Fallout 4 has a wide variety of available perks, so we ranked the twenty best perks to help you decide which are most suited for you.
As you progress through each level in the game, you will earn a perk point. These points can be used to obtain S.P.E.C.I.A.L. perks that enhance your character’s abilities. However, before selecting any of these perks, you must have the required number of S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes. For instance, to acquire the Heavy Gunner perk, which boosts damage with heavy weapons, your character must have at least 5 strength.
Each Perk in the game has multiple ranks that offer increasing bonuses as you level up. For instance, the Heavy Gunner perk provides 40% more damage at rank 2, 60% more damage at rank 3, and a whopping 80% damage bonus at rank 4. These rank updates are a great way to improve your character’s abilities and become more powerful in the game.
Also, leveling is not the only method to increase your SPECIAL stats, attributes, and perks. You can also get new points if you find amusing figures called Bobbleheads (Bobblehead Locations Guide here) and when reading “You’re SPECIAL!” magazines.
Finally, each perk has a unique ID number that can be used to add that specific perk to your character using console cheats. For example, the command “player.addperk [Perk ID]” will add the corresponding perk to your character. We provide an ID of each discussed perk below.
In this guide, you will find the best SPECIAL Perks ranked, including ranks and required stats (attributes) in Fallout 4.
What Are the Best Perks in Fallout 4?
Sniper, Science, and Lone Wanderer are the best perks for almost every build in Fallout 4. The sniper playstyle is the best and most damage-producing build in Fallout 4. With the Sniper perk, you gain a devastating boost to an already powerful setup. Science will give you powerful mods and advanced technology that you can use regardless of your build, making it a crucial perk. While Lone Wanderer might not be for everyone, this perk is very worth sacrificing the companionship of Fallout 4 characters for buffs it offers while traveling alone.
Below are the top twenty perks in Fallout 4 ranked from the best to useful:
Survival is your number one concern in Fallout 4. Load Belly is a good starting perk regardless of your build. It’s helpful for survival mode, especially before you start producing items to filter your food and water.
Lead Belly gives you 3 ranks of extra immunity against radiation in water and food.
19 Chemist
As in any RPG, consumables are extremely helpful and powerful sources of extra buffs, boosts, and refills of resources. Sometimes, those Chems in Fallout 4 are underrated, and we highly recommend you use them.
The Chemist perk and its ranks require you to get only 7 intelligence SPECIAL attributes, which may seem like a lot but will provide a significant boost to the time the chems last.
18 Scrounger
You only need to invest two points into the Luck attribute to get Scourger level one. However, this will help you find ammo, especially at the start of the game. Pick this perk as soon as possible, and you won’t struggle to find ammo for the rest of your gameplay. Ammunition in Fallout 4 is absolutely essential. That’s why we ranked Scrounger and included it in our best perks for Fallout 4 list.
Each level of Scrounger perk will give you an additional chance of finding the ammo in the world.
17 Action Boy
Action Boy or Action Girl perks increase AP, which is helpful in all aspects of combat. Additionally, the regeneration is noticeable, so if you like combat in Fallout 4, it’s definitely worth considering because your action points can regenerate up to 75% faster.
16 Scrapper
This perk is for “loot goblins.” If you are like me and enjoy not only looting everything but also building bases and crafting equipment, you will find the Scrapper perk extremely useful. Thanks to it, you will find all sorts of good junk. Each rank will increase the quality and amount of items. However, even if you don’t like any of those things as much, you still will probably do them regardless, so getting them will give you better items.
In Fallout 4, we ranked a few non-combat-related perks that are best and worth taking, and Hacker is one of them. Similar to Locksmith, it’s one of those perks that highly depend on your gameplay. Hacker is moderately helpful but will definitely enhance your gameplay.
Medic perk will restore health and remove the big chunk of radiation. Consequently, if you use a lot of healing consumables, play on high difficulty, or enjoy frequent combat, you should consider it. At level 30 in rank 3, a single Stimpeak can restore 80% of your health, which is a prominent boost. The first rank is also cheap because you only need intelligence attribute 2.
13 Armorer
The armorer perk in Fallout 4 will give you access to additional mods, which is always handy. Those are needed for crafting armor mods. However, they aren’t as important as science! Perk, which we ranked a little higher in this Best Perks in Fallout 4 list.
