This is an unbiased review of the perks usefulness. Not creativity or coolness.
Level 2
Black Widow / Lady Killer: 5/5 a perk that gives you 10 percent more damage half the time and opens up speech trees is a good perk.
Daddy’s bog / Daddy’s Girl: 1/5 Better off getting the Intense Training perk and getting another intelligence. You will get more points per level which you can put anywhere.
Gun Nut: 1/5 Better off getting the Intense Training perk and getting another intelligence. You will get more points per level which you can put anywhere.
Intense Training: 5/5 Basically cheating if used correctly, such as, starting off at 10 int then filling in the blanks with this perk.
Little Leaguer: 1/5 Better off getting the Intense Training perk and getting another intelligence. You will get more points per level which you can put anywhere.
Swift learner: 2/5 If you are going to do all the quest and hit 20 anyway this perk is almost worthless. Might be good for a mid level player, might hit level 16 instead of 14 if only doing 25% of the quests.
Thief: 1/5 Better off getting the Intense Training perk and getting another intelligence. You will get more points per level which you can put anywhere.
Level 4
Child at Heart: 2.5/5 Good if you want to have max dialog options and get all the quests, almost worthless if you think you can do quests in other ways and get the same quests other ways.
Comprehension: 3/5 I think Bethesda will put in enough books for this to pay off. Again, best for players looking in every nook and cranny, decent for players just running through the main quest only.
Educated: 5/5 Take early this is an irreplaceable perk. Best for players looking to hit level 20 for max skill points.
Entomologist: 1/5 Bad, just think there are better things to pick. Only works when attacking bugs is bad.
Iron fist: 5/5 Melee combat players. 0/5 ranged combat. Obviously bad for ranged weapon characters. 5 points here and there starting at level 4 or 5 will add up to be very effective over time.
Scoundrel: 1/5 (official score pending) Better off getting the Intense Training perk and getting another intelligence. You will get more points per level which you can put anywhere. Unless Scoundrel opens up dialog options like “Charm” then it is mandatory for speech character.
Level 6
Bloody mess: 3/5 The 5% more damage will be nice end game, and all through the game. Though I don’t like this perk for personal stupidity reasons.
Demolition Expert: 2/5 Just don’t think you will be using explosives that much, and it seems explosives get the job done without this perk.
Fortune finder: 1.5/5 Usually in RPG’s and even in old more hardcore Fallouts you hardly used money. And had plenty if you did need it. And Bethesda is making the game accessible to noobs so there will be a lot of caps around.
Gunslinger: 2/5 More accuracy does not seem needed. Looks as if in VATS the % to hit something vital are usually pretty high. Will be over kill if combined with the perk sniper. And 1 handed weapons will most likely be out of date near mid of game.
Lead belly: 1.5/5 Feel like there are plenty better perks to pick. Meds negate this perk.
Toughness: 3/5 Pretty decent if you want to be a character that can take a lot of hits. Armor will probably be sufficient in protecting you.
Level 8
Commando: 3/5 Like Gunslinger don’t feel more accuracy in needed. But higher rated than Gunslinger because two-handed weapons will be more viable throughout the game.
Impartial meditation: 2/5 Low score do to only being available to neutral players. Also I feel you will be able to get those skill points other ways. Decent perk if you feel you are far behind in speech and this is the only way you can catch up.
Rad Resistance: 1/5 Meds negate this.
Scrounger: 1.5/5 Never had a problem with ammo. And in the Bethesda version feel I will have even less of a problem. Might be a ok perk for those wanting larger supplies of rare ammo.
Size matters: 2.5/5 Decent perk if you changed your mind late in the game towards big guns. Giving 15 points per level into big guns is a fast way to turn big guns from 15% to 60 percent in no time. Only a 2.5 because I don’t think you will need tons of skill points into weapons to be decently accurate. With big weapons there is usually enough damage per second flying around to compensate for the lack of accuracy.
