I have tried a lot of the perks and know what ones are to be avoided, like Mysterious Stranger, (also most of the perks that worked for FO do not seem to be applicable) but what ones should I be focusing on for FO:NV?

For me, the ones that replenish AP quickly, anything that helps my aim in VATS and the Strong Back perk to carry more weight.

Focus on the ones that improve your character build. You're literally giving us nothing to work with here. Very few of the perks are generalist.

Mysterious stranger is a fun perk.

I mean something like Jury Rigger is clearly more useful... but it's a game afterall.

Which perks that are 'best' depends on your character build, as what is good for one character concept may be worse than useless for another character concept.

i've been wondering, is the "Miss Fortune" perk basically the same thing as Mysterious Tranger? Except its a weird looking chick with a different gun?

I loved Mysterious Stranger in FO3, and the little music that played when he came in to finish somebody off.

Miss Fortune is what amounts to a critical fumble system for your foes, albeit imposed on them by an outside force (Miss Fortune).

Hmm.. Actually I'm always choosing "The Mysterious Stranger" perk. I've lost count of how many times that perk's saved me in a bad situation (Deathclaws in FO3! Anyone??)
In FO:NV I also prefered "The Scrounger" perk as I were really in the need of ammo like.. All the time when I just began.
Explorer's perk makes the game a bit boring, if you like to go exploring yourself. Also it depends if you're the melee, gun or energy type.

- Am I the only one who don't like the traits, you've got the opportunity to choose in the beginning of the game??

Jury Rigging-I have to say that its probably the best all around perk to have (regardless of build).

strong back-if you are planning on going it alone , you dont need it if you plan on using companion (since they make great pack mules)

better critical- gives a good damage boost on critical hits

Light step and silent running- are great for stealth characters

Super slam- A must for Melee Characters

Piercing strike and paralyzing palm- a must for Unarmed Characters

What perks are good depends entirely on your character build and playstyle. There are some perks that are trash for pretty much any build and some very questionable ones but ideal ones depend on your playstyle.

Not in any order;

Comprehension - allows you to free up 20 skill points in lockpicking, speech, or science providing you stock up on the skill mags, good early perk too.

Entomologist - lots of nasty bugs out there in the wastes

Demolition Eexpert - hmmm debatable, if you use explosives, take 2 levels of this... only way to make the nerfed explosive weapons useful unless a patch to upgrade them is released.

Strong Back - carry more loot back to vendors

Terrifying Presence - If you can put 70 skill into speech,... OMG you can't believe how funny this perk can be. I almost peed myself laughing the first time I used it on a npc, their reaction was priceless.

Life Giver - 30 extra HP

Robotics Expert - tho some may disagree, this is a very useful skill in some situtations and on some quest. The sneak up and disable ability makes some quests easier.

Light Step - will save lots healing aids, mine collecting can be profitable and useful

Jury Rigging - again if you can spend 90 skill points on a non-cobat skill, this will save you lots of caps

Better Criticals - 50% + damage on criticals,... no other explaination needed.

Concentrated Fire (18) and Nerves of Steel (lvl 26) are great also, but they come so late in the game that they just don't have the impact on chrarictor developement they should have.


Hope this helps

Phoenix Implant + Sunlight Delight.
Auto-heal is cozy.

I like Action Boy. AP is so important in NV. I think Strong Back is very useful early in the game, but when you get some companions, isn't as useful, as you can distribute your gear across the companions as well.

The 'comprehension' one I think it is.. 2x for skill magazines and +1 for skill books is useful no matter what the build.
Strong Back tends to be a good one, esp if you go for heavier armor/weapons later. (esp if doing hardcoe)

There are a ton of other 'good' ones, but as others have stated, it REALLY depends on your build and how you play.

Most already listed

I would argue piercing strike is an excellent perk even if you're not completely invested in unarmed/melee.

Also, rad absorption is not as useless as it was in Fo3 there are many places that are highly irradiated.

If you only ever use VATS in close quarters forget the +VATS accuracy perks. Perks that give +n% damage to specific enemies are questionable, especially if those enemies are very rare (Robotics Expert for example). Light Step is very questionable. Do you really want to take a perk so you can avoid those 15~ Mines that in the game that wouldnt kill you anyway?

I also recommend avoiding Rad Resistance, Rad Absorption, Retention and Chemist. RadX, RadAway, Skill Magazines and Chems are all common items.

Confirmed Bachelor/Chechez La Femme and Lady Killer/Black Widow. Seriously. You do 10% more damage against any human target (and there are many) and get helpful/funny/interesting dialog options.

For my sins, I pick Educated and Comprehension with every character I make, even if it goes completely against RP.

