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About this mod
Balances perk progression and overhauls less desirable perks, built to be used with JSawyer Ultimate Edition.
- Requirements
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- Russian
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TTW Patch Available Here
Summary:
1. All level requirements have been looked over, and polished up. In JSawyer, some fairly overpowered perks like Better Criticals were available at pretty low levels, while quite a few crappy perks (like Roughin' It) were unavailable to players with Logan's Loophole. I changed this, making all the perks pretty much evenly distributed between levels 2 and 20, with the exception of 5 perks that would be absolutely batshit to have alongside Logan's Loophole, or only make sense being taken as late as they are. Perks for each skill are neatly spaced out from each other, avoiding them clumping at certain levels, and progression is clearer now; levels 2 and 4 have basic perks with simple SPECIAL or low skill requirements, and Level 20 is home to only the best.
2. No good perks taken away, just moved to a higher shelf. Vanilla New Vegas has some crazy good perks that tend to get taken every playthrough regardless of build, like Better Criticals or Chemist. I didn't want to ruin everyone's fun by nerfing them, but in order to make them harder for just about any character to obtain, they've been giving higher SPECIAL requirements, so you'll have to specialise if you want those perks. The only exception to this rule is Educated, which I've reworked, but boosting skill rate is still possible via perks.
3. Bad perks and boring effects begone. There are, even after JSawyer is installed, too many forgettable perks in vanilla. For some of these, I have simply upped the numbers on their effects. For many others, I have overhauled their effects entirely, giving them a new lease on life. A few perks that were on the lower end of quality in vanilla, but make sense as early-game picks, aren't buffed, but a lot of their competition is now only available at higher levels. Finally, all boring bonuses are gone, like xp modifiers and instant level-ups, because people would rather have tangible effects on their gameplay and builds rather than hitting the level cap a little bit faster.
4. No perk left behind. I wanted to give a new lease on life to ALL vanilla perks, and preserve vanilla assets. Some perk mods remove Here and Now, I just overhauled it. Many others add perks, to which I say nay. With the tiny exception of making Bloody Mess a trait (it made sense, okay?), no perk is removed, added or renamed.
5. No more OP organs. Beyond traits and level-up perks, I wanted to change the OWB organ perks. They're given to you for free, and had some crazy radical bonuses, especially +2 STR which might as well have removed weapon strength requirements as a mechanic. I've toned them down, so that they still provide some benefit, but if you're still mad, at least you didn't waste any perk slots on them.
There are 4 versions of the file, compatible with the original JSawyer, SawyerBatty FNV, JSUE and Vigor, and patches are available for YUP, UPNVSE+ and Push's Tweaks (I give full credit to their authors and the amazing work they do).What this mod doesn't really touch is traits; while I'd be willing to do so, there's already some pretty good options on the Nexus so far and I don't mind the balance of them too much in JSawyer. PLEASE NOTE, THE VIGOR VERSION REINTRODUCES THE LEVEL 35 CAP, TO ALIGN WITH THE BALANCE CHOICES I'VE MADE.
Compatibility
Will need patching with mods that edit perk records, otherwise it shouldn't interfere with too many things in your load order. A handful of scripts have also been modified, but overall any conflicts that do arise should be pretty simple to fix in FNVEdit.
As mentioned earlier:
Make sure you have disabled the Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged version of Burden to Bear in its config file
Credits
Yukichigai, and all contributors to the Yukichigai Unofficial Patch
PushTheWinButton, miguick and TrueVoidwalker for the Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus
PushTheWinButton for JSawyer Ultimate Edition
TrueVoidwalker for Burden To Bear - Original (and Spartan3995 for the original concept)
TommInfinite and all contributers to SUP NVSE
lStewieAI for lStewieAl's Tweaks and Engine Fixes
Joshua Eric Sawyer for the original JSawyer plugin, and for his work on Fallout New Vegas
Manan6619 for their Viable Mile in Their Shoes mod
RoyBatterian for SawyerBatty FNVQolore7 for Vigor
Summary:
- Level requirements make a little more sense now
- Top-tier perks are just as powerful, but have been given harder conditions
- Bottom-shelf perks have been buffed to make them more desirable
- No perk gets left behind, and none have been added
- The free Old World Blues perks are nerfed
Overview
JSawyer is pretty much the definitive way to play New Vegas. However, one area I feel got slightly overlooked were the perks offered in the vanilla game. While JSawyer balances a few of them, it still leaves many perks that are so useful they are ubiquitous to pretty much any build, and left a lot of others in the dirt. Its level cap changes also leave the player with less perk slots, so your choice every two levels matters more. I sought to try and fix this, with the basic design principles outlined below:1. All level requirements have been looked over, and polished up. In JSawyer, some fairly overpowered perks like Better Criticals were available at pretty low levels, while quite a few crappy perks (like Roughin' It) were unavailable to players with Logan's Loophole. I changed this, making all the perks pretty much evenly distributed between levels 2 and 20, with the exception of 5 perks that would be absolutely batshit to have alongside Logan's Loophole, or only make sense being taken as late as they are. Perks for each skill are neatly spaced out from each other, avoiding them clumping at certain levels, and progression is clearer now; levels 2 and 4 have basic perks with simple SPECIAL or low skill requirements, and Level 20 is home to only the best.
2. No good perks taken away, just moved to a higher shelf. Vanilla New Vegas has some crazy good perks that tend to get taken every playthrough regardless of build, like Better Criticals or Chemist. I didn't want to ruin everyone's fun by nerfing them, but in order to make them harder for just about any character to obtain, they've been giving higher SPECIAL requirements, so you'll have to specialise if you want those perks. The only exception to this rule is Educated, which I've reworked, but boosting skill rate is still possible via perks.
