Looking for the BEST Perks to invest into in The Outer Worlds 2? We’ve got you covered! From guns to melee, speech to lockpick, these Perks make your build unstoppable! Read on to find the best Perks in the Arcadia System!
There are 90+ Perks in The Outer Worlds 2, each designed to help you craft the perfect, unique, character build for your particular playstyle. Some Perks require a certain skill level, while others can be unlocked as soon as you complete the game’s tutorial. With so many options to choose from we’ve ranked the best options for a variety of build types to give you the best possible start. Let’s jump into it!
đȘ Related
- TOW2 Character Creation Guide
- All Outer Worlds 2 Companions
- The Outer Worlds 2 Best Builds
- Complete Weapons List
Best Perks Ranked – The Outer Worlds 2
Here are the Top 15 Perks in The Outer Worlds 2 ranked by usefulness and strength. As always, your mileage may vary depending on your TOW2 build, but generally speaking, these are the Perks that have the biggest impact on most playthroughs.
- Pickpocket
- Trophy Hunter
- Rapid Recharge
- Inspiring Commander
- Contingency Screen
- Deep Drums
- Tinkerer
- Connoisseur
- Point Blank Artist
- Multitasker
- Brand Enthusiast
- Tit For Tat
- Heavy Handed
- Eden Windage
- Crabble Rancher
15. Crabble Rancher
The Crabble Rancher perk is one of the best early game perks in The Outer Worlds 2 for gun-focused build using Pistols, Rifles or a Shotgun. While only requiring you to increase Guns to Level 2, it provides a substantial ranged damage bonus of 10% and even 20% additional Critical Chance when your weapon magazine is at least half empty.
Crabble Rancher fits perfectly on a Gunslinger build toting a powerful Pistol and is easily one of the best starting Perks in The Outer Worlds 2.
- Why It’s Good: Consistent 10% bonus to ranged damage plus 20% Critical Chance if your magazine is half empty
- Requirements: 2 or more total perks purchased; Guns 2
- Best used with: Gunslinger Build, Rifle Build
- Also consider: Serendipitous Slayer
14. Eden Windage
Continuing on with our Gun-focused perks, Eden Windage provides even damage for gun-toting builds that use a Marksman Rifle, Pistol, or Sniper Rifle. This requires Crabble Rancher to be purchased first, but it’s a great compliment to that Perk as well, providing 25% Weapon Range and 25% Weakspot Damage.
Eden Windage is a great early perk for a budding Sniper, Soldier or Gunslinger style build, but especially for a Sniper whose main job would be nailing headshots from maximum range.
- Why It’s Good: Allows for massive damage at long range if you can also hit the enemy’s Weakspot
- Requirements: 4 or more total perks purchased; Guns 3, Perk: Crabble Rancher
- Best used with: Sniper Build, Gunslinger Build, Rifle Build
- Also Consider: Space Ranger, Keen Observer
13. Heavy Handed
The Heavy Handed perk should be one of your first choices if you plan on using a Melee Weapon in The Outer Worlds 2. This perk makes your melee power attacks knock down enemies with a cooldown of 10 seconds.
- Why It’s Good: Knock down enemies to take them out of the fight
- Requirements: Melee 1
- Best used with: Melee Build, Stealth Build
12. Tit For Tat
The Tit For Tat Perk is another great option for melee-focused characters looking for a bit of extra healing, as 25% of your melee damage will be returned as health.
- Why It’s Good: Consistent bonus healing from melee attacks
- Requirements: 7 or more total perks purchased; Melee 1
- Best used with: Melee Build, Stealth Build
11. Brand Enthusiast
The Brand Enthusiast Perk is a fun option in the later game that gives you some powerful combat stats simply for using weapons and armor from the same faction such as Auntie’s Choice, The Protectorate or The Order of the Ascendant. When using a Weapon, Armor and Helmet from the same faction you increase your damage dealt by 20% and gain +10 Armor Rating.
