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Fallout 4 perks system explained: Best perks to pick and why
Don't fall out of the wasteland's favour.
Bethesda Game Studios
- Cole Luke
Published: Thursday, 8 January 2026 at 1:30 pm
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Whether you're new to the game, thanks to its release on Nintendo Switch 2, or you're playing through Fallout 4 again, you'll want to know what its best perks are.
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Fortunately, we're here to help you understand how the perk system works.
There is a dizzying array of perks to choose from, and it can be difficult to choose on a first playthrough, if you've been inspired to try the games out after the Fallout series, which has just finished its second season.
Choosing the best Fallout 4 perks will work towards creating the best build, but if you do muck things up a little, you can always respec to right any wrongs.
It's also worth noting, too, that there is no level cap in Fallout 4, so you can just keep going until you've unlocked everything.
Read on to find out what the best Fallout 4 perks are and how the perks system works in Bethesda's post-apocalyptic RPG.
How does the perks system work in Fallout 4?
Vault Boy. Bethesda
The perks and skills system for Fallout 4 is quite different to previous entries in the series, and is more akin to how it works in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Each skill has a number of levels, and these unlock perks – which in turn can be levelled up in rank.
In Fallout 4 (and the rest of the Fallout games), there are seven skills, which are:
- S – Strength
- P – Perception
- E – Endurance
- C – Charisma
- I – Intelligence
- A – Agility
- L – Luck
When you create a character, you have 21 points to dish out to each of these skills. When you level up in the game, you can increase one of these seven skills or spend it on a perk pertaining to that skill.
You can also increase skills by finding and reading magazines or coming across bobbleheads.
What are the best Fallout 4 perks?
Ultimately, it depends on what sort of build you want to go for in Fallout 4, but there are some that are useful no matter what path you go down.
The ones we would recommend are:
- Fortune Finder (Luck) – Find more caps in the wasteland
- Scrounger (Luck) – Find more ammunition in the wasteland
Something that is eternally useful is being able to pick locks and unlock terminals, as these can make your job of navigating locations far simpler. For this, go with the following:
- Locksmith (Perception) – Each rank unlocks the ability to pick more difficult locks
- Hacker (Intelligence) – Gain the ability to hack increasingly difficult terminals and never get locked out
You can also find a lot of traction in perks that increase your health and resistance to damage and radiation:
- Toughness (Endurance) – Each rank unlocks additional damage resistance
- Rad Resistant (Endurance) – Each rank unlocks additional radiation resistance
- Ghoulish (Endurance) – Health regenerates in the presence of radiation
Quite often, too, you may need to buy something in a pinch rather than crafting it, so perks that improve trading can make your caps go further:
- Cap Collector (Charisma) – Get better deals with vendors
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Full list of Fallout 4 perks
Fallout 4. Bethesda
Below you can find all of the perks and what they do found in Fallout 4 for each SPECIAL category:
Strength perks in Fallout 4
- Level 01: Iron Fist – Each rank unlocks additional punching damage and abilities
- Level 02: Big Leagues – Each rank unlocks additional melee damage and abilities
- Level 03: Armorer – Gains access to Rank 1-4 armour mods depending on player level
- Level 04: Blacksmith – Unlocks Rank 1-3 melee weapon mods depending on player level
- Level 05: Heavy Gunner – Each rank unlocks additional Heavy Guns damage and abilities
- Level 06: Strong Back – Gain additional carrying capacity
- Level 07: Steady Aim – Improved hip-fire accuracy and fast travel when overencumbered
- Level 08: Basher – Bashing enemies with your gun does more damage
- Level 09: Rooted – Increased resistance to damage when standing still
- Level 10: Pain Train – Gain the ability to cause damage when running and landing in power armour
Perception perks in Fallout 4
- Level 01: Pickpocket – Pickpocketing becomes easier and you can steal equipped items
- Level 02: Rifleman – Each rank unlocks additional damage and abilities for non-automatic rifles
- Level 03: Awareness – VATS will display an enemy’s weakness
- Level 04: Locksmith – Each rank unlocks the ability to pick more difficult locks
- Level 05: Demolition Expert – Each rank unlocks additional explosives damage and abilities
- Level 06: Night Person – Your intelligence and perception is better at night
- Level 07: Refractor – Each rank nets you better Energy Resistance
- Level 08: Sniper – Improved accuracy and ability to hold breath longer when aiming down scopes
- Level 09: Penetrator – Enables you to target enemies behind cover in VATS
- Level 10: Concentrated Fire – When targeting the same body in part in VATS, accuracy and damage is increased
Endurance perks in Fallout 4
- Level 01: Toughness – Each rank unlocks additional damage resistance
- Level 02: Lead Belly – Incur less and less radiation poisoning from eating and drinking
- Level 03: Life Giver – Unlock additional HP and regenerative health
- Level 04: Chem Resistant – Become more immune to addiction to the point of inconsequential chem usage!
