Fallout 4 is an action role-playing game. More often than not, this kind of game is tightly connected to a character progression system, in which players can earn experience, level up their characters, and obtain points that can be spent to acquire new strengths and abilities on skill trees.
And that’s exactly how it is in Fallout 4.
Fallout 4 allows for a lot of flexibility when it comes to choosing perks, giving players a high degree of freedom in terms of crafting their own builds that will meet their expectations and will best complement their playstyles.
As such, the choice of specific perks is often a matter of personal preferences. For example, those who prefer long-range combat would probably want to focus on long-range combat perks, while those who’d rather get close and personal, will probably choose melee-related ones first.
However, there are some perks that are objectively more useful than others and should be considered as soon as possible, no matter the build.
TLDR Table for Best Perks
| Perk | Req. | Recommended Ranks | TL;DR Effect | Beginner Tip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locksmith | PER 4 | Up to Rank 3 | Lets you pick higher-tier locks for extra loot. | Great early for ammo/caps; less crucial once you know the game. |
| Sneak | AGI 3 | Invest if going stealth | Improves stealth, lets you avoid or ambush enemies. | Amazing with Ninja/Mister Sandman; skip if you hate stealth. |
| Idiot Savant | LCK 5 | Ranks 1–2 only | Huge bonus XP on random actions, stronger at low INT. | Very powerful but can trivialize game; consider for 2nd run, avoid Rank 3 unless min-maxing. |
| Strong Back | STR 6 | Up to Rank 4 | Increases carry weight; later lets you fast travel over-encumbered. | Great QoL if you loot a lot or use heavy gear; 6 STR is a big investment just for weight. |
| Scrapper | INT 5 | At least Rank 2 | More components from scrapping; highlights needed junk. | Top-tier for crafting/upgrading gear and settlements; saves caps long-term. |
| Cap Collector | CHR 1 | Ranks 1–2; Rank 3 if trading a lot | Better buy/sell prices; Rank 3 lets you invest in shops. | Excellent early for money problems; less vital once you master money-making. |
| Scrounger | LCK 2 | Up to Rank 4 | Finds much more ammo in containers and on corpses. | Perfect for gun-focused beginners; you’ll almost never run out of ammo. |
| Aquaboy / Aquagirl | END 5 | Take later | Breathe underwater and ignore radiation from swimming. | Great for exploration and hidden loot; pick after core combat perks. |
| Hacker | INT 4 | Up to Rank 3 | Lets you hack higher-tier terminals, sometimes disable turrets. | Good for lore, shortcuts and security; less loot-focused than Locksmith. |
| Armorer | STR 3 | 1–3 as needed | Crafts armor mods to increase defense and bonuses. | Nice safety net for beginners; not mandatory if you’re fine relying on found mods. |
| Gun Nut | INT 3 | 1–3 as needed | Crafts weapon mods for more damage and utility. | More flexibility for gun builds; slightly less crucial than Scrapper since weapon mods drop often. |
Today we’ll be talking about the most useful perks in Fallout 4. We’ll pick the most versatile ones that will provide the best bang for your buck.
Fallout 4 Best Perks
There is a caveat, though. We’d like to focus on perks that will be especially useful for beginners. As such, we may lean into specific playstyles if we come to the conclusion that a certain playstyle could be easier to handle for a beginner player.
If you’re absolutely sure that you don’t want to play a certain way, and you see us recommending a perk related to that specific way of playing, don’t hesitate to skip it. We’d like to strongly encourage you to read our reasoning for each perk first before you make a decision to whether incorporate it into your own build or not, though; there may be things you’re not aware of and we may be able to convince you. It’s also worth mentioning that you can eventually get all the perks because there’s no level cap.
Without further ado, here’s our guide about the best Fallout 4 perks for beginners, in no particular order.
Locksmith
(Required: PER 4, Rank Levels: 0/7/18/41)
In role-playing games, it’s almost guaranteed that there will be various treasures waiting for players who are able to get through the locks that protect the valuables.
It’s exactly the case in Fallout 4, which means that if you don’t want to miss out on extra rewards, you should definitely grab Locksmith and upgrade it as soon as possible all the way up to Rank 3 at the very minimum. Each new rank of Locksmith allows you to pick a higher-difficulty class locks, from Advanced, through Expert, to Master. Rank 4 is more of a convenience thing and is optional, as it doesn’t make lockpicking any easier; it just prevents bobby pins from breaking, which is nice, but hardly a necessity.