Strong back: 2/5 Decent for lazy folks who can’t manage their inventory or want to carry around every weapon in the game.
Level 10
Animal friend: 1/5 Only works with 4 units in the entire game.
Finesse: 4.5/5 Missing .5 because I feel you crit a lot as is. Otherwise, irreplaceable for anyone who wants to do any kind of damage.
Here and now: 1/5 You just leveled, the point of leveling is to pick a perk, why would you want waste a perk on skipping over a perk? Might be good if you can use at level 20!!!
Mister sandman: 2.5/5 Good if there are many missions where silent and killing is a must. Don’t see anyone using this perk effectively in most situations though.
Mysterious stranger: 2/5 Only happens in VATS. If you have action points to get in VATS you are usually doing ok in a fight.
Nerd Rage: 2/5 Could save you in some running away situations or really sticky situations. Could be used to make a “invincible” character.
Night person: 1/5 Your intelligence should already be around 10 for maximum skill points per level. Only works at night. Perception offers little benefits.
Level 12
Cannibal: 1.5/5 Good for leveling and keeping your health high. Useful if you are low on health items. The loss of karma is the downside/upside to this, and having to look around to make sure there are no witnesses. Health items negate this.
Fast Metabolism: 1/5 Extra meds negate this. Or higher medicine rating.
Life Giver: 2.5/5 30 more hit points at level 12. Only decent.
Pyromaniac: 4/5 50% more damage from a flamer and Shishkebob. 50 percent is a very big chunk of damage. If you plan to use either of these weapons long term get this perk. Perk useless if you do not plan to use these weapons.
Robotics Expert: 2/5 Works on only a few units in the game. Potential hazard avoided by disarming.
Silent running: 1.5/5 Only good for the impatient sneakers or if you need to sneak over long sections of terrain not to be detected. Or those really needing 10 more points into sneak right away at level 12, which I don’t see happening.
Sniper: 4/5 Great perk for any gun using character. Only 4/5 because I feel accuracy is high enough as is.
Level 14
Adamantium Skeleton: 1/5 Negated with health meds.
Chemist: 1.5/5 Won’t be using Chems that often and when you do you won’t need them for that long and there are usually enough to go around.
Contract killer: 5/5 Opens new quests and those quests lead to new free perks.
Cyborg: 3/5 Decent defensive perk with a small amount of offense in there.
Lawbringer: 5/5 Opens new quests and those quests lead to new free perks.
Light step: 1.5/5 Watching where you step negates this. Decent for the lazy blind people.
Mater trader: 1/5 You will have plenty of caps by level 14.
Level 16
Action boy: 5/5 More action point is a good thing for all combat situations.
Better Criticals: 2/5 One could argue this is nearly worthless. When you crit that crit usually kills the enemy in 1 hit. So you really don’t need 50% more damage on crits.
Chem Resistant: 1/5 Save and loads prevent this. Plus addition goes away or can be cured easily.
Tag!: 2/5 Tagging a new skill at level 16+ is a desperate move. Should have all the action point you need at this point.
Level 18
Concentrated Fire: 2/5 If you can hit it once normally, chances are you can hit it again normally and cripple it with the second attack.
Computer Wiz: 1/5 Save and load negates this.
Infiltrator: 1/5 Save and load negates this.
Paralyzing Palm: 2/5 Only works with VATS, if you are punching someone in VATS you usually queue up enough point to finish the unit off. Useful when fighting multiple bad guys when they are all in melee range, doesn’t happen very often since most are shooting at you.
Level 20
Explorer: 1.5/5 internet and/or guides negate this. Decent for lazy gamers.
Grim Reaper’s Sprint: 5/5 Basically kill everything you see for free. Good for melee and ranged.
Ninja: 5/5 Destroys when combed with high strength and skill for that type of weapon. Great for any melee character, with the added bonus in sneak mode. Not as good as Grim Reaper.
Solar powered: 1/5 This is a level 20 ability? This would only be slightly better than Cannibal if available at same level.
