Opening the developer console in Fallout: New Vegas is often less about traditional cheating and more about maintaining a functional experience in a game world as sprawling and technically temperamental as the Mojave Wasteland. Even in 2026, whether you are running the game on legacy hardware or a modern virtualized environment, the console remains the most powerful tool for bypassing quest-breaking bugs, recovering lost items, or simply experimenting with different character builds without restarting a forty-hour save file.

Accessing and troubleshooting the console

To initiate the command line, you simply need to press the backquote (`) or tilde (~) key. On most standard U.S. keyboards, this is located directly below the Escape key and to the left of the '1' key. For UK layouts, the key might be the 'not' symbol (¬). When successful, the game will pause, the HUD will disappear, and a small cursor will blink in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

Occasionally, modern resolutions or multi-monitor setups can cause the console text to be cut off or invisible. If you find yourself typing blindly, the fix usually lies in the Fallout_default.ini file located in the game's installation folder. By searching for the variable iConsoleConsoleTextXPos and increasing its value, you can shift the prompt further into your field of vision. Furthermore, if you are using a controller, ensure it is disabled in the settings menu; the game frequently locks out keyboard-based console inputs if an Xbox-compatible peripheral is detected as the primary input.

The core survival commands

These are the universal toggles that alter the fundamental physics and rules of the game world. Use these when you are stuck in geometry or facing an insurmountable technical glitch.

  • tgm: The classic God Mode. It grants infinite health, unlimited ammunition, and removes any carry weight restrictions. Use this sparingly if you want to maintain the game’s inherent challenge.
  • tdm: Demi-god mode. This provides infinite health and carry weight but requires you to manage your ammunition and reload cycles normally.
  • tcl: Toggle Clipping. This allows the player to walk through walls and fly through the air. It is essential for when your character gets wedged between rocks or falls through a floor due to a physics engine error.
  • tmm 1: This reveals all map markers on the Pip-Boy. Note that using '1' makes them all accessible for fast travel, while '0' hides them again. It is highly recommended to use this only if you’ve already explored the Mojave and are looking for a specific hidden location you might have missed.
  • tfow: Toggles the Fog of War on your local map.
  • tm: Toggles all Menus. This hides the HUD entirely, making it perfect for taking clean screenshots of the Nevada sunset.

Fixing broken quests and progression

Fallout: New Vegas is famous for its complex, branching narratives, but that complexity often leads to scripts failing to trigger. If an NPC refuses to talk to you or a door stays locked despite you finishing the requirements, these commands are your best bet.

To effectively fix a quest, you first need to know its Quest ID and the specific Stage Number you want to reach. You can find these by using the command sqt (Show Quest Targets), which lists your current active tasks.

  • setstage : This is the surgical tool for quest fixing. It moves the quest to the specified stage without completing everything else in between. This is far safer than using the 'completequest' command, which can lead to broken dialogue trees later on.
  • resetquest : This completely resets a quest. Use this with caution, as it may require you to redo previous steps and can sometimes conflict with other related quests.
  • movetoqt: Instantly teleports the player to the current quest target. This is useful if a target is spawned outside the playable map area.
  • caqs: The nuclear option. It completes every stage of every quest in the entire game. It is not recommended for a standard playthrough as it effectively ends the game's progression immediately.

Economy and item manipulation

The item spawning system requires the use of Base IDs. The standard syntax is player.additem <BaseID> <Amount>. Below are some of the most sought-after IDs for a modern playthrough.

Essential Currency and Consumables

  • Bottles Caps: 0000000f (Example: player.additem 0000000f 5000 for 5000 caps)
  • Stimpak: 00015169
  • RadAway: 00015167
  • Doctor's Bag: 000cb05c

Iconic Weapons

  • Anti-Materiel Rifle: 0008f21c
  • Ranger Sequoia: 00127759
  • Medicine Stick (GRA): xx000810 (Note: 'xx' depends on your DLC load order, usually '05' or '06')
  • Alien Blaster: 00004322
  • Euclid's C-Finder: 0014eb3c (Requires the Archimedes II orbital strike to be active)

Armor and Power Armor

  • NCR Ranger Combat Armor: 00129254
  • T-51b Power Armor: 00014e13
  • Remnants Power Armor: 00133166 (The highest-tier armor in the game)
  • Gannon Family Tesla Armor: 00133168

If you find yourself over-encumbered after a loot haul, you can use player.setav carryweight <Value> to permanently increase your carrying capacity to a comfortable level.

Character customization and stat management

If you realize ten hours into the game that your SPECIAL distribution is suboptimal, you don't need to restart. You can modify your actor values directly.

