Without using drugs. Difference was sometimes as large as 15% and often odd numbers were displayed. Like 0% for torso while antenna was 10%.


I newer was much VATS user, I did not used it once in NV. I did it just for purpose of testing perception. Then noticed this strange behaviour.

I'm just gonna test this tonight right out of the gate with two different starts, one with a PER 1 and the other a PER 10 character, while aiming with VATS at Easy Pete.

I just restarted yet again last night because I didn't want to have the Bachelor Perk, so I chose to put a point in PER instead with IT. If PER has no affect on accuracy, I would have kept it at 6 just to get Sniper. I don't care about the red dots on the compass.

Honestly once you get Ed-E or even boone perception point becomes kinda pointless i put 4 into it for me but thats only cause it helps with Lockpicking.
same with strength. i use rifles as primary weapon (Much like 90% of Players) and i first time through put 8 into strength cause i like to carry thing cause i scavange everything i can (Much like 95% of players) but once you get your first companion weight limits kinda becomes laughable. i only put 6 into strength. wish i went lower even.
Int and Agi. Thats where its at. 7 agi 8 int so nice.

My stats are 3,7,5,1,6, 10,10.

I try to be realistic, and not carry the world while scavenging, and I don't use companions. When I hit level 2 I raised my PER, but now I'm rethinking that one. I don't know if I want to go with more STR just for Guns, more END just because... or Rapid Reload.

k. to have to your gun not wobble you need the required gun skill and required str skill.. luck perception all those other skills got nothin to do with it.

So, what i am reading is that when i play with the HUD off, perception means "nothing," except for it's associated skill increases. Right?

Perception should still influence how far away you are able to spot enemies (when they actually appear on screen). However I was not testing it so not 100% sure. Its bit difficult to test. I play without markers on compass.

How about weapon bullet spread, are you sure Perception doesn't affect that? I don't know how to test this, but I think that would be worth a shot, atleast I count bullet spread as accuracy.

i must say my character's 10 perception and 100 guns doesnt seem to help in VATS. even with a fully maintained sniper rifle and full daylight on high ground my vats accuracy drops under 50% for center of mass at what seems like 60 yards.

7
10
4
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does anyone have a pair of characters with high and low per that could record some footage?

I did a handful of tests last night with a startup character, using a 9mm, a Vermint Rifle, and the Sturdy Caravan Shotgun, and Perception did not change any percentages in VATS.

My first set of tests I kept my Guns at 16 and used a guy with PER 1, and then PER 10, with no changes in VATS %'s.

My second set of tests were with my Guns at 38 and did the same thing... one guy with PER 1, and another with PER 10, with no changes at all between the two.

There was, obviously, a huge difference between the different Guns stats, but I knew that was going to happen. However, I was surprised to see how much the change actually was using a stationary target, being that I'm usually in combat when going into VATS and distances vary and all that jazz.

One thing that I did learn, that was definitely news to me, is that kneeling does not change accuracy at all when in VATS. And actually, if you are aiming at someone's head, there is a chance that it will LOWER it 1%, depending on the angle, I guess.

I ran these tests with Easy Pete as a target. He was sitting on his usual chair, and I was standing on the littlest (and farthest) rock right out front of the Saloon. (about 10 feet from the porch, I guess?) I chose that spot because it was easy to remember where my characters were standing each time.

No, none of the skills influence when actors are rendered; that's based on the "actor fade" option under Graphics.

Testing this in-game isn't going to work very well. Someone needs to find the real accuracy calculation in the GECK if it's in there. According to everything in the game itself, STR, PER, Gun Skill and Energy Weapon skill all affect accuracy and damage. It doesn't mention HOW it affects accuracy; whether it be in or out of VATS, but they all claim to have an effect on it.

In my experience though, playing on a melee build so I have high STR high END and low everything else, with 10 STR, 100 Melee weapons, and 3 PER, throwing a throwing spear almost always misses.

Hmmm... Is spread only taken into account outside of VATS? If PER does only affect the spread, then that will be hard to test on a stationary target, I think. Especially since GUNS also affects a weapons Spread, it would be almost impossible to test on a startup character.

This svcks. I really wish a dev would just clear this up.

