In Fallout 3, if your intelligence wasn't high enough to do certain things, taking Mentats helped, it doesn't seem like it works the same way in this game. Am I wrong?

Well, it won't suddenly make you able to attempt locks or terminals you couldn't before. But each point of INT reduces the amount of potential passwords at a terminal by 1, as well as giving you a slight XP boost. Plus, they can be crafted into different flavors at a Chemistry Station that give you more pronounced effects, +5 in PER, INT, or CHA depending on what flavor you make. Very helpful.

Yeah, I always pop some mentats before turning in a quest. You will probably be able to get the most out of the XP boost if your INT is high to begin with, although it can help make up for a low INT score if you sunk your points elsewhere, especially at the beginning of the game.

No. Just a few caps is all they're worth.

It's good to keep my wallet at tip top condition.

The bump to Perception is also helpful if you use VATS.

But Mentats are MOST useful when you craft them into other flavors.

if u are turning in 5 quests pop a Mentat and get a nice exp boost - 6%

or sell them for caps

they can be turned into cha boosting drugs

To me, the best use for Mentats is to use them to make other flavors. The standard Mentats on their own are outstripped by the flavored version.


Berry Mentats gives +5 Intelligence, which equals out to roughly a 15% boost in earned XP. Great for use when turning in multiple quests. Plus, popping a Berry Mentats before hacking a terminal makes it much easier than without.


Graqe Mentats gives +5 Charisma, which is a great way to pass Speech Checks without necessarily having to equip a Charisma suit. It's also great to pop before a trading session, as you also get 10% better prices on top of what you get from the Charisma boost.


Orange Mentats add +5 Perception, which increases accuracy in VATS, and provides an extra 10% VATS accuracy on top of it. This makes it great for characters using VATS, as it makes you more accurate. I've heard that higher Perception in previous games also made the sweet spot bigger when Lockpicking, but that's harder to quantify, and I don't know if that functionality made it into Fallout 4.


So yes, Mentats in general can be useful. However, boosting your Intelligence or Perception to higher levels won't allow you to pick harder locks or hack harder terminals, which was the main question you asked. Both of those are entirely perk-based.

Graqe Mentats +Charisma 5 points i think.

Graqe mentats will help you create larger settlements.

I use them primarily to make bufftats (+3 STR, +3 END, +3 PER, +65 HP for 8-24 minutes, depending on chemist ranks!) and graqe mentats (+5 CHA, +10% better prices for 8-24 minutes, depending on chemist ranks).

There aren't nearly as many reactive game instances for intelligence in Fallout 4. It seems that in the Institute, in particular, there should have been a lot more opportunities to capitalize on high INT, but I really can't think of any except for the mission to repair the USS Constitution:

Well if you put some Mentats in a Nuka Cola it will make a geyser that can give a raider a sticky shower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjbJELjLgZg

Bufftats!