10 OVERPOWERED PERKS IN FALLOUT 4 YOU MUST GET

[@gregwright615]

Rifleman is my favorite weapon perk because it affects both rifles and shotguns. Two guns for one perk. Rifle is good for range and shotgun is good for up close.

[@jayedson3408]

Better if you are more of a sniper build. Really depends on your style and weapon choice, but since most weapons aren't fixed semi-auto or auto, we can say the same for Commando. Sidenote, automatic weapons use less AP if you like to use VATS and ultimately deal more dps in the long run if you have trigger discipline because automatic weapons all essentially have a hair trigger and are more spammable. Sorry hunting/gauss rifle users. For example, I've gone both ways with Overseer's Guardian and Kiloton Radium Rifle and Commando was the superior choice. Where the game really shines is stacking one of these with another perk. Like an explosive automatic combat shotgun with Commando/Demolition Expert. Everything dies, including yourself if you engage at too close of a distance. Side Sidenote, taking Rifleman on this new playthrough though to maximize the Chinese Grenade Launcher because it's fixed semi-auto 😅

[@B08AH]

Commando perk affect rifles, shotguns, pistols, machine guns. Stick a scope onto Overseer Guardian with powerful automatic receiver and it will work as a sniper rifle.

[@tomaszpawlik5091]

all best rifles can be automatic too, commando is the superior perk

[@Christina-g4s]

@@jayedson3408 depends what weapon mods you equip depends on Vats usage. for max VATS usage, light reciever, short light barrel, short stock, quick med eject mag, Reflex sight, no barrel mod. A rifle with that set-up would output more damage than using a piercing auto receiver.

[@PlayingGilly]

@@jayedson3408 Pair that with Sandman and Ninja and you're unstoppable.

[@Jaxom35x]

Moving around while in a fire fight is NOT sprinting. You don't get the perk benefits just dodging about while shooting, only when running fast.

[@LukasQueen]

I was gonna say. The perk is actual dog water as it's only good use is for running away from a fight

[@mobius235]

If you use Power Armor, is worth it. Watching an enemy shit their pants while trying to shoot an incoming steel wall right before being bonked to oblivion is priceless

[@PricelessBinkey1337]

Honestly, never used that perk cuz it kinda sucks 😅

[@Nimbus3000]

​@@mobius235 yeah I guess it could make sense for a melee build but for most it is not good.

[@250914616672152]

@@Nimbus3000 for melee isnt good either, blitz is a lot better insta teleporting to bonk enemies plus dont affect rooted, moving targent is just for meme pain train builds

[@HeadHunterSix]

Critical Banker plus Four-Leaf Clover gives a player an incredible amount of ongoing crits. Sometimes, just _using_ a crit will proc another one for you.

[@houstonjoker3836]

Also using a weapon that instantly refills your ap after each critical, you’ll be playing as the ghoul.

[@Ps1guy618]

Both of those together with Kellogg's pistol is ridiculous

[@HeadHunterSix]

@@Ps1guy618 oh, it sure is. And it's a beautiful thing at that.

[@WUZLE]

I find Grim Reaper's Sprint level 3 gives me more than enough crits. I do take one point of Four Leaf Clover on pistol builds because it pairs well with the Deliverer.

[@sammymartin7891]

I played the game for 2500 hours and have never used a critical

[@SuperbTube]

That’s pretty insane!

[@sammymartin7891]

@@SuperbTube it isn't part of the tutorial so I didn't know about it at first. In Fallout 3 and New Vegas they were automatic.

[@artiomgera6686]

​@@sammymartin7891 Bruh, at First. 😂😂😂 Same Here but i Had 250h before realizing it

[@Stim4]

Me either, completely useless when my guns go way over 100 and 200

[@kevinbonin6173]

So the glowing bar that fills up during vats is there just for funzies?

[@Chris_Sizemore]

A few perks I consider more valuable than half of the perks listed here (and following the same rules to omit damage boosters): Stealth, rank 3 makes you immune to enemy mines. Oh so good. Aquaboy level 1 makes water safe for you. This perk is much better than you'd think. Cross rivers anywhere alone is worth it. 1 level of Scrounger is almost mandatory. Investing more is questionable, but the 1st level of scrounger gives you a huge boost in ammo found. Demolition Expert has a hidden feature. You need levels in Demolition expert (and Science) to craft the good explosives. But what if you don't like using grenades? No problem, put 1 level into Inspirational and give the grenades to your companion. 1 level makes you immune to your companion's attacks, so give them explosives and watch them get outrageous. 2 levels into Inspirational and your companion is immune to your attacks. Load up that Fatman and let fly. Never feel like you need to apologize to your companion again!

[@jayedson3408]

Definitely second all of your suggestions. I'm using explosive weapons so companions are useless without inspirational, but I hate companion dialog so I'm a lone wanderer guy. Scrounger is a huge money maker because you can just trade ammo and it's weightless unless you play survival, far better than Fortune Finder. I still don't take Aquaboy/girl though since Radaway is so available and hazmat suits are easy to find low level - but again this is limited to non-survival. Otherwise radaway is another big money vendor trade item. But who am I kidding when you can build 5-10 water purifiers straight out of the gate in Sanctuary and never worry about caps again.

[@neosildrake]

Agreed.

[@thecatthinks]

Aquaboy/Aquagirl as soon as it is available. Use the rivers as a (mostly) safe way to get to the coast then swim in the ocean to get close to the Atom Cats base. Help them out for some new power armor. Atom Cats are my favorite "faction."

