Consumables & Chems

Consumables & Chems

Surviving the Mojave is a constant battle against injury, radiation, and hunger. The wasteland is littered with items to help you, from simple food to powerful, military-grade chems. Knowing what to carry and when to use it is critical for any Courier, particularly those brave enough to tackle Hardcore Mode.

Essential Survival Aids

These are the items you should always try to keep in your inventory. They provide healing, manage Hardcore needs, and negate the ever-present threat of radiation.

• Stimpak: The most common healing item. Instantly restores a base of 30 Hit Points (HP), scaling up with your Medicine skill. In Hardcore Mode, its effect is applied over several seconds rather than instantly.
• Doctor's Bag: A must-have for Hardcore Mode players. While Stimpaks heal HP, a Doctor's Bag is required to mend crippled limbs in the field. It uses your Medicine skill to determine its effectiveness.
• Purified Water: The single best item for staving off Dehydration (H2O) in Hardcore Mode. Dirty Water can be purified at campfires if you have the necessary components.
• Food (Various): In Hardcore Mode, you must eat to avoid Starvation (FOD). Simple items like Salisbury Steak work in a pinch, but crafting better meals like a Bighorner Steak at a campfire provides superior hunger reduction and often adds temporary stat bonuses.
• Rad-X: Proactively increases your Radiation Resistance for a limited time, reducing the amount of Rads you absorb. Essential when exploring highly irradiated zones like The Searchlight Airport.
• RadAway: Removes accumulated radiation from your body. In Hardcore Mode, using RadAway will temporarily reduce your SPECIAL stats and increase dehydration, making its use a tactical decision.

Key Wasteland Chems

Chems offer potent, short-term combat and utility bonuses. Their power comes at a price: nearly all chems carry a risk of addiction, which incurs stat penalties when you are not under the chem's influence.

• Psycho: Increases Damage by 25% for 4 minutes. A powerful offensive tool for taking down tough enemies like Deathclaws or Legionary Assassins.
• Jet: Instantly grants +15 Action Points (AP) for 4 minutes. A V.A.T.S.-focused character's best friend, allowing for more attacks per sequence. Highly addictive.
• Buffout: A strength and endurance enhancer, providing +2 STR, +2 END, and +50 max HP for 8 minutes. Perfect for carrying extra loot out of a dungeon or surviving a difficult fight.
• Med-X: Boosts your Damage Resistance by 25% for 4 minutes. Use this defensively when you're facing high-damage enemies and need to weather the storm.
• Steady: Greatly reduces weapon spread for 1 minute, making your shots far more accurate. Invaluable for snipers or any gunfight where precision is paramount.

Managing Addiction

Repeatedly using chems will likely lead to addiction. When addicted, you'll suffer withdrawal penalties to your SPECIAL stats whenever you're not high on that specific chem. Thankfully, addiction is curable.

• Visit a Doctor: The most reliable method. Any doctor in the wasteland (like Doc Mitchell in Goodsprings or Doctor Usanagi at the New Vegas Medical Clinic) can cure all your addictions for a fee.
• Use Addictol: This rare and expensive chem will instantly cure all active addictions. It's wise to save it for emergencies when you're far from a doctor.
• Use a Fixer: This utility chem temporarily suppresses the effects of withdrawal for a few minutes but does not cure the underlying addiction.

For a complete breakdown of every chem, crafting recipes, specific addiction chances, and advanced strategies involving item synergies, please see our dedicated Chems & Addiction guide.