Fallout: New Vegas - Perks
The perks and traits that define a New Vegas build. A perk is taken every other level from level two and is gated by an attribute and a skill threshold, while the two traits chosen at character creation each trade a real penalty for a bonus. The list below covers the perks that actually change how a...
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of 33 entries
· updated 2026-09-15
| Name | Type | Description | Rank | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intense Training | Perk | One extra point in any S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attribute per rank, up to ten ranks. | 10 ranks | Level 2, repeatable every level |
| Swift Learner | Perk | Adds ten percent experience per rank, which front-loads the level curve. | 3 ranks | Level 2, Intelligence 4 |
| Educated | Perk | Two extra skill points per level for the rest of the game, which compounds into dozens of points by the endgame. | 1 rank | Level 4, Intelligence 4 |
| Comprehension | Perk | Doubles the skill points from reading skill magazines, which turns a collection of cheap magazines into a real progression shortcut. | 1 rank | Level 4, Intelligence 4 |
| Lady Killer / Confirmed Bachelor | Perk | Ten percent more damage against, and unique dialogue options with, one half of the wasteland's population. | 1 rank | Level 2, Charisma 4 |
| Rapid Reload | Perk | Cuts reload time by a quarter for every weapon. | 1 rank | Level 2, Agility 5 |
| Hand Loader | Perk | Unlocks hand-loaded ammunition recipes at a reloading bench and improves their quality, which is the single biggest damage increase available to a Guns build. | 1 rank | Level 6, Repair 70 |
| Shotgun Surgeon | Perk | Ignores ten points of damage threshold with every shotgun pellet, which is how a shotgun stops being useless against armour. | 1 rank | Level 6, Guns 45 |
| And Stay Back | Perk | Gives shotgun pellets a chance to knock enemies down, a crowd-control effect no other guns build gets. | 1 rank | Level 10, Guns 70 |
| Cowboy | Perk | Adds a quarter damage with revolvers, lever-action rifles, knives, hatchets and dynamite. | 1 rank | Level 8, Guns 45, Melee Weapons 45 |
| Grunt | Perk | Adds a quarter damage with the NCR's service rifle, assault carbine, marksman carbine, 9mm pistol and submachine gun family, plus combat knives. | 1 rank | Level 8, Guns 45, Explosives 20 |
| Finesse | Perk | Five points of critical chance on every weapon, which is huge in a game where criticals multiply rather than add. | 1 rank | Level 10, Agility 6 |
| Better Criticals | Perk | Increases critical hit damage by half. Combined with Finesse and a high-critical weapon such as Lucky or Paciencia, it is the core of the game's highest single-target damage. | 1 rank | Level 16, Luck 6, Perception 6 |
| Sniper | Perk | Raises the chance of a head shot in V.A.T.S. | 1 rank | Level 12, Perception 6, Agility 6 |
| Commando | Perk | Improves accuracy with rifles and one-handed guns in V.A.T.S. | 1 rank | Level 8, Agility 6 |
| Living Anatomy | Perk | Adds five percent damage to humans and ghouls and lets the player see their health, which is quietly one of the best information perks in the game for a combat build. | 1 rank | Level 8, Medicine 70 |
| Jury Rigging | Perk | Repair any item with a similar item from the same category rather than an exact copy, which effectively solves weapon upkeep. | 1 rank | Level 14, Repair 90 |
| Chemist | Perk | Doubles the duration of every chem, from Jet to Turbo, which is the difference between a drug being a panic button and a real combat tool. | 1 rank | Level 14, Medicine 60 |
| Robotics Expert | Perk | Lets the player shut down or hack robots, including Securitrons and sentry bots, with a sneak interaction. | 1 rank | Level 12, Science 50 |
| Silent Running | Perk | Allows running while sneaking, which is the single most useful movement perk for a stealth build and the reason a sniper can reposition after a shot without being heard. | 1 rank | Level 12, Agility 6, Sneak 50 |
| Ninja | Perk | Adds a quarter damage to melee and unarmed sneak attacks and improves critical chance with thrown weapons, making it the capstone of a stealth assassin build. | 1 rank | Level 20, Sneak 80, Melee Weapons 80 |
| Piercing Strike | Perk | Ignores fifteen points of damage threshold with unarmed and melee attacks, which is what makes fists and blades work against power armour and deathclaws. | 1 rank | Level 12, Unarmed 70 |
| Slayer | Perk | Speeds up melee and unarmed attacks by a third, turning a slow super sledge or power fist into something that can trade hits with a Legion assault squad. | 1 rank | Level 24, Agility 7 |
| Grim Reaper's Sprint | Perk | Restores twenty action points on every kill made in V.A.T.S., which lets a chain of kills continue without leaving the targeting view. | 1 rank | Level 20, Luck 8 |
| Mysterious Stranger | Perk | A stranger in a trench coat appears in V.A.T.S. | 1 rank | Level 10, Luck 6 |
| Solar Powered | Perk | Two points of Strength and two hit points per second of regeneration while standing in direct sunlight, which makes daytime Mojave travel effectively free healing. | 1 rank | Level 20, Endurance 7 |
| Explorer | Perk | Reveals every marked location on the map, including the map markers that require a discovery. | 1 rank | Level 20 |
| Wild Wasteland | Trait | Turns on the game's cut content and joke encounters, from the aliens in the northern crater to the Holy Hand Grenades and the strange references hiding in the Mojave. | 1 trait slot | Chosen at character creation |
| Built to Destroy | Trait | Adds three points of critical chance across the board at the cost of faster weapon degradation. | 1 trait slot | Chosen at character creation |
| Small Frame | Trait | One extra point of Agility for a quarter less carrying capacity, a trade that is almost always worth taking for a light build and painful for a heavy weapon collector. | 1 trait slot | Chosen at character creation |
| Four Eyes | Trait | One extra point of Perception while wearing glasses, and one point lost without them. | 1 trait slot | Chosen at character creation |
| Heavy Handed | Trait | Adds twenty percent melee and unarmed damage but cuts critical hit damage by sixty percent, making it a trap for a critical build and a fine pick for a pure bruiser. | 1 trait slot | Chosen at character creation |
| Fast Shot | Trait | Increases the fire rate of guns and energy weapons by a fifth while widening their spread, which suits close-range automatic play and ruins a sniper build. | 1 trait slot | Chosen at character creation |
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