[@roblreid]

Oh. I completely missed the point of companions not being able to injure you with this.

[@Kevin-ti3rz]

I really don't like shooting Dog meat so that's a early pick . along with lone wanderer

[@katkong281]

Blitz + Ninja is the most overpowered combination in this game

[@TheGael128]

It’s so funny how overpowered it is, you can sneak up on swan with a bat and take him down in one hit

[@infiniter4in178]

Add rooted💀

[@Mr._Anderpson]

You know what is underrated? Ghoulish. I play on survival mode and at level 200+ have only used 7 stimpacks. Life Giver 3 plus the magazine from the Boston Mayoral Shelter and rank 4 Ghoulish (level 48, I think), means your health bar always resets to max on its own. Rad storms actually heal you. Far Harbor and its ambient radiation from the Fog become your ally. Low on health? Stand near a barrel of radioactive waste.

[@MrVeryfrost]

Ah, that's cool, strat. In my playthrough, I was cooking everything and collecting every single bottle I found.

[@jozsva8064]

​@MrVeryfrost it's really good in survival imo, highly underrated people generally don't like going down endurance tree though.

[@Mr._Anderpson]

@@jozsva8064 Their loss. Life Giver, Rad Resistant, Ghoulish, & Solar-Powered can turn you into something nearly unstoppable.

[@whiterabbit75]

I discovered the joys of this perk a few years ago, and have used it in every playthrough ever since.

[@momentarybliss]

I'll need to up these perks before I start Far Harbor. *the more you know* 🌠

[@mehewexe844]

When Idiot Savant triggers at the end of a quest you can get massive XP, I had it trigger for the final quest of the main story and got 9000XP (4 levels )

[@sneezyfido]

I love IS, but.. In my current run I'm at 13 int unless in power armor, without consumable yet. The IS chance is down to slightly over 1%. Next time that I go high int, I think I'll not go for IS and just get better cha.

[@That0nekid12]

same lol

[@ledrash6079]

I was in the Glowing sea, and it triggered for 3xp of enemies, and then there was a LOT of ghouls. I leveled over 20 levels and got out alive as well, but wasted a LOT of ammo :D

[@dbased1915]

yep i had savant tier 2 trigger at the end of a quest several times, it turns that like 350XP into almost 2k which can skip multiple levels if you are under rank 25.

[@This_Guy_970]

Not seeing the huge benefit of the moving target one. Don’t sprint a lot in fights.

[@jayedson3408]

Rooted is probably the better choice, but both are useless when you can get ballistic weave without committing to the RR and get more DR from just under armor clothing. Plus DR falls off at higher level, % based perks and armor are better.

[@mobius235]

If you use Power Armor, is worth it. Watching an enemy shit their pants while trying to shoot an incoming steel wall right before being bonked to oblivion is priceless

[@Christina-g4s]

only useful to a low perception, gunslinger build capitalizing on Min AP cost weapons. basically you can sprint in close and spam a VATs friendly weapon. Can be pretty effective

[@ijneb1248]

The 3rd tier is really good since it doubles your sprint duration, but other than that its kind of a waste

[@GeofferyJohns]

You use moving target with pain train now that’s fun

[@bryceosborne4357]

As a survival enthusiast, i think one of the most under appreciated perks has to be aqua boy/girl. Having the ability to escape or travel via water while taking no rads is just SO convenient

[@neosildrake]

Even when not playing survival, this perk is really usefull.

[@fochdion1152]

It sounds like something I'd have to exit my power armor to make use of... I don't even know what color my character's skin is. I'm always in Power Armor... 😁J/K I exit to use my charisma bonus clothes when buying / selling... which is what this whole game is for me, I'm a settlement building water baron who occasionally has to fight things...

[@edmartin875]

Agree. Aquaboy is always one of my early perk grabs. Also, on a straight line, swimming is faster than my normal jog or even walking while over encumbered.

[@Tijuanabill]

@@edmartin875 I think there is a Wasteland comic that improves swim speed also.

[@m.rak804]

@@Tijuanabill there is, it gives you 25% bonus swimming speed and can also be found early into the game

[@DonVecta]

Concentrated Fire with a crippling gun (Eddie's Peace, for instance), adding Gunslinger, VATS costs reduction in power armor and armor, etc. you can pretty much destroy limbs and toy around with enemies, even more powerful than you (nothing like putting a Deathclaw at your mercy with his legs destroyed before you).

[@Mr._Anderpson]

Give them a minute or two and their legs regenerate. I was busy gloating & learned that one the hard way.

[@Da-choppa]

This will be useful to send to my friend who just started playing FO4, thanks!

[@benc3462]

I think chemist is a good perk I don't play on survival but I feel like having chems last 3 times as long is very useful since their effects stack and can be pretty darn good plus they last real time. Jet fuel especially works well with it for a huge AP regen boost

[@Sapsche]

Definetly, paired with BioCommMesh - especially if you're playing an Intelligence build, Berry Mentats will last for 36 minutes, which is half a Fallout day. Let's say you take them between 6PM and 6 AM and are using Night Person, +8 Intelligence is pretty solid.

