General perks | Character development Wasteland 2 Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

Brute force

A thread of three perks for characters that fight in melee. All three are useful and worth buying, even if they do not provide too high bonuses.

Applied Force, level 5 - 5% chances of stunning the opponent with melee weapon. Useful for characters that fight in melee, the rest of characters may ignore it.

Stunning Force, level 7 - An upgraded version of Applied Force. Of course, the bonus goes up only by 2%, but you cannot buy the Staggering Force without it. Either way, it is worth buying.

Staggering Force, level 9 - An upgraded version of Stunning Force. The Bonus goes up to 9%. Since you bought the previous ones, this one is also for you.

Smart Ass

Two independent context-reliant perks. Useful, but you can easily do without them.

Know-it-All, level 1 - +1 to Smart Ass. It allows you to save up several skill points and this is why it is worth buying. But only when there are no better perks to choose from.

Radiant Personality, level 5 - During the enlistment, the effectiveness of charisma is doubled. You can buy it, if only you have problems recruiting new allies and you do not want to invest in charisma. Otherwise you can leave it out.

Leadership

A thread of three perks that take effect on all the characters around the leader. They provide small bonuses, but it takes effect on the entire party. It is one of those that are worth having, because you never know when it works.

Taunt, level 3 - Opponents near the leader have a chance of hitting the target lowered by 3%. If the leader is usually in the center of the party and his skills encompass the majority of the party, take it. The perk is useful in any situation, regardless of whether you are fighting gunners or melee opponents. The key issue here is the positioning of the leader. If you know how to do this, buy it. If not, buy anyways because there always will be a character near the leader and thus, will benefit from the bonus.

Enrage, level 5 - An upgraded version of Taunt. The bonus rises to 5%. If you bought the previous perk, buy this one also.

Infuriate, level 8 - An upgraded version of Enrage. The bonus rises to 8%. Since you have already invested in this thread, you can just as well buy them all.

Barter

Two independent perks that allow you to earn additional money. They are useful, but later into the game and with reasonable expenditures, their value drops.

Forward player, level 3 - You receive 20% scrap more by selling junk. There always is plenty junk around and you always use additional money. It is a good idea to work a little bit on your finances, but this is not required.

A Handful of caps, level 7) - While looting containers, you have a 10% chances of finding more junk. It is good to add to your account and for this reason, this is a good one. Ignore it, if you do not need additional money.

Kiss Ass

Two independent context-reliant traits. Useful, but you can do well without them.

Pawner, level 1 - +1 to kiss ass. It allows you to save up several skill points and for this reason, it is a good idea to get it, but only when there are no better options.

Loose Change, level 7 - a 5% discount on all the purchases. It is a good idea to take it, on condition that you are hard up. Thanks to this, you will save up quite a lot of scrap, especially while buying ammo and medicine.

Perception

Two independent perks. One of them is useful in combat, and the other one during exploration. Buying them depends on the situation and the party make-up.

Tactical Positioning, level 3 - The character deals additional 15% damage, while attacking the target in the back. Very useful for melee characters that remain in constant movement. Less useful for gunners, especially for snipers who remain in the same position. Still, they can also benefit from it, e.g. by attacking before the battle. There is a high chance that thanks to this one, plus a good weapon, they take out the enemy before the fight starts.

Dowsing, level 6 +25% of chances for more scrap, while digging. There are locations, where there are many holes in the ground, as well as ones, where they are scarce, which makes this perk context-reliant. Still, it is a good idea to take it, for the sake of additional money, but only if you really need it. Later into the game, you should have much enough for the perk to lose its value.

Weaponsmithing

Three independent perks. Two of them depend on the armor that you are wearing and the third one independent of that.

Tinkerer, level 2 - +1 AP when you are wearing a light armor. The choice between this one and the Reinforced Plating needs to be made basing on the gear that you carry and the role of the character in the party. Both of the bonuses are highly useful, but with time, AP will be more important than the armor, and the other way around. Either way, It is good to buy either this one or the other one.

Deconstructor, level 5 - 25% more parts while disassembling a weapon. Weapon parts are a good source of money, therefore it is a good thing to buy this one. Otherwise, you can ignore it.

Reinforced Plating, level 8 - +1 to armor, while using heavy armor. See the description for the Tinkerer.

Outdoorsman

It is a thread of three perks that are worth buying, if you prefer to explore the map on your own and use neither maps nor walkthroughs.

Scout, level 3 - +25% to vision range on the map in the travel mode. This one and the next three make sense only when you do not use maps, walkthroughs nor other materials, where all of the locations are marked. Also, if you are used to exploring every corner of the map in search of collectibles and you want it a little bit easier, you can get it. Otherwise, there is no point in buying that.

Explorer, level 5 - The upgraded version of the Scout. The bonus goes up to 25%. See the description for the previous perk.

World Traveler, level 7 - all of the shrines and hidden crates with gear appear on the map. All of them become automatically accessible, which means that you can enter a shrine without doing any good deeds. This makes sense in the case of Arizona, but not necessarily in California, where you can enter the majority of shrines without helping people. You can buy this perk only if you suspect that you will be able to use it. In the long run, however, its usefulness is greatly limited.

Hard Ass

Two independent context-reliant perks. Useful, but you can easily do without them.

Intimidating, level 1 - +1 to Hard Ass. It allows you to save up some skill points and for this reason, it is worth buying, but only if there are no better perks to choose from.

Bloodthirsty, level 7 - +1 AP after you kill an opponent. Quite useful, but on condition that fights are not to quick. Otherwise, you will have no time to use up the additional point. Additionally, it is required that you kill the opponent personally (there is no information on its effect on the rest of the party), which makes orderly fighting more difficult. You can buy it, if there is nothing more interesting available, but do not be surprised if you do not have too many opportunities to use it.

Animal whisperer

Two independent perks of limited usefulness. You can buy them, but you can do well without them.

Camel, level 3 - Water consumption during travel drops by 10%. In theory, this perk is useful, but in practice there are plenty of oases, which makes this one unnecessary. Additionally, in California, you do not need to worry about water at all which makes the perk useless. You can buy it, but you can do well without it.

Big Game Hunter, level 6 - Damage to animals go up by 10%. It is very useful against honey badgers and other animals with strong armor and high level of CON. You can buy it, but you need to take limited use into consideration - this perk is more useful in Arizona, than in California, where the majority of your opponents are humans.