Ultimate Fallout 4 Perks Guide - Best Perks, SPECIAL Ranks

Have you managed to answer the question, “What makes you SPECIAL?” If not, you’re in the right place. Fallout 4 wants you to answer this fairly early in the game, and it’s easy to mess up when you can’t.

For more help on Fallout 4, read our Traders Locations Guide, Bottle Caps Locations, Fusion Cores Locations and Unique Items Locations Guide.

Ultimate Fallout 4 Perks Guide

The game’s leveling system is designed in such a way that it is largely governed by seven attributes. Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. These are called S.P.E.C.I.A.L, and they decide what you can and cannot do in the game.

How SPECIALs Work
Each SPECIAL has its own sets of perks – ten of them, to be precise.

Every Rank in a SPECIAL unlocks one perk by order. If you have Rank 1 in Strength, only Iron Fist will be unlocked. If your Rank is 3 in Strength, then Iron Fist, Big Leagues, and Armorer will be unlocked.

Here’s a list of all the perks in the game, and how exactly they benefit you.

Fallout 4 Strength Perks

Iron Fist
No guns? No problem! All you need is a punching weapon like brass knuckles, and you’re good to go. This perk increases the damage of punch attacks with every Rank (5).

Big Leagues
Sometimes, you want to give your fists are rest, and your shoulders an exercise… by hitting people in the face with something you can swing.

If that’s the case, Big Leagues is for you, as it enhances your damage with melee weapons with every Rank (5), with the last rank increasing chances of an insta-kill or crippling your enemies.

Armorer
What good is a man in the Wasteland without any protection? Armorer allows you to modify armor pieces you find in the game, with every Rank (4) unlocking a new Rank of craftable mods.

Blacksmith
Not happy with a conventional bat? Why not add some spikes to it! Blacksmith gives you the ability to craft and modify melee weapons with mods. Each Rank (3) unlocks a new level of craftable mods.

Heavy Gunner
Bad, mean looking weapons are attractive, which is why you’ll probably salivate at the sight of a minigun, or a rocket launcher, or even a Fatman, or simply all of them. Heavy Gunner adds extra damage with Heavy Guns with every Rank (5).

Strong Back
Lift heavier and more objects, as if you were a truck! Strong Back adds plenty of additional carry weight, then allows you to run while overburdened, and even fast travel with excessive weight in the final Rank (4).

Steady Aim
Do you like run-and-gunning? Yeah, the ironsight is overrated, which is why you want to hip-fire a-plenty! Steady aim greatly improves the hip-fire accuracy with every Rank (2).

Basher
Get up close and personal, even when you’re carrying a gun! Basher vastly increases your bash damage with the butt ends of your weapons with every Rank (4).

Rooted
Do you enjoy standing still and just hacking away at enemies? Doing so with Rooted will now do extra damage with every Rank (3), and can even disarm enemies that use melee against you with the final one.

Pain Train
All aboard the Pain Train! Use your Power Armor to ram into enemies when sprinting, doing a lot of damage and staggering. Don’t expect the stagger to work against creatures your own size though! Each Rank (3) greatly increases the damage.

Fallout 4 Perception Perks

Pickpocket
Sticky fingers and a swift hand can get you real far, as long as ‘friend’ is looking away.

Pickpocket makes pickpocketing easier, and allows you to place grenades in a person’s inventory, and even steal equipped weapons and items (including clothes!) at higher Ranks (4).

Rifleman
You love rifles. I love rifles. Everybody loves rifles! Keep a nice distance from that person you don’t like and shot them one at a time with a rifle, and let the Rifleman perk aid you in making your gun both deadlier and more accurate.

Each Rank (5) increases damage with non-auto rifles and later ranks add armor penetration and chance to cripple limbs.

Awareness
Sometimes you just want to know a person you’re killing a bit more. If you feel that desire, perhaps Awareness is for you. It displays a target’s specific Damage Resistance in VATS, so you can shoot them where it hurts.

Locksmith
Found a locked door? No problem! Pick a few Bobby Pins from the nearest dressing table and begin pocking away! Picking higher level locks is what Locksmith will let you do, and at final Rank (4), your Bobby Pins will never break!

