Stats in the Fallout series have always been broken down to the acronym S.P.E.C.I.A.L. — Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. The way that players distribute their points across these seven stats determines their character's build and general playstyle in the game.

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Charisma is an especially important stat in Fallout 4 since it affects many different parts of the game. It determines the player character's chances at persuading and intimidating people, controls the maximum settlement population, and improves bartering prices at all merchants throughout the Commonwealth. The perks offered by the Charisma stat also help influence NPCs, companions, and even enemies in interesting ways. Each Rank of a Perk must be unlocked using a Perk Point from leveling up.

10 Party Boy / Party Girl

Get More Out Of Alcohol

• Tier 7
• 3 Ranks

In Fallout 4, alcohol is mainly helpful for two reasons. First, it increases the player's Strength, which increases the weight that can be carried without being over-encumbered. The other is that it increases Charisma, which helps persuade other characters and get better deals from merchants.

It has downsides as well, however. Drinking alcohol decreases Intelligence and may cause the Sole Survivor to become addicted to it. The Party Boy/Girl (depending on the player character's sex) removes the risk of addiction altogether on the first rank, and subsequent ranks double all effects of alcohol and increase the Luck stat. Since it increases both the negative and positive effects of alcohol, this perk should only be taken by players who are fine with using Perk Points for mixed results.

9 Attack Dog

Level Up Dogmeat's Combat Abilities

• Tier 4
• 4 Ranks

Traveling with a dog companion is a staple of the Fallout franchise, and Fallout 4's Dogmeat is just one of the beloved canine companions to see a player character through their journey in the wasteland. While he is not as strong as other companions in combat, Dogmeat is a great ally to have, since the Sole Survivor's relationship with him can never be damaged by any decisions. He also excels at stealth and can search the area for useful items.

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Unlike other companions, Dogmeat's perk must be unlocked from the Charisma section of the Perk Chart upon the player character leveling up. The Attack Dog perk adds utility to his attacks, causing limb damage and bleeding effects on his targets. Players who keep this wonderful German Shepherd by their side should invest in him to make him an even better companion.

8 Animal Friend

Pacify And Command The Animals Of The Commonwealth

• Tier 5
• 3 Ranks

Many animals roam the post-apocalyptic wastelands of the Fallout world. Some, like the peaceful two-headed cows called Brahmin do not pose much of a threat while others, such as the deadly mutated bears called Yao Guai can be deadly encounters.

The Animal Friend perk helps players navigate these encounters by granting the Sole Survivor a chance to pacify any animal below their level. Once the second and third ranks have been unlocked, players can even give specific commands to pacified animals, which can turn a dangerous encounter into one where the player instead watches a small army of creatures fight for them.

7 Wasteland Whisperer

Pacify And Command Radioactive Beasts

• Tier 9
• 3 Ranks

Not all creatures in the Commonwealth are considered to still be animals. Centuries of radiation have twisted humans and animals alike so that many of them only vaguely resemble their pre-War fellows. While Animal Friend gives the player a chance to pacify relatively normal animals, Wasteland Wanderer covers the rest.

Many of the most dangerous creatures encountered in the game fall under this category, including Super Mutants and Deathclaws, and can be pacified with this perk. Like Animal Handler, the higher ranks allow the player to give specific commands to pacified monsters. Ordering a Deathclaw to fight against other enemies is a peak Fallout experience.

6 Lone Wanderer

Get More Out Of Traveling Solo

• Tier 3
• 4 Ranks

Whether for roleplaying reasons, to avoid friendly fire incidents, or to sneak into enemy camps without the risk of an NPC being alerted, there are many reasons that players may choose to travel alone instead of bringing one of the game's thirteen potential companions along. The Lone Wanderer perk, named for Fallout 3's protagonist, is for them.

The first Rank reduces damage taken by 15% and increases the player's carry weight by 50 to offset the lack of companions to hold extra things. At higher Ranks, this perk also adds Action Points, increases the player's damage, and boosts the effects of the first Rank. Players who mostly travel alone (or with Dogmeat) should invest some points into this perk to become the ultimate lone wolf of the Commonwealth.

5 Inspirational

Make Every Companion More Helpful

• Tier 8
• 3 Ranks

The Inspirational perk is the opposite of Lone Wanderer. Its effects are applied to whichever companion is currently traveling with the Sole Survivor, which gives it more flexibility than Attack Dog and allows the player to trade companions out without worrying about some of their perks going to waste.

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The first two Ranks make both the player character and any companion immune to friendly fire, in addition to granting extra attack and defense to the companions. The final Rank increases the amount of weight that companions can carry. This is the perfect perk for players who want to travel with their friends and march into battle side by side while raining down explosives and bullets on their foes.

4 Lady Killer / Black Widow

Impact The Sole Survivor's Relationship With The Opposite Sex

• Tier 2
• 3 Ranks

Players with at least 2 Charisma can unlock either Lady Killer (if their character is a man) or Black Widow (if their character is a woman). Both perks increase the amount of damage that the Sole Survivor does to humans of the opposite sex in addition to making NPCs of that sex more easily persuaded in dialogue checks.

Since male and female NPCs are equally common across the Commonwealth, both of these perks are useful, although their effects will be triggered at different times. Players who want to excel at persuasion should unlock this perk early, as many different encounters can be completed more easily through dialogue than through combat.

3 Intimidation

Pacify And Command Other Humans

• Tier 10
• 3 Ranks

To unlock Intimidation, the player must have raised their character's Charisma to its max level of 10. Considering the cost of investing so many points into one S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat, this perk does not disappoint. It works like Animal Friend and Wasteland Whisperer, except that the player can pacify and command humans instead of animals or beasts.

The Commonwealth is full of hostile bands of people traveling together. The number of enemies can be overwhelming at times, especially when fighting groups like the Gunners who are sometimes equipped with Missile Launchers. The Intimidation perk is excellent for turning the tides of these kinds of battles since it can cause the numbers to swing in the player's favor.

2 Local Leader

Make Settlements More Useful

• Tier 6
• 2 Ranks

Fallout 4 introduced a new mechanic to the franchise with settlement building. Each settlement that the player sets up for the Minutemen needs to have food, water, and defenses set up to help the people there survive. To do this, players need to scour the Commonwealth in search of any scrap that might be broken down and turned into parts of furniture, buildings, traps, or other structures that can be built in any controlled settlement.

The Local Leader perk helps speed up this process with each of its 2 Ranks. At Rank 1, the player can assign a settler to be a provisioner, who will take supplies between two different settlements. This allows players to store all of their junk in one place while still using it at the other end of this supply line. The second Rank gives players the ability to build stores in their settlements, which helps them make caps and offload unwanted things in one stop at their settlement, rather than having to fast travel to somewhere like Diamond City. Players who want to build settlements need to get this perk.

1 Cap Collector

Make And Save More Money

• Tier 1
• 3 Ranks

The Cap Collector perk can be unlocked with only one point in the Luck stat, which means that players can get it from the very beginning of the game. Its first two Ranks raise buying prices and lower selling prices for all merchants in the game. Its last Rank allows players to invest 500 caps into a store to raise that merchant's maximum caps for the rest of the game.

This makes it one of the best perks to unlock in the early game because players will struggle a lot less to start making money at lower levels when even buying a few stimpacks can be tough. It also has lasting effects, since looting enemies and selling unwanted items is a fixture of the gameplay loop in Fallout 4. The earlier this great Charisma perk is unlocked, the more money the player saves across the game.

Fallout 4

Platform(s)

PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

November 10, 2015

Developer(s)

Bethesda

Genre(s)

RPG , Action