies	Amount of bonus damage a character does in hand-to-hand combat
Affected by	Strength
Base value	?
Related perks	?
Related traits	?
J.E. Sawyer's Fallout RPG
Modifies	Amount of bonus damage a character does in hand-to-hand combat
Affected by	Strength
Base value	ST
Related perks	?
Related traits	?

 ... 

Melee Damage is a derived statistic in Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout Tactics.

Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics

“The amount of bonus damage your character does in hand-to-hand combat.”— Fallout In-game description

This skill modifies the amount of bonus damage your character does in hand-to-hand combat.

$\text{Initial level}=\text{Strength}-5\geqslant1$

• Minimum value can be no less than 1.
• Average characters will have a melee damage of 1.
• The Heavy Handed trait increases melee damage by 4 points.
• The Bonus HtH Damage perk increases melee damage by 2 per rank.
• The Slayer perk upgrades every melee hit into critical hits, radically increasing melee damage.

Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas

In Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, Melee Damage only affects damage done with Melee Weapons. There is a separate statistic for hand-to-hand combat called Unarmed Damage.

$\text{Initial level}=\text{Strength}\times0.5$

Example: A starting Strength of 5.

$5\times0.5=2.5$

Notes

• Melee and Unarmed attacks in V.A.T.S. do twice as much normal damage, but this doubling is done before Strength is added.
• Power attacks in real-time combat also double normal damage.

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