Yes, it is entirely possible to complete Fallout: New Vegas without the player character or any player companions directly killing any creature, human or otherwise. This "pacifist" approach emphasizes alternative solutions, stealth, dialogue, and avoiding combat whenever possible.
Understanding the "Pacifist" Playthrough
Achieving a zero-kill run in a game like Fallout: New Vegas requires careful planning and specific choices throughout your adventure across the Mojave Wasteland. Instead of engaging in direct combat, players must rely on:
- Speech and Barter Skills: Many quests offer peaceful resolutions through high dialogue skills, allowing you to persuade, intimidate, or negotiate your way out of conflicts.
- Stealth: Avoiding detection is crucial for bypassing enemies or objectives that might otherwise force combat.
- Explosives and Traps (Non-Lethal Use): While explosives can be lethal, they can also be used to incapacitate enemies, destroy obstacles, or create diversions without directly causing kills attributed to the player.
- Companion Management: Ensure your companions are set to "passive" or "melee only" (without lethal weapon equipped) and manage their actions carefully to prevent them from inadvertently killing enemies. It's often safer to send them away or leave them at safe locations during critical missions.
Faction Choices and Their Impact
The feasibility of a pacifist run hinges significantly on which main questline faction you choose to align with for the game's ending. Not all paths allow for a completely bloodless conclusion.
Here's a breakdown of how each major faction path affects a pacifist playthrough:
| Faction Path | Pacifist Viable? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New California Republic (NCR) | Yes | Siding with the NCR allows for a complete playthrough without the player or their companions needing to directly kill anyone. While there will be many battles involving NCR forces, the player can focus on supporting them through non-lethal means, completing objectives through stealth, dialogue, or indirect actions, ensuring no kills are attributed to them. |
| Yes Man | Yes | The independent "Yes Man" route, focusing on establishing the Courier's own control over New Vegas, is also fully achievable without player-induced bloodshed. This path offers significant flexibility in how you approach various challenges, allowing for diplomatic solutions and avoidance of direct conflict as a primary strategy for the player and their companions. |
| Mr. House | No | Completing the game with Mr. House as your chosen leader makes a true pacifist run impossible. This path necessitates specific actions that involve unavoidable bloodshed, requiring the player to eliminate certain individuals or groups, which counts as direct kills. |
| Caesar's Legion | No | Allying with Caesar's Legion similarly precludes a pacifist playthrough. This storyline involves compulsory acts of violence and direct combat that cannot be circumvented through stealth or dialogue alone. The nature of the Legion's objectives and methods requires the player to engage in combat that will result in kills attributed to them, making a zero-kill run unachievable on this path. |
For more general information about the game, you can visit the Fallout: New Vegas Wiki.