Being able to pick locks will provide you with extra resources, such as ammunition and caps, which can be incredibly helpful in the early game, making Locksmith one of the most valuable starting perks you can take as a beginner.
As you become more knowledgeable about the game, the value of Locksmith may decrease. Learning how to smartly manage your resources will allow you to do just fine without the extra loot from the chests, but for a beginner, it can be a night and day difference in the overall experience.
Sneak
(Required: AGI 3, Rank Levels: 0/5/12/23/38)
If you’d like to play a stealthy character, Sneak is easily a must-have perk, as that’s what enables you to take a more subtle approach to combat. On top of that, sneaking in general is considered a very powerful playstyle in Fallout 4 as it allows you to stack a variety of damage bonuses to deal deadly blows and effortlessly take out some of the most fearsome adversaries. If that sounds good to you, you’ll definitely want to combine Sneak with Mister Sandman and Ninja perks.
You can also combine it with Pickpocket if you’re planning to steal from other characters. It can be a very lucrative way of living and will cover a lot of your general expenses.
Sneak can be considered a universally good perk even for those who don’t plan to become a ninja-oriented character, as it will allow you to sneak past groups of enemies you don’t want to disturb, although in such scenarios other perks may be favored. Rank 5 is especially useful, as it allows you to lose targets by simply entering stealth mode, but it’s a big investment and only becomes available at level 38.
If you don’t plan to make use of other stealth-related perks, you may want to leave this one out and focus on the ones that will improve your combat efficiency in your preferred style; spending 3 perk points for stealth alone and not supplementing it with other sneaky skills sounds like a great waste.
Idiot Savant
(Required: LCK 5, Rank Levels: 0/11/34)
We’re on the fence with this one. On one hand, it can be a very useful perk and provides an incredible boost to your character’s progress. On the other hand, it can trivialize the game due to how powerful it is. Plus, it plays a potentially annoying laughing sound effect every time it activates, which can ruin the immersion. As such, perhaps it would be better to save this one for a second playthrough.
If you decide to pick it though, go for Rank 2 as soon as possible. The perk gives you a chance to receive 3x the experience on every action at Rank 1 and 5x at Rank 2, which means that the sooner you get it, the more extra experience you’ll accumulate. The chance increases with lower intelligence, allowing players to go for as low as 1 or 2 INT while getting experience comparable to having high intelligence, which saves a few points that can be spent on other S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats. There’s nothing stopping you from going for high intelligence though; Idiot Savant is worth taking at any INT.
Do NOT pick Rank 3 of Idiot Savant, stop at 2. This is important; Rank 3 will mess up your gains, as whenever the Rank 3 kill bonus activates, at the same time it temporarily disables the chance for extra experience from Ranks 1 and 2 to occur. Depending on your playstyle, it may actually lower your experience gains.
Pick Rank 3 only if you know what you’re doing and you plan around fighting large groups of enemies.
The real power of the perk, however, lies in how easily abusable it is. We certainly do not recommend abusing the perk on your first playthrough, as it will completely destroy the game balance, plus, over-leveling your gear can be actually disadvantageous due to the world scaling. If you don’t want to get spoiled on abuse strategies, feel free to skip straight to the next perk.
Here’s the thing: Idiot Savant can trigger even when you receive experience for finishing a quest. As such, you can save the game before finishing a mission and keep reloading it until the perk triggers, resulting in massive experience gains. That’s why having low INT may be preferable; at 1 INT there’s an 11% chance for activation, meaning you’d have to reload a save just 9 times on average before it triggers. With 11 INT the chance goes down to 1%.
There are also other strategies, such as going for Idiot Savant 3 ASAP and using Gunner farms to gain ridiculously fast.
Strong Back
(Required: STR 6, Rank Levels: 0/10/20/30)
In FO4 you’ll be finding a lot of useful items you’d want to take with you to either sell or turn into crafting materials. However, items have weight and your carry capacity is limited. To make looting less cumbersome, it would be a good idea to invest in Strong Back, which will increase your carry weight by 25 at Rank 1 and 25 more at Rank 2. Rank 4 will even allow you to use fast travel while over-encumbered in Normal Mode, which is a major convenience.