I recommend waiting to use this Perk you are reasonably set on your build and know which weapons and armor you want to use as further upgrades may change your gear’s faction and remove the bonus.
- Why It’s Good: Huge bonus to damage and armor rating
- Requirements: 1 or more total perks purchased
- Best used with: Any Build
10. Multitasker
With the Multitasker Perk, your holstered weapons reload automatically when you manually reload your active weapon. This is an amazing Perk combined Commando for an additional weapon equipment slot and even traits like Lucky for increased Critical Hits. This also works no matter which weapon types you prefer, so a variety of builds can benefit from this one.
- Why It’s Good: Automatic Reloads
- Requirements: 7 or more total perks purchased; Commando, Guns 14
- Best used with: Any Build
9. Point Blank Artist
The Point Blank Artist Perk is the ultimate when it comes to upclose combat, specifically with Shotguns, SMGs, and Pistols against targets within 10 meters. Point Blank Artist provides one of the largest damage bonuses in the game at +30% bonus to near enemies plus it includes a powerful 100% bonus to Sneak Attack Damage.
- Why It’s Good: 30% bonus damage to near targets plus 100% Sneak Damage Bonus
- Requirements: Guns 1
- Best used with: Gunslinger Build, Stealth Build, Shotgun Build
- Also Consider: Silent Steps
8. Connoisseur
The Connoisseur Perk is a great option for any build in The Outer Worlds 2 that wants to take advantage of increased healing from Food and Drink as well as increased Medical Inhaler charges. This perk will be especially useful on harder difficulties where increased healing is extremely helpful
- Why It’s Good: 25% healing from consumables and 25% inhaler charges
- Requirements: Medical 1
- Best used with: Any Build
7. Tinkerer
The Tinkerer Perk is an easy source of extra damage for any build in The Outer Worlds, as it increases your damage by 10% as long as you are using a modded weapon. Almost every weapon in The Outer Worlds to has available mod slots, meaning this Perk is a guaranteed damage increase, plus you get additional damage based on your Engineering skill.
- Why It’s Good: 10% Bonus Damage if using Modded Weapons
- Requirements: Engineering 5
- Best used with: Any Build
6. Deep Drums
Deep Drums is an amazing perk for any Gun user in The Outer Worlds 2. It’s primary benefit is 50% increased Magazine Size for all weapons, which is a powerful bonus all on its own. However, in addition to that, your Machine Guns, Special Weapons, and Assault Rifles slowly reload ammo automatically.
- Why It’s Good: 50% increased magazine size and some weapons automatically reload
- Requirements: 3 or more total perks purchased; Guns 3
- Best used with: Sniper Build, Gunslinger Build, Rifle Build
5. Contingency Screen
Contigency Screen is one of the best Perks in The Outer Worlds 2 when it comes to increasing your survival. When your health hits 25%, your Gas-Energy Deflection Appartatus gadget automatically activates, giving you a shield that absorbs damage. This has a cooldown of 30 seconds, but provides a ton of automatic protection which any build can make use of.
- Why It’s Good: Automatic shield applies when below 25% health
- Requirements: 2 or more perks purchased; Science 3; Gas-Energy Deflection Appartatus gadget
- Best used with: Any Build
4. Inspiring Commander
The Inspiring Commander Perk helps you to more quickly charge your Companion’s ability meters. Companion Command meters fill 5% each time the party scores a kill. In large fights against multiple enemies your companions will quickly reach their meter max and refill it as kills from the entire party count towards this bonus.
- Why It’s Good: Refill Companion abilites much faster in combat
- Requirements: Leadership 1
- Best used with: Any Build
- Also Consider: Busy Bodies
3. Rapid Recharge
Rapid Recharge is a great Perk for all builds in The Outer Worlds 2. This Perk boosts your Energy Recharge rate by a whopping 500% for 5 seconds when your total gadget energy drops below 10%, with a 30 second cooldown. Since all builds can use Gadget energy in a variety of ways this is one of the top Perks in the game for all builds.
