Perks | Wasteland 3 Wiki

Perks in Wasteland 3 are used to unlock powerful abilities and extra passive bonuses for the player and companions. Once the character reaches Lvl. 4, both the player and his/her companions will be able to earn a Perk Point every other level. It is also important to take note that some perks require you to first reach a specified rank of the associated skill before it becomes available. This page covers a list of all the Perks in the game where you can view a gallery, as well as a table indicating the bonuses and other values of each perk.

Unlocking Perks

In order for most of the perks to be available to unlock, players must first reach a specific rank or level of the associated Skill. So for example, in order for the Reckless perk to be available, players must increase their rank to Level 6 of the Automatic Weapons skill that can be found under the Combat Skills category. And once it is available, you'll need to spend Perk Points for your character to unlock or learn it.

Managing Perk Points

All perks only require 1 perk point each to be unlocked, but some perks require you to reach a certain Skill level. You also have the freedom to unlock whichever perk you want and it does not follow a tree system. For example, if you want to unlock the Gopher Hunter perk, you don't need to unlock the Puncturing Shot perk first, you can unlock it as long as you meet the certain Skill level.

Wasteland 3 Perks

Perks List

Perks Table

Non-Skill Perks

Deep Pockets

If anyone asks where you stow all your stuff, maybe it's better if you don't tell them.

Hardened

You eat bullets for breakfast.

Healthy

Take care of your body and your body will take care of you.

Quick Reflexes

Sometimes you feel like you can almost see things before they happen.

Weathered

After a few bumps and bruises, you stop feelin' the pain so much.

Cyborg Tech

You have taken the first step on your transhuman journey. Who needs that weak human flesh, anyway?

Investigative Eye

V.I.C.I Found herself searching the ruins behind the Machine Commune. She helped you become a bit more perceptive of the world around you

Automatic Weapons Perks

Puncturing Shot

Sometimes they're nice enough to line up for you. Find a soft spot on the one in front.

Gopher Hunter

Little Gophers like to stay in their holes, but that just makes it easier for you to take 'em down.

Spray 'N' Pray

Some say they prefer quality over quantity. But those people usually reconsider their tactics when they're trying to outrun a downpour of lead.

Reckless

Cover. What's it good for? Bring 'em on!

Double Tap

The first hit just opens them up for the real kill shot.

Stormer

Combat is all about momentum. Keep pushing forward and you'll punch right through.

Trigger Happy

Once they pop, you just can't stop.

Melee Combat Perks

Bleeding Strike

You know which blood vessels run close to the skin. Open your enemy up - now time is on your side.

Stunning Blow

If you knock the wind out of a guy, it doesn't matter what kind of fancy gun he's packin'.

Striking Distance

Not having a gun just means you don't have anything extra weighing you down.

Bloodsport

It's like tee-ball, but with more skull fragments.

Hack 'N' Slash

You couldn't stop yourself if you wanted to.

Pursuit

With a blade, you're going to have to move fast and exploit every possible opening.

Shrug It Off

The bigger the crowd, the harder it will be for them to hit you.

Big Guns Perks

Move Up!

Establish the best opening position, and you'll come out alive.

Suppressing Fire

Keep their heads down, and give your buddies a chance to move in.

Terrorizer

Remember that kid who always tried to fry bugs with a magnifying glass? Yeah, that was you.

Pressure Cooker

They wanted to hide inside their vehicle. It's only fair you give 'em a hot box.

Steady Shot

If you hunker down, even a heavy MG can be tamed.

Wide Spread

More gain, more pain.

Brawling Perks

Shaolin Surprise

Surprise! I can flatten your organs!

Extreme Combo

Don't stop just because you heard a few bones snapping.

Deadly Combo

Get in the flow, keep going, and don't give them a chance to hit back.

Flurry of Blows

Your fists are like a hurricane, but more deadly.

Small Arms Perks

Shredder Shot

If you see an unprotected spot, put a hole in it. Make 'em pick between fighting and stopping all the blood.

Opportunist

You're always looking for an opening, and handguns are pretty good at making them.

