While playing Fallout: New Vegas, you'll encounter dozens of ways to improve your character. You can improve your skills, unlock powerful perks, equip new weapons, and even choose unique traits at the beginning of each playthrough. Due to how much customization is available in New Vegas, there are many different ways to build your character.
One of the most notable ways to improve the Courier after character creation is with implants. It's easy to miss out on implants if you don't know where to buy them, but we've compiled a list of every implant, their abilities, and how to install them.
What Are Implants?
Implants offer a unique ability or upgrade. There are some abilities that are only available via implants, while others offer bonuses that you could potentially earn through other methods. Regardless of which implants you choose to install on your character, you'll be a stronger Wastelander afterwards.
How To Buy Every Implant
You can buy every implant in the base game by speaking to Doctor Usanagi at the New Vegas Medical Clinic, which you can find on the map above. Doctor Usanagi is a member of the Followers Of The Apocalypse, and she's the only person in the Mojave Wasteland that can install implants.
Upon speaking to Doctor Usanagi, she'll sell you implants for Caps. You can get one implant per each point you invest into the Endurance stat. For example, if you have six Endurance, then you can have six implants at a time.
The implant installation process takes three in-game hours for each operation. Below you'll find a list of each implant you can buy from Doctor Usanagi. If you're interested in the implants from the Old World Blues DLC, then scroll to the bottom of this chart.
Implant |
Ability |
Cost |
---|---|---|
Sub-Dermal Armor |
+4 DT (Damage Threshold) |
8,000 |
Monocyte Breeder |
Recover 1 HP per every 10 seconds |
12,000 |
Strength Implant |
+1 Strength |
4,000 Caps |
Perception Implant |
+1 Perception |
4,000 Caps |
Endurance Implant |
+1 Endurance |
4,000 Caps |
Charisma Implant |
+1 Charisma |
4,000 Caps |
Intelligence Implant |
+1 Intelligence |
4,000 Caps |
Agility Implant |
+1 Agility |
4,000 Caps |
Luck Implant |
+1 Luck |
4,000 Caps |
How To Install Every Implant In The Old World Blues DLC
Along with the implants you can buy from Doctor Usanagi, there are an additional four implants you can install using an Auto-Doc in the Old World Blues DLC. If you have the Old World Blues DLC, travel to the location on the map below, and you'll teleport to the Big Empty.
Once you have access to the Big Empty's map, you need to travel to the Y-17 Medical Facility and walk inside. You'll find the Sink Project: Auto-Doc on a desk to the right of the stairs on the second floor. Return to The Sink once you pick up the holotape.
The Auto-Doc is inside your private room in The Sink. Walk over to the Auto-Doc in The Sink and interact with it. You'll then have the option to purchase each of the implants for the price you see on the chart below.
Implant |
Ability |
Cost |
---|---|---|
Implant Y-3 |
You no longer take radiation damage from drinking irradiated water |
12,000 Caps |
Implant M-5 |
You move 20% faster while sneaking |
10,000 Caps |
Implant Y-7 |
You restore 5 HP and 2 AP whenever you eat food |
20,000 Caps |
Implant C-13 |
+10% damage to Cazadores |
8,000 Caps |
How To Get Caps
To buy the implants in New Vegas, you need a lot of Caps. It's difficult to collect thousands of Caps, especially if you recently began a new playthrough. Luckily, there are a few ways to get Caps fast in the Mojave Wasteland.
Play Casino Games
Playing games in one of the casinos in New Vegas is the fastest way to gain Caps, but only if you have a high Luck stat. The Luck stat makes your chance of winning a casino game higher, so it's easy to turn your small Cap collection into chests full of Caps if you dedicate multiple points to Luck.
There are many casinos inside New Vegas, as well as directly outside The Strip. Here's a guide detailing every way to enter The Strip. You can buy chips to use for playing casino games inside each casino. If you have a low Luck stat, then try one of the methods below instead.
Sell Weapons And Ammo
While adventuring in the Mojave Wasteland, you'll likely pick up a lot of ammo that you can't use since most characters prioritize a single weapon type. You can take your ammo to any weapon vendor in the Wasteland and sell it to them for a potentially massive profit, depending on how much you accumulate.
Picking up weapons you don't plan to use and selling them is also a quick way to earn Caps. The higher your Speech skill and Charisma stat, the more Caps you'll earn from each transaction.
Complete The Dead Money DLC
Completing the Dead Money DLC is one of the best ways to earn Caps in Fallout: New Vegas. First, you need to play through Dead Money's main questline until the ending scene, where you're standing at the Sierra Madre Vault. After opening the vault, you'll find 37 Gold Bars, which you can collect and take back to the Mojave Wasteland.
Unfortunately, the Gold Bars weigh 35 pounds, so you can only carry as many as your inventory space will allow. Each Gold Bar has a base value of 10,547, which means it's worth collecting as many as possible and selling them once you return to the Mojave Wasteland.