[@Andrew_BIake]

Love lone wanderer and how Dogmeat does not affect it… only downside is companions are such a PITA when they open doors and get in the way when you are trying to open things and go through doors…

[@overlorddante]

Or when they cross your line of sight when firing an explosive weapon

[@jayedson3408]

Yeah, just take Lone Wanderer and only use Dogmeat until you get fed up with him aggroing off screen enemies, finding things in settlment containers where you purposely left them, and barking at walls. I only use him to transfer buttloads of water to vendors. The fetch mechanic is still broken so he can carry an unlimited amount when needed.

[@edmartin875]

Roger the PITA. I often park my Companions just to keep them out of my way. Their primary purpose is to be my pack mules although I sometime use them as a distraction to draw the enemy into my sights.

[@squishy312]

The most overpowered perk combination is Chem Resistant, Big League, and Chemist. Eating a Yao Guai roast... An hour of +10 melee. I can one hit any enemy in slow motion with jet, and dispatch a crowd before any of them know what's going on. Mirelurk Queen, one hit. Deathclaw... oops. Behemoth, not a chance... For extra fun, with a kneecapper weapon, they can't even move. I rarely have to repair armor.... I actually don't even need power armor anymore. I just use it for carry weight. (also using Strong back and Lone Wanderer but not needed. I am a hoarder after all. ).

[@Obiahjones]

Now that's just a good tip, thanks lol

[@ledrash6079]

That sounds very fun! I'd like to watch a video of that :)

[@suspiciouslystickysocks8850]

How did I not know you could have dogmeat with lone wanderer

[@edmartin875]

Every video about best perks has Lone Wanderer on the list and they always explain how Dogmeat works with it. If you are like me, you don't pay enough attention to the explanations on those perks you think you already have a handle on.

[@m.rak804]

@@edmartin875the perk is already powerful even without dogmeat, but it's nice of the devs to let us have our good boy with us without any extra condition.

[@Gusativo]

Originally, dog meat was not supposed to be a companion, he was just an npc that followed you and your chosen companion around. Bethesda scrapped that idea in the final release of the game, but never changed the code to classify dogmeat as a true companion.

[@woin9361]

I’m a critical fiend. I can’t imagine how I played without those amazing critical perks. They’re so satisfying.

[@Cyrus_T_Laserpunch]

Chemist and Chem Resistant are an amazing duo, makes chems into risk-free extremely powerful consumables. Jet is probably the best because slow time is great for on-the-run accuracy while being the easiest to get more of and pairing well with psycho.

[@FRAAANKYSUUUPER]

As a survival only player I speak for all my hardcore buddies, Solar Powered is the best thing since sliced Mirelurk cakes.

[@ILOVEHALOhahajk]

Once you get explosive legendary auto weapons everything becomes obsolete

[@edmartin875]

I finally got a legendary explosive combat rifle and that does just fine without being automatic. I have a fast trigger finger and it goes thru ammo like a hot knife thru butter.

[@Tijuanabill]

Including my face. I always manage to blow myself up somehow.

[@emdub17]

I love my explosive legendary shotgun and spray and pray.

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

Agree with this. Once you get gun perks high enough, ive never really had many problems killing anything , so I dont see the point in critical damage or other perks that help in combat. I suppose if you want to use lesser modded guns for more of a challenge, than the uploader has more of a point, but when you get good guns and upgrade them, everything is swiss cheese.

[@mrthor3061]

@@chocolatetownforever7537once you get past level 80-85 enemies start getting really tanky, my explosive combat shotgun takes multiple shots for raiders and i have rifleman maxxed demo expert maxxed

[@toddparker514]

Lone wanderer has always been my favorite I literally haven't played the game with companions unless required for a mission. I just run with dogmeat . It really helps tremendously in early game usually I start 1st perk I pick is idiot savant the the next 3 are lone wanderer . And it makes the start so much easier and you can still build your character any way you want after that it's only the first 4 levels which go by pretty fast.

[@scott8448]

Companion perks are pretty OP get them then toss the companion or kill them ie cage/Longfellow

[@Christina-g4s]

its only 15% damage reduction and requires 2 special points. enemies at the beginning, weapon damage is something like 13. if your armour rating is equal to an enemies weapon damage thats 50% damage reduction. Grab the army helmet in sanctuary and a full set of raider armour, you got 30 Damage resistance. Upgrade the armour (its super cheap for materials) and being raider you'll find plenty of it with the top tier protection. Even better, you can take mods off standard armours, and place them onto the sturdy and heavy variants when you find them. no need for armourer now either and save another 2 special points in STR to spend elsewhere. waaay better than lonewanderer. Stop picking up junk (except ciggarettes and pre war money) , craft chems, and obtain perks to find more caps, and buy/sell improvements, and just buy shipments of materials that you need/want.

[@acenull0]

Honorable mention to the mysterious stranger perk 😂

[@germans_lol7259]

Moving target will be very useful for me considering im doin a frank horrigan build, which involves being able to unarm attack people. Like imagine a glowing eyed beast sprinting full force at you with no weapon doing anything to em

[@timturn]

Two that made me unstoppable in my last play through were the demolition perk and adamantium skeleton. I used the explosive shotgun and was just cleaning house

[@Drewtheelder]

The only one of these "overpowered" perks I have is Strongback, I concentrated on my Specials. especially Charisma.

