Tribes: Ascend/Perks

Perks are slight modifications that gives you specific advantages during gameplay. There are two perk slots with a unique selection of perks for each slot. Perks are shared across every class, so buying a perk unlocks it for every class. Every perk costs 160 gold or 18000 experience.

Rage
If you are close to the flag when it is grabbed, you enter a raged state. During this state you get a 50% increase in energy recharge as well as a 10% reduction in mass, so your disk-jumps will propel you faster. It's useful for any defenders that stay near the flag, especially Pathfinders, who can benefit from the increased energy regen to feed their Thrust Pack and help their disk-jumps.
 * Level 1: +50% energy regen in rage
 * Level 2: +50% energy regen in rage
 * Mastery: +25% heal at start of rage

Ultra Capacitor I
The Ultra Capacitor I gives you an additional 10 energy. It's unlocked from the start. You can't really go wrong with this, more energy means better mobility. It's also quite helpful for any class that has energy-using weapons or packs like the Raider, as they benefit from a larger energy pool. It can be used with Ultra Capacitor II for a total of 20 extra energy.
 * Cannot be upgraded

Reach
Reach increases the range for picking up flags. This is really useful for beginner cappers, as they get a larger margin of error when going for grabs. It's helpful for a veteran as well, as the increased reach means you can grab the flag without having to risk slamming into a Force Field, a player with the Super Heavy perk or activating mines. It also applies to flag passing and flag returns. The final upgrade gives you better ammo pickup range, which is useful for a Pathfinder that needs an additional Nitron without changing his route too much.
 * Level 1: +10% reach
 * Level 2: +10% reach
 * Mastery: Reach works on ammo drops

Safe Fall
Safe Fall reduces the fall damage taken by 50% at base level, making you completly immune to it at level 2. Not a popular perk, as most of the time you can use your jetpacks to slow your fall to non-damaging speeds. The third upgrade makes you immune to vehicle runover damage, gives you protection against Shrikes, as their pilots usually prefer ramming into you than using their hard-to-aim guns. That still doesn't happen very often, so as a result, this perk doesn't see much use.
 * Level 1: +25% fall damage reduction
 * Level 2: +25% fall damage reduction
 * Mastery: Immune to vehicles

Wheel Deal
Wheel Deal reduces the cost of vehicles by 10% at base level. While Bounty Hunter is more versatile when it comes to spending credits, Wheel Deal is useful if you don't get too many kills, like if you're playing Technician. The reduced cost can potentially let you get one vehicle every life. Grav Bikes are made even cheaper, helpful for heavies that need to get across the map quickly. The increased energy also helps Grav Bikes and Shrikes achieve more speed, while improving the Beowulf's turn speed.
 * Level 1: +10% reduction
 * Level 2: +10% reduction
 * Mastery: +25% energy on vehicles

Bounty Hunter
Bounty Hunter gives you an additional 100 credits when you get a kill at base level, which can be increased to 200 credits at max level with an additional 100 if killed by a belt item. A really good choice for any class that gets a lot of kills, such as Raiders or Brutes. Not only do you get more credits for supply drops and asset upgrades, you also get to buy vehicles, Tactical Strikes and Orbital Strikes more often, giving you even more credits.
 * Level 1: +50 credits earned
 * Level 2: +50 credits earned
 * Mastery: +100 credits for belt kills

Close Combat
Close Combat grants you a 20% reduction in melee damage, down to 360 when fully upgraded. It's most common use though, is its final upgrade, which increases melee damage to 1800 when you hit someone from behind, letting you kill any light or medium class with one hit. As Infiltrators have the best chance with getting melee strikes, it's often used by them. Ironically, their main victims, Sentinels and Technicians, sometimes use this perk to prevent getting bakckstabbed as well.
 * Level 1: x2 backstab damage
 * Level 2: +20% melee damage reduction
 * Mastery: +20% melee damage reduction

Looter
Looter let's you get 50% more ammo from drops at base level, and can be upgraded for a maximum of twice the normal ammo pickup rate. Usually used by offense-oriented classes like Infiltrators or Raiders who will be fighting away from their base most of the time. It's third upgrade is also useful for classes with useful belt items, such as Brutes, returning two grenades back when picking an ammo drop.
 * Level 1: +25% ammo from drops
 * Level 2: +25% ammo from drops
 * Mastery: +1 belt ammo from drops

Stealthy
Stealthy makes Radar Sensors detect you at 50% less range, meaning you can get closer before being spotted. Not a very useful perk, since most of the time sensors are destroyed and never repaired anyway. It is helpful for cappers, as enemies take longer to see you coming in for the grab if the radar sensor is still up, and the final upgrade decreases the threat of turrets.
 * Level 1: +40% sensor evasion range
 * Level 2: +40% sensor evasion range
 * Mastery: +30% time taken for turrets to target you

Safety Third
Safety Third let's you carry one additional belt item. A useful perk for any class, especially those that have really useful belt items, like the Pathfinder's nitrons, the Infiltrator's stickies and the Brute's fractals. It is also a great choice for mine users like Sentinels, who can carry 3 claymores and have 4 of them on the map with this perk fully upgraded.
 * Level 1: +5% belt item radius
 * Level 2: +5% belt item radius
 * Mastery: +1 mine deployed

