Endurance

Learn how Endurance impacts your Fallout 3 character. Get the lowdown on HP, resistances, and skill bonuses to make the best starting choices.

Hey there, Wastelander! Let's talk about Endurance in Fallout 3. Think of it as your character's overall toughness and fitness. Pumping points into Endurance is a solid move because it directly boosts your health, makes you more resistant to nasty environmental effects like radiation and poison, and even gives you a leg up in a couple of combat skills.

Every single point you invest in Endurance nets you a sweet 20 extra Hit Points. That's a pretty big deal, especially when you consider you only gain 10 HP per level anyway, on top of your base 100. The best part? This bonus is retroactive. So, if you decide to beef up your Endurance later in the game, all those bonus Hit Points you missed out on will suddenly appear. Pretty neat, huh?

Beyond just health, Endurance also plays a crucial role in keeping you alive in the harsh Capital Wasteland. For every point of Endurance you have above one, you get a +2% bonus to your Radiation Resistance and a +5% bonus to your Poison Resistance. Again, these bonuses are also retroactive, so don't stress too much about maxing it out right at the start. While it's a great attribute, and it does give bonuses to two skills, one of them, Big Guns, isn't exactly the most popular choice for many players. Because all these bonuses stack up retroactively, there's really no need to dump a ton of points into Endurance when you're first creating your character. A starting score of six is generally considered a good balance, giving you a nice chunk of health and decent resistances without sacrificing too much in other areas.

Related Skills: Big Guns, Unarmed