Fallout 3 Perks

In Fallout 3, you gain perks every level (opposed to every three levels in previous games). Also, unlike previous games, traits that gave you both bonuses and penalties at the same time are no longer in the game. Instead, some of them (like Bloody Mess) were changed into perks.

In Fallout 3 a perk's S.P.E.C.I.A.L. requirements cannot be met by equipping items or using drugs (with the exception of the Lucky 8 Ball).

Regular perks

 * Note: These perks are gained by leveling. To see the quest perks, go to Quest perks

Important Note: Codes can be used by opening the console in the PC version and using the following commands Replace [perk code] with the code listed for the desired perk. For ranked perks, repeat the process until the desired rank is reached.

Quest perks
You can get these perks as a reward for quests.

Important note about quest perk codes: Trying to add them before doing the quest required may cause game to crash or corrupt.

Add-on perks
Perks available through add-ons.

Regular perks
These perks are added only in Broken Steel.

Cut perks
These are perks cut from Point Lookout which can only be obtained on the PC with the console.

Hints and Tips
Note: Many of the following tips are strategic recommendations for building the most efficient type of character. Remember that your character in Fallout 3 is your character and you should develop him or her the way that you think is appropriate! Also, since you can't obtain a perk at level 1, that leaves only 19 (29 with Broken Steel) perks to choose from.