Level 2
Black Widow / Lady Killer: 5/5 a perk that gives you 10 percent more damage half the time and opens up speech trees is a good perk.
Daddy’s bog / Daddy’s Girl: 1/5 Better off getting the Intense Training perk and getting another intelligence. You will get more points per level which you can put anywhere.
Gun Nut: 1/5 Better off getting the Intense Training perk and getting another intelligence. You will get more points per level which you can put anywhere.
Intense Training: 5/5 Basically cheating if used correctly, such as, starting off at 10 int then filling in the blanks with this perk.
Little Leaguer: 1/5 Better off getting the Intense Training perk and getting another intelligence. You will get more points per level which you can put anywhere.
Swift learner: 2/5 If you are going to do all the quest and hit 20 anyway this perk is almost worthless. Might be good for a mid level player, might hit level 16 instead of 14 if only doing 25% of the quests.
Thief: 1/5 Better off getting the Intense Training perk and getting another intelligence. You will get more points per level which you can put anywhere.
Level 4
Child at Heart: 2.5/5 Good if you want to have max dialog options and get all the quests, almost worthless if you think you can do quests in other ways and get the same quests other ways.
Comprehension: 3/5 I think Bethesda will put in enough books for this to pay off. Again, best for players looking in every nook and cranny, decent for players just running through the main quest only.
Educated: 5/5 Take early this is an irreplaceable perk. Best for players looking to hit level 20 for max skill points.
Entomologist: 1/5 Bad, just think there are better things to pick. Only works when attacking bugs is bad.
Iron fist: 5/5 Melee combat players. 0/5 ranged combat. Obviously bad for ranged weapon characters. 5 points here and there starting at level 4 or 5 will add up to be very effective over time.
Scoundrel: 1/5 (official score pending) Better off getting the Intense Training perk and getting another intelligence. You will get more points per level which you can put anywhere. Unless Scoundrel opens up dialog options like “Charm” then it is mandatory for speech character.
Level 6
Bloody mess: 3/5 The 5% more damage will be nice end game, and all through the game. Though I don’t like this perk for personal stupidity reasons.
Demolition Expert: 2/5 Just don’t think you will be using explosives that much, and it seems explosives get the job done without this perk.
Fortune finder: 1.5/5 Usually in RPG’s and even in old more hardcore Fallouts you hardly used money. And had plenty if you did need it. And Bethesda is making the game accessible to noobs so there will be a lot of caps around.
Gunslinger: 2/5 More accuracy does not seem needed. Looks as if in VATS the % to hit something vital are usually pretty high. Will be over kill if combined with the perk sniper. And 1 handed weapons will most likely be out of date near mid of game.
Lead belly: 1.5/5 Feel like there are plenty better perks to pick. Meds negate this perk.
Toughness: 3/5 Pretty decent if you want to be a character that can take a lot of hits. Armor will probably be sufficient in protecting you.
Level 8
Commando: 3/5 Like Gunslinger don’t feel more accuracy in needed. But higher rated than Gunslinger because two-handed weapons will be more viable throughout the game.
Impartial meditation: 2/5 Low score do to only being available to neutral players. Also I feel you will be able to get those skill points other ways. Decent perk if you feel you are far behind in speech and this is the only way you can catch up.
Rad Resistance: 1/5 Meds negate this.
Scrounger: 1.5/5 Never had a problem with ammo. And in the Bethesda version feel I will have even less of a problem. Might be a ok perk for those wanting larger supplies of rare ammo.
Size matters: 2.5/5 Decent perk if you changed your mind late in the game towards big guns. Giving 15 points per level into big guns is a fast way to turn big guns from 15% to 60 percent in no time. Only a 2.5 because I don’t think you will need tons of skill points into weapons to be decently accurate. With big weapons there is usually enough damage per second flying around to compensate for the lack of accuracy.
Strong back: 2/5 Decent for lazy folks who can’t manage their inventory or want to carry around every weapon in the game.