3. Bad perks and boring effects begone. There are, even after JSawyer is installed, too many forgettable perks in vanilla. For some of these, I have simply upped the numbers on their effects. For many others, I have overhauled their effects entirely, giving them a new lease on life. A few perks that were on the lower end of quality in vanilla, but make sense as early-game picks, aren't buffed, but a lot of their competition is now only available at higher levels. Finally, all boring bonuses are gone, like xp modifiers and instant level-ups, because people would rather have tangible effects on their gameplay and builds rather than hitting the level cap a little bit faster.
4. No perk left behind. I wanted to give a new lease on life to ALL vanilla perks, and preserve vanilla assets. Some perk mods remove Here and Now, I just overhauled it. Many others add perks, to which I say nay. With the tiny exception of making Bloody Mess a trait (it made sense, okay?), no perk is removed, added or renamed.
5. No more OP organs. Beyond traits and level-up perks, I wanted to change the OWB organ perks. They're given to you for free, and had some crazy radical bonuses, especially +2 STR which might as well have removed weapon strength requirements as a mechanic. I've toned them down, so that they still provide some benefit, but if you're still mad, at least you didn't waste any perk slots on them.
There are 4 versions of the file, compatible with the original JSawyer, SawyerBatty FNV, JSUE and Vigor, and patches are available for YUP, UPNVSE+ and Push's Tweaks (I give full credit to their authors and the amazing work they do).What this mod doesn't really touch is traits; while I'd be willing to do so, there's already some pretty good options on the Nexus so far and I don't mind the balance of them too much in JSawyer. PLEASE NOTE, THE VIGOR VERSION REINTRODUCES THE LEVEL 35 CAP, TO ALIGN WITH THE BALANCE CHOICES I'VE MADE.
List Of Changes
Bloody Mess - Removed Damage Bonus, Is Now a Trait
With the Bloody Mess trait, characters and creatures you kill will often explode into a red, gut-ridden, eyeball-strewn paste. Fun!
As a callback to classic Fallout games, and because it makes more sense as a trait, it now lives here. Take alongside Wild Wasteland for fun times.
Skilled - Removed XP Modifier, -2 Skill Rate per Level
You're talented, but you've let your arrogance get to your head. You gain +5 points to every skill, but earn 2 fewer skill points per level.
Vanilla Skilled was a trait that offered no real downside and 65 free skill points (which are supposed to be rarer in JSawyer). I've made it a trait that now technically results in a net loss of 3 skill points (oH nO), but gives you a nice early game boost which is good for characters with already high INT or with builds that don't really need the skill rate as much.
Level 2
Heave, Ho! - Removed Explosives Req, Lowered STR Req from 5, Added VATS +25% Accuracy Bonus
Req STR 4 - Quite an arm you've got there. All thrown weapons fly farther and faster for you, and are significantly more accurate in V.A.T.S.
YUP fixes the vanilla bug that makes this perk affect launchers, so I decided it needed a little boost. Removed the explosives requirement that made it a pain for melee builds to take, lowered the STR requirement, and gave it a VATS accuracy bonus akin to Gunslinger and Commando.
Friend of the Night - Removed Sneak Req, Lowered PER Req from 6
Req PER 4 - You are a true friend of the night. Your eyes adapt quickly to low-light conditions indoors and when darkness falls across the wasteland.
This perk's utility is still quite dependent on the mods you use, as lighting and weather mods make nights darker, and various mods improve the nighteye filter. Eitherway, I made it have lower requirements to take (sneak doesn't seem imperative to good vision anyway), and it doesn't compete with the same top picks like Rapid Reload and Light Touch at this level.
Lead Belly - Lowered Level Req from 6, Removed Survival Req, Lowered END Req from 5
Req END 4 - With the Lead Belly perk, you take 50% less radiation when consuming irradiated food and drink, and no longer suffer negative effects from eating Raw and Spoiled foods.
JSawyer buffs this perk with the resistance to the Raw Food debuff, but this perk still felt like it belonged at level 2 to give it a fighting chance, alongside the reductions in requirements I gave to other perks at this level.
Bachelor/Cherchez/Killer/Widow - Added CHA 4 Req
Req CHA 4 - *Insert Respective, Unchanged Perk Descriptions Here*
Not much to say here, Jsawyer already buffs the perks that target women, I felt it was fitting to add a CHA requirement though, so misanthropes who can barely speak to people won't also be able to seduce them.
Retention - Lowered INT Req from 5
Req INT 4 - With the Retention perk, the bonuses granted by skill magazines last three times as long.
Small Req change to match those already made above.
Quick Draw - Lowered Level Req from 8, Lowered AGI Req from 5
Req AGI 4 - Quick Draw makes all of your weapon equipping and holstering 50% faster.
Rapid Reload and the Wish version of it have swapped places! It suits being a Level 2 perk much better, where its slightly useful but not gamechanging effect shouldn't have too stiff a competition. Req change for consistency also.
Fortune Finder - Lowered Level Req from 6, Lowered LUC Req from 5
Req LUC 4 - With the Fortune Finder perk, you'll find considerably more bottle caps in containers than you normally would.
What sole point of the game does pretty much every character have a little bit of money trouble? The very early game! I stuck this perk in Level 2 and followed the same pattern of SPECIAL Reqs as I have above.
Intense Training - No Change
No Reqs - With the Intense Training perk, you can put a single point into any of your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes.
Sometimes, you just want another SPECIAL point, I'm not gonna mess with that. Feel free to burn some of your perk slots on this if you desperately want to meet the SPECIAL Reqs of all the top level perks.
Swift Learner - Overhauled
No Reqs, 2 Ranks - With each rank in the Swift Learner perk, you gain an additional +1 skill point every level.
This perk was boring as shit in vanilla, so I decided to completely overhaul it. This will make more sense when you see what I've done to Educated, but the name and ranked nature of this perk made it perfect, in my eyes, to make it the former's replacement. This is a little bit of a nerf, I'd admit, but as it was in vanilla it was pretty much a go to pick for everyone, and you can still get +2 skill rate by level 4 like with vanilla Educated, it just requires 2 perk slots now. But never fear, I've made a hefty skill rate bonus available later on...