 * Remember that skills can be increased through skill books, leveling, and bobbleheads. Perks that give +Skills are not as valuable overall as perks that add damage or new abilities.
 * Pay special attention to perks that raise your skill levels per "rank." A rank means each time you take that perk, not every level. You are only receiving 10 skill points in those skills for that perk.
 * Consider what kind of character you want to build and develop. Think ahead.
 * Some perks work great when combined like Toughness and Life Giver, or Iron fist and Ninja, others have prerequisites that need to be met before they become available for selection.
 * In the context of Fallout 3's game design, maximum proficiency in any Skill is 100% and maximum score in SPECIAL is a 10 in any one attribute; it is strongly advised that the player be mindful of that limit when choosing perks.
 * Without much experience in the game some perks are tempting to get, but keep in mind that the level limit is 20 (30 with the Broken Steel DLC), and thus the number of perks you can get through level up is limited. Perks like Here and Now or Swift Learner give the player a decent amount of exp (depending on when they are taken) but with these you can waste a total of 4 perks for a handful of exp. Experienced players refrain from taking these quick-win perks and instead choose unique perks that give abilities that cannot otherwise be obtained. (It should be noted that there are no perks for level 3 after Lady Killer/Black Widow is taken that offer a unique ability and therefor Swift Learner is a perfectly reasonable alternative to other perks at that level).
 * Remember the Bobbleheads! Whenever you're leveling up, consider what effect the Bobbleheads are going to have. These trinkets can raise all your attributes by 1 point and all skill points by 10! This means that when you're distributing points after leveling up, you should not raise a skill above 90 unless you already have its bobblehead or unless you plan to NEVER get it.
 * It is best to create a list of all perks desired at each level from 2 to 20 (or to 30 with the Broken Steel DLC). The player should note the requirements for the perk (such as "60% in Science") and make sure the requirements are met before reaching the level to get the perk.
 * Players coming from the classic Fallout games often tend to choose the Intense Training perk because in past games the SPECIAL stats were the most important factor in deriving character attributes. In Fallout 3, however, SPECIAL's role is less critical. For example, even players with 1 Charisma can pass speech tests by either saving and re-loading very often or by putting skill points into Speech via leveling up or reading books. Another example is the Survival Expert perk. When the player wants to get the 'Tough' aspect of this perk, they are required to have 7 Endurance to give the appropriate answers in dialogue. Even if the player only has 4 Endurance, they can take a Buffout just before the dialogue to raise it to 7 temporarily to give the right answer. Thus, think carefully before choosing the Intense Training perk.
 * It is recommended that the player save all Skill Books until they get the Comprehension perk, which should be acquired as early as possible. The usefulness of the perk depends entirely on how many books are read after acquiring it. However, the usefulness of Comprehension lowers considerably with the Broken Steel DLC, as more skill points are available when leveling up.
 * Animal Friend can be a useful perk if one rank is taken. Lower level characters benefit much more than higher level ones do from not having to deal with Yao Guai, while at the same time higher level characters get to avoid getting into fights for small amounts of experience.
 * Chem Resistant is usually not a good choice, owing to the amount of ways provided to detox oneself.
 * If you choose the Ninja perk, there are two perks that really complement this: the first is Better Criticals, which further increases the effectiveness of your sneak attacks. The second is Pyromaniac, as this makes the most powerful melee weapon (the Shishkebab) do 150% of the damage it normally does, making it more damaging than any weapon save explosives. Alternatively, one can use 3 levels of Iron Fist, Paralyzing Palm and one of the unique power fists and/or Deathclaw Gauntlet, but this will take five perks instead of one, however they ignore defense and stun on a regular basis (and power fists attack very quickly).
 * It is wise to bear in mind when creating a character build that the new perk Almost Perfect will raise your current SPECIAL values up to 9, and not raise their base values. This means that if you have the Bobbleheads for any of these attributes then you won't receive the full benefit and have your stats raised to 10, so if you aim to take this perk it is best to go for the SPECIAL Bobbleheads AFTER you've taken this perk. Also its been mentioned that the Lucky 8 Ball affects this perk too, so before you level you may want to drop it out of your inventory before leveling, otherwise you will have a base value of 8 Luck instead of 9, as the Lucky 8 Ball affects your base Luck, not altered.
 * Another note for when taking the Almost Perfect perk is that trying to use only this perk to raise your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats will severely hamper your characters build. A workaround would be (during character creation) to raise your Intelligence value to 9 and find the Intelligence Bobblehead so that you can get the most out of your skill points. This will still limit your choices when it comes to Perks. The best piece of advice has already been provided above: "Consider what kind of character you want to build and develop. Think ahead."
 * Assuming one is willing to sacrifice Charisma along with the perks that require it, it is possible to raise the other SPECIAL stats to the requirements necessary for every other perk and have a 10 Intelligence for skill points. This requires you to pick up the INT Bobblehead at level 2, as well as acquiring the Lucky 8 Ball and completing the Those! quest. The final SPECIAL would be 5 7 7 1 10 7 6. With Almost Perfect, it is still possible to raise this character to a perfect SPECIAL at level 30.
 * Similarly, by sacrificing Strength and Luck initially, you can use No Weaknesses and the Lucky 8 Ball to acquire virtually any Perk you choose (and still have a high Charisma for dialogue options). Starting Stats: S1 P8 E7 C7 I9 A7 L1. Pick up the IN Bobblehead immediately. Get the PE Bobblehead whenever you like, and choose Ant Sight when playing Those! (allowing you to have a PE of 10 long before level 30, which is particularly helpful for stealthy types). Before reaching level 24, drop the Lucky 8 Ball. Choose No Weaknesses and pick up the Lucky 8-ball again and you will now qualify for all of the ST and LK based perks you bypassed (e.g. Strong Back and Better Criticals), which you can pick up with your level 25-29 perks.
 * (GLITCH) If you take a perk increases skills, e.g. Daddy's Boy/Girl, return to the skills page, then go forward to the Perks page again and select a different perk, returning to the Skills page will still show the improved skill rating. Upon selecting Accept, the true values are restored. (tested on xbox 360)
 * (GLITCH) When leveling, you can increase a prerequisite skill high enough to select a perk and then return to the skill page before accepting the level up. At that point, you can adjust the skills as you see fit. When you return to the perk page, the previously selected perk is still selected even though it may no longer be available due to the unmet prerequisite skill. I used this technique to advance my Demolition Expert perk without having to increase Explosives. I have also tested this with Cyborg.

For a subjective view on some perks, see the Discussion Page.