Strong Back is particularly useful at the beginning if you’re planning to lean toward heavy weaponry or a melee build but everyone will benefit from an extra carrying limit, no matter the build. The thing is that taking Strong Back without utilizing any other STR skills means that you’re sacrificing 6 points just to have some extra inventory space; when presented in such a way, suddenly it doesn’t sound all that great, especially when you’re just starting out.
Far Harbor DLC adds an extra Rank to this perk, which unlocks at level 40 and makes running while over-encumbered cost 50% less action points.
Scrapper (Required: INT 5, Rank Levels: 0/23)
Speaking of crafting materials, you’ll also need Scrapper to make the most out of your excess weapons and armor. Scrapper is a simple perk; all it does is it gives you more crafting components when dismantling objects, making it incredibly valuable not only in the early game, when you need screws and other materials to upgrade your gear, but also much further into the game, when you’re upgrading your settlements and working with far more advanced equipment, at which point it becomes essential.
Scrapper is extremely valuable; even if you find yourself in a position where you don’t necessarily need the extra crafting resources, dismantled weapons are almost always worth more caps when you convert them into raw components and sell them, compared to selling a weapon as a whole.
Try to keep at least some of the looted weapons and armor pieces you’d like to scrap until you get Rank 2 but don’t hesitate to scrap some stuff at Rank 1 if you’re short on crafting mats.
Rank 2 Scrapper also has a hidden bonus that’s often overlooked; it will highlight items with favored components, making them easier to find. It’s a neat little gimmick that can be very useful, especially if you’re not yet experienced enough to remember what item gives which components. Plus, it applies to junk items too, not just weapons and armor.
Far Harbor DLC adds Rank 3 to this perk, unlocked at level 40, further increasing the number of crafting components you get.
Cap Collector (Required: CHR 1, Rank Levels: 0/20/41)
New players often struggle with caps in Fallout 4. If you don’t want to share their fate, perhaps it would be wise to invest in Cap Collector, which doesn’t require any extra investments in S.P.E.C.I.A.L. perks, as you need only 1 point of charisma to access it.
Cap Collector makes the lives of all beginners much easier, as it allows you to sell items for 10% more and buy items for 10% less at Rank 1. Perhaps 10% doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it adds up when you’re buying and selling at the same time. For example, without a Cap Collector, if you sell an item for 100 caps and then buy a different one for 100 caps, you end up with 0 caps. However, with Cap Collector, you’d sell it for 110, and you’d buy the other one for 90, leaving 20 in your pocket.
Rank 2 is even better, as it will allow you to sell for 32% more and buy for 28% less.
As the game progresses, you’ll gradually learn how to effectively make more money without a Cap Collector, making the perk less useful.
Rank 3 comes with a very convenient upgrade that allows you to invest caps to permanently increase a store’s buying capacity, making selling items far easier, as you need to visit far fewer stores to sell your loot.
Scrounger (Required: LCK 2, Rank Levels: 0/7/24/37)
Scrounger doesn’t look particularly useful at first but don’t be fooled, it can be extremely valuable, and for similar reasons to Locksmith. Scrounger gives you more ammo from various containers. Whenever there’s ammo to be found, you’ll find more than usual. Interestingly enough, this does not only apply to chests but also dead bodies – if a body has a chance to drop ammo, with Scrounger it will drop more of it and it will do so more frequently. Additionally, with Rank 4, there’s a chance to receive a free extra magazine of the currently used ammo type after firing the last round.
If you’re planning to use guns a lot and you’re new to the game, this one’s easily one of the most helpful perks you can get, and it’s very affordable, requiring only 2 points in luck. You’ll most likely find more ammo than you can effectively use; you’ll be swimming in it.
Naturally, as you become more experienced with the game, the perk may gradually lose its appeal, because with time you’ll learn how to manage your limited resources. At this point, you’ll probably try to find more useful perks to pick in the early game instead, but for a first playthrough, Scrounger deserves to be high on a tier list.
With that being said, even in the end game it can be a very convenient perk to have, as it will basically remove one layer of micromanagement from your to-do list. Getting ammo is not particularly difficult without the perk; what’s difficult is getting the exact type of ammo you want, as not every merchant sells every type of ammo.
Aquaboy/Aquagirl (Required: END 5, Rank Levels: 0/21)
If you’re an explorer at heart, you won’t regret taking the Aqua- perk, as it gives you more places to visit and loot; namely, all the underwater locations that are inaccessible at first, due to the fact that you can’t infinitely breathe under the water.