Cannibal - Lowered Level Req from 4
No Reqs - With the Cannibal perk, when you're in Sneak mode, you gain the option to eat a corpse to regain Health. But every time you feed, you lose Karma, and if the act is witnessed, it is considered a crime against nature.
Eating people, 2 levels earlier than before. Still required for Ghastly Scavenger, which is now required for a pretty ace perk later on....
Tag! - Lowered Level Req from 16
No Reqs - The Tag! perk allows you to select a fourth Skill to be a Tag skill, which instantly raises it by 15 points.
On what fucking planet was putting the perk that gives you an extra tag skill at level 16 a reasonable idea? Why not make it available at, I don't know, the closest fucking part to character creation that you possibly can, the first time you level up??? Enjoy your free skill points, use them on Guns or something so your melee build doesn't fucking die during Run Goodsprings Run.
Level 4
Travel Light - Removed Survival Req, Added Barter 30 Req
Req Barter 30 - While wearing light armor or no armor, you run 10% faster.
I thought vanilla had a few too many survival perks, so I changed it to a low barter requirement, along the lines of Long Haul.
Mad Bomber - Lowered Level Req from 6, Lowered Explosives Req from 45, Removed Repair Req
Req Explosives 30 - Your intimate knowledge of gadgets and explosives have combined to make you... the Mad Bomber! At Workbenches, you have special Explosives recipes unlocked for use.
Changed the requirements mostly to match the other perks at this level, and the Repair req felt superfluous anyway. With the tin grenade recipe changed by Jsawyer, however, this perk needed a recipe with an explosives requirement at 30 or below, so I removed the Schematics requirement from the Powder Charge, Efficient recipe, letting you craft them with this perk alone as a requirement! The Push's Tweaks version of this mod also reverses a lot of the changes it makes to this perk and its recipes (as in, re-enables them), so you can still take this perk and it's still useful for something.
Run n Gun - Lowered Guns OR Energy Req from 45
Req Guns OR Energy 30 - The Run 'n Gun perk reduces accuracy penalties with one-handed Guns and Energy Weapons while walking or running.
Another req change thats mostly just for consistency.
Infiltrator - Lowered Level Req from 18, Lowered Lockpick Req from 70, Bobby Pins Can No Longer Break
Req Lockpick 30 - With Infiltrator, if a lock is broken, and can't normally be picked again, you can attempt to pick it again one more time. This includes locks previously broken by a "Force Lock" attempt. Also, your bobby pins will no longer break!
This perk was a bottom-tier choice in vanilla; lockpicking isn't really all that difficult and if you DO force locks, you can save scum to avoid ever breaking locks. I gave it an extra little buff, to make it a decent Quality of Life perk, and put it at a level that was appropriate for it. Not going to turn many heads still, but its not up against any game changers at this level at least.
Chem Resistant - Lowered Level Req from 16. Lowered Medicine Req from 60, Buffed Addiction Resistance from 50%
Req Medicine 30 - Having the Chem Resistant perk means you're 75% less likely to develop an addiction to chems, like Psycho or Jet.
A bum-tier perk in vanilla that has to compete with the likes of Logans Loophole. I made it a lot easier to obtain and buffed its effect, it should prove some use when you need to spam chems in the early game to survive Deranged Bright Followers or some other shit.
Unstoppable Force - Lowered Level Req from 12, Removed STR Req, Lowered Melee OR Unarmed Req from 90, Added +50% Crit Dam in Melee v.s Melee combat
Req Melee OR Unarmed 30 - Your martial might is truly legendary. When both you and your opponent are using Melee Weapons or Unarmed, you do a large amount of additional damage through enemy blocks, and +25% critical attack damage.
Consensus on this perk was that it wasn't particularly good, especially compared to Super Slam! and Piercing Strike which were available at similar levels. I felt early game also needed a melee perk too, as melee builds struggle the most early on. The base effect was also a little underwhelming on its own, so I buffed it to make it the perfect perk against tire-iron-wielding loons.
Junk Rounds - Removed LUC Req, Lowered Repair Req from 45, Recipes use Lead instead of Scrap Metal, and Powder & Primers instead of Cases, Increased Level Req from 2
Req Repair 30 - Survival is the mother of invention! Craft ammo at the Reloading Bench using alternate materials (Scrap Metal and Tin Cans).
JSawyer made some changes to this once-dogshit perk, but there were still problems; scrap metal is a relatively scarce and useful resource, which you might want to ration, and the recipes still required cases (which are the most scarce reloading resource generally). I changed the scrap metal requirements to lead, requiring the same amount of lead per bullet as a standard recipe, and changed the cases to powder & pistol requirements, again equivalent to the standard recipes (surely the tin cans were for make-shift casing material, and not turned into explosive powders and primers?).
Computer Whiz - Lowered Level Req from 18, Lowered Science Req from 70, Reduces Password Length by 2 Characters
Req Science 30 - Fail a hack attempt and get locked out of a computer? Not if you're a Computer Whiz! With this perk, you can attempt to re-hack any computer you were previously locked out of. Password length is also reduced.
Refer to Infiltrator, I did this for the same reasoning. Enjoy your Quality of Life. Password Length reduction requires Stewie's Tweaks (which you should be using anyway)
Mister Sandman - Lowered Level Req from 10, Lowered Sneak Req from 60
Req Sneak 30 - With the Mister Sandman perk, when you're in Sneak mode, you gain the option to silently kill any human or Ghoul while they're sleeping. And, all Mister Sandman kills earn bonus XP.
This is a niche perk, and I think niche perks should be available at lower levels and skill requirements so they might provide some use to the early game.