12 Locksmith
A lot of good loot is hidden behind locked doors and chests. If you enjoy collecting items, the locksmith perk will be fantastic, especially at the beginning when getting extra items is essential. The loot will give you a nice boost, but it will also prove useful later.
11 Local Leader
Fallout 4 has a complex and unique settlement system. Thanks to the Local Leader perk, you’re able to easily buy bases, help communities, and establish supply chains. It does require charisma level 6, which may seem like a lot, but it will be useful if you like this type of gameplay.
10 Demolition Expert
Explosives are common, easy to find, and extremely helpful when you need something that simultaneously deals massive damage to multiple enemies. A demolition expert will buff the damage of grenades and other throwables, giving you a panic button if you get overwhelmed or deal with challenging opponents; we ranked it number 10 because there are more powerful options, still, Demolition Expert is one of the best perks regardless of your build.
9 Critical Banker
It’s a unique mechanic that allows you to save critical when you need them for challenging fights or bosses. V.A.T.S. is essentially an autoaim feature in Fallout 4 and will also help you to get quick kills. Critical Banker is a fantastic perk overall, but you must properly utilize it to reach its maximum potential.
Crafting perks are always worth taking. Gun Nut will give additional upgrades to your weapons, which, in many cases, are more important than armor. Thanks to higher-rank mods and other modifications, greater damage will allow you to kill enemies faster, even before you need armor for protection against them. Additionally, the most robust playstyle in Fallout 4 isthe sniper build, which assumes you will never even go close to any enemies.
Sneak attacks are so overpowered that it’s hard not to take Ninja Perk and rank it in the Best Perks in Fallout. As in many Bethesda games, attacks from the shadows offer double or even triple damage attacks. It’s a fun playstyle to strike from nothing, suspecting enemies, and extremely lethal. you may easily one-shot many weaker enemies and surprise the challenging ones. Yet, it requires Agility 7, which is considered a lot.
6 Nuclear Physicist
Nuclear Physicist is another useful and expensive perk. With an intelligence requirement of 9, you must have one if you use apower armor buildand like power armor gameplay. It will extend the armor fusions and allow you to eject fusion cores and grenades for longer, which will save you resources in the long run.
5 Bloody Mess
Bloody Mess is a fantastic perk for every player and every playstyle; that’s why it was ranked so high among the best Fallout 4 perks. Increased damage in flat value, regardless of the weapon you use, is useful, and at rank 4, it can explode instantly, killing enemies or even multiple enemies in the AoE area. It’s super cheap, only 3 luck attribute points, and you need it.
4 Intimidation
Firstly, intimidation is the best charisma perk in the game. However, it requires charisma at level 10, so you need to spend a lot of points on a perk that won’t increase your combat power. While it is the best, you shouldn’t spend all your points at the start of the game to boost one attribute just for this one bonus. As you play, focus on finding Bobbleheads (Bobblehead Locations Guide here) and reading “You’re SPECIAL!” magazines to increase stats and eventually invest in the Intimidation perk.
3 Lone Wanderer
Lone Wanderer is a much cheaper perk requiring only 3 S.P.E.C.I.A.L. charisma attributes, making playing solo incredibly powerful. As a result, if you don’t mind exploring solo and leaving your companions behind, this will give you good bonuses to carry capacity, defenses, and damage. Moreover, your dog doesn’t count as a companion, so you may use everyone’s favorite pet and still enjoy all the bonuses.
2 Science!
Science is the best and highest-ranked crafting perk in Fallout 4 because you must have it to obtain the highest-quality items. It’s an absolute must-have if you want to feel powerful in the end game. Crafting in the game is also a lot of fun, and having access to various overpowered options will give you satisfaction from it.
Lastly, we have the Sniper perk, which complements the sniper playstyle, which is probably the game’s highest and most fun playstyle. Not only sniper rifles and their bonuses are powerful, but also you will, most of the time, stay out of the enemy’s range, so they most likely won’t even be able to hit you. Additionally, you can knock an enemy down and free-shot them without them returning fire (requires two points into Sniper.)
Looking For More About Fallout 4?
Thank you for reading Fallout 4: Best Perks Ranked Guide. We provide the latest news and create guides for Enshrouded, ESO, Baldur’s Gate 3, and More. Also, watch me play games onTwitchor visit myYouTubechannel!