Are you sure? It seems to me that "actor fade" influence rendering only once "actor" was discovered. Once I discover somebody or something, it seems to fade away at longer range than was "discovered". But it might be just my imagination.

I dont know if any one knows this or it was unspoken because it was common sense, but high perception in a cave is different then low perception or maybe mentats allow you to see better in a cave; i dont know? I was in vault 34 while i was on mentats and when they wore off everythin went a little bit darker, also perception only helps energy weapons explosives and lockpick so not normal guns maybe some one should try energy weapons because it sounds like every one is trying with the guns skill.

Swish Lizard is correct, ED-E justifies this. The robot can detect foes that I cannot see, and in fact I cannot enter into V.A.T.S with - and I am in direct line of sight proving that rendering does not affect PER. If it did, someone should be embarrassed.

EDIT: Kennards


PER not only affects your L.o.S range but also your senses meaning that when you are in corridors and caves you will detect a foe around the corner - without seeing them directly. I can not vouch for the visual aid you are asking about, but I rely on a certain pet's sight for that sort of darkness.

Reno

Str: 6
Per: 7
Luck: 6
80 Gun skill.


With the Gobi riffle i'm hitting Fiends in real time at a distance where Bonne isn't even attacking them despite being set to aggressive.
Can't say for VATS as i play without that.

From what i've understood so far from various sources:
Gun skill effects your overall damage with the gun + the reticule's steadiness when aiming.
Strength effects the steadyness when aiming.
Perception effects the red "blip" on your radar.
Crouching effects the steadyness of your reticule.

Luck effects "everything" according to the wiki, so perhaps you sometimes see different ratings because your luck factor kicks in?

Ok, just tested this as thoroughly as i think i could.
Tested on a group of fiends west of the sunset sasaparailly factory. They didn't move at all, and i crouched + approached them spamming my "v" key until i reached the maximum vats range.


EDITED: DID 100 VATS ACTIVATIONS MORE.
- Changing SPECIAL stats including lowering strength below the gun requirement, did absolutely nothing for VATS hit chances or VATS activation range.
- Changing my range from absolutely maximum VATS activation range, to 10 steps closer did nothing for the hit chance.
- Changing gun skill effected the hit chance, but with 100 gun skill i still didn't have 95% hit chance at max VATS range.
- Strength and crouching seems to only effect the reticule's steadyness.
- Activating VATS several times without changing my position, the target's position and any stats, seemed to still result in varying hit chances. I'm guessing this is how Luck is factored in.


My character has 0 perks which effect hit chances in VATS.



Ultimately, this meant that with 100 gun skill, max perception and fullfilling the weapon's strength requirement, i only had 6-11% hit chance at max VATS range.
This leads me to believe, that the perks which increase accuracy in VATS become essential when shooting from max VATS range, as they did seem to effect the hit chances.
VATS seem like a close combat mechanic to me, as i could only get the high hit chances when up 'n close. At long range, you're way better of with real time aiming as my Gobi rifle seemed to have 100% hit chance in real time, to hit the target's various parts whereas i'd have 6% in VATS.

I did some tests and distance at which "targets" are revealed (start to be rendered) is influenced by "actor fade" distance in settings, as was suggested already by somebody else. Thus perception is irrelevant for this. So it seems only effect perception has is distance at which HUD markers are displayed on compass.

Seems like perception is one of the more worthless stats in game. Only reason to rise it more than 5 are some perks ...if you want them. If you play without markers on compass like me, its even more worthless.

Perception used to be one of the more useful stats in previous Fallouts (previous to F3), it influenced accuracy at longer ranges, distance at which random encounters started, even ability to detect traps. It seems in F3-NV developers did not implement perception in to new first person settings very well.

Difference between real time shooting and VATS is also striking. Those seems to work in altogether different universes. There is nothing related between two.

Its bit disappointing

no attribute has a direct impact on accuracy, that is because accuracy is based on the weapon skill. since a skill is raised by its parent attribute, attributes can have a indirect effect on accuracy.

a higher perception will give you a higher E.weapon (and explosives) skill therefore a higher accuracy with them. likewise a higher Agility will improve your Guns skill and therefore improve their accuracy

Well if it did what they said it would do and effect overall accuracy it would be kinda cool.

Other than that all it does is give bonuses to skills, and allow you to detect things from further away.