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Level perks[edit]

At every second level, you will have an option to pick a perk. Each has a minimum level as well as potential Skill or S.P.E.C.I.A.L. requirements before they may be obtained.

Perk Level Requirements Effect
Black Widow 2 Female PC +10% damage to male NPCs, and unique dialogue options with certain male characters.
Lady Killer 2 Male PC +10% damage to female NPCs and unique dialogue options with certain female characters.
Cherchez La Femme 2 Female PC +10% damage to female NPCs and unique dialogue options with certain female characters.
Confirmed Bachelor 2 Male PC +10% damage to male NPCs and unique dialogue options with certain male characters.
Friend of the Night 2 PE 6, Sneak 30 Low-light vsion from 8:15pm to 5:45pm
Heave, Ho! 2 Strength 5, Explosives 30 +50% thrown weapon velocity and range.
Hunter 2 Survival 30 75% more critical damage against animals and mutated animals.
Intense Training (10 ranks) 2 Each rank increases a SPECIAL attribute by 1.
Rapid Reload 2 AG 5, Guns 30 Increases reload speed by 25%.
Retention 2 IN 5 Triple skill magazines duration, to 3 minutes.
Swift Learner (3 ranks) 2 IN 4 Granting an additional 10%/20%/30% experience points.
Cannibal 4 While sneaking, you may eat a human corpse to regain 25 hit points, but lose Karma.
Comprehension 4 IN 4 Doubles the skill points gained from skill books and skill magazines.
Educated 4 IN 4 Gives two more skill points every time you advance in level.
Entomologist 4 Intelligence 4, Survival 45 Gives +50% extra damage against mutated insects.
Rad Child 4 Survival 70 Regenerates 2 HP per second per 200 rads accumulated.
Run 'n Gun 4 Guns 45 or Energy Weapons 45 Halves spread with one-handed ranged weapons while walking or running.
Travel Light 4 Survival 45 While wearing light armor or no armor, you run 10% faster.
Bloody Mess 6 +5% damage and more violent death animations.
Demolition Expert (3 ranks) 6 Explosives 50 Gives +20%/40%/60% damage with explosives.
Ferocious Loyalty 6 Charisma 6 When you drop below 50% Hit Points, companions gain +50 Damage Resistance.
Fortune Finder 6 Luck 5 Certain containers have a 10% change of having additional caps (usually 20-80)
Gunslinger 6 +25% accuracy in V.A.T.S. with one-handed weapons.
Hand Loader 6 Repair 70 When using Guns, you are twice as likely to recover cases and hulls. You also have all hand load recipes unlocked at any reloading benches.
Lead Belly 6 Endurance 5 -50% radiation taken from food and water sources.
Shotgun Surgeon 6 Guns 45 When using shotguns, you ignore an additional 10 points of a target's Damage Threshold.
The Professional 6 Sneak 70 Your sneak attack criticals with revolvers, pistols, and submachine guns (guns and energy weapons) all inflict an additional 20% damage.
Toughness (2 ranks) 6 Endurance 5 +3/+6 Damage Threshold.
Vigilant Recycler 6 Science 70 When using Energy Weapons, you are twice as likely to recover drained ammunition. You also have more efficient recycling recipes available at workbenches.
Commando 8 +25% accuracy in V.A.T.S. with two-handed weapons.
Cowboy 8 Guns 45, Melee 45 +25% damage done by dynamite, hatchets, knives, revolvers, and lever-action guns.
Living Anatomy 8 Medicine 70 Shows health and Damage Threshold of any target. +5% bonus to damage against humans and non-feral ghouls.
Pack Rat 8 Intelligence 5, Barter 70 Items with a weight of two pounds or less now weigh half as much.
Quick Draw 8 Agility 5 Makes weapon equipping and holstering 50% faster.
Rad Resistance 8 Endurance 5, Survival 40 +25% radiation resistance.
Scrounger 8 Luck 5 75% chance of finding additional ammo in containers.
Stonewall 8 Strength 6, Endurance 6 +5 Damage Threshold against melee and unarmed attacks, and cannot be knocked down during combat.
Strong Back 8 Strength 5, Endurance 5 +50 Carry Weight.
Super Slam! 8 Strength 6, Melee Weapons 45 All melee (except thrown) and unarmed attacks have a chance of knocking your target down. 15% for Unarmed or one-handed melee, 30% for two-handed melee.
Terrifying Presence 8 Speech 70 Can intimidate foes through dialogue; closing dialogue results in the foe fleeing for 5 seconds.
Here and Now 10 You instantly level up again.
Animal Friend (2 ranks) 10 Charisma 6, Survival 45 With the first rank, hostile animals become neutral. With the second rank, they assist in combat, but not against other animals.