Terrifying Presence - Lowered Level Req from 8, Lowered Speech Req from 70, You Always Crit Against Fleeing NPC's (NOT CREATURES)
Req Speech 30 - In some conversations, you gain the ability to initiate combat while terrifying a mob of opponents, sending them fleeing away for safety. Also, all attacks you land on fleeing Humans or non-feral Ghouls are critical hits.
Everyone's favourite Roleplay perk! And I believe that Roleplay perks should be available early on and have minimum requirements. Also, now all the times you send enemies fleeing for 5 seconds or so with the sickass dialogue options you get from this perk can be taken advantage of!
Old World Gourmet - Removed END Req, Lowered Survival Req from 45, Buffed Snack Bonus from +50%, Increased Level Req from 2
Req Survival 30 - Thanks to unclean living you've learned the secrets of the lounge lizards! +25% Addiction Resistance. +100% Health bonus from Snack Foods. Scotch, Vodka and Wine now give you Health in addition to their normal effects.
Just another lowering of requirements to a fun yet niche little perk, and giving it a slight boost.
Level 6
Purifier - Lowered Level Req from 12, Added Melee OR Unarmed 50 Req
Req Melee OR Unarmed 50 - As a purifier of the wasteland, you do +50% damage with Melee and Unarmed weapons against Centaurs, Nightstalkers, Spore Plants, Spore Carriers, Deathclaws, Super Mutants, and Feral Ghouls.
Melee builds need their perks as fast as they can come, and this one's pretty useful albeit not as game-changing as Super Slam! or Slayer. Gave it a suitable skill requirement to boot. If you're brave, you can try taking the I-15 past Sloan to Vegas after doing some early-game content with this perk (it probably still won't go well for you).
Pyromaniac - Lowered Level Req from 12, Removed Explosives Req, Added Energy 50 Req
Req Energy 50 - With the Pyromaniac perk, you do +50% damage with fire-based weapons, like the Flamer and Shishkebab.
It's an energy perk now! And it's available at a level where flamers and incinerators are relevant! Gehenna users weep.
Tribal Wisdom - Lowered Level Req from 10, Lowered Survival Req from 70, Buffed Poison Resistance to +50%
Req Survival 40 - Your limbs take 50% less damage from Animals, Mutated Animals, and Mutated Insects, you gain +50% resistance to Poison Damage, and can eat Mutated Insects when you're in Sneak mode.
You can now take ooga-booga perk sooner, and it gives you a poison resistance actually worth mentioning. Pair this with Entomologist next level and go teach some Cazadors a lesson.
Nuka Chemist - Lowered Level Req from 22, Lowered Science Req from 90
Req Science 40 - You have unraveled some of the greatest mysteries of Pre-War masters: formulas for developing special Nuka-Colas! This perk unlocks special Nuka-Cola recipes at the Workbench.
Lowered its insane requirements, as its not exactly an overpowered perk
Toughness - Removed END Req, Added STR 5 Req
Req STR 5, 2 Ranks - With the Toughness perk, you gain +3 to overall Damage Threshold. This perk may be taken twice, with the second rank granting an additional +3.
Gotta have strength to have big muscles like the guy in the picture, and END fans have enough perks and health already. Consider it a pseudo-melee perk for all the lead you'll take to the face while charging at people with a sledge.
Commando - Lowered Level Req from 8, Added PER 5 Req
Req PER 5 - While using a rifle (or similar two-handed weapon), your accuracy in V.A.T.S. is significantly increased.
It makes sense.
Rad Resistance - Lowered Level Req from 8, Removed Survival Req, Doubled Resistance Bonus
Req END 5 - Rad Resistance allows you to -- what else? -- resist radiation. This perk grants an additional 50% to Radiation Resistance.
One of the shittiest perks in vanilla, will still only be made particularly useful if you use mods to make RADs more of a pain, but now the perk is doubled in effectiveness and easier to get, right?
Ferocious Loyalty - Lowered CHA Req from 6
Req CHA 5 - The power of your personality inspires die-hard loyalty from your followers. When you drop below 50% Health, your companions temporarily gain much greater resistance to damage.
Its a consistency change for an ok perk, not everything needs a thorough explanation
Comprehension - Increased Level Req from 4, Increased INT Req from 4
Req INT 5 - With the Comprehension perk, you gain double the bonus from reading magazines and one additional point from skill books.
Ah yes, the perk that power gamers love to take so that they can min max their characters with spreadsheets and maps and calculators. No reason to mess with their fun, I just pushed it a little further into the game, and they already have their INT set to 10 probably. Can't make the level req any higher without those players being overencumbered with the dozens of books they've already somehow accrued before arriving at Vegas.
Gunslinger - Added AGI 5 Req
Req AGI 5 - While using a pistol (or similar one-handed weapon), your accuracy in V.A.T.S. is significantly increased.
Gunslingers need decent agility for rootin' and tootin' and shootin'
Scrounger - Lowered Level Req from 8
Req LUC 5 - With the Scrounger perk, you'll find considerably more ammunition in containers than you normally would.
Consistency again. Finding more ammo is actually fairly useful in JSawyer.
Level 8
Rapid Reload - Added OR Energy 50 Req, Added OR Explosives Req, Increased Level Req from 2, Increased OR Guns Req from 30
Req AGI 5, Guns OR Energy OR Explosives 50 - Rapid Reload makes all of your weapon reloads 25% faster than normal.
At level 2, this was a strong pick for any build that made use of guns or even energy weapons. I bumped it to level 8 so it doesn't dominate some of the less ubiquitous picks, but also made it attainable with the energy weapons or explosives skills (Thump Thump fans rejoice).
Demolition Expert - Increased Level Req from 6
Req Explosives 50, 2 Ranks - With each rank of this perk, all of your Explosives weapons do an additional 10% damage and have 10% larger area of effect.
Jsawyer already makes some balancing changes to this perk, it just got bumped to Level 8 to make room for the less desirable perks at Level 6
Shotgun Surgeon - Increased Level Req from 6, Increased Guns Req from 45
Req Guns 50 - Your precision with a scattergun is something to behold. When using shotguns, regardless of ammunition used, you ignore an additional 10 points of a target's Damage Threshold.
