Luck Perks

Discover the best Luck perks in Fallout 4! Learn about Fortune Finder, Scrounger, Bloody Mess, Idiot Savant, and more to maximize your wasteland adventures.

Alright, let's talk about Luck perks in Fallout 4. These can be a bit hit-or-miss, but some of them can really change how you play, especially if you're looking to get rich quick or level up faster. We'll go through each one so you can decide if it's worth those precious perk points.

Fortune Finder is all about finding more bottle caps. At its base, it just sprinkles a few extra caps into containers you search. It's not a huge amount individually, but if you're the type to meticulously loot every single nook and cranny, it can really add up over time. The real kicker is at rank four, where enemies can sometimes explode in a shower of caps when you kill them. It's rare, but it's a nice bonus. If you're a serious looter and grab this early, it can be quite profitable down the line. However, for pure survivability, there are definitely perks that offer more bang for your buck early on.

Grade: 4/5

Scrounger is pretty much the ammo version of Fortune Finder. It adds random ammo drops to containers and enemies. The thing is, it's way more random than Fortune Finder. You can't count on finding ammo in every container like you can with caps. While ammo is always useful, if you're not constantly swapping out weapons or relying heavily on automatic weapons, you'll probably end up with thousands of rounds anyway. Honestly, you might be better off just grabbing Fortune Finder and buying the ammo you need, rather than depending on Scrounger.

Grade: 3/5

Bloody Mess is a classic Fallout perk, and it's got some real sentimental value for longtime fans. While the gore in Fallout 4 isn't quite as over-the-top as in previous games, Bloody Mess does give you a nice damage boost to all enemies with all weapons. It's a flat damage increase, starting at 5% per rank and going up to 15% at rank three. Who doesn't love a bit more damage, right? The fourth rank adds a rather questionable 'contagious bloody explosion' effect, so you might want to stick to the first three ranks just for the damage bonus. It's probably best saved for later levels once you've snagged the more essential perks.

Grade: 5/5

Mysterious Stranger is another old-school perk that, unfortunately, just doesn't hold up as well in Fallout 4. The main issue is how rarely it actually triggers, and the conditions under which it does trigger make it even less frequent. The Mysterious Stranger will randomly appear at the end of a V.A.T.S. sequence if an enemy survives. This means you're more likely to see it if you only take a single shot in V.A.T.S. If you manage to kill the enemy within V.A.T.S., he won't show up. This really works against builds that focus on high Action Points and concentrated fire, as you typically want to eliminate threats quickly in V.A.T.S. to trigger other perks like Grim Reaper's Sprint. Even though the Stranger does good damage, you're generally better off picking a perk that's more reliable.

Grade: 3/5

Idiot Savant is a really interesting one. The lower your Intelligence score, the higher the chance this perk has to trigger, giving you significant XP bonuses based on its rank. At rank one, you get 3x XP from almost any action that grants XP – killing, hacking, crafting, turning in quests, you name it. Rank two bumps that up to a 5x XP bonus. Rank three adds a chance for a temporary boost to XP from kills after you get a kill, but it can prevent other XP boosts from happening. Honestly, sticking with rank two's straightforward 5x bonus is probably the way to go. You want to keep your Intelligence low to increase the perk's proc rate, which then gives you more XP. It sounds a bit counter-intuitive, but for most Intelligence levels, the benefit is absolutely worth it. Even with a higher Intelligence score, the bonus XP you get from the perk is multiplying a larger base amount. The sweet spot seems to be around an Intelligence of four, where you get a decent base XP bonus and a good chance for the perk to kick in. Even up to an Intelligence of eight, rank two is still giving you a solid overall XP boost when averaged out. Normally, perks that save time or offer convenience aren't rated super high, but this one directly impacts your XP gain, which is huge. It can practically pay for itself if you grab it early. Seriously, pick this up early, get it to rank two, and enjoy the massive XP gains for the rest of your playthrough. There's no XP cap, so it never stops being useful.

Grade: 6/5

Better Criticals is a must-have if you're a fan of landing Critical Hits. It boosts the damage of your Criticals by 50% per rank, stacking up to a massive +150% bonus (that's 2.5 times your normal damage!). While it might not be the most impressive perk on its own, if you're investing in Luck and plan to pick up perks like Critical Banker and Four Leaf Clover, this perk synergizes incredibly well with a Critical Hit-focused build.

Grade: 6/5

Critical Banker lets you save your Critical Hits. Normally, your Critical Hit meter fills up as you deal damage, and it triggers automatically when full. With Critical Banker, you can choose to hold onto that full meter and unleash it whenever you want, even outside of V.A.T.S. This is incredibly powerful, especially when combined with perks that boost critical damage, as you can save up a critical hit for a particularly tough enemy or a crucial moment. It's a fantastic way to ensure you're always ready to deal massive damage when it counts the most.