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

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.