[@-siranzalot-]

I started farming Purified water pretty early and strong back was so vital for making use of this

[@azure_winter1369]

Just started a new playthru on easy to get the achievements so no mods and I've never played survival mode (but have probably 2500+ hours in the game). That being said, not a terrible list, I usually scrap and build for exp to lvl up quick and if I really want a new perk, but I start with a high INT and CHR build. Eventually get CHR to 10 and you'll pass every speech check (Idiot Savant is better with a higher INT). INT gives you more exp, so this build tends towards hoarders. That being said, Moving Target would only be good when at lvl 3 and paired with Strong Back 5 to let you sprint longer while overencumbered (also Action Boy for the same reason). So def not a focus, but helpful when you have extra perks at higher lvls. Nuclear Physicist is great for the reasons you listed, but I found a plasma radium rifle and it wrecks everything. Concentrated Fire and Penetrator are both really nice but you have to dump heavy into PER, so I'm like lvl 65+ when I get them. The other perks listed are nice but not necessary for many builds. Lone Wanderer is great for early game with Dogmeat, but some of the companion perks are awesome, so I travel with them until I get their perk and switch to the next one. After that process, Lone Wanderer becomes useful again. Like most others have said Solar Powered and Night Person are OP for the SPECIAL bonuses (although the night vision when sneaking aspect gets annoying sometimes). Solar Powered takes much longer to get without an END build. Aquaboy/girl, Fortune Finder and Scrounger all only need lvl 1, but can be upgraded to fit your style. Same with Inspirational and Chemist to make chems and get that exp, but the other Chemist perks are great for stacking chem buffs on top of Well-Rested or Lover's Embrace exp boosts. I like being able to hack and lockpick everything so the 1st 3 lvls of Hacker and Locksmith are a must (lvl 4 is useless) and my main focus early game along with Science, Gun Nut, and Armorer to upgrade my gear. VANS seems terrible, but the +2 PER boost at lvl 2 is great; sadly, it doesn't add to your SPECIAL stat, so it's not like a bobblehead, but more like a permanent buff. If you're a hoarder, then Scavenger is nice, esp lvl 2 where it highlights junk with tagged components. And once you're rich enough, you can just break down all your guns into components and then make poisoned caltrops bear traps to get a ton of exp. I ususally go for the caltrops (0.5lbs) over the bear traps (8lbs) because of the weight and material difference. But that will also give you a never ending income source since caltrops cost 20 caps each and needs 5 steel to make. The poisoned ones are 40 caps and just need Chemist to build. If you like money and don't want to deal with finding/making stimpacks and radaway, then you'll need Cap Collector and eventually Local Leader to have stores at your settlements. If you make more stores at other settlements and make supply lines between them and Sanctuary Hills, then their caps and inventories are synched, so you can end up with vendors having several thousand caps to buy your hoarded loot.

[@OliverClotheshoffe]

Scrapper level 2 is a must for me. Need copper to light your settlement? Mark it for search and anything containing copper how has a glowing outline. Makes it easy to quickly gather what you need and not weigh yourself down with what you don't.

[@Shadow-mk7bm]

You forgot about the cap earner perk or the one the gives you more ammunition-- at max level you can get a maximum amount of ammunition

[@fredhurst2528]

I would put chemist on my list, as drugs, especially combined drugs like psychojet or bufftats are very strong, and greater duration means your super powers last much longer.

[@scenicshoots]

I did the railroad mission and it x5. Gave me almost a whole level at 40

[@Comicsluvr]

For your list, I would put Idiot Savant as #1 since you don't have to worry about it. Just do all the stuff you would do normally and wait for it to trigger. For myself, I don't like to run without Chemist and Chem Resistant. You can make your own chems, they last longer, AND no addiction? Sign me up!

[@joshuatucker2521]

Demolition Expert is a must on every playthru for me. I love throwables, so getting more damage and throwing arc on nades and molotovs is great. This perk really shines if you get an explosive weapon. Explosive 9mm, Spray n Play or explosive combat shotgun are Goated with this perk.

[@jonny5777]

The strongback perk has changed for me for some reason. The first two points are the same but the most useful one being able to fast travel while over encumbered is no longer there. It says something about not taking damage while over encumbered

[@scott8448]

No fast travel in survival if I remember, fast travel still works for me on brutal difficulty

[@LockPick-g2b]

2:10 am I missing something here? “When overencumbered running costs 50% less” that’s like saying once both your legs are cut off you can jump higher

[@infinityseven5924]

Both fortune finder and scrounger should be high on the list for the sheer value they give. Scrounger gives you more value than nuclear physicist because you can sell spare ammo for caps and find far more fusion cores. Moving target should not be on this list. 50 damage and energy resist while sprinting becomes insignificant once you get decent armor or wear power armor. Personally I rarely sprint in combat anyway. Solar powered provides far more value by increasing your endurance, which scales your hp with your level.

[@scott8448]

Using a plasma weapon gets you just as much caps without searching boxes, just sell the nuclear material which has the highest junk selling point. Easily pays for your bullets back and more (sitting on 80k caps and over 10k plasma rounds that way).

[@infinityseven5924]

@@scott8448 You either have mods that alter it in some way, you're trolling, or you're really stupid.

[@totoru4ever]

They only give you caps, while it is insanely easy to get money in all Fallout games. Scrounger has some use if you never visit shops (why dortune finder then) and use only 1 weapon for everything.