Demolition Expert
Are you a Michael Bay fan? If you are, chances are you’ll love this perk, as it makes your booms go bigger than ever, and lets you craft some of the best explosives you can dream of. Each Rank (4) increases explosive damage.

Night Person
Call the inner Dracula in yourself as you venture in the night, with enhanced Intelligence and Perception when that awful Sun isn’t shining on your face.

Refractor
Annoyed by all the lasers flying around? Try making yourself a partial mirror! Refractor increases your Energy Resistance with every Rank.

Sniper
Are you okay with keeping long distance relationships? Why not show your friend how painful they can be! Each Rank (3)of Sniper perk makes sniping from distance an easier task.

Penetrator
Walls aren’t nice when they offer protection to people you don’t like. Show them you mean business with the Penetrator perk. Each Rank (2) allows you to target enemy body parts that are blocked by walls.

Concentrated Fire
Your obsession with specific body parts during VATS will only benefit you. Use this perk to add increase accuracy after every attack on the same body part during VATS. Each Rank (3) increases this accuracy.

Fallout 4 Endurance Perks

Toughness
Try to become Wastelandman! If nothing else, you’re pretty good at taking a beating, or absorbing bullets. Each Rank (5) increases your Damage Resistance by 10.

Lead Belly
You hunger is so strong, not even Radiation can do much about it! Line your internals with some lead and take less radiation from eating or drinking with each Rank (3).

Life Giver
Be your own savior! Increase your health with this simple yet effective perk, with every Rank (3) adding 20 to maximum health.

Chem Resistant
Drugs are bad, m’kay? Unless of course, you’re resistant to getting addicted. Get high without the withdrawal effects. Rank 1 reduces chances of getting addicted by 50%, whereas Rank 2 makes you immune to it altogether.

Aquaboy / Aquagirl
There’s plenty of water in the Commonwealth, so why not go for a swim? Each Rank (2) increases your ability to swim in the irradiated water of the Wasteland.

Rad Resistant
Gradually line yourself internals with lead to make yourself more Radiation resistant. Each Rank (3) adds 10 Radiation Resistance.

Adamantium Skeleton
Take inspiration from Wolverine and infuse yourself with some indestructible metal!

Just make sure you don’t lose your memory though. Each Rank (3) reduces limb damage by 30%, until it finally becomes impossible to break a bone.

Cannibal
Hello Clarice. Eat mortal flesh to heal your wounds! Just don’t do it around the nice folks (including companions, Ghouls, and others) or they’ll judge you… and maybe even attack you. Each Rank (3) increases the variety of flesh you can eat.

Ghoulish
Don’t show it to others, but you’re secretly a Ghoul from inside! You’ll be able to heal yourself with Radiatoin with this perk. Each Rank (3) will increase the amount of healing, with the final Rank making some of the Feral Ghouls friendly!

Solar Powered
Ah, don’t you just love the Sun? Catch them good rays with this perk and benefit from sunlight.

You gain increased Strength and Endurance during day time, and at higher Ranks (3) you’ll be able to slowly heal radiation damage as well as regenerate health from the sunlight.

Fallout 4 Charisma Perks

Cap Collector
You’re so charming that vendors will improve their buying and selling prices. Each Rank (3) improves this feature, and Rank 3 allows you to invest a total of 500 Caps to raise a store’s buying capacity.

Black Widow / Lady Killer
A charmer by face, and killer by hand. You have extra damage against the opposite gender. Each Rank (3) increases the damage done by 5 percent.

Long Wanderer
Friends are overrated. Explore the Wastelands alone! You gain increased carry weight and reduce damage with every Rank (3) when traveling alone, with the final Rank increasing your damage!

Attack Dog
Train Dogmeat to become as mean as yourself! Each Rank (3) allows him to hold an enemy down and inflict extra damage.

Animal Friend
So what if that Yao Guai is irradiated? Your charm is so good animals might befriend you if you aim your gun at an animal below your level. Each Rank (3) adds the ability to pacify as well as order your animal friend. Pages: 1 2