Same reasoning as above.
Home on the Range - Lowered Survival Req from 70
Req Survival 50 - Whenever you interact with a campfire, you have the option of sleeping, with all the benefits that sleep brings.
Not the most jawdropping perk ever made, but it has some decent utility in Hardcore and in balanced modlists. I just made it a little easier to attain.
Vigilant Recycler - Lowered Science Req from 70, Increased Level Req from 6
Req Science 50 - Waste not, want not. When you use Energy Weapons, you are more likely to recover drained ammunition. You also have more efficient recycling recipes available at the Workbench.
Level changes are for the same reasoning as Demolition Expert & Shotgun Surgeon, but I made the perk easier to attain (There were plenty of recipes unlocked by this perk below Science 70 anyway)
Hand Loader - Lowered Repair Req rfom 70, Increased Level Req from 6
Req Repair 50 - You know your way around a reloading bench and don't let good brass and hulls go to waste. When you use Guns, you are more likely to recover cases and hulls. You also have all hand load recipes unlocked at the Reloading Bench.
See above.
Entomologist - Removed INT Req, Lowered Survival Req from 40, Added +10% Crit Chance, Increased Level Req from 4, Added Science 25 Req, Lowered DAM to +25%
Req Science 25, Survival 25 - With the Entomologist perk, you do an additional +25% damage and have +10% chance to critically hit every time you attack a mutated insect, like the Radroach, Giant Mantis, or Radscorpion.
The Cazador-busting perk. The crit chance is additive, like Light Touch, so automatics should shred fast-moving bugs now. I messed with the requirements to better represent a field-hobbyist bug nerd, while keeping them low so you don't need much investment if you want to conquer the north-west part of the map or fly through Scorpion Gulch. You'll just unfortunately have to wait until a later level (Tribal Wisdom might help hold you over until level 8 if you're determined to go an unconventional route to Vegas).
Animal Friend - Lowered Level Req from 10, Removed CHA Req, Removed Survival Req, Added Wild Wasteland Req
Req Wild Wasteland, 2 Ranks - At the first rank of this perk, animals simply won't attack. At the second rank, they will actually come to your aid in combat, but never against another animal.
No amount of charisma is going to make you able to tame a wild animal on sight. This makes a lot more sense in a Wild Wasteland playthrough.
Stonewall - No Change
Req STR 6, END 6 - You gain +10 Damage Threshold against all Melee Weapons and Unarmed attacks and cannot be knocked down in combat.
Jsawyer has this one covered.
Educated - Overhauled
Req CHA 6, INT 6 - All that book-learnin' has filled your noggin' with all sorts of useful information, which you can't wait to share with the world! All skills, excluding Speech, now have a +10 bonus for the purpose of skill checks in dialogue.
A big change, but bear with me. Skill rate boosts are still available, with a new one available at a higher level. In my effort to make Swift Learner a desirable perk, I made it the replacement for vanilla Educated, and with this mod Educated is now great for pacifist/speech builds!
Light Touch - Removed Repair Req, Increased Level Req from 2, Added LUC 6 Req
Req AGI 6, LUC 6 - Heavy armor just isn't your thing! While wearing light armor you gain a +5% Critical Hit Chance and your enemies suffer a -25% Critical Hit Chance.
Amazing perk for builds using automatic weapons, and overshadowed a lot of perks at level 2. I thought the repair req was weird too, so I changed it to a luck req as its a crit perk.
Level 10
Hobbler - Overhauled
Req Melee 60 - With the Hobbler perk, you deal 10% more damage with Melee Weapons for every crippled limb the opponent has.
This perk sucks in vanilla, and I felt because Unarmed had its own unique perk, that melee weapons should have one too (I mean, just look at the perk picture). Now a counterpart to Eye for Eye, this perk should make weapons with limb damage modifiers more desirable.
Paralyzing Palm - Lowered Level Req from 18, Lowered Unarmed Req from 70
Req Unarmed 60 - With Paralyzing Palm, you will sometimes perform a special V.A.T.S. palm strike that paralyzes your opponent for 30 seconds. Note that in order to perform the Paralyzing Palm, you must be completely unarmed.
There are few situations where the 30 seconds paralysis from this is more useful than the VATS-free implementation of Super Slam, so to reflect its niche nature I made it available earlier.
The Professional - Increased Sneak Crit Dam from +20%, Increased Level Req from 6
Req Sneak 70 - Up close and personal, that's how you like it. Your Sneak Attack Criticals with pistols, revolvers, and submachine guns, whether Guns or Energy Weapons, all inflict an additional 50% damage.
YUP fixes the perk to work as intended, but the intended effect was way too weak considering Better Criticals exists. I buffed it to the same level as aforementioned perk, but still only for sneak crits. There are a few more perks now that boost sneak crit damage, which technically in very niche situations where they all stack will boost sneak crit damage considerably, but they've all got high individual requirements so you'd have to really specialize to get them all.
Robotics Expert - Lowered Level Req from 12, Increased Science Req from 50
Req Science 60 - With the Robotics Expert perk, you do an additional 25% damage to any robot. But, even better, sneaking up on a hostile robot undetected and activating it will put that robot into a permanent shutdown state.
Not much to say here, its a decent perk
Long Haul - Lowered Level Req from 12
Req END 6, Barter 70 - You have learned how to pack mountains of gear for the Long Haul. Being over-encumbered no longer prevents you from using Fast Travel.
Still the same perk effect, just available slightly earlier.
Sneering Imperialist - Increased Dam Bonus from +15%, Increased VATS Accuracy Bonus from +25% to +50%, Increased Level Req from 8
No Reqs - You don't take kindly to raiders, junkies, or tribals trying to "settle" or "stay alive" in civilized lands. Against dirty raider and junkie types as well as Zion's tribals you do +20% Damage and have a bonus to hit in V.A.T.S.