Trick Shot

A lot of these guys wouldn't know what to do if you took away their weapon.

Clear Cover

Doesn't it just piss you off when they drag out a combat by hiding behind cover?

Draw!

In a firefight, every second matters. Hit 'em before they know what happened.

Devastation

Pack them all together, then unleash the thunder.

Counter-Offensive

Don't bring a knife to a gunfight.

Sniper Rifles Perks

Mark Target

In addition to the tactical value, marking an enemy for your squad to focus fire on is good, mean fun.

Masterful Precision

You are a surgeon, and your sniper rifle is your instrument.

Concentration

Stop. Become about just one action. Wait for your moment, and make it count.

Chain Ambush

You watch the battlefield like a hawk. Nothing gets by you without a hole in its head.

Animal Whisperer Perks

Animal Training

Right or wrong, you have an uncommon talent for teaching animals to murder.

Spirit Animal

A beast ally brings something primal and pure in you.

Vengeful Bond

It's not wise to threaten a mama bear's cubs.

Barter Perks

Penny Pincher

It's all on sale! You buy in bulk to get the best deals on the essentials

Antiques Appraiser

Naturally, an item is worth a lot more in its original packaging...

Nerd Stuff Perks

Targeting Override

Override side effect: all bleeps are permanently replaced with bloops.

Electric Leakage

This may void the warranty on your robot's power supply.

Overclock

Crank that x86 clock up to 66 MHz and then LOOK OUT!

Explosives Perks

Duck and Cover

There's a famous two-step defense against oncoming fireballs, and no one actually does it.

Bomb Recovery

If you know what you're doing, an enemy ordinance is just another tool.

Minesweeper

Petite feet. They can laugh all they want, you've still got all your toes.

Mortar Blast

Sonofab*tch likes to dodge around the battlefield, huh? Dodge this.

High Impact

It's fun to have a weapon that can make the enemy disappear entirely.

Blast Radius

Maximizing blast radii is all about math and optimizing detonations. But to regular people, it's just 'filling the room with more kaboom'.

First Aid Perks

Emergency Response

You'd do anything for the team. If one of them goes down, you leap into action.

Overhealing

Patch 'em up and give 'em a little something for the road.

Physical Therapy

You have to do more than get them back up - you've got to give them a fighting chance.

Hypocritic Oath

First, do no harm. Then go forth and kick ass.

Leadership Perks

Rally

It's like a pep talk, but you grimace and clench your fist.

Demoralize

Even the toughest tough guys can be sensitive about their appearance.

Mechanics Perks

Structural Weakness

If you can put 'em together, you can take 'em apart.

Handy

You know how to get the most out of your tools.

Reinforced Plating

Adapting hardware for combat is true wasteland tradition.

Fortify

You don't just build 'em to work, you build 'em to take a beating.

Survival Perks

Big Game Hunter

Tip: this also works on small, defenseless animals.

Explorer's Instinct

Once you've spent enough time in the wild, you start to get a sense of where dumb city folk stash their valuables.

Toaster Repair Perks

Toaster Expert

Putting a toaster back together is like putting a piece of the pre-war world back together.

Breakfast Bandit

You never let a morning meal go to waste.

Heating Element

Toasters have taught you a lot about thermodynamics.

Toasty

No amount of butter-knife scraping is going to help your enemies once you're through.

Weapon Modding Perks

Scrounger's Touch

You never know what you're going to find when you take a weapon apart.

Powder Pack

Weapon experts just know what to look for when they find a gun.

Expert Disassembler

Strip it down to the screws, and then keep those, because even screws are valuable.

Weird Science Perks

Overcharge

Anyone can try to send more juice through their energy weapon. But if they don't know what they're doing, they'll probably just end up with plasma burns.

Microwave Research

After sticking a lot of silverware in a lot of microwaves, you've figured out how to weaponize the excitement of matter - and you've ruined all your silverware.

Conductive Beams

It feels good to melt people with solid scientific principles.

Sneaky Sh*t Perks

Second Chance

Think you've been spotted? Freeze, hold your breath, and wait a beat.