- Level 05: Aquagirl/boy – Take no radiation damage in water, breathe underwater and become undetectable underwater
- Level 06: Rad Resistant – Each rank unlocks additional radiation resistance
- Level 07: Adamantium Skeleton – Limbs damage is reduced each rank until you take none
- Level 08: Cannibal – Consuming human flesh and then ghoul and super mutant flesh restores your health
- Level 09: Ghoulish – Health regenerates in the presence of radiation
- Level 10: Solar Powered – During the day, you are stronger and more resilient
Charisma perks in Fallout 4
- Level 01: Cap Collector – Get better deals with vendors
- Level 02: Black Widow/Lady Killer – Cause more damage to and have better skill check percentages with men or women
- Level 03: Lone Wanderer – Take less damage, gain carrying capacity and action points as you rank up when not travelling with a companion
- Level 04: Attack Dog – In VATS, your dog will hold an enemy still
- Level 05: Animal Friend – Gain the potential to pacify animals and command them when you aim your gun at them
- Level 06: Local Leader – Create supply lines between settlement workshops
- Level 07: Party Boy/Girl – Become immune to alcohol addiction, increase their effect and luck when under the influence
- Level 08: Inspirational – Any companion will take less damage, be immune to your attacks and can carry more weight
- Level 09: Wasteland Whisperer – Gain the potential to pacify creatures and command them when you aim your gun at them
- Level 10: Intimidation – Gain the potential to pacify humans and command them when you aim your gun at them
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Intelligence perks in Fallout 4
- Level 01: VANS – Path to closest quest target is displayed in VATS
- Level 02: Medic – Stimpacks and RadAway become much more effective as you rank up
- Level 03: Gun Nut – Unlock base level and Rank 1 gun mods in the crafting menu
- Level 04: Hacker – Gain the ability to hack increasingly more difficult terminals and never get locked out
- Level 05: Scrapper – Gain the ability to salvage increasingly uncommon parts and components
- Level 06: Science – Unlock base level and Rank 1 high-tech mods in the crafting menu
- Level 07: Chemist – Chems’ effects become increasingly longer with each rank
- Level 08: Robotics Expert – Allows you to hack robots to disable or control them
- Level 09: Nuclear Physicist – Inflict increasingly more damage with radiation weapons, have longer lasting Fusion Cores and eject Fusion Cores like grenades
- Level 10: Nerd Rage! – When you go under 20 per cent health, time slows and you inflict more damage and are resistant to incoming attacks
Agility perks in Fallout 4
- Level 01: Gunslinger – Each rank unlocks additional damage and abilities for non-automatic pistols
- Level 02: Commando – Deliver more damage and have increased accuracy with automatic weapons
- Level 03: Sneak – Become stealthier with each rank and gain the ability to bypass traps as well as run silently
- Level 04: Mister Sandman – Suppressed weapons deliver more damage with each rank
- Level 05: Action Girl/Boy – Your Action Points regenerate faster with each rank
- Level 06: Moving Target – Take less damage and increase Energy Resistance with each rank
- Level 07: Ninja – Attacks when sneaking or with melee weapons cause more damage with each rank
- Level 08: Quick Hands – Reloading becomes faster and uses no Action Points in VATS
- Level 09: Blitz – Melee distance in VATS becomes increased with each rank
- Level 10: Gun Fu – Do increasingly more damage to each subsequent target in VATS
Luck perks in Fallout 4
- Level 01: Fortune Finder – Come across more caps in containers and even have enemies explode into a shower of them
- Level 02: Scrounger – Find more ammunition in containers and even at the end of your weapon’s magazine at times
- Level 03: Bloody Mess – Deal more damage with each rank and enemies may explode upon death
- Level 04: Mysterious Stranger – Have the Mysterious Stranger appear more often in VATS
- Level 05: Idiot Savant – Gain up to 5x more XP randomly for actions. A lower Intelligence increases your chances
- Level 06: Better Criticals – Critical hits will do more damage with each rank
- Level 07: Critical Banker – Critical hits can be to be used in VATS
- Level 08: Grim Reaper’s Sprint – Kills in VATS can restore Action Points
- Level 09: Four Leaf Clover – Hits in VATS can restore your critical hit meter
- Level 10: Ricochet – Ranged attacks from opponents can loop around and kill them instead
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- Fallout 4 registration form - top tips and best builds
- Fallout 4 canon ending - did TV confirm it?
- How to scrap junk in Fallout 4
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- Hack your game of choice with Fallout 4 mods, Fallout 76 mods or Fallout: New Vegas mods
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Authors
Cole LukeFreelance Writer
Cole Luke is a freelance journalist and video producer who contributes to Radio Times Gaming. He also has bylines for Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, Network N and more.
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