The run began rockily, with Mitten Squad getting banged up by Cazadors and Deathclaws as he frantically tries to run away. Regardless, he built a character with a Luck stat of 9, and Charisma at 1 - and most of the other SPECIAL stats at around 6 points. Basically, playing as Mitten Squad does here ensures that all of his stats and skills are hammered by his refusal to relieve his character.

Starving characters, meanwhile, will take a hit to their Strength, Perception, and Charisma. Sleep deprived characters will have their Agility, and Endurance stats suffer. Without water, for instance, a character will experience decreases in Endurance, Perception, and Intelligence. That is, speed runners don’t have to worry about how increased hunger, thirst, or sleep could affect their stats. Hardcore fans know that speed runners have beat the game without glitches or exploits in under 30 minutes, though usually not in Survival mode. This in turn meant that Mitten Squad had about two hours to beat the game, because if any of his needs reached 1,000 points, his character would die.

From the onset, Mitten Squad knew that their sleep tally increased by 1 point every 50 seconds, hunger built up by 1 point every 25 seconds, while thirst accrued at 1 point every 10 seconds. Mitten Squad, a YouTuber whose channel is dedicated to challenge runs, was determined to find out. Fallout: New Vegas’ hardcore mode is a game of survival, with the RPG tasking you to care for your character’s food, sleeping habits, and water intake.

Fallout new vegas hardcore mode