A niche perk that only affects a small and relatively weak pool of enemies, so I just boosted it further to squeeze more use out of it. The VATS bonus should make sniping them a cakewalk (Three Card Bounty, anyone?)
Fight the Power - Increased Crit Chance from +2%
No Reqs - You've had enough of the so-called "authorities" pushing poor folks around! You gain +5 Damage Threshold and +5% Critical Chance against anyone wearing the faction armor of the NCR, Legion, or Brotherhood.
Just a little extra incentive for you to take the perk.
Strong Back - Increased Level Req from 8
Req STR 5, END 5 - With the Strong Back perk, you can carry 25 more pounds of equipment.
Small change, its a good perk
Mysterious Stranger - Removed LUC Req, Added Wild Wasteland Req
Req Wild Wasteland - You've gained your own personal guardian angel... armed with a fully loaded .44 Magnum. With this perk, the Mysterious Stranger will appear occasionally in V.A.T.S. mode to lend a hand, with deadly efficiency.
Feels fitting to make it exclusive to Wild Wasteland, as its got that wacky classic Fallout energy but is inherently unrealistic in nature.
Miss Fortune - Removed LUC Req, Added Wild Wasteland Req
Req Wild Wasteland - Just when your enemies think they have the upper hand, Miss Fortune appears to turn their world upside down. Appearing only in V.A.T.S., she has the ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
See above.
Ghastly Scavenger - Lowered Level Req from 12
Req Cannibal - With Ghastly Scavenger, when you're in Sneak mode, you gain the option to eat a Super Mutant or Feral Ghoul corpse to regain Health. Every time you feed, you lose Karma, and if the act is witnessed, it is considered a crime against nature.
Available halfway from Cannibal to a high-value perk later on, of which this is a requirement...
Level 12
Piercing Strike - No Change
Req Melee OR Unarmed 70 - Piercing Strike makes all of your Unarmed and Melee Weapons (including thrown) negate 15 points of Damage Threshold on the target.
Don't fix what ain't broke.
Center of Mass - Lowered Level Req from 14, Lowered Guns Req from 70, Added OR Energy 60 Req, Buffed DAM Bonus from +15%
Req Guns OR Energy 60 - You don't fool around with fancy trick shots. Straight to the midsection and down they go. In VATS, you do an additional 25% damage with attacks targeting the torso.
Wasn't the most attractive perk before, so gave it a little boost
Hit the Deck - No Change
Req Explosives 70 - Your extensive familiarity with Explosives allows you to ignore a portion of their damage. Your Damage Threshold is increased by 25 against any and all Explosives -- even your own.
No need to change anything here.
Hunter - Overhauled
Req Survival 60 - With the Hunter perk, you deal +25% more damage and an additional +25% more critical hit damage against Animals, Mutated Animals and Abominations, from the lowly Gecko up to the mighty Deathclaw!
Vanilla Hunter was so underwhelming; you don't need a crit damage perk for coyotes and geckos. I instead made it work against pretty much all non-insect wildlife in the Mojave, and spread the bonus across regular and crit damage.
Living Anatomy - Added -5 DT v.s. NPCs, Increased Level Req from 8, Removed +5% DAM v.s. NPCs
Req Medicine 70 - Living Anatomy allows you to see the Health and Damage Threshold of any target. Your attacks also ignore 5 points of Damage Threshold against Humans and non-feral Ghouls.
DT penetration makes more sense to me than a DAM bonus if we're talking about targeting the anatomical weakspots of a human opponent, plus in my eyes its a good buff to the perks' utility.
Math Wrath - Increased Level Req from 10
Req Science 70 - You are able to optimize your Pip-Boy's V.A.T.S. logic, reducing all AP costs by 10%.
Only bumped this up to not crowd Level 10 up too much. Still a decent perk.
In Shining Armour - Removed Science Req, Buffed DT Bonuses from +5 and +2, Increased Level Req from 2, Increased Repair Req from 20
Req Repair 70 - Beams reflect off the mirror-like finish of your gleaming armor! You gain an additional +10 Damage Threshold against energy weapons while wearing any metal armor, +5 while wearing reflective eyewear.
Being a science perk made no sense to me, so I made it a repair perk (polishing down metal surfaces to an expert standard). Thankfully this perk was already fixed in Jsawyer, I just made it much better.
Nerd Rage - Overhauled
Req STR < 5, INT 6 - You've been pushed around long enough! With the Nerd Rage! perk, your attack speed is raised by 50% and you gain +15 Damage Threshold whenever you drop below one third of your Health.
A lot of small changes here, to make the perk more appropriate for the kind of build that'll use it. Being a nerd with below-average strength and above-average intelligence is now required, and it makes you spam attacks faster in your blind range instead of giving you that STR buff that only melee builds would care about. Also activates at a higher health threshold now, so you don't have to dance as close to death.
Night Person - Overhauled
No Reqs - When the sun is down, a Night Person gains +15% movement speed and +20% Action Point regeneration. This perk directly affects your "internal clock," and remains active both inside and outside.
Another case where I've replaced shitty SPECIAL buffs. This perk should now be much better for sneaky and agile characters who want to move in the darkness.
Alertness- Lowered PER Req from 6, Added Crit Immunity
Req PER 5 - You've learned to keep your senses alert to any danger. When crouched and not moving you gain a +2 to your Perception attribute to help you find enemies before they find you, and are immune to critical hits.
Probably the only temporary SPECIAL boost I kept. Added crit immunity, which I actually removed from 2 of the Lvl 35 Perks. Overall it might still seem like a mediocre perk, but its now a requirement for a much better perk available later.
Plasma Spaz - Increased Level Req from 10
Req Energy 70 - You're just so excited about plasma that you can't (magnetically) contain yourself! When using plasma weapons (including Plasma Grenades), AP costs are reduced by 20% and you attack 20% faster.