Aquaboy/Aquagirl changes that, allowing you to breathe and freely explore the unknown without the need to worry about the air.
Additionally, this perk also negates radiation damage from swimming, making it incredibly useful for navigating through certain areas that are heavily contaminated, especially early on, when the items that protect you against radiation are scarce. You can, for example, swim across a lake or river without picking up radiation damage, which can be super convenient. Without Aquaboy/Aquagirl, you may feel limited in your exploration capabilities, as water is often a no-go zone due to radiation.
This perk isn’t necessarily a must-have in the early game, and you certainly don’t have to pick it up right away. Rather, wait for a while until you’ve got other, more pressing matters covered. You wouldn’t want to sacrifice your combat proficiency for taking exploration-related perks. Once you get the important stuff done though, don’t hesitate to pick Aquaboy/Aquagirl, especially on your first playthrough, so you can access more places and won’t suffer from the fear of missing out on all the optional content.
It may still be useful on subsequent playthroughs, considering how much of the world map in Fallout 4 is covered by water.
Hacker (Required: INT 4, Rank Levels: 0/9/21/33)
Hacker works similarly to Locksmith, except this one is related to terminals. Just like with Locksmith, the first 3 Ranks of Hacker will allow you to interact with increasingly complex terminals: Advanced, Expert, and Master. Rank 3 is also a reasonable point to stop investing in Hacker; Rank 4 isn’t particularly useful unless you’re so impatient that you can’t wait 10 seconds after a failed hacking attempt to reset the terminal.
A nice extra bonus to Hacker is that it also allows you to disable turrets, making certain encounters easier.
If you had to choose between Hacker and Locksmith, it would be very difficult to pick the more useful skill for a first playthrough, as both will come in handy when you’re trying to fully clear the area. The main difference is that while Locksmith will provide you with more loot that can be directly used to make your character stronger, Hacker puts more emphasis on letting you into hidden lore and reveals more pieces of information that you couldn’t have accessed otherwise. If you’re not a huge lore person, skipping Hacker may be a reasonable decision.
Armorer (Required: STR 3, Rank Levels: 0/13/25/39)
Fallout 4 is not an easy game for a beginner, so it may be worth it to invest in some defenses, especially in the early game. With Armorer perk you’ll be able to craft armor mods to improve the effectiveness of armor and increase its protection values. The perk is not necessary to install the mods; it’s only needed to craft them.
One can argue that Armorer, similarly to other crafting perks, such as Gun Nut, is not particularly useful, as you can just find all the mods you need by playing the game and looting.
And while it’s true, especially for Gun Nut, being able to craft exactly what you need and when you need it, removes one potentially annoying layer of RNG.
If you’re fine with playing for an unknown amount of time without dropping the mods you need, feel free to skip it; it’s not an essential skill but it feels good to have more options when it comes to upgrading your gear.
Gun Nut (Required: INT 3, Rank Levels: 0/13/25/39)
As we mentioned Armorer, it’s only fair to include Gun Nut as well, which is a weapon-related counterpart of Armorer, allowing crafting weapon mods to make them more powerful.
While Gun Nut on the surface appears to have a similar value to Armorer, making it a matter of preference in terms of which one to pick if you had to choose one, there’s a small catch that’s worth being mentioned. The thing is that weapon mods are far easier to find, making Gun Nut a slightly less impactful choice.
Still, just like with Armorer, it feels nice to have options; Gun Nut simply gives you more flexibility and allows you to adapt to any situation more easily. Eliminating another layer of luck-based uncertainty may be extremely valuable for a new player.
Conclusion
Fallout 4 allows players to create their own characters and build them the way they want. The game is surprisingly flexible when it comes to choosing perks, and it shows; that people are constantly arguing online about Fallout 4 best perks, which proves that it’s often a matter of preference. Still, there are some perks that are considered by the majority of players a must-have when making a new character.
For our guide, we picked the best perks from a beginner’s perspective, aiming to provide newcomers with a necessary boost to help them familiarize themselves with the game in a way that won’t feel unnecessarily tedious or cumbersome. Feel free to adjust your perk priorities according to your own needs; we’re merely providing you with options, but, at the end of the day, it will be your character and your playthrough, so customize the experience to your heart’s content.