[@infinityseven5924]

@@totoru4ever Why bring up all fallout games? This is about fo4. Gives the impression you're just trying to flex. Depending on your build and playstyle you may rarely or never need caps or extra ammo, true, but that goes for any other perk. In terms of sheer value, scrounger and fortune finder are top tier. The fastest way to scale in the game is to buy legendary armor and weapons, which costs a ton of caps. With fortune finder and/or scrounger you can get them far sooner than you would otherwise. If you want to build settlements, especially with shops (which are extremely impactful on survival), or multiple automatons you need a lot of caps. If you use heavy or auto weapons, the most damaging weapon types in the game, you need a ton of ammo or if you use power armor you will need a ton of fusion cores. The best thing about these perks is you can do all of that - scale much more quickly while using the most damaging weapon types and power armor while also building settlements. There are very few perks that are better.

[@totoru4ever]

@@infinityseven5924 "all fallout games" include Fo4. Even if you don't use crafting and settlements (which makes insane profits and introduced in Fo4), you'll very soon find yourself having more caps than you can spend. Also fallout 4 is way more generous with ammo too, and increased the inventory weight limit greatly. Its not flexing, if the perk would be useless in previous titles with harder economy, then it's especially useless in fo4 with easier economy.

[@McWinklestein]

Second playthrough, about 200 levels in between the two. Yet to get the lockpicking or terminal hacking perks. Forever 1 INT and Perception and nobody can stop me

[@sachinvinith813]

another underrated yet useful last perk is life giver (I know it isn't much because it only adds hp points to the stats) but get this the third level of life giver perk actually slowly restores your health in any situation day or night irradiated or on normal circumstances it's a must have and a good early have perk if you are going for survival mode

[@megaspoon7072]

Penetrator makes sentry bots so easy its unbelievable

[@condawg6833]

Insane that moving target is on this list 😂

[@ExpectedBoy]

New sub. Great video. Just started a new game. Only played it once before and not for long. So this is helpful. I watch ESO who also recommended Lone Wanderer. I put 10 into Intelligence and have Lone Wanderer. It's crazy.

[@wolfen210959]

If you are playing a stealth character, Dogmeat is the worst character to take with you, as he often knocks you off high ledges, or can knock you into a river while wearing power armour. For some reason his AI causes him to hug the player character when stealthed, and he is constantly nudging you.

[@Kevin-ti3rz]

Bloody mess is q great one . I took out a death claw with one shot because he exploded . Plus my Luck was high (9) at that time .

[@Zowayix93]

I both agree and disagree, but I also neither disagree nor agree, with your list. I am very engaged and I most certainly did not open the video and immediately get distracted by food for the next 10 minutes. Liked and subbed anyway because Fallout 4.

[@assassincharizard]

No aquaboy/aquagirl? You can breathe under water AND take no radiation damage while swimming? That's awesome stuff.

[@tonyh8166]

Thanks for revealing the strong back, moving target, action boy combo to me. Now I haz planz... :)

[@emrik99]

Moving target only works if you are using the sprint button . I tend to skip it. The perk blitz for a mele vats build is insane, especially at max rank and a weapon with reduced ap cost . ( there is a baseball bat you can get from Arturo I think on your 1st trip to diamond city that has this)

[@Mr._Anderpson]

Blitz pairs well with Rooted, as the game sees you as stationary. You teleport to the enemy and attack. Toss Ninja on top of that & being the stabby merc-type becomes a breeze.

[@Uninspiredradio]

Was shocked he picked this over blitz. Blitz is stupidly overpowered. Amazing fun tho.

[@Not-an-Alien]

Tip for lone wander. Bring companion along for fight and looting then after giving yiur companion as much as they can carry, dismiss them activating lone wander. Enjoy more inventory space for further looting.

[@neosildrake]

When you habd in a major quest, save and hope it triggers Idiot Savant. If not, reload. 2000 EXP instead of 400 EXP is nothing to sneeze at.

[@matthewhudson5685]

It's totally sneezable. Snot worthy, unless you feel you have to get to level 30 in the first hour of gameplay. All you have to do is spend an hour wandering around and you can get more XP. Not like it's a limited commodity.

[@neosildrake]

@@matthewhudson5685 True, but I prefer to get the early levels for my favorite convinience perks to build a solid base, then branch out into specialisations.

[@darrekworkman5595]

It's easy to get caps and xp without leaving diamond city. Crafting and selling poison caltrops, it's boring but it works.

[@matthewhudson5685]

@@darrekworkman5595 Don't even have to do that. Find a hot respawn point for critters and just hunt for a bit. Wait, hunt again. Easy XP without wasting a perk.

[@edmartin875]

@@matthewhudson5685 A quick loot-run cleaning out Concord and Lexington is good enough for me. It doesn't take many of those to level up in the early game. My present character is level 62 so I'm working farther south since I need the loot for all the settlements I have started but not quite advanced to where I want them.

[@swissarmyknight4306]

I run Idiot Savant on a max INT build. I skipped level 14 entirely because it procked on a main quest event. Even at 11 INT base, it still goes off quite regularly.

[@Jack-kx5rf]

Yeah no matter how low/high your INT is Idiot Savant always gets you more experience. The issue is that you’re going to be a higher level which means that enemies are also higher level and do more damage, however your own weapons and armour tend to be under leveled. Also it does have greatly diminishing returns. When you get high leveled you’re going to be wishing you had perk points to put into the stuff that actually benefits you rather than just getting levels quicker.

