Unarmed Unarmed is a skill in " Fallout " , " Fallout 2 " , " Fallout 3 " , " " , " " , " Van Buren " , " J . E . Sawyer ' s Fallout Role - Playing Game " and " Lionheart " . " Fallout " . formula _ 1 Example : A starting Agility of 5 and Strength of 5 . formula _ 2 " Fallout 2 " and " Fallout Tactics " . formula _ 3 Example : A starting Agility of 5 and Strength of 5 . formula _ 4 Unarmed skill attacks . The attacks are divided into two groups : primary and secondary . At any one time there will be up to four attacks available : the strongest primary punch / kick the player character meets the requirements for ( a plain punch / kick if none ) , and the strongest secondary punch / kick they qualify for , if any . The secondary attacks have a higher AP cost but cause more devastating effects . Equipping an unarmed - type weapon ( such as brass knuckles for example ) will override these skill attacks . This means that with high enough Unarmed skill one will actually " lose " damage by equipping them . For example , base melee damage ( " Punch " ) is 1 - 3 damage . With Unarmed of 55 % , that becomes " Strong Punch " which adds 3 damage , for a total of 4 - 7 . Meanwhile , brass knuckles have a damage range of only 2 - 5 - so one is better off without them . To summarize , spiked knuckles become obsolete when the " Hammer Punch " is obtained and brass knuckles are useless altogether , unless for some reason the player character has less than 6 Agility and doesn ' t meet the requirement and / or Lucas ' s training . Finally , in 1 . 02d ( which is the most up - to - date official patch ) the jab secondary attack is strictly superior to strong punch , dealing the same damage at the same AP cost but having extra 10 % crit chance . Also , it is possible to enhance the damage dealt with unarmed attacks using several methods , for instance , by increasing Strength , or using the Bonus HtH Damage perk , the Heavy Handed trait , or , less obviously , the Living Anatomy perk ( + 5 damage against all organics , that is , against most opponents ) . Ways to increase Unarmed . In total , Unarmed can be increased to over 100 % without ever putting any skill points into it . Lucas in Arroyo will increase Unarmed to 55 % unless the player character tanked their Agility . After that one gets 10 % from Sullivan , 5 % from Prizefighter and two 5 % punching bag bonuses ( Sierra Army Depot ) for a total of 75 % . At this point take the four day training from either Dragon or Lo Pan to reach 100 % . On the other hand , if one did tag Unarmed , they will be able to get it from 100 % to 130 % ( at which point one gets all the special attacks listed above ) for free : Sullivan + 10 % , Punching Bags + 10 % , Prizefighter + 5 % . After that one can push it even further by increasing their stats : + 5 for Strength ( Brotherhood of Steel surgery + 1 and advanced power armor + 4 ) and + 1 Agility ( Gain perk ) . The punching bags in the basement of the shark club and lo pan ' s dojo do not give unarmed bonuses as they do not have the punching bag script attached . Only the two on the first level of the Sierra Army Depot give unarmed bonuses . " Fallout 3 " . Example : A starting Endurance of 5 and Luck of 5 . In " Fallout 3 " , the Unarmed skill is tied to the Endurance SPECIAL stat . The player character will receive a boost of + 2 points in Unarmed per level of Endurance , for a maximum boost of + 20 points at 10 Endurance . Luck further raises Unarmed effectiveness by + 1 point per every 2 levels ( + 5 Unarmed at 9 - 10 Luck ) . The AP cost ( Action Points , used in V . A . T . S . ) when completely unarmed is 22 . In " Fallout 3 " , it is not possible to target individual body parts in V . A . T . S . while using unarmed or melee weapons . Targeting with the crosshair outside of V . A . T . S enables one to select body locations in an attempt to cripple and / or disarm . It is possible to knock - out an opponent even with non - critical head strikes ; this should not be confused with the effects of the Paralyzing Palm perk , as it can be done without the perk , it can be done outside of V . A . T . S . and with any unarmed weapon , though the chances are greatly improved with bare hand attacks . " Fallout : New Vegas " . Example : A starting Endurance of 5 and Luck of 5 . As in " Fallout 3 " , the Unarmed skill is tied to the Endurance SPECIAL stat . The player character will receive a boost of + 2 points in Unarmed per level of Endurance , for a maximum boost of + 20 points at 10 Endurance . Luck further raises Unarmed effectiveness by + 1 points per every 2 levels ( + 5 Unarmed at 9 Luck ) . Just as in " Fallout 3 " , unarmed damage is unaffected by Strength ; the only change is that unarmed weapons now have a Strength requirement in order to use them at maximum efficiency . However , aside from the ballistic fist , the Strength requirements are generally very low . The AP cost ( Action Points , used in V . A . T . S . ) when completely unarmed is 22 . " Fallout : New Vegas " possesses a multitude of new , more powerful unarmed and melee - specific perks , game mechanic bonuses ( i . e . special attacks in V . A . T . S . at higher levels of skills ; specifically , an Uppercut at 50 and a cross attack at 75 ) . There are four different special moves that can be learned from different non - player characters in the game . One can learn the Ranger Takedown attack from Ranger Andy in Novac , the Legion Assault from Lucius at Fortification Hill , the Scribe Counter from Veronica and the Khan Trick from . Each requires completing a task to be taught the move , and may require the player character having certain ratings ( such as high or moderate fame ) in factions to be learned . V . A . T . S . Special Attacks . Unarmed weapons in " Fallout : New Vegas " can utilize up to three special attacks in V . A . T . S . , each at the cost of 20 Action Points , depending on the character ' s Unarmed skill . At an unarmed skill of at least 50 " Stomp " and " Uppercut " special attacks become available . " Stomp " , an attack dealing double damage , where the target receives a swift downward kick , that can only be used on enemies after they have been knocked down . " Uppercut " is an upward punch that deals an additional 15 % damage . At an unarmed skill of at least 75 , " Cross " is a punch thrown across the body that deals 10 % greater damage , with an additional 250 % damage to limbs . Unlike that must be learned before use , these special attacks require only an investment in skill points to unlock . Since the special attacks require the same AP regardless of the weapon used , higher damage but slower weapons benefit more from V . A . T . S . than faster weapons . In addition , all unarmed attacks in V . A . T . S . do ( just like power attacks in real - time ) . Lionheart . Determines your character ' s ability to fight without a weapon . A skilled unarmed combatant is a deadly foe .