The wasteland of the commonwealth can be a perilous place for any old survivor. Luckily, you aren’t just and old survivor! (It’s still perilous though.) No matter how good you are at the game or how powerful your load-out is, you would be a fool to neglect the life saving, ghoul slaying power of the Perk Tree! Although it may look slightly intimidating at first, the perks you can unlock every time you level up can make simple yet huge alterations to your game.
It can take a little reading to fully understand all the perks, but who wants to do that? This list will list and explain some of the best ones, bound to make your game more exciting and help your wasteland warrior feel more powerful!
Medic – Intelligence
You need two points in intelligence to unlock this perk.
- Rank 1 (Level 1) – Stimpaks now restore 40% of lost health, and Radaway now dispels 40% of radiation.
- Rank 2 (Level 18) – Stimpaks now restore 60% of lost health, Radaway now dispels 60% of radiation;
- Rank 3 (Level 30) – Stimpaks now restore 80% of lost health, Radaway now dispels 80% of radiation.
- Rank 4 (Level 49) – Stimpaks now replenish all of lost health, Radaway now dispels all radiation. These two also take effect much faster.
The wonderful thing about this perk is that you don’t need to level up this perk to the highest rank for it to be useful. It’s recommended you take it to Rank 1 at least, as restoring 40% of your HP is can save you in dire situations. Stimpaks are few and far between, and it’s price range can vary from merchant to merchant. So it would be prudent to get the most out of one dose. Not to mention it augments Radaway’s ability to remove Rads, for they tediously reduce your maximum HP. This is one of those perks that are borderline essential.
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Robotics Expert – Intelligence
You require four points in Intelligence to unlock this perk.
- Rank 1 (Level 1) – You can now hack most robots at close range. Upon hacking, you can command it to either shutdown or self destruct.
- Rank 2 (Level 19) – Upon successfully hacking a robot, you can command it to attack an enemy.
- Rank 3 (Level 44) – Upon successfully hacking a robot, you can give it specific commands, much like how you can command your companions.
Although it requires 8 points in intelligence to even unlock Rank 1, it is worth it. There are many robotic enemies in the game that are difficult to defeat and very resilient. You can bypass having to fight these enemies by just hacking them or even better, turning them against your enemies.
Take note, however, you must be close to the robot in order to hack it. You cannot hack it from a distance. Also, keep in mind that commanding robots you’ve hacked to self destruct will have to heat up for 10 seconds before it detonates. During these 10 seconds, it is still fully functional, so shutting it down before initiating self destruct is advised.
Ghoulish – Endurance
You require nine points in Endurance to unlock this perk.
- Rank 1 (Level 1) – Radiation now regenerates your lost health.
- Rank 2 (Level 24) – Radiation now regenerates even more of your lost health.
- Rank 3 (Level 48) – Radiation now regenerates even more of your lost health, and some feral ghouls will become friendly by random.
- Rank 4 (Level 50) – Radiation damage will no begin to slowly heal, restoring health in the process. (Nuka World Add-on required.)
This is one of those perks that isn’t just a simple stat boost. It in fact alters one of the fundamental parts of Fallout, giving an extra wrinkle of depth to the Radiation mechanic. You should note however that even though any radiation you receive restores health, the red part of your health bar (the rads) will continue to build, and you can eventually die from it if exposed for too long. Be that as it may, this perk could save you in tight situations, as it still takes effect even in combat.
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Strong Back – Strength
You require six points in Strength to unlock this perk.
- Rank 1 (Level 1) – You gain +25 carry weight.
- Rank 2 (Level 10) – You gain +50 carry weight.
- Rank 3 (Level 20) – While you are over-encumbered, you can use your Action Points (AP) to run.
- Rank 4 (Level 30) – While over-encumbered, you can fast travel.
- Rank 5 (Level 40) – While over-encumbered, running will cost 50% fewer Action Points. (Requires Far Harbor add-on)
Like Medic, this is one of those perks that make your game less tedious. Not only does this perk increase the load you can carry by a fair amount, but it also makes being over-encumbered much less of an unpleasant state to be in. Especially with allowing fast travel in the higher ranks of the perk.
Demolition Expert – Perception
You require five points in Perception to unlock this perk.
- Rank 1 (Level 1) – Your explosives now do 25% more damage, and you may now craft explosives at any chemistry station.
- Rank 2 (Level 10) – Your explosives now do 50% more damage, and throwing grenades provides an arc to aim with.
- Rank 3 (Level 22) – Your explosives now do 75% more damage, and has a larger AOE (area of effect).
- Rank 4 (Level 34) – All of your explosives now deal twice as much damage. Grenades and mines shot in V.A.T.S now explode for double damage too.
This is one of the most useful perks in the perception list. Seeing as you are in combat very often in Fallout, it would be wise to increase your damage output, especially for items as powerful as explosives. This perk increases the damage of grenades and mines, also the ammunition of explosive weapons like the missile launcher and the Fat Man. Unfortunately, this perk does not increase the effectiveness of pulse mines and grenades for they only deal with the secondary energy type of damage.
