To hack terminals in Fallout New Vegas (FNV), you must have the required points in Science. You must then make educated guesses, find enclosed brackets, and leave after three guesses. Read on to learn how to hack terminals and additional information on what hacking and terminals are!

How to Hack Terminals

Guess the Correct Word

As you open the terminal, a screen full of texts, words, and symbols that do not make sense can confuse you. In simpler terms, hacking a terminal requires you to click on the correct word out of all the possible options. Choosing the correct word will unlock the terminal.

Failing a hack will result in the terminal entering a lock-out phase, rendering you unable to hack it again. You will have four guesses per hack, so make your choices count! The number of correct letters and their placement will appear after selecting an incorrect word.

Example

Note: Red letters are the correct letters.

With the first attempt, you should always try to find and choose words that have a common denominator with other words. For this example, multiple words that end with the participle "-ing" showed up, so let us opt for the word "running"

With the word "running", we can see four out of seven letters are correct. With this, it is safe to assume that the participle "-ing" make up the three correct letters. With an educated guess, find words that end with that same participle until you get the code.

Due to a stroke of luck and a pinch of thinking, lending was the password to unlock the terminal!

Find Enclosed Brackets

To further increase your chances of hacking a terminal, look for enclosed brackets on the screen! Pressing on these enclosed brackets will either remove duds or refresh the number of tries you can guess.

1. ()
2. []
3. {}
4. <>

To maximize the efficacy of enclosed brackets, consider using them after three guesses to get the off chance of a refresh. Doing so will most likely guarantee that you will hack the terminal!

Pan the Mouse Across the Screen

To efficiently find enclosed brackets, pan your mouse over each row to potentially find an enclosed bracket!

Reset After Three Attempts

With the amount of words available with each hack, it is not uncommon to fail at least 2-3 times per hack, especially when reaching higher difficulties. If you find yourself on your last try and there are no more enclosed brackets, it is better to retry than get locked out!

To retry, press the power button near the lower right of the terminal. Doing this should let you leave the terminal, but attempting to hack it again will take a few seconds to log back in for a retry afterward.

Hacking Related Perks

Computer Whiz

Computer Whiz allows the Courier to attempt another hack at a locked-out terminal. Exiting the terminal before you fail a hack renders this perk useless, so save your slot for another perk!

Computer Whiz ID and How to Get

What is Hacking?

Getting Access to Locked Terminals

Hacking in Fallout New Vegas lets the Courier access locked terminals. These locked terminals remain inaccessible for a reason, as terminals can either give authorized control over facilities or hold sensitive information.

More often than not, hacking terminals gives the Courier an advantage, such as removing defense protocols or unlocking doors to storage rooms!

Fallout New Vegas Related Guides

Beginner's Guide: Fallout New Vegas Tips and Tricks

Fallout New Vegas Tips and Tricks