Finesse 10 +5% Critical Chance.
Math Wrath 10 Science 70 Reduces all AP costs by 10%.
Miss Fortune 10 Luck 6 10% chance that Miss Fortune will appear after using V.A.T.S.. She will randomly cripple an opponent's limb or detonate an explosive or weapon in the target's inventory.
Mister Sandman 10 Sneak 60 Can instantly kill a sleeping non-player character and earn bonus XP when doing so.
Mysterious Stranger 10 Luck 6 10% chance that the Mysterious Stranger will finish off a target in V.A.T.S.
Nerd Rage! 10 Intelligence Science 50 When health is 20% or lower, +15 Damage Threshold and Strength increased to 10.
Night Person 10 +2 Intelligence and +2 Perception between 6:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M.
Plasma Spaz 10 Energy Weapons 70 Action Points costs for all plasma weapons are reduced by 20%.
Fast Metabolism 12 +20% Hit Points restored with stimpaks.
Ghastly Scavenger 12 Cannibal perk When you're in Sneak mode, you gain the option to eat a super mutant or feral ghoul corpse to regain 50 hit points, but lose Karma.
Hit the Deck 12 Explosives 70 DT against explosives.
Life Giver 12 Endurance 6 +30 hit points.
Long Haul 12 Endurance 6, Barter 70 Being over-encumbered no longer prevents you from using fast travel.
Piercing Strike 12 Unarmed 70 All your unarmed and melee attacks negate 15 points of Damage Threshold.
Pyromaniac 12 Explosives 60 +50% damage with fire-based weapons.
Robotics Expert 12 Science 50 +25% damage to robots; can shut down robots by sneaking up on them and deactivating.
Silent Running 12 Agility 6, Sneak 50 Running no longer factors into a successful sneak attempt.
Sniper 12 Perception 6, Agility 6 25% more likely to hit the target's head in V.A.T.S.
Splash Damage 12 Explosives 70 Explosives have a 25% larger area of effect.
Unstoppable Force 12 Strength 7, Melee Weapons 90 x4 normal damage through enemy blocks with melee and unarmed attacks.
Adamantium Skeleton 14 Damage taken by limbs reduced by 50%.
Center of Mass 14 Guns 70 In V.A.T.S., you do an additional 15% damage when targeting the torso.
Chemist 14 Medicine 60 Chems last twice as long. Other consumable timed items are also affected, including hardcore stimpacks.
Jury Rigging 14 Repair 90 Repair any item using another item from the same repair category.
Light Step 14 Perception 6, Agility 6 Floor traps or mines will not be set off.
Purifier 14 You do 50% extra damage with melee and unarmed weapons against centaurs, night stalkers, spore plants, spore carriers, deathclaws and super mutants.
Action Boy/Action Girl (2 ranks) 16 Agility 6 +15/+30 Action Points.
Better Criticals 16 Perception 6, Luck 6 +50% damage with critical hits.
Chem Resistant 16 Medicine 60 Half as likely to get addicted.
Meltdown 16 Energy Weapons 90 Foes killed by your Energy Weapons emit a corona of harmful energy. May cause a chain reaction.
Tag! 16 Fourth "tag" skill: +15 points to that skill.
Weapon Handling 16 Strength < 10 Weapon Strength requirements are now 2 points lower than normal for you.
Computer Whiz 18 Intelligence 7, Science 70 Can make one extra attempt to hack a locked-down terminal.
Concentrated Fire 18 Energy Weapons 60, Guns 60 +5% accuracy in V.A.T.S. with every subsequent attack on a given body part queued.
Infiltrator 18 Perception 7, Lockpick 70 Can make one more attempt to pick a broken lock.
Paralyzing Palm 18 Unarmed 70 30% chance to paralyze an enemy for 30 seconds with a V.A.T.S. unarmed attack.
Explorer 20 All locations are marked on your map.
Grim Reaper's Sprint 20 A kill in V.A.T.S. restores 20 AP immediately.
Ninja 20 Melee Weapons 80, Sneak 80 Multiplies Critical Chance by x1.15 with melee and unarmed weapons (despite the description stating it's a flat +15% bonus), and grants +25% damage with melee/unarmed sneak attack criticals.
Solar Powered 20 Endurance 7 +2 Strength and +1 HP per second while outside, from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Laser Commander 22 Energy Weapons 90 You do an extra 15% damage and have a 10% extra chance to critically hit with any laser weapon.
Nuka Chemist 22 Science 90 Unlocks special Nuka-Cola recipes at the workbench.
Spray and Pray 22 Your attacks do 75% less damage to companions.
Slayer 24 Strength 7, Agility 7, Unarmed 90 The speed of all your melee and unarmed attacks is increased by 30%.
Nerves of Steel 26 Agility 7 20% faster AP regeneration.
Rad Absorption 28 Endurance 7 -1 Rad every 20 seconds