Close Call

If the tripwire doesn't go off, it doesn't matter if you were very good or very lucky.

Lights Out

If you can get in close before they see you, it's over.

Armor Modding Perks

Tender Loving Care

It's amazing what armor can do when you fix the bullet holes once in a while.

NAME	Skill Category	Requirement/s	Bonuses
Deep Pockets	Non-Skill	1 Perk Point	+1 Quick Slots
Hardened	Non-Skill	1 Perk Point	+2 Armor
Healthy	Non-Skill	1 Perk Point	+35 CON
Quick Reflexes	Non-Skill	1 Perk Point	+5 Evasion
Weathered	Non-Skill	1 Perk Point	+10% Crit Resistance
Puncturing Shot	Automatic Weapons	1 Perk Point L2 Automatic Weapons	Unlocks the Puncturing Shot ability.
Gopher Hunter	Automatic Weapons	1 Perk Point L3 Automatic Weapons	Enemies have 25% less benefit from Cover when attacking them.
Spray 'N' Pray	Automatic Weapons	1 Perk Point L4 Automatic Weapons	Unlocks the Spray 'N' Pray ability.
Reckless	Automatic Weapons	?? Perk Point L6 Automatic Weapons	Gain +15% damage with SMGs while not in cover.
Double Tap	Automatic Weapons	1 Perk Point L7 Automatic Weapons	If you attack a target twice in a row with an Assault Rifle, the second is always a crit. hit.
Stormer	Automatic Weapons	1 Perk Point L8 Automatic Weapons	If you move more than 5 spaces, your next SMG attack costs no AP (once per turn).
Trigger Happy	Automatic Weapons	1 Perk Point L10 Automatic Weapons	Killing an enemy with an Automatic Weapon gives +3 AP (once per turn).
Bleeding Strike	Melee Combat	1 Perk Point L2 Melee Combat	Unlocks the Bleeding Strike ability.
Stunning Blow	Melee Combat	1 Perk Point L4 Melee Combat	Unlocks the Stunning Blow ability.
Striking Distance	Melee Combat	1 Perk Point L5 Melee Combat	+0.5 Combat Speed when you have two melee weapons equipped.
Bloodsport	Melee Combat	1 Perk Point L6 Melee Combat	Attacks with Blunt Weapons critically hit Stunned and Blind enemies.
Hack 'N' Slash	Melee Combat	1 Perk Point L7 Melee Combat	Attacking the same target twice in a row with a Bladed Weapon executes a free bonus attack.
Pursuit	Melee Combat	?? Perk Point L8 Melee Combat	If you move more than 3 spaces, your next Bladed Weapon attack has +25% Critical Chance (+100% vs. Slowed targets).
Shrug It Off	Melee Combat	?? Perk Point L10 Melee Combat	While using a Blunt Weapon, gain +2 Armor for every enemy adjacent to you.
Move Up!	Big Guns	?? Perk Point L2 Big Guns Skill	Gain +0.5 Combat Speed on the first turn of combat while using Big Guns.
Suppressing Fire	Big Guns	?? Perk Point L3 Big Guns Skill	Unlocks the Suppressing Fire ability.
Terrorizer	Big Guns	?? Perk Point L3 Big Guns Skill	Flamethrower attacks Engulf targets, reducing their Hit Chance by -15%.
Pressure Cooker	Big Guns	?? Perk Point L7 Big Guns Skill	Unlocks the Pressure Cooker ability.
Steady Shot	Big Guns	?? Perk Point L8 Big Guns Skill	Gain +20% Evasion and +10% Hit Chance in Low Cover when using a Heavy Machine Gun.
Wide Spread	Big Guns	?? Perk Point L10 Big Guns Skill	Increases the firing arc of Heavy Machine Guns and Flamethrowers by +35%.
Shaolin Surprise	Brawling	1 Perk Point L2 Brawling Skill	Unlocks the Shaolin Surprise ability.
Extreme Combo	Brawling	1 Perk Point L5 Brawling Skill	Brawling combo maximum increased to 10x.
Deadly Combo	Brawling	1 Perk Point L7 Brawling Skill	Brawling combo Critical Chance increased by 2x.
