The Mojave Wasteland isn’t kind to newcomers, but with the right guidance, you can turn from a courier with a hole in their head into a survivor who thrives amid chaos. These nine beginner tips will help you stay alive, earn caps, and make every choice count in Fallout: New Vegas.
Install mods for quality-of-life improvements
Mods can streamline your playthrough with quality-of-life tweaks, like improved inventory management, auto-saves, and better quest markers, all of which help you focus on the story and exploration without getting bogged down in micromanagement.
Fallout: New Vegas is an amazing RPG, but without mods, it’s outdated, unappealing, and often downright unplayable in 2025. So, to have a lovely time in the Mojave Desert, be sure to download a good mod pack, such as Viva New Vegas, which contains countless bug fixes, visual upgrades, and quality of life features. You can also download individual mods, but beware that there’s quite a lot to fix and improve upon, so getting one of the well-known mod packs is the easiest way to start playing.
If you go for Viva New Vegas, some of the options you might want to adjust in the mod configuration settings (through the in-game menu) are your field of view, head bobbing during sprint, quest objective markers, and the weapon wheel.
Charisma is the ‘dump stat’
Charisma is the dump stat, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore it entirely. A few points invested here can smooth dialogues, improve merchant prices, and unlock helpful companions or unique options without sacrificing core combat or stealth builds. Use it to cover social gaps when you’re light on perks, and you’ll find conversations opening up more opportunities in the Mojave.
While creating your character at the start of a new Fallout: New Vegas game, you must distribute your attribute points between stats like Strength, Perception, and Agility. While the Intelligence and Endurance stats are particularly good, Charisma is widely considered the worst Fallout: New Vegas stat, as it only benefits barter, speech, and companions. But that’s not a bad thing, as reducing Charisma to level 1 generates more attribute points for other attributes.
Once you’ve set Charisma to 1, it’s best to pick Speech as one of the three focus skills on the next screen, so you can make up for the lack of Charisma-based skill points and still pass your speech checks. If you have already created your character, note that you get one more chance to distribute attribute points as you leave Goodsprings for the first time. For more details, take a look at our guide on the bestFallout: New Vegas starting stats.
Rob Doc Mitchell for free goodies
Rob Doc Mitchell early for free items like clothing, food, and chems. Speak to him in Goodsprings after leaving the doctor’s cave to claim these starter supplies without cost. This quick interaction stocks your inventory for the Mojave ahead.
The Doc likes to be helpful, doesn’t he? Surely he won’t mind you taking a thing or two (or three, or four) from his humble abode in Goodsprings. Although red items in Fallout: New Vegas are forbidden (taking them counts as stealing – so don’t do that), the Doc’s items are yellow, which means you’re free to take them. The Doc has scrap metal, stimpacks, energy cells, and even a laser pistol. The pistol is on a shelf next to the character creation machine.
Once you’ve relieved the good doctor of his earthly possessions, you may sell them at the Goodsprings General Store two doors down the road (next to the saloon). If it’s too much stuff to carry, just take what you can and come back for more free items later.
Save regularly or face the consequences
Save regularly or you’ll risk losing progress, missing loot, and having to replay tough sections, which can sour your entire run.
Although Fallout: New Vegas has an autosave function, it doesn’t actually save the game that often. It’s perfectly possible to complete a quest stage, fast travel to another location, advance with another quest line, perish, and have to do it all again if you didn’t manually save. Although your mod pack should hopefully prevent this, vanilla New Vegas has the tendency to crash, so it’s extra important to save often if that still poses an issue.
Get a shovel to dig up valuables
Dig up valuables by grabbing a shovel early on; it helps you uncover hidden loot and stash across the Mojave, giving you a leg up as you start mastering exploration and survival.
Why? To go graverobbing, of course! While you’re selling Doc Mithcell’s stuff at the store, buy a shovel and keep it with you so you can always dig up items throughout your playthrough. The best place to start digging is the Goodsprings Cemetery, on the north side of town. Keep an eye out for the snow globe, especially – it’ll fetch a ton of money!
Don’t forget about these useful features
Master the basics quickly with practical, low-effort tips that boost your survivability, from resource management and stealth to dependable combat routines and quest-tracking habits.
This game doesn’t like to tell you about handy gameplay features, so let’s go over them here.
- Flashlight: Toggle it on or off by holding the Pip-Boy button, which is ‘Tab’ on PC, ‘Circle’ on PlayStation, and ‘B’ on Xbox by default.
- Holster weapon: Instead of pressing the reload button, hold it. Hold ‘R’ on PC, ‘Square’ on PlayStation, and ‘X’ on Xbox.
- Pass time: To pass the time, click ‘T’ on PC, the ‘Select’ button on PlayStation, and the ‘Back’ button on Xbox.
- Fast travel: You can instantly teleport to any major location on the map after you’ve discovered it.
