Explore all Tiers of Perks in The Outer Worlds. Discover recommended perks for combat, utility, and companion builds, plus understand the Flaws system for bonus perks.
This guide details all available Perks in The Outer Worlds, categorized by Tier, along with recommended choices and explanations for each.
Tier 1 Perks
| Perk | Effect |
| Toughness | +50% Base Health |
| Slow the World | +25% Tactical Time Dilation Meter Max |
| Lone Wolf | +25% Damage when alone in party |
| Strider | +25% Walk Speed |
| Cheetah | +20% Sprint Speed |
| High Maintenance | -25% Weapon/Armor Durability Loss |
| Precision | +15% Companion Crit Chance |
| The Negotiator | -20% Vendor Prices |
| Deadly Demonstrations | +50% XP from Companion kills |
| Traveler | Unlock the ability to Fast Travel when Encumbered |
| Quick and the Dead | +50% Tactical Time Dilation Recharge Rate |
| Pack Mule | +50kg Carrying Capacity |
| A Few Bits More | +100% Additional Ammo stock on Vendors, +100% Additional Consumable and General stock on Vendors |
| Resilient | +5 Base Armor Rating |
Recommended Perks:
- Toughness: A 50% bonus to health is a huge boost in survivability.
- Slow the World: If you make use of TTD (Tactical Time Dilation) with any regularity, this is a no-brainer.
- Lone Wolf: Worth picking if you plan to travel alone, as a 25% bonus to damage is huge.
- Quick and the Dead: Similar to Slow the World, if you use TTD regularly this is a good choice.
- Pack Mule: Provides more inventory space.
- Resilient: By endgame this is a minor bonus, but early on it’s a substantial boost.
Tier 2 Perks
| Perk | Effect |
| Run and Gun | -65% Movement Penalty to Accuracy |
| The Reaper | +25% TTD Restored per Kill |
| Weird Science | +50% Science Weapon Damage |
| Speed Demon | +25% Movement Speed during TTD |
| Scanner | +20% Bonus to Extra Headshot/Weakspot Damage during TTD |
| The Collector | +5m Interactable Highlight Range |
| Snake Oil Salesman | +20% Vendor Buying Price |
| We Band of Brothers | +25% Chance to reset a Companion Ability cooldown on each Critical Hit |
| Tag Team | +25% Chance to reset a Companion Ability cooldown when using the other Companion’s Ability |
| Rolling Thunder | -20% Companion Ability Cooldown for each of your kills |
| Harvester | +15% Health Restored per Kill |
| Hoarder | -50% Consumable Weight |
| Pack of Pack Mules | +40kg Carrying Capacity Bonus from Companions |
| Soliloquy | +10 Dialog Skills when you have no Companions |
Recommended Perks:
- The Reaper: TTD is a good way to kill foes, and when you kill foes you get more TTD.
- Weird Science: If you plan to use Science Weapons, this is a must-have perk.
- Scanner: If you are good at pulling off headshots/weakspot hits regularly, this is free damage in TTD.
- Harvester: Free healing every time you score a kill is a no-brainer for everybody.
- Pack of Pack Mules: Boosts the carrying capacity bonus for each companion, offering huge bonuses for characters who don’t travel alone.
Tier 3 Perks
| Perk | Effect |
| Wild Science | +50% Science Weapon Damage |
| Steady Hand | After kill, gain -100% Ranged Weapon Sway, -100% Movement Penalty to Accuracy |
| Confidence | Your next attack after killing an enemy is a guaranteed Critical Hit |
| Armor Master | +10% Armor Rating Bonus, +100% Armor Skill Bonus |
| Super Pack Mule | +100kg Carrying Capacity |
| Tactical Master | +70% Movement Speed during TTD for 5s when activating TTD with a full TTD meter |
| Revenge | +20% Damage when affected by harmful Combat Effect |
| Last Stand | +30% Damage while under 25% Health |
| Boom, Headshot! | Headshot kills deal 25% of their damage to enemies within 2.5m |
| Don’t Go Dyin’ On Me! | Use Inhaler to revive downed Companions to 25% Health, 15m Cooldown |
| Penetrating Shots | Ranged Attacks inflict -1 Armor Rating for 10s, and can stack up to -10 |
| Thick Skin | -15% Area of Effect Damage Received, -15% Plasma Damage Received |
| Tit For Tat | +15% Melee Damage returned as Health |
| Solo Sneaker | -33% Detection Radius of Enemies when you have no Companions |
Recommended Perks:
- Wild Science: Similar to Weird Science, if you use Science Weapons, these damage boosts are essential.
- Armor Master: Boosts your armor rating and doubles the amount of skill bonuses you gain from armor. A must-have perk.
- Super Pack Mule: Twice as good as Pack Mule! An obvious pick for pack rats.
- Tit For Tat: A no-brainer for melee builds.
Flaws
During your adventure, you may be offered the chance to accept flaws, typically after taking specific types of damage or damage from certain enemies. For example, after encounters with Canids, you might be offered the Cynophobia flaw, which reduces Dexterity, Perception, and Temperament by -1 when fighting Canids. In return for accepting a flaw and its associated penalties, you gain a bonus Perk. If you can manage the penalty, the free perk might be worth the trade-off.
While there’s no penalty for declining a flaw, you won’t be offered the same flaw again in a single playthrough, and you cannot remove flaws later, so consider your choice carefully.
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