[@neosildrake]

Nerdrage is way too situational for me. I tend to not let my HP go below 20%. So I'd like to take up Lifegiver instead. Early to get and level 3 gives heal over time. Also Aquaboy/girl is one heck of a good convinience perk. Nuclear Physicist is so, so for me. It's increafible good for a Powerarmor run, but everything else... meh. Radiation damage isn't all that good, when compared to explosive damage. So unless I decide to go full brotherhood, I take Demolition Man before this. That doesn't mean I won't take the perl at all, but there are better ones for my playstyle. Sharpshooting, gunslinging and settlement building. And don't forget Action Boy/Girl. More AP is always good.

[@m.rak804]

you can invest just one point in nerd rage as the following levels of the perk comes really late. Sometimes you can be caught off guard by a random enemy's damage so nerd rage is a good way to prevent you from being bursted down in survival.

[@neosildrake]

@@m.rak804 When I have a point to spare. Probably not before level 100. Finished my last game 2 years ago with level 182.

[@Flippokid]

1: I hardly ever sprint in combat and if you're sprinting chances are high that they miss you. The reduced AP cost is nice for traveling on survivor mode though.

[@apathyinc.7534]

Strong back is a MUST in survival mode. The 4th level prevents you from becoming crippled when moving while over-encumbered.

[@Bmoney2011Shorts]

The intimidation perk can save you ammo and stimpaks to pacify whoever's attacking you and below your level

[@Outlaw7263]

Lone wanderer and attack dog is a good mix, since dogmeat doesn't count as a companion you can carry a LOT more loot and get a companion for fighting

[@johnirby8847]

Grim Sprint...at level 3 it refills your crit meter every 3 kills. Don't need to invest in Four Leaf Clover. Invest in critical banker, more crit dam, concentrated fire, ninja and sneak, and you'll be unstoppable at level 50.

[@Danceofmasks]

Nice list ... Although, personally, the only 1 perk I can justify over more SPECIAL stat increases is Armorer. I'll grab others once there's no more stats to upgrade.

[@Funkwelle]

This is a very VATS focussed build. Surely nice for everyone who uses VATS constantly, but it is mostly useless for people playing mainly without VATS.

[@edmartin875]

Aiming is much easier on PC. I play on Xbox and trying to move a couple joysticks with my thumbs to aim is a challenge in and of itself. Besides, I'm a natural born Clutz anyway.

[@HarryNicNicholas]

water, exchange power armour for enclave armour, buy spray and pray from cricket, you're pretty much invincible. i haven't used a stimpak or radaway in yonks. tesla coils are great for roaches.

[@MisanThrope-cu1mw7fj3p]

Idiot Savant is good even with 10 INT. It actually gives more XP with 10 int and Savant than 1 int and Savant.

[@TheCobraKing209]

If you run the Beast Master mod the animal and wasteland creature Pacification perks are also really good, new pets without using control chips

[@LaggyMcDougal]

oh yeah the Spray and Prey is friggin awesome with demo expert perk and upgrades and other ones and that unique minigun you can get on kellogs quest from that woman forgot her name

[@johnjackson2349]

Life giver, for 3 perks 60hp (huge when starting out) and passive life regeneration

[@michaelhillberry672]

I like this too, but it's less useful if you use the creation club backpack since you can upgrade it with a regen effect too.

[@Mr._Anderpson]

Life Giver 3 in combination with the Astoundingly Awesome Tales magazine from the Boston Mayoral Shelter means you'll rarely need a use items to heal between fights.

[@edmartin875]

@@Mr._Anderpson In almost 9 years of playing FO 4 I have never selected Life Giver, perhaps I should give it a try. Especially since the Magazine by itself is a bummer.

[@Mr._Anderpson]

@@edmartin875 Definitely pays off for me, especially when combined with Ghoulish 4 and the Solar-Powered perks. The magazine is very easy to get early in the game. I became hooked on playing on survival, so maximizing damage reduction & healing are concerns.

[@roshee5573]

I’m sorry but I have to disagree with Moving Target as Sentinel armor effect can negate almost all damage when standing still . Better perks available IMHO

[@Uninspiredradio]

The combo of grim reaper sprint, better crits, critical banker and clover makes you a VATS god that can never miss a shot and just one taps enemies with rifles. Game becomes trivial. Id say thats the most broken thing I’ve found. Add to that a rifle with legendary effect to refill AP on kill you will stay in VATs forever

[@MagikMirrorNegX10million]

Chemist is op. Berry mentats for exp , psychojet for any combat situation like nerd rage but at your command. Combine chems for exp , and caps. Just need to get the addiction immunity as well. Nothing like hitting an idiot savant with the berry mentats boost INT by 5 when completing quests either.

[@Odrade100]

The most op thing I can think of is, pray and spray + demolition expert, only problem is that you can one shot yourself if you shot at your feet.

[@LaggyMcDougal]

demolitionj expert or explosive expert when paired with any explosive weapon bloody mess and full marksman rifleman and that one tommy gun forgot the name of it . . it's badass

[@technicolorskies5432]

The Penetrator perk allows you to target the fusion core of power armor or sentry bots. Combined with a critical, you can one-shot both of them.

[@m.rak804]

Atom's Judgement + PA build with lone wanderer + nuclear physicist + pain train is always my go-to, taking down the courser with 3-4 hits on very hard is funny as hell considering Virgil just said a few minutes before that the chances were not with me.

[@BrentODell]

My issue with 'moving target' is that I'm rarely sprinting. In fact, there didn't seem to be any sprinting going on in the clip playing while the perk was being discussed. It's not extra dmg resistance while moving, it's while SPRINTING. Useful perhaps, but not a 'constant background boost' to resistance.