- Why It’s Good: Boosts Energy Recharge by 500%
- Requirements: Science 1
- Best used with: Any Build
2. Trophy Hunter
Trophy Hunter is another excellent all-around Perk in The Outer Worlds 2. This provides a bonus of 5% Critical Chance with all weapons against all enemies which is great, but even better: 15% Critical Chance bonus versus strong enemies including bosses! No matter what your playstyle, the Trophy Hunter perk gives you bonuses you can use. With no requirements, this should be one of the first Perks you select.
- Why It’s Good: 5% Critical Chance at all times, 15% versus strong enemies and bosses
- Requirements: None
- Best used with: Any Build
1. Pickpocket
While relatively simple on paper, the Pickpocket Perk adds the most potential value to any playthough of The Outer Worlds 2. There’s just so much you can do with Pickpocket! From obtaining unique weapons, to bit and crafting materials, but especially for obtaining otherwise hard to get keycards which can unlock doors and chests for even more loot.
Unless you plan not to use this perk for specific roleplaying reasons, Pickpocket gives you so much potential upside that it cannot be ignored.
- Why It’s Good: Pickpocket weapons, armor, bits and useful keycards
- Requirements: Lockpick 1
- Best used with: Any Build
Best Perks for Beginners
Diving into The Outer Worlds 2 for the first time can feel overwhelming, especially with so many perks, skills, and traits to choose from. To help new players get off to a strong start, weâve rounded up some extra perks for early game progression below – focusing on those that boost combat effectiveness, movement speed, and overall utility during your first adventures in the Arcadia system.
One of the top recommendations for beginners is the Commando perk, which grants an additional weapon equipment slot. This extra slot lets you carry a wider variety of weapon types – like marksman rifles, assault rifles, and melee weapons -so you can easily adapt to any combat encounter. Whether youâre facing heavily armored enemies or need to switch to a melee weapon in close quarters, Commando gives you the flexibility to handle it all.
Another must-have is Trophy Hunter, which increases your critical chance against strong enemies. This perk is a game-changer in early boss fights and tougher combat scenarios, letting you deal increased damage and take down threats more efficiently. Pair this with Deep Drums for a larger magazine size, and youâll be ready for fast-paced, run-and-gun action.
For those who value speed and survivability, the Pharm-thusiast perk is a great pick. It not only provides an extra inhaler charge for emergency healing but also boosts your movement speed – perfect for dodging attacks and exploring the worlds of The Outer Worlds 2 at a brisk pace.
When it comes to skill selection, beginners should focus on skills that enhance their chosen perks. For example, if youâre using Commando, investing in the Gun skill will unlock even more powerful perks and improve your overall combat performance. Donât forget to balance your skill points to support your preferred weapon types and playstyle.
Itâs also important to consider positive and negative traits. Some, like the Sickly trait, are less punishing but still impact your combat effectiveness. Other traits allow you to access certain opportunities via the game’s dialogue system. Choose traits carefully, and look for perks that help offset any drawbacks, ensuring your character remains strong throughout the early game.
About The Outer Worlds 2
The Outer Worlds 2 is a sci-fi role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. Built exclusively for modern hardware, itâs available on Xbox Series consoles, Playstation consoles and PC. The game expands on the originalâs dark humor, choice-driven storytelling, and vibrant off-world exploration, offering a fresh adventure in a brand-new star system.
Best Skills Frequently Asked Questions
Can I refund perks?
No, respecing isnât available in The Outer Worlds 2. Once you save your Perk selection you must keep it for the rest of the game.
Whatâs the best perk in The Outer Worlds 2?
The best perk depends on your build type and focus, whether you want to focus on Guns, Melee, Speech and so on. However, for most players the best general Perk is Pickpocket because it lets you find unique gear, extra materials, and keycards.
Dive Into The Outer Worlds 2!
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