Good perk, didn't change much from Jsawyer
Level 14
Ninja - Lowered Level Req from 20
Req Sneak 80, Melee OR Unarmed 80 - The Ninja perk grants you the power of the fabled shadow warriors. When attacking with either Melee or Unarmed, you gain a +15% critical chance on every strike. Sneak attack criticals do 25% more damage than normal.
After Jsawyer fixed it, this is a really good perk. I just moved it lower down to make room for Super Slam! and Slayer to be the high-tier melee perks they deserve to be.
Pack Rat - Increased Level Req from 8
Req INT 5, Barter 70 - You have learned the value of careful packing. Items with a weight of 2 or less weigh half as much for you.
A really good perk in hardcore mode, I just had to bump it up to make room for other perks earlier.
Heavyweight - Increased Level Req from 12
Req STR 7 - Have you been working out? Weapons heavier than 10 lbs. now weigh half as much for you. (Modified weapons that drop below 10 lbs. will not gain this benefit.)
Tiny change not really worth mentioning.
Fast Metabolism - Increased Level Req from 12, Added END < 6 Req, Buffed Health bonus from 20%, Stimpacks now work faster
Req END < 6 - With the Fast Metabolism perk, Stimpaks heal roughly +33% and work faster than before!
A decent perk in hardcore mode, but it could be better, so I buffed the total health received by stimpaks (up to +50% for Expired Stimpaks, because integers) and also made it so stimpaks work much faster than before with this perk (shaving a second or two off each type). The low endurance restriction I just added for flavour and rewarding players who don't have high endurance for other, more powerful perks (In classic fallout, fast metabolism gives you low poison and RAD resistance, which a lower END score reflects)
Life Giver - No Change
Req END 6 - With the Life Giver perk, you gain an additional 30 Hit Points.
No need to change it, its a simple perk with a handy bonus, doesn't necessarily stick out as an amazing or terrible perk.
Adamantium Skeleton - Added END 5 Req
Req END 5 - With the Adamantium Skeleton perk, your limbs only receive 50% of the damage they normally would.
It just felt right.
Light Step - Removed PER Req, Increased AGI Req from 6
Req AGI 7 - With the Light Step perk, you'll never set off an enemy's mines or floor-based traps.
Perception has enough perks, and I just preferred it like this.
Cowboy - Lowered Guns and Melee Reqs from 45, Added Explosives 25 Req, Increased Level Req from 8
Req Guns, Melee, Explosives 25 - You do 20% more damage when using any revolver, lever-action firearm, dynamite, knife, or hatchet.
The perk affects guns, melee weapons and dynamites, so I changed the reqs to suit that. I increased the level req because many of these weapons are still useable in the early game, so to move their buff to the mid game made sense. Its still a really good perk.
Grunt - Lowered Guns Req from 45, Added Melee 25 Req, Increased Explosives Req from 20, Increased Level Req from 8
Req Guns, Melee, Explosives 25 - Just good, honest infantry work! You do 20% more damage with 9mm and .45 Auto Pistols and SMGs, Service Rifles, Assault Carbines, Battle Rifles, Light Machine Guns, Frag Grenades, Grenade Rifles and Launchers, and Combat Knives.
See above. The req changes I think reflect basic training for a soldier, or basic experience for a gunfighter better than before.
Spray & Pray - Lowered Level Req from 22
No Reqs - Your attacks do much less damage to companions, allowing you to liberally spray an area with reckless abandon.
Didn't belong at a level that high. Logans Loophole enjoyers can now use it.
Nerves of Steel - Lowered Level Req from 26, Buffed AP Regen from +20% to +25%
Req AGI 7 - With the Nerves of Steel perk, you regenerate Action Points much more quickly than you normally would.
Same reasoning as above, plus a small buff
Level 16
Sniper - Overhauled
Req PER 7, Guns OR Energy 80 - With the Sniper perk, your Sneak Attack Criticals do +50% damage when aiming through a scoped weapon.
Didn't like the vanilla perk; the agility requirement didn't make sense, snipers don't always aim for the head because they're harder to hit, energy weapons also have scopes available etc. I made it a perk that actually reflects what snipers are know for.
Splash Damage - Increased Level Req from 12, Increased Explosives Req from 70
Req Explosives 90 - When you're deep in enemy territory, you just start chucking grenades and hope for the best. All Explosives have a 25% larger area of effect.
A really good perk that I made just a little more difficult to obtain.
Walker Instinct - Overhauled
Req Alertness, Survival 80 - Your instincts and preparedness give you an edge over your enemies, as long as you remain grounded in your element. You gain +25% Damage Resistance and +5 Critical Hit Chance when crouching outside.
This perk sucked in vanilla, I made it paradise for marksmen and outdoorsmen. Indirectly gives Alertness a use too.
Certified Tech - Removed Science Req, Lowered Level Req from 24, Added Repair 90 Req, Added Robotics Expert Req
Req Robotics Expert, Repair 90 - Your knowledge of robotic components allows you to break them more easily and salvage their mechanical corpses. You have a +25% chance to score critical hits against robots, and you'll also find more useful components on robots you destroy.
Since Jsawyer fixed this perk, its pretty useful, I just changed the reqs to what I felt made sense.
Action Boy/Girl - No Change
Req AGI 6, 2 Ranks - With the Action Boy/Girl perk, you gain an additional 15 Action Points to use in V.A.T.S.
No change necessary.
Weapon Handling - No Change
Req STR < 10 - Weapon Strength Requirements are now 2 points lower than normal for you.
Doesn't need changing.
Rad Absorption - Overhauled
Req END 7 - With the Rad Absorption perk, your accumulated RADs are slowly converted into health over time, healing you and reducing your radiation level!