Level 10
Animal friend: 1/5 Only works with 4 units in the entire game.
Finesse: 4.5/5 Missing .5 because I feel you crit a lot as is. Otherwise, irreplaceable for anyone who wants to do any kind of damage.
Here and now: 1/5 You just leveled, the point of leveling is to pick a perk, why would you want waste a perk on skipping over a perk? Might be good if you can use at level 20!!!
Mister sandman: 2.5/5 Good if there are many missions where silent and killing is a must. Don’t see anyone using this perk effectively in most situations though.
Mysterious stranger: 2/5 Only happens in VATS. If you have action points to get in VATS you are usually doing ok in a fight.
Nerd Rage: 2/5 Could save you in some running away situations or really sticky situations. Could be used to make a “invincible” character.
Night person: 1/5 Your intelligence should already be around 10 for maximum skill points per level. Only works at night. Perception offers little benefits.
Level 12
Cannibal: 1.5/5 Good for leveling and keeping your health high. Useful if you are low on health items. The loss of karma is the downside/upside to this, and having to look around to make sure there are no witnesses. Health items negate this.
Fast Metabolism: 1/5 Extra meds negate this. Or higher medicine rating.
Life Giver: 2.5/5 30 more hit points at level 12. Only decent.
Pyromaniac: 4/5 50% more damage from a flamer and Shishkebob. 50 percent is a very big chunk of damage. If you plan to use either of these weapons long term get this perk. Perk useless if you do not plan to use these weapons.
Robotics Expert: 2/5 Works on only a few units in the game. Potential hazard avoided by disarming.
Silent running: 1.5/5 Only good for the impatient sneakers or if you need to sneak over long sections of terrain not to be detected. Or those really needing 10 more points into sneak right away at level 12, which I don’t see happening.
Sniper: 4/5 Great perk for any gun using character. Only 4/5 because I feel accuracy is high enough as is.
Level 14
Adamantium Skeleton: 1/5 Negated with health meds.
Chemist: 1.5/5 Won’t be using Chems that often and when you do you won’t need them for that long and there are usually enough to go around.
Contract killer: 5/5 Opens new quests and those quests lead to new free perks.
Cyborg: 3/5 Decent defensive perk with a small amount of offense in there.
Lawbringer: 5/5 Opens new quests and those quests lead to new free perks.
Light step: 1.5/5 Watching where you step negates this. Decent for the lazy blind people.
Mater trader: 1/5 You will have plenty of caps by level 14.
Level 16
Action boy: 5/5 More action point is a good thing for all combat situations.
Better Criticals: 2/5 One could argue this is nearly worthless. When you crit that crit usually kills the enemy in 1 hit. So you really don’t need 50% more damage on crits.
Chem Resistant: 1/5 Save and loads prevent this. Plus addition goes away or can be cured easily.
Tag!: 2/5 Tagging a new skill at level 16+ is a desperate move. Should have all the action point you need at this point.
Level 18
Concentrated Fire: 2/5 If you can hit it once normally, chances are you can hit it again normally and cripple it with the second attack.
Computer Wiz: 1/5 Save and load negates this.
Infiltrator: 1/5 Save and load negates this.
Paralyzing Palm: 2/5 Only works with VATS, if you are punching someone in VATS you usually queue up enough point to finish the unit off. Useful when fighting multiple bad guys when they are all in melee range, doesn’t happen very often since most are shooting at you.
Level 20
Explorer: 1.5/5 internet and/or guides negate this. Decent for lazy gamers.
Grim Reaper’s Sprint: 5/5 Basically kill everything you see for free. Good for melee and ranged.
Ninja: 5/5 Destroys when combed with high strength and skill for that type of weapon. Great for any melee character, with the added bonus in sneak mode. Not as good as Grim Reaper.
Solar powered: 1/5 This is a level 20 ability? This would only be slightly better than Cannibal if available at same level.