[@toddparker514]

Nerd rage is,grrat if you have all your armor unyealding and keep your rads at the point that your only 5 hp from !ctivating nerd rage you become an incincable monster lol with a piece of armor that has the effect that puts +3 to all stats at 20% helth just makes you ridiculously strong

[@Code_plan_8888]

Aquaboy is a good one in my opinion

[@totallyrealname6376]

Ghoulish, solar power, night person, aquaboy all better than anything you listed (and Lone wanderer since your specifications of what was excluded surprisingly does not include this) except strong back which I include a necessity perk, can't play without it.

[@annabrown6038]

Such a good list thanks!

[@ZionOrange]

I have around 2600 hours and im pretty comfortable to agree a lot here. I do play with munitions, scourge and true damage which alters some perks to make them less OP. For survival and damage: Solar powered Messiah Night person Lone wanderer Bloody mess Concentraded fire Vans (for 2 perception) Basher Major leagues Commando Pick pocket Sneak Sandman Ninja Four leaf clover Better crits for non vats crits

[@Tijuanabill]

The rank 3 Idiot Savant doesn't trigger a secret lockout; it's the duration of the proc, which is 60 seconds. But I would note getting 3X xp for every combat kill, will add up to a way more xp than you lost, during the 60s lockout. A guaranteed 3x on every kill, is far more xp than a chance at 5x. Also, it doesn't prevent you from getting your usual 5x procs all the time, only when the other proc is active, which you can check in your Pip-Boy, in the event you are spamming something.

[@Jack-kx5rf]

A little more of an explanation of Idiot Savant. At level 3 every time you do an action that can trigger IS it rolls it twice, once for the level 2 perk and a second time for the level 3 perk. Due to this while those 60 seconds are active you can’t trigger it again. The main reason that this is an issue is that the notification for the regular IS and the 60s IS are both exactly the same. It is impossible to know which one has triggered unless you’ve memorised all xp gains in the game.

[@silentgameplay4364]

I understand that weapon damage increase perks are not included but if they are I'd say Commando is the best on out of all. solely because you can use automatic pistols along with automatic rifles. almost all of my playthroughs I either go for Rifles only or pistols only mainly because one deals less damage than the other when specing on one main perk and not an effective way of managing inventory and damage output. but every commando build that I have done I always have this feeling where I have a trusty backup weapon like an automatic 10mm. It suits all of my swat automatic weapon build archetype that I always go for when going commando.

[@sabschatz]

personally I would say aquaboy/aquagirl

[@SuperbTube]

Definitely an underrated perk! It saves you having to guzzle down some Rad-X or Radaway every time you cross some water.

[@sabschatz]

@@SuperbTube I mostly just like it because I like spectacle island

[@chadharger9323]

​@@SuperbTube Or buy a hazmat suit at Fallon's Basement in Diamond City. However a lot of this was made a moot point because of the update. We can now build decontamination arches in a settlement that instantly removes all rad damage.

[@michaelhillberry672]

@@chadharger9323 I use aquaboy because I am too lazy to put all my armor and stuff back on after using a hazmat suit

[@edmartin875]

@@chadharger9323 We have had that capability for years. To get to that point was kinda convoluted but I was using them in Sanctuary for several years before the update.

[@Timquan.]

Im finishing my 2nd playthrough running a bit of a gunslinger/melee build with chemist and Chem resistant. My character has transformed into a psudo Bane. Psycho buff on top of mysterious serum witth some level of big leagues and iron fist is pretty fun, especially when I whack off a robot's arm with a deathclaw gauntlet or my heavy sledge hammer.

[@scott8448]

If you like the heavy sledgehammer get the nukaworld DLC to make normal bats rocket powered or farharbour for atom’s judgement super sledge for a cool look and heaps of rad damage too

[@edmartin875]

@@scott8448 I never get a weapon or armor for it's "looks". I guess I'm not into playing dress-up. More into functionality.

[@Yucca789]

Bro is level 126 but have 199 perk points.

[@hendrairawan]

wait, lone wanderer doesn't affect dogmeat?? how did i not know that?? i've been avoiding it since i love having dogmeat around and maxed out attack dog

[@DanteYewToob]

Moving target is essential for melee and close quarters builds, it really helps you close the gap without getting mowed down before you even get a chance to throw a punch! It’s also great for snipers too, when enemies get too close and you need to reposition… the gaps between cover become much less terrifying when you can actually take a hit or two. Add in power armor and few other toughness perks and you basically become the juggernaut! An absolute unstoppable, unkillable freight train on legs! I actually tanked a mini nuke while charging at a super mutant suicider with grognaks axe in fully upgraded power armor! It only took me down to like half health and only broke a few pieces of armor! That’s wild…

[@mightywez1]

I've played for years and never used the vats system, I think it's more fun that way .

[@jozsva8064]

I play survival and Demolitionist perk makes the mode a cake walk, everything dies within 2-3 frags which arent even the most powerful of the grenades. And you can use the duplication exploit as soon as sanctuary to get started early on that build. Also Ghoulish is very strong on survival too but a heavy investment is required in endurance is the main draw back.