Flurry of Blows	Brawling	1 Perk Point L10 Brawling Skill	Brawling attacks cost -1 AP.
Shredder Shot	Small Arms	1 Perk Point L2 Small Arms	Unlocks the Shredder Shot ability.
Opportunist	Small Arms	1 Perk Point L3 Small Arms	Your Strike Meter charges a 5% bonus with each successful handgun attack.
Trick Shot	Small Arms	1 Perk Point L5 Small Arms	Unlocks the Trick Shot ability.
Clear Cover	Small Arms	1 Perk Point L6 Small Arms	Shotguns do +100% Damage vs. Cover.
Draw!	Small Arms	1 Perk Point L7 Small Arms	Your first attack after reloading an empty weapon costs no AP.
Devastation	Small Arms	1 Perk Point L8 Small Arms	Shotgun attacks gain +25% Damage for each enemy hit by the same shot.
Counter-Offensive	Small Arms	1 Perk Point L10 Small Arms	Attacking a melee enemy on the turn after they hit you deals +50% damage.
Mark Target	Sniper Rifles	1 Perk Point L2 Sniper Rifles	Unlocks the Mark Target ability.
Masterful Precision	Sniper Rifles	1 Perk Point L5 Sniper Rifles	Precision Strikes with Sniper Rifles have significantly higher chances of inflicting critical effects.
Concentration	Sniper Rifles	1 Perk Point L7 Sniper Rifles	Gain +10% Hit Chance when using a Sniper Rifle if you don't move for 1 turn.
Chain Ambush	Sniper Rifles	1 Perk Point L10 Sniper Rifles	Ambush targets with Sniper Rifles that kill your target don't end the ambush.
Animal Training	Animal Whisperer	1 Perk Point L2 Animal Whisperer	Animal Companions gain bonus CON and damage.
Spirit Animal	Animal Whisperer	1 Perk Point L5 Animal Whisperer	Animal Companions provide you with better passive bonuses.
Vengeful Bond	Animal Whisperer	1 Perk Point L7 Animal Whisperer	If your Animal Companion drops to 25% CON, gain +50% Critical Chance and +2 AP.
Penny Pincher	Barter	1 Perk Point L3 Barter Skill	Buying multiple items instead of just one provides a 20% discount.
Antiques Appraiser	Barter	1 Perk Point L7 Barter Skill	Junk items have a 5% chance of being sold for 50x their value.
Targeting Override	Nerd Stuff	1 Perk Point L3 Nerd Stuff	Robots you hack will now be attacked by other enemies.
Electric Leakage	Nerd Stuff	1 Perk Point L5 Nerd Stuff	Hacked robots emit an electric burst every turn, dealing Energy Damage to enemies nearby.
Overclock	Nerd Stuff	1 Perk Point L7 Nerd Stuff	Hacked robots gain +2 AP.
Duck and Cover	Explosives	1 Perk Point L2 Explosives	Fire & Explosive Resistance +20%.
Bomb Recovery	Explosives	1 Perk Point L3 Explosives	33% chance to drop a grenade after disarming land mines.
Minesweeper	Explosives	1 Perk Point L4 Explosives	You no longer set off land mines when stepping on them.
Mortar Blast	Explosives	1 Perk Point L5 Explosives	Unlocks the Mortar Blast ability.
High Impact	Explosives	1 Perk Point L7 Explosives	Targets directly hit by rockets or grenades are automatically Critically hit.
Blast Radius	Explosives	1 Perk Point L10 Explosives	Radius of grenades and other AoE abilities increased by +40%
Emergency Response	First Aid	1 Perk Point L1 First Aid	When an ally is Downed in battle, gain +1.0 Combat Speed for 2 turns.
Overhealing	First Aid	1 Perk Point L5 First Aid	Using healing items also boosts the target's max CON by +25% for 3 turns.
Physical Therapy	First Aid	1 Perk Point L7 First Aid	Reviving allies has a chance of buffing them (+6% per First Aid level).