  • player.setav : This sets a specific skill or SPECIAL stat. For example, player.setav Science 100 or player.setav Luck 10.
  • player.modav : This adds to the existing value. If you have 5 Strength and use player.modav strength 2, your new total will be 7.
  • player.addperk : Grants a specific perk. You will need to find the specific Perk ID for your desired ability (e.g., 00031db1 for Jury Rigging).
  • showracemenu: This opens the character creation screen again. You can change your face, hair, and race. Do not change your race mid-game unless you are prepared for potential stat resets; it is generally safer to just use it for aesthetic adjustments.
  • player.setlevel : Sets your character level to X. This will trigger the leveling-up screen where you can assign points and perks.

Faction and reputation mechanics

Maintaining the balance of power between the NCR, Caesar's Legion, and the various minor tribes is a core part of the New Vegas experience. If you accidentally killed a member of a faction and became 'Vilified', you can repair the relationship through the console.

Reputation uses a dual system: Fame (Positive) and Infamy (Negative). You cannot simply 'reset' reputation; you must add or remove points from these two pools.

  • addreputation : The 'Variable' is the most important part here. Use 1 for Fame and 0 for Infamy.
    • To add 10 Fame to the NCR: addreputation 000f43de 1 10
    • To add 10 Infamy to the Legion: addreputation 000f43dd 0 10

Major Faction IDs:

  • NCR: 000f43de
  • Caesar's Legion: 000f43dd
  • Boomers: 000ffae8
  • Brotherhood of Steel: 0011e662
  • Goodsprings: 00104c22
  • The Strip: 00118f61

If you wish to simply become neutral with everyone, you may need to use removereputation to lower both your Fame and Infamy scores to zero.

NPC and world interaction

Sometimes the world itself needs a nudge. Whether it's a merchant who was killed by a stray Deathclaw or a companion who won't stop following you, these commands help manage the AI.

  • resurrect: Click on a dead NPC while the console is open, then type this. It brings them back to life with their default inventory. Note that this doesn't always fix quests associated with their death, as the game may have already flagged them as 'deceased' in the quest log.
  • killall: Kills every NPC and creature in your immediate vicinity. Use with extreme caution as this includes quest-givers and essential characters.
  • tai: Toggles AI. This freezes all NPCs in place. They won't move, talk, or attack.
  • tcai: Toggles Combat AI. NPCs will still walk and talk, but they will not initiate combat.
  • openactorcontainer 1: Allows you to open any NPC's inventory as if it were a container, letting you trade or take items without killing them.
  • setscale : Click on an NPC and use this to change their size. '1' is the default, while '0.5' makes them tiny and '2' makes them a giant. This can also be used on the player by typing player.setscale.

Advanced visual and screenshot tools

For those who enjoy the cinematic beauty of the Mojave, the console offers unparalleled camera control.

  • tfc: Toggle Free Camera. This detaches the camera from your character's head, allowing you to fly around the environment. If you add a '1' ( tfc 1 ), it also freezes time, which is essential for catching action shots or explosions mid-air.
  • sucsm : Sets the speed of the free camera. The default is quite fast; use a value like '5' or '10' for smooth, slow-panning shots.
  • sgtm : Sets the Global Time Multiplier. Using sgtm 0.5 puts the entire game into slow motion, while sgtm 2.0 speeds it up. This is different from the 'timescale' command, which affects how fast the day/night cycle progresses.
  • set timescale to : The default is 30, meaning one minute of real time equals 30 minutes in-game. Setting this to 1 makes the game clock progress in real-time.

The Achievement dilemma

A common concern for players is that using console commands disables Steam or platform-specific achievements. In Fallout: New Vegas, this is only a temporary flag for your current play session.

If you use a command, achievements will be disabled. However, if you save your game, exit the game entirely to the desktop, and then relaunch it, the achievement flag is reset. You can then load that same save file where you used the cheats, and achievements will be earnable again. This makes the console an excellent tool for fixing bugs without permanently ruining your completionist run.

Important precautions for 2026

While the console is robust, it is still interacting with an engine built over a decade ago. Here are three rules to ensure your save file remains healthy:

  1. Always save before a major change: Before using setstage or spawning massive amounts of items, create a manual 'Hard Save'. Do not rely on quicksaves.
  2. Avoid 'caqs' and 'completeallobjectives': These commands often skip critical script triggers that set up the end-game state. Using them can make it impossible to trigger the Battle of Hoover Dam correctly.
  3. Mind the Item Limits: Spawning 10,000 Iron Sights might seem funny, but the engine's physics handler can only track a limited number of loose objects before the frame rate drops to zero or the game crashes.

By treating the console as a developer's toolkit rather than a simple cheat menu, you can tailor your journey through New Vegas to be exactly as smooth or as chaotic as you desire. Whether you're just here for the story or trying to test the limits of the Mojave's combat, these commands provide the ultimate control over your Courier's destiny.