[@Lauraneeeefr]

Which one is the one where you get multiple crits? Like the star things next to the crit meter in vats

[@Mr._Anderpson]

Strong Back is even better than that. The game doesn't tell you, but if you have all five ranks and play on survival mode, you will no longer take leg damage when over your weight limit. Max rank of Lone Wanderer pairs well with the max rank of Attack Dog, adding an additional 10% damage reduction. Get the Pack Alpha perk on top of those & any damage you take is automatically reduced by 65% before damage resistance from armor & perks are applied. Top that off with yao guai ribs or Med-X and you cap the damage reduction at 85%. Taking 30 damage instead of 200 makes you incredibly difficult to injure. For VATS users, Penetrator is invaluable. The player can target the right arm on a suicider regardless of which way his body is oriented. The same goes for power armor users & sentry bots. The fusion core is always a viable target & therefore vulnerable to a crit.

[@Tijuanabill]

When you are in survival mode, the display changes to note what you just said, on the specials screen. I don't play on survival usually, but after doing it one time, now on all my playthroughs, it displays the survival version, even when I'm playing on Very Hard.

[@edmartin875]

I prefer to kill the suicider before he triggers the mini-nuke. I can then loot it. I am presently playing on Very Hard Difficulty so if I'm carrying a fatman, I want ammo for it.

[@Mr._Anderpson]

@@edmartin875 Gotcha. Those things weigh 12 pounds each. They're more useful to me as two bits of nuclear material.

[@tjbrody]

10.Moving Target - Good perk for melee or shotgun build 9 Strongback - Good for Survival, otherwise it’s optional 8 Idiot Savant is less useful than people think. It gets you levels faster early on which is good, but it becomes less useful as you start running out of useful perks and start running into glowing rad scorpions. 7 Bloody Mess - Worthless. You are better off putting one point into each of the weapon categories and you won’t have to worry about looting gore. 4 Nuclear Physicist - By mid game you will be swimming in power cores, especially if you picked the scrounger perk. Not necessary

[@millerj1984]

For the Enclave and a future America!

[@yoitsjimmy_]

as a survival player, i wonder if i can use the strong back perk to fast travel to the institute while encumbered? (since fast traveling isn’t really a thing in survival other than for the institute)

[@StarScar-44]

I love being a cannibal in survival. Takes longer for you to get actually hungry. And unless you're doing a pacifist playthrough, you get a ton of food around you. And you can better avoid irradiated foods since you don't take radiation damage from consuming humans, ghouls, or super mutants. And each meal refills your health bar at a decent amount by the 3rd tier. Just in case you don't want to build up your Lead Belly, or over encumber yourself with carrying around food.

[@jannol1269]

Its interesting how others view the game. Where you consider locksmith and hacker essential, I consider them useless. I played with both in F3 and thought I cant give them up as well, but in F4 here, I vent for different builds and was just fine. Its also interesting to see how you look at lone wanderer. It might look like pure upsides, but once you consider the downsides, the perk might even be underpowered. With 1 charisma, you can still have companion for free. Consider paladin dense with his permanent power armour and his extra fire power. You are gonna save so many bullets and stimpacs having a good companion around. When you consider this, you really go for lone vanderer only if you like being alone, but that doesnt make you powerfull. Dont belive me? Try 10 int, 8 charisma build. Finish automatron and rebuild codsworth into sentrybot with 2 infinite ammunition gatling lasers, 500 carry weight, huge health and 2 back mounted nuclear launchers that cant harm you thanks to inspirational. Alternatively you can go 10 int, 1 charisma if you dont plan on using nuclear launchers and want smaller robot instead of sentribot to allow him to go with you indoors. But still... 2 gatling guns with infinite ammunition. The robot´s damage, health and ammo efficiency can outperform player character.

[@aquila3958]

So you want your companion to do everything for you and don’t want any loot or quests because you are missing out on every Termin and locked door? Sounds boring as hell

[@brkooduh66]

with my playstyle (sneak and snipe), aside from Lone Wanderer I'm not a huge user of any of these perks listed, at least early on, i prioritize other things

[@superbikemike]

great info...thank you! 😀

[@michaelproctor8100]

Did Bugthesda redo the perk system with the April update? I'm playing on very hard but the perk that allows you to fast travel when overencumbered is no longer available. In its place is the perk that prevents damage when overencumbered which is normally available when playing on survival. This has happened to me twice now.

[@SuperbTube]

Were you once playing on survival mode on that same character?

[@michaelproctor8100]

@@SuperbTube Nope, new game each time and deleted all saves associated with each game.

[@chadharger9323]

I was wondering about that. I'd rather have the fast travel instead of poor man's rooted. I thought the change was because of one of my mods.

[@nickbarber3315]

Clocked over 1k hrs and have never taken lone wanderer. To busy getting all the comp perks, and frankly comps are just to useful.

[@federalcorvettelover3874]

Nice one. Thank you.

[@mauithemushroom3878]

No chemist is crazy

[@cyriell]

Ngl idiot savant i underestimated massively, with my recent fallout london playthrough it was a gold mine in xp

[@RogueDiscipline]

No Penetrator? That tells me this dude doesn’t know a fucking thing about the game. There is no discussion. There is no debate. Penetrator is THE BEST VATS perk in the game without a close second. You can shoot through power armor and target fusion cores. You can shoot through robots and target combat inhibitors. You can shoot through robot tanks and target fusion cores. You can shoot through mirelurks shells and target their face. You can shoot through a deathclaws back and target its belly. And you can all of this by level 28 and you can’t do any of it without Penetrator. Penetrator literally turns very hard and survivor into very easy. This is not an opinion, this is raw data. What a joke.