The Outer Worlds Perks Guide

Passives: we all love passives; whether they turn out attacks into flaming strikes of death, or allow us to carry more illicit goodies to sell to unsuspecting vendors. The Outer Worlds perks are as varied as they are weird, and this guide will break down how perk points are earned, and what perks you can spend them on.

Perk points are earned every two levels, and through Flaws.

Every two levels you’ll be awarded with a perk point, starting at level 2. You get a single point to spend, and with the level cap being 30 you’ll get a grand total of 15 to spend. Thing is, there are 42 perks to choose from, so no pressure.

There is a way to gain extra perks, if you don’t mind suffering a permanent penalty. As you play The Outer Worlds you can unlock potential flaws. Say you take a lot of fire damage: you will eventually unlock a flaw that makes you take extra fire damage. Why would you do that to yourself, you ask? Well, because accepting flaws rewards perk points: one point per flaw.

As for acquiring perks in The Outer Worlds, it’s relatively simple: there are three tiers of perks, and in order to move on to a new tier you need to have purchased perks in previous tiers. Tier 2 unlocks at 5 perks, and Tier 3 unlocks at 10.

You’re not limited to 5 perks per tier, so you can certainly grab any combination of perks from any unlocked tier. If you want access to every available perk as soon as possible then you’ll have to either wait till level 20, or you’ll need to take on some flaws.

The Outer Worlds Perks List

Listed below are all The Outer Worlds Perks. I’ve broken them down to tier and excluded the flavor-text.

Tier 1 (unlocked at level two)

• 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: 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

Tier 2 (unlocked after acquiring five perks)

• 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 while using 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 Cooldowns 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 Companion in your party

Tier 3 (unlocked by acquiring 10 perks)

• Wild Science: +50% Science Weapon Damage (stacks with Weird Science)
• Steady Hand: -100% Ranged Weapon Sway for a short time after killing an enemy, -100% Movement Penalty to Accuracy for a short time after killing an enemy
• Confidence: Your next attack after killing and enemy is a guaranteed Critical Hit
• Armor Master: +10% Armor Rating Bonus, +100% Skill Bonus
• Super Pack Mule: +100kg Carrying Capacity
• Tactical Master: +70% Movement Speed during TTD for 5s (TTD must be full when activated)
• Revenge: +20% Damage while affected by harmful Combay Effect
• Last Stand: +30% Damage while under 25% Health
• Boom, Headshot!: Headshot kill explode, dealing 25% of their damage to enemies within 2.5m
• Don’t Go Dyin’ on Me!: Revive companions to 25% health when you use an Inhaler (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% of Melee Damage returned as Health
• Solo Sneaker: -33% Detection Radius of Enemies when you have no companions in your party

Some perks do require special triggers if you wish to use them, so be mindful of these when selecting them for your build. Otherwise, perks provide a variety of useful passives that can give you the edge required to survive the corporate shenanigans within The Outer Worlds.

For more The Outer Worlds guides be sure to check out our guides page!