Companion Perks[edit]

While you have a companion following you, they will grant you a perk, usually a minor bonus. Completing each companion's quest will

Companion Location Benefit
Arcade Gannon Old Mormon Fort Better Healing: +20% more health from consumable sources
Cass Mojave Outpost Whiskey Rose: No negative effects from alcohol or alcohol addiction. Whisky increases Damage Threshold by 2, and Wasteland tequila increases Damage Threshold by 3.
Craig Boone Novac Spotter: Highlights hostile targets when actively aiming with a weapon.
ED-E Primm Enhanced Sensors: Detects enemies are a very far range, and cloaked enemies can also be targeted in V.A.T.S.
Lily Jacobstown Stealth Girl: Doubles Stealth Boy duration and sneak attack criticals inflict +10% extra damage
Raul Black Mountain Regular Maintenance: Weapon and armor decays 50% slower. Possible upgrade to Full Maintenance through the companion quest Old School Ghoul, granting 75% slower decay.
Rex King's School of Impersonation Search and Mark: Highlights aid items, weapons and ammo - and containers holding them - while aiming with a weapon.
Veronica 188 Trading Post Scribe Assistant: Allows crafting items without a workbench.

Challenge Perks[edit]

Name Ranks Unlock conditions Benefit
Abominable 3 Kill 50/100/150 abominations Deal +3%/+6%/+10% damage to abominations.
Animal Control 3 Kill 50/100/150 mutated animals Deal +3%/+6%/+10% damage to mutated animals.
Beautiful Beatdown 1 Complete A Fistful of Hollars and inflict 10,000 damage with unarmed weapons. AP costs for unarmed attacks are reduced by 10%.
Bug Stomper 3 Kill 50/100/150 mutated insects Deal +3%/+6%/+10% damage to mutated insects.
Camel of the Mojave 1 Drink 100 water items Water items hydrate and heal you 15% better.
Day Tripper 1 Use 25 addictive Chems. The effects of addictive Chems last 33% longer.
Dine and Dash 1 Eat 25 corpses with the Cannibal perk. Get option to take Human remains when using Cannibal.
Fast Times 1 Use turbo 20 times Turbo's effects last +50% longer.
Free Radical 1 Use 20 RadAway 10 additional rads removed upon each RadAway usage.
Friendly Help 1 Receive 15 Mysterious Stranger or Miss Fortune visits. Mysterious Stranger and Miss Fortune are twice as likely to appear in V.A.T.S.
Lord Death 3 Kill 200/700/1000 enemies Deal an extra +1%/+2%/+4% damage to all enemies.
Machine Head 3 Kill 50/100 robots (glitched; rank is misreported to player, rank 3 is unachievable). Deal +3%/+6% damage to robots.
Meat of Champions 1 Cannibalize Mr. House, Caesar, The King and Aaron Kimball. +1 Luck, Strength, Charisma and Intelligence for 60 seconds each time a corpse is consumed.
Melee Hacker 2 First kill 125 enemies with melee weapons. For one rank, deal 10,000 damage with one-handed melee weapons. For another, deal 10,000 damage with two-handed melee weapons. Level 1: +5% melee weapon attack speed. Level 2: +10% melee weapon attack speed.
Mutant Massacrer 3 Kill 50/100/150 super mutants. Deal +3%/+6%/+10% damage to super mutants.
Power Armor Training 1 Complete Eyesight to the Blind or Tend to Your Business or For Auld Lang Syne. Ability to wear all Power Armor variants.
Set Lasers for Fun 2 Deal 16,000 damage with pistol grip energy weapons for one rank and 25,000 damage with rifle grip energy weapons for the other. ALL energy weapons gain an extra +2%/+4% chance to get a critical hit.
Tough Guy 1 Become crippled 50 times. Take 20% less limb damage.

Implant Perks[edit]

The total number of implants one can receive is equal to the Endurance statistic. The additional point granted by the Endurance implant does not count toward this total.

Name Unlock conditions Benefit
"Hypertrophy Accelerator" Strength Implant Buy from Doctor Usanagi for 4000 caps. +1 Strength
"Optics Enhancer" Perception Implant Buy from Doctor Usanagi for 4000 caps. +1 Perception
"Nociception Regulator" Endurance Implant Buy from Doctor Usanagi for 4000 caps. +1 Endurance
"Empathy Synthesizer" Charisma Implant Buy from Doctor Usanagi for 4000 caps. +1 Charisma
"Logic Co-Processor" Intelligence Implant Buy from Doctor Usanagi for 4000 caps. +1 Intelligence
"Reflex Booster" Agility Implant Buy from Doctor Usanagi for 4000 caps. +1 Agility
"Probability Calculator" Luck Implant Buy from Doctor Usanagi for 4000 caps. +1 Luck
"NEMEAN" Sub-Dermal Armor Buy from Doctor Usanagi for 8000 caps. +4 Damage Threshold
"PHOENIX" Monocyte Breeder Buy from Doctor Usanagi for 12000 caps. Regenerate 1 health per 10 seconds

Unarmed perks[edit]

Special unarmed moves can be learned from various characters in the Mojave.

Name Unlock conditions Benefit
Khan Trick Perform all Aba Daba Honeymoon drug runs for the Great Khans Temporarily stun opponents by throwing dust or dirt at their eyes (requires dirt or sand ground)
Legion Assault Talk to Lucius with 50 Unarmed and positive Legion reputation. Knock back opponents
Ranger Takedown Talk to Ranger Andy with 30 Speech or complete the unmarked quest Andy and Charlie. Knock down opponents
Scribe Counter Put Formal wear or White Glove Society attire into Veronica's inventory. Quick counter-attack after block