The Outer Worlds perks make up a large part of how your character plays and interacts with the world around them. Some of these stat boosts open up more dialogue options while others boost your critical damage. So, if you’re thinking about what the best Outer Worlds builds for you may be, chances are perks will get you most of the way there – be it a gun-toting outlaw or a sweet talkin’ con man.
There are a total of 42 perks in The Outer Worlds for you to pick from for your character, and there’s no limit to the amount you can equip. These perks are, however, organised into three tiers – one being the lowest, three being the highest. To unlock perks in a higher tier you’ll need to unlock a certain amount in the tier below. Oh, and you can respec your perks if you’ve made a bad call – it’ll set you back 500 Bit Cartridges at first, and the amount increases every time – so keep that in mind.
Throughout this guide we’ll detail all The Outer Worlds perks you’ll come across in your jaunt across Obsidian’s space RPG. We’ll also divvy them up into their tiers so you can weigh them up against each other.
The Outer Worlds perks list
Tier One
- Toughness – adds 50% to your base health
- Slow the World – slaps on 25% to your maximum tactical time dilation meter
- Lone Wolf – gain a 25% bump in damage when you’re alone in a party
- Strider – catch a 25% increase to your walk speed
- Cheetah – on the other end of the mobility spectrum, a 20% increase to sprint speed
- High Maintenance – a nifty 25% reduction to weapon or armor degradation
- Precision – your companion gets a 15% boost to their crit chance
- The Negotiator – enjoy a 20% discount to vendor prices
- Deadly Demonstrations – gain 50% more XP from companion kills
- Traveler – unlock the ability to fast travel while encumbered
- Quick and the Dead – a 50% boost to your tactical time dilation recharge rate
- Pack Mule – 50kg more carrying capacity
- A Few Bits More – vendors get an additional 100% ammo stock alongside consumable and general stock
- Resilient – a nifty five boost to your base armor rating
- Applied Science – increases the magazine size of science weapons by 25%
- Nietzsche’s Reward – Deal an extra 5% damage for every flaw you have accepted
Tier Two
To gain access to this tier, you’ll need to unlock at least five perks from tier one.
- Run and Gun – a reduction of 65% to the movement penalty on your accuracy
- The Reaper – 25% of your tactical time dilation will be restored per Kill
- Weird Science – 50% buff to science weapon damage
- Speed Demon – a 25% boost to movement speed during tactical time dilation
- Scanner – 20% more damage to deadshot and weak spot damage
- The Collector – interactable highlight range increases by 5m
- Snake Oil Salesman – bumps up vendor buying price by 20%
- We Band of Brothers – critical hits have 25% more chance to reset a companion ability cooldown
- Tag Team – using a companion’s ability has a 25% chance to reset the other companion’s ability
- Rolling Thunder – kills reduce companion ability cooldowns by 20%
- Harvester – get 15% of your health back on each kill
- Hoarder – get 50% off your consumable weight
- Pack of Pack Mules – get 40kg more carrying capacity from companions
- Soliloquy – adds 10 points to your dialog skills
- Assassin – gives a 25% damage boost to quiet weapons (weapons that have a noise range of 2.5m or less)
- Lone Master – gain +5 skills if you have no companions in your party. Gain +10 if you haven’t recruited any.
Tier Three
To unlock this tier you’ll need to have purchased ten previous perks.
- Wild Science – adds 50 to science weapon damage
- Steady Hand – reduces ranged weapon sway and movement penalty to accuracy by 100%
- Confidence – guarantees a critical hit on your next attack after killing an enemy
- Armor Master – boosts skill bonus by 100% and armor rating bonus by 10%
- Super Pack Mule – tacks on 100kg to your carrying capacity
- Tactical Master – gain a 70% boost to your movement speed during tactical time dilation for five seconds
- Revenge – bumps your damage up by 20%
- Last Stand – ups your damage by 30% while your health is under 25%
- Boom, Headshot! – headshot kills deal 25% of their damage to enemies within 2.5m
- Don’t Go Dyin’ on Me! – revives companions to 25% of their total health
- Penetrating Shots – ranged attacks knock off one armor rating for ten seconds, and can stack up to ten
- Thick Skin – plasma damage and area of effect damage reduces by 15%
- Tit for Tat – gain 15% for melee damage back as health
- Solo Sneaker – reduces enemy detection radius by 33%
- Improvisation Warrior – increases the damage of improvised weapons by 300% and slows degradation of them by 75%
- Concentrate Fire – increases damage by 10% with each subsequent hit
The Outer Worlds best perks
- Weird Science and Wild Science – We’re putting these two together because they both increase science weapon damage by 50% each, and you’ll want to get both of them. You can unlock the former at tier two and the latter at tier three. Science weapons are among the most powerful in the game, and make up one of the best The Outer Worlds builds – if we do say so ourselves.
- Soliloquy – Talking always helps, and it’s no different in The Outer Worlds. Dialogue options are worth investing in as they open up multiple avenues for the story to progress. That’s why Soliloquy is one of The Outer World’s best perks, as it increases all your dialogue skills by ten.
- Tit for Tat – This one is as handy as it is fun. You’ll convert 15% of your melee damage back into health. That means you can swing those fists to your heart’s content – especially if you’re running a melee build.
And there you have it, all the Outer Worlds perks you can spec your character out with. Do keep in mind, though, that there’s a different set of The Outer Worlds companion perks. Either way, you’ll want to keep your eye out for some the best The Outer Worlds weapons to compliment you and your companion.
If you’re looking for a quicker way to get these, you can invest in some The Outer Worlds flaws, but do note that you’ll have to deal with some negative attributes as a result. Even if you’re waiting for The Outer Worlds Steam release, now is a good chance to figure out what kind of perks you want to invest in.
Additional reporting by Ben Sledge.