Find a place to sleep through the night
Finding a safe place to sleep is one of the first things to do after leaving Doc Mitchell’s house. Sleeping restores your health, heals limbs, and passes time without using supplies. Beds in owned buildings can’t be used unless the owner offers you a place to stay, so look for abandoned shacks, friendly settlements, or pay for a room at a saloon. Carrying a bedroll mod can make rest easier when exploring the desert. A good night’s sleep keeps you alive longer than you might think.
It’s hard to get anything done during the night, when you can hardly see your enemies, so if you need a place to sleep in Goodsprings, use the sleeping bag in the old camper just north of the store and saloon. You’ll find some free items and storage space, too.
Beware that sleeping here won’t grant the “well rested” bonus, which is only granted by sleeping in a bed you own or paid for. If you’re well-rested, you’ll gain 10% more experience for the next 12 hours (in-game time). The easiest way to get this bonus is to rent a room in the Dino Dee-lite motel in Novac.
Avoid angering Goodsprings or the Powder Rangers
Goodsprings residents and the Powder Gangers clash early if you pick fights. Side with the townsfolk during the tutorial quest to keep their support and avoid locking yourself out of supplies or quests. Steer clear of murdering settlers or allying with the prisoners at the NCR Correctional Facility raid-both groups hold grudges that spread across the Mojave, cutting off traders and safe beds. Play neutral or pick one faction cleanly to maintain options.
Following the “By a Campfire on the Trail” and “Back in the Saddle” quests, both of which take place in Goodsprings right after you leave Doc Mitchell’s for the first time, Sunny Smiles will ask you to visit the Prospector Saloon and have a chat with the owner, Trudy. Upon entering the saloon, you’ll witness an argument between Trudy and Joe Cobb, a Powder Ranger.
You’re now faced with a choice: Side with the Goodsprings residents or the Powder Rangers gang. Although you should certainly complete this side quest eventually (it’s either named “Run Goodsprings Run” or “Ghost Town Gunfight,” depending on your alliance), a hostile faction can be quite disruptive in early game, so you might want to save this one for later, until you’ve collected Doc Mitchell’s items, geared up, and unlocked a few more fast travel points.
Don’t visit Quarry Junction
Quarry Junction is a dangerous dumping ground where the air crackles with radioactive dust and hostile raptors. Proceed with caution, bring ample ammo, and plan an escape route in case the mountainside erupts with ammo-smashing chaos. Stay focused on stealth and avoid unnecessary detours to prevent drawing attention from the valley’s lurking threats.
If an experienced Fallout: New Vegas player tells you to visit Quarry Junction in the Mojave Desert (near the Great Khan camp), ignore them – they’re trying to pull your leg. Seriously, whatever you do, do not visit Quarry Junction without a decent loadout and combat experience, as it hosts some of the most dangerous enemies in the game. It’s best to avoid it until you’re level 15 at least, but level 20 is better.
Best first SPECIAL and tags for a newbie run
Fallout: New Vegas’ SPECIAL system defines your core stats, with a total of 40 points to distribute (starting at 5 each, plus 5 extra). For a newbie run, focus on a balanced build that maximizes skill points, combat viability, and utility without min-maxing too aggressively.
Recommended SPECIAL
Strength: 5 (enough for most weapons; boost later via implants or gear).
Perception: 5 (helps V.A.T.S. accuracy).
Endurance: 6 (survive radiation, poison, and more HP).
Charisma: 1 (companions carry the load; dump stat early).
Intelligence: 9 (crucial for 14+ skill points per level).
Agility: 7 (AP for V.A.T.S., better sneaking).
Luck: 7 (crit chance, loot, and casino wins).
Best Tags
Speech (talk your way out of fights, quests).
Lockpick (access loot, shortcuts).
Guns (versatile early weapons like service rifle).
This setup shines in Viva New Vegas modlists for stability and fun. Respec at New Vegas Medical Clinic later if needed.
Which SPECIAL is best for a melee-focused newbie run
Fallout: New Vegas melee builds shine with high Strength for raw damage and Agility for V.A.T.S. Blitz scaling, making early survival feasible despite the game’s punishing start.
Recommended SPECIAL
Strength: 8 (core for melee damage; melee weapons scale directly with it).
Perception: 5 (V.A.T.S. targeting for limb cripples).
Endurance: 6 (HP and poison resistance for close-range brawls).
Charisma: 1 (dump; companions tank for you).
Intelligence: 7 (skill points without sacrificing too much).
Agility: 8 (AP pool and sneak for x2-3.5 melee multipliers).
Luck: 5 (crits enhance melee procs).
Best Tags
Melee (direct damage boosts).
Sneak (stealth openers multiply hits).
Repair (maintain weapons like the Tire Iron).
This setup grabs Super Slammer! early and respecs via implants later. Pair with Boone for ranged cover.
