Fallout New Vegas, hardcore mode. A doctor refuses to heal non-crippled damaged limb of the Courier in full hp

Playing Hardcore mode, according to https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Hardcore_mode "Limbs can only be restored by a doctor's bag, hydra, weapon binding ritual, healing poultice, Auto-Doc, or by visiting an actual doctor. Sleeping does not heal health points or crippled limbs, unless it's in an owned bed or having the Roughin' It perk."

I'm at the beginning of the game "Fallout New Vegas" in hardcore mode. It seems to me that I still do not have access to an owned bed. Therefore, for treatment, I often turn to NPC "Doc Mitchel".

But he refuses to treat the non-crippled but damaged limbs when the protagonist is in full health. Choosing the "I'm hurt. I need help, Doc." dialogue option, I get the "I see nothing wrong with you." answer.

Is this a bug? If so, are workarounds possible besides reducing the health of the protagonist before visiting a doctor? Maybe I should download some game mod.

If this is not a bug, what am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance.

Solution 1:

You are correct in your observation that you cannot receive medical attention when your character is at full health. This can be easily rectified without any additional cost. Doctors always charge the same flat rate (50 caps) regardless of whether your courier is almost dead or only has light damage. This means you can't get medical attention right now, but if you injured yourself then you could return at no extra cost to yourself.

The four easiest ways to injure yourself are drowning, mishandling explosives, engaging in combat, or falling from too high. You're in Goodsprings so there aren't any bodies of water to drown in. You'll be best off not using explosives or engaging in combat because both of those will lower the condition of your gear. Jumping off a small hill is easy, free and won't damage your apparel. Goodsprings is surrounded by mountains on three sides so it will be easy to find a small cliff to leap off of. Do this and Doc Mitchell should treat you without hesitation.

Solution 2:

In addition to PausePause's answer, here are some mods you might want to consider using:

• This one allows you to heal crippled limbs using Stimpaks in Hardcore Mode.

• A somewhat more appropriate mod for Hardcore Mode is this one, which will let you be able to craft and loot leg splints that can be used to 'decripple' your legs, but won't heal them much.