If you’re watching the Fallout TV show as a fan of the video games, you might be wondering what XP level Lucy would end up with, based on all the events of the series.
It’s a question that has popped up on social media ever since the Fallout TV show made its debut on Prime Video and fans worked their way through to the end of season one. Some are now having fun trying to offer an answer, applying the levelling system from Fallout 3 to what we see Lucy get up to during the show.
We won’t spoil the show at this point, but it’s worth pointing out that it revolves around vault dweller Lucy MacLean venturing out into the wasteland for the first time in a scene reminiscent of the Bethesda’s trademark ‘stepping out into an open world’ set piece.
Warning: spoilers for the Fallout TV show now follow:
If the eight episodes of the Fallout TV show were a Fallout video game, what amount of XP might Lucy have accumulated? X/Twitter user Many A True Nerd has some theories. But first, we need to establish a few rules. At the start of the show, before she’s even left her vault, Lucy mentions her proficiency with repair, science, and speech skills. There are subsequent signs that suggest Lucy is playing Fallout on one of the easier difficulties (that bear went down with one shot from a pistol!), but also on Survival Mode, given the problems she has with water. This is something of a contradiction, but it gives us a framework to work with, at least.
Ok, let’s run some data here;
The Fallout TV series presumably runs by Bethesda rules, and thus we can reasonably assume the ratio of XP-from-combat to XP-from-quests is going to skew heavily towards combat. This works against Lucy’s levelling speed. https://t.co/JN3WewswPv
— Many A True Nerd (@ManyATrueNerd) April 14, 2024
But what do we see Lucy actually do in the show that would earn XP? Not much combat (she shoots a few radroaches at one point, but talks her way out of most situations). She leaves the Vault, discovers Filly, escorts Wilzig, then goes off on a few side quests. One of these involves taking down an organ harvesting organization (potentially the biggest source of XP), and another involves shenanigans in a separate Vault. Lucy then rejoins the main quest as the show ends.
Here’s Many A True Nerd’s verdict: “Overall, four quests representing the main plot, and two side quests, plus extremely limited combat, though technically she probably receives XP for Maximus’ kills when he’s an active companion. There’s also XP for location discovery, but it feels like she didn’t explore that much.
“Even allowing for bonus survival mode XP, it’s hard to see her having more than 4,000 – 5,000 XP across the entire journey, with probably an extra 1,000 tossed in for Main Quest completion. That would put her about Level 8, and I feel like I’m being generous.”
While Lucy’s end of season XP level remains subjective, we know her official S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats courtesy of Fallout Shelter, which recently added characters from the TV show into the game. Based on this, we know Lucy’s character sheet:
Strength 4Perception 7Endurance 6Charisma 5Intelligence 6Agility 5Luck 7
Most seem to agree this is a fair representation of Lucy in the show, especially that Luck stat. Perhaps Charisma could be a little higher. If you’re wondering, here are how other characters look, courtesy of Fallout Shelter:
If you’re looking for more on the Fallout TV show, IGN has rounded up 111 details in the Fallout show that have been pulled straight from the games, leading to a season finale that sets up a new adventure in a beloved setting. And since we’re talking about Lucy here, be sure to check out How Lucy MacLean and Her “Okey Dokeys” Became Fallout’s Secret Weapon.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].