Sonic Punch
Sonic Punch makes your melee attack knock players back. The knockback range is slightly larger than the range where you can do actual damage. Useful for Infiltrators, as they can knock foes into pits in certain generator rooms like the one in Katabatic. The final upgrade can be useful for chasers, as the flag drop range is higher than regular melee range, so if you manage to get close enough you can get the flag off of them.
 * Level 1: Increase knockback
 * Level 2: Increase knockback
 * Mastery: Forces flag drop

Determination
This perk increases your base health by 100 every time you die without killing a player or grabbing a flag, up to 300 additional health. Suicide negates this health bonus. It's available from the start, and it's only purpose is to help new players survive longer as they familiarise themselves with the game. Once you get halfway decent, replace it as soon as possible.
 * Cannot be upgraded

Egocentric
Egocentric reduces damage dealt to yourself by 15% at base level. While it's basic idea is to prevent you from hurting yourself too much during indoor battles, it's most common use is to make explosives jumping less costly. This is especially popular with Pathfinders who often use Nitrons and Spinfusors to get up to optimal capping speed.
 * Level 1: +10% protection self damage
 * Level 2: +10% protection self damage
 * Mastery: Ignore self whiteout and EMP

Potential Energy
Potential Energy converts a part of the splash damage you receive include those from your own weapons into energy. It is important to note that you still take the normal amount of damage. More energy means you can stay in the air longer, which makes you safer from attacks. It can also help keep your active packs working, especially those with the Shield Pack equipped, who can sacrifice energy to reduce damage taken, then make up the lost of energy by absorbing hits.
 * Level 1: +10% transfer ratio
 * Level 2: +10% transfer ratio
 * Mastery: Now works on fall damage

Pilot
Pilot increase the health of the vehicles you buy by 10%. You have nothing to lose with more health, especially if you purchase vehicles frequently. The final upgrade let's you eject automatically from your vehicle as it is destroyed, so you can do that last bit of damage without worrying about being killed by the vehicle explosion.
 * Level 1: +5% vehicle health
 * Level 2: +5% vehicle health
 * Mastery: Eject from exploding vehicles

Survivalist
Survivalist let's you heal 10% or your health every time you pick up an ammo nugget at base level. Really useful for offensive classes like the Raider, who will often be constantly in the fray and far from any inventory stations. Survivalist keeps you alive during heavy battles where you cannot afford to wait for your armor's health regeneration to activate.
 * Level 1: +5% heal from drops
 * Level 2: +5% heal from drops
 * Mastery: +40% energy recharge from drops

Super Heavy
Super Heavy increases your mass by 40% at base level, meaning that you get knocked back less when hit by projectiles. It is absolutely vital if you're playing the Heavy on Flag or just flag blocking in general. The resistance to knockback means you can stay near the flag when cappers fly in. With the final upgrade, you turn yourself into a walking force field, making bodyblocking even more potent, as anyone running into you at high speeds is going to go splat. There is one drawback from this perk. As it raises your mass, your acceleration will decrease.
 * Level 1: +20% mass
 * Level 2: +20% mass
 * Mastery: Damage enemies who run into you

Ultra Capacitor II
The Ultra Capacitor II gives you an additional 10 energy. It's purposes are the same as Ultra Capacitor I, but it's in the secondary slot, so it's a good choice if you already have another primary perk that you favor. It can be used with Ultra Capacitor I for a total of 20 extra energy.
 * Cannot be upgraded

Quick Draw
Quick Draw reduces the time it take to switch between weapons by 30%. It's useful if you carry a finishing weapon like the Eagle Pistol to quickly take foes out. It's also helpful for Sentinels and Juggernauts, who will need to quickly switch to their secondaries when engaged in direct combat. The final upgrade let's you throw more grenades in a shorter amount of time, and is useful for Infiltrators that need to destroy he generator fast or for Brutes covering a wide area with Fractals.
 * Level 1: +10% switch speed
 * Level 2: +10% switch speed
 * Mastery: +20% grenade throwing speed

Mechanic
Mechanic let's you damage enemy base assets with repair tools. It also disables enemy turrets when used on them. The rate of unrepairing is increased if it's done by a Technician's Repair Tool, but is not affected by repair tool or perk upgrades. It is still too impractical to be used frequently. Technicians use it for it's upgrades, which increases the speed of repair.
 * Level 1: +5% repair rate
 * Level 2: +5% repair rate
 * Mastery: +25% protection muulti-crew

Lightweight
Lightweight reduces your mass by 30%, but more than triples the delay until your health regenerates. This perk is intended for skilled and dedicated chasers, who will need to use disk-jumps to catch up to cappers. It works well with Rage as it gives you a total of 40% mass reduction when in rage. While this perk could be used for gaining speed quickly when capping, the increased health regen delay means you likely won't have enough health when going for the grab.
 * Cannot be upgraded