Jury Rigging is an example of a top level quality of life perk. It doesn't actually convey you any kind of bonus or improve your character in any way, but it saves a ton of caps in the long run and generally makes your life easier.

Better Criticals is an example of a top level functionality perk unless you are playing a pure pacifist character (which is possible). It simply gives you an enormous amount of free damage that is relevant in all combat situations.

There aren't a whole lot of perks like these that are no-brainers; most perk selection should be done with quite a lot of consideration for how you prefer to play. Personally, there's a list of perks that I'd probably want to take on any character:

Silent Running: Makes sneaking MUCH easier. Almost always wind up taking this perk, even on my shotgun-based character to allow him to close distance through sneak more effectively.

Rad Child: This perk is awesome. At each level of radiation poisoning you get a +(X)HP per second healing bonus. You have to consider the SPECIAL penalty that comes with each level of poisoning, but even at minor poisoning (-1 END) you get +2 HP every second. That's twenty times more powerful than the regeneration implant.

Travel Light: I hate playing slow characters. Can't stand playing in medium/heavy armor because of the movement penalty. 10 AGI + light armor + Travel Light will let you move at a nice clip, just remember to holster your weapon (unless it's 1-handed, which won't penalize your speed).

My faves (coming from a melee/unarmed character) :

Comprehension - Every character should have this, in FO3 or FO:NV alike. Better than Educated. Comp gives you 52 extra skill points if you find all 52 books. Educated gives you 52 skill points if you take it at level 4. The big difference is the +20 per magazine bonus (rather than +10). Invaluable.

Tough - +3 DT is a big deal in FO:NV, especially if you like light armor. (Can be taken twice)

Miss Fortune - Causes a fumble effect but I just like the way she looks.

Grim Reaper Sprint - Obvious choice if you like VATS. Even if it's nerfed a bit now (+20 AP instead of FULL).

Piercing Strike - Highly recommended for melee/unarmed characters (although you need Unarmed 70 to get it, it works for both). Bypassing 15 DT is simply devastating.

Super Slam - An absolute MUST perk for melee and unarmed. Knocked down characters are easy to finish. This works better with faster, smaller weapons because you get more chances to knockdown.


My not-recommended list:

Animal Friend - It's okay if you are a pacifist character but otherwise, random animals are not a big deal after awhile.

Hunter - again, animals are not a big deal after awhile.

La Femme Cherez (spelling?) - I took this and after 100 hours of gameplay it only came into conversation ONCE (the deskclerk at Gomorrah). Almost all of the bosses are male, so this was pretty much a wasted slot.

Retention - Magazine bonuses last 3 times as long? So what.


My controversial not-recommended list:

Solar powered (or whatever) - Slow healing during the day. In hardcoe mode at Very Hard difficulty, I had no problem healing with food. It's everywhere.

Rad child - Like above, I'd rather use food and "live off the land."

The regeneration implant - My theme here. By the time you can afford it, stims, healing items, and food are pretty easily available even on hardcoe/Very Hard.

I've been wondering the same thing about Miss Fortune, but haven't dared "waste" a precious perk on it yet. It sounds like it could be hilarious to watch...

Anybody use this one yet? What happened?
EDIT - Thanks Stubs, didn't see your explanation at first

Anyway, I have to go with Lady Killer/Black Widow for my fav just for the dialog options.

I have the la feme perk which supposedly opens new dialogue with female characters, but I have yet to see it work.
I even went to every town and talked to a good amount of ladies, no luck.
Is this a glitch or just very very random?
I have the PC verison, is there a way to get this skill reversed?

OK, let me try to narrow it done. I do not use sneak or a melee character and mostly I use guns. Does that help?

Better Crits, and the hand loader perk.

Hand loader perk prety much increases damage by 50%
However, if your not using the reloading bench, then that perk is really not worth it.

I have both those on perks on a mid level toon, and one shotting deathclaws is rewarding.

Hand Loader. You'll be able to easily craft bullets that do more damage in all the more damaging guns you can use.

Sniper: Head shots do double damage in a majority of the creatures you shoot at.

If you love doing critical hits, wear Boone's hat, get the Finesse perk, get the Better Criticals perk, and use a Sniper Rifle (or the unique one as well). You will almost ALWAYS land a critical shot, more than doubling your damage. Combine a critical shot (enhanced with the Better Criticals perk) with a headshot and you're essentially quadrupling your damage for each shot - provided you're using a Sniper Rifle or another weapon that has a high chance of making a critical hit. Combine all that with a hand-loaded .308 ammo you can craft which increases your damage by +50%, and you stand the potential of being able to 1-shot almost everything in the game - that's not an exageration.

Everything else beyond that deadly combo is gravy.