Hypocritic Oath	First Aid	1 Perk Point L10 First Aid	Gain +50% damage for 2 turns after reviving a downed ally.
Rally	Leadership	1 Perk Point L3 Leadership	Unlocks the Rally ability.
Demoralize	Leadership	1 Perk Point L5 Leadership	Unlocks the Demoralize ability.
Structural Weakness	Mechanics	1 Perk Point L3 Mechanics	+20% Bonus Damage to Robots and Vehicles.
Handy	Mechanics	1 Perk Point L4 Mechanics	Deployables gain +25% CON and deal +25% damage.
Reinforced Plating	Mechanics	1 Perk Point L5 Mechanics	Repairing vehicles and robots also boosts the target's max CON by +25% for 3 turns.
Fortify	Mechanics	1 Perk Point L7 Mechanics	Repairing friendly vehicles, robots, and deployables grants +5 Armor for 3 turns.
Big Game Hunter	Survival	1 Perk Point L6 Survival	+20% Bonus damage to Animals and Mutants.
Explorer's Instinct	Survival	1 Perk Point L10 Survival	Instantly reveals the entire World Map and all discoverable locations.
Toaster Expert	Toaster Repair	1 Perk Point L3 Toaster Repair	Fixing Broken Toasters now yields bonus loot.
Breakfast Bandit	Toaster Repair	1 Perk Point L5 Toaster Repair	Fixing Broken Toasters now yields Toast.
Heating Element	Toaster Repair	1 Perk Point L7 Toaster Repair	+25.0% Fire Damage Bonus
Toasty	Toaster Repair	1 Perk Point L10 Toaster Repair	Killing an enemy causes your next attack to inflict Burning.
Scrounger's Touch	Weapon Modding	1 Perk Point L2 Weapon Modding	Field stripping now has a chance of providing Weapon Mods.
Powder Pack	Weapon Modding	1 Perk Point L5 Weapon Modding	Your entire party finds +25% bonus ammo when looting, at a minimum of +1.
Expert Disassembler	Weapon Modding	1 Perk Point L7 Weapon Modding	Field stripping weapons yields +30% more scrap.
Overcharge	Weird Science	1 Perk Point L3 Weird Science	Unlocks the Overcharge ability.
Microwave Research	Weird Science	1 Perk Point L6 Weird Science	Energy damage is increased by +0.5 bonus damage for every point of Armor the target has.
Conductive Beams	Weird Science	1 Perk Point L9 Weird Science	Energy attacks have a 10% chance to electrocute enemies, dealing Energy dmg. and anyone standing nearby for 2 turns.
Second Chance	Sneaky Shit	1 Perk Point L4 Sneaky Shit	+1.0 sec. Detection Time
Close Call	Sneaky Shit	1 Perk Point L7 Sneaky Shit	Alarms and traps have a 50% chance to malfunction when you set them off.
Lights Out	Sneaky Shit	1 Perk Point L10 Sneaky Shit	+200.0% Sneak Attack Damage
Tender Loving Care	Armor Modding	1 Perk Point L10 Armor Modding	All squad members gain +5 Armor while this character is present.
Biotech Serum	Ranger HQ Perk	??	??
Game Master	Ranger HQ Perk	??	+2% critical chance
Investigative Eye	Ranger HQ Perk	N/A	Perception +1
Marshal Training	Ranger HQ Perk	N/A	+2 meters Leadership range
Ranger Survivor	Ranger HQ Perk	N/A	Healing Bonus + 5%
Tuned Up	Ranger HQ Perk	??	??
Vehicular Combat	Ranger HQ Perk	N/A	+5% damage to vehicles.
Illustratio	Special Perk	1 Perk Point L?? Toaster Repair	+1 Perception
Eye of Tarjan	Special Perk	??	Permanent Cold Residence +1% and +2 To Penetration.
Fortune Cookie	Special Perk	??	+15 CON
Precognition	Special Perk	??	+10% Evasion

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- Anonymous
  11 Jan 2022 19:01
  But how I can place/change the perks on the skill wheel???
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