Now this should be finally worth taking. As long as your RADs are above 0, you lose 1 RAD per second and regenerate 1hp per second, effectively converting your radiation level to health. Not as good as Rad Child still, but less restrictive!
Tunnel Runner - Lowered Level Req from 26, Removed Armour Restriction
Req AGI 8 - With the Tunnel Runner perk, your movement speed is greatly increased while sneaking.
The light armour restriction felt unnecessary; light armour gets enough love and the AGI req is already high. Also, Logan gang rise up.
Atomic! - Lowered Level Req from 20
Req END 6 - With the Atomic! perk, you are 25% faster and stronger whenever you're basking in the warm glow of radiation. Outside irradiated areas, your Action Points (AP) regenerate faster and faster the higher your level of radiation sickness becomes.
The first in a series of Rad Child companion perks, made sense for it to be available earlier than it.
Mile in their Shoes - Overhauled
Req Medicine, Science 50 - You have come to understand Nightstalkers. Consuming Nightstalker Squeezin's now grants +10% movement speed, +25% poison resistance and +25 Sneak, and Nightstalker-based consumables grant increased benefits!
A shitty perk in vanilla, I buffed Squeezin's to be somewhat useful, and incorporated the buffs to Hydra, Mushroom Cloud and Nightstalker Tail from the Viable Mile in Their Shoes perk (a pretty cool perk, it has other features that I didn't include, check it out). Still a weird perk, but usable.
Solar Powered - Lowered Level Req from 20, Added +20% AP Regen, Removed STR Bonus
Req END 7 - With the Solar Powered perk, you regenerate Action Points +20% faster when in direct sunlight, and slowly regenerate lost Health.
Removed the wanky strength bonus, replaced it with a more useful AP regen. Its also a requirement for a higher level perk which has been made a lot better...
Level 18
Super Slam! - Increased Level Req from 8, Increased Melee OR Unarmed Req from 45, Increased STR Req from 6
Req STR 8, Melee OR Unarmed 90 - All Melee Weapons (except thrown) and Unarmed attacks have a chance of knocking your target down.
One of the greatest perks in the game, making melee builds absolutely ferocious. I put it in an appropriate place.
Meltdown - Increased Level Req from 16
Req Energy 90 - Meltdown causes foes killed by your plasma weapons to give off a corona of harmful energy. Note: this can cause a chain reaction.
Great perk, very fun
Silent Running - Increased Level Req from 12, Increased AGI Req from 6, Increased Sneak Req from 50
Req AGI 7, Sneak 90 - With the Silent Running perk, running no longer factors into a successful sneak attempt.
This perk makes sneaking absurdly easy, it deserved higher requirements.
Concentrated Fire - Added OR Explosives 80 Req, Changed Energy Req to OR, Increased Guns OR Energy Req from 60
Req Guns OR Energy OR Explosives 80 - With Concentrated Fire, your accuracy to hit any body part in V.A.T.S. increases slightly with each subsequent hit on that body part.
The perk that puts the All American on the map. Great for laying down high volumes of fire, and users of launchers will be able to take this perk now.
Grim Reaper's Sprint - Lowered Level Req from 20
No Reqs - If you kill a target in V.A.T.S., 20 Action Points are restored upon exiting V.A.T.S.
Still a good perk, just not quite level 20 material.
Eye for Eye - Lowered Level Req from 20, Buffed DAM Bonus from +10%
No Reqs - For each crippled limb you have, you do an additional 20% damage.
This perk needed a good boost, and now it provides a gamechanging buff but at a heavy cost.
Voracious Reader - Lowered Level Req from 22
Req INT 7 - You don't just read books, you tear into them. Damaged books you pick up become blank magazines, which you can use to copy your existing skill magazines at a workbench (or convert blank magazines back to books).
Now Logan's Loophole friendly.
Lessons Learned - Overhauled
No Reqs - The wasteland has taught you some hard lessons, but you've come out stronger as a result. You gain +20% Radiation, Poison and Fire Resistance, +10 Hit Points, and +5 to Damage Resistance and Action Points.
Removed the shitty XP modifier and made it a flat-bonus perk. Might buff if it seems a little underwhelming.
Burden to Bear - Overhauled
Req STR 8, END 6 - The wastelander with the most gear wins! (... or at least survives.) Medium and heavy armor no longer impair movement speed.
What the perk was originally supposed to be. Credit to TrueVoidwalker for the implementation. Make sure you don't have the Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged version of this enabled in the ini, or the level requirement will be overwritten.
Irradiated Beauty - Overhauled
Req END 7 - Look at that "healthy" glow! Penalties from Radiation Poisoning are reduced, and you gain +1 Charisma per stage of Radiation Poisoning.
This perk sucked before, and we already have Rad Absorption, so I made it a companion perk to Rad Child. The SPECIAL penalties are reduced by -1 for each stage, meaning minor RAD poisoning now has no debuff!
Them's Good Eatin' - Reduced Level Req from 20, Removed Survival Req, Added Ghastly Scavenger Req
Req Ghastly Scavenger - Any living creature you kill has a 15% chance to have the potent healing items Thin Red Paste or Blood Sausage when looted.
This perk completely trivializes survival healing and needs management, even with the nerf in Jsawyer. Now, theres a very good reason to go down the Cannibal route (besides, it only made sense, you can literally loot the items from this perk from any NPC).
Level 20
Slayer - Lowered Level Req from 24, Increased Melee OR Unarmed Req from 90
Req AGI 7, Melee OR Unarmed 100 - The slayer walks the earth! The speed of all Melee Weapons and Unarmed attacks is increased by 30%.
Top tier perk that pairs amazingly with Super Slam, now available for Logans Loophole users
And Stay Back - Increased Level Req from 10, Increased Guns Req from 70, Added LUC 7 Req
Req LUC 7, Guns 100 - You've discovered a Shotgun technique that has a chance to knock an enemy back.
Insanely powerful perk that functions like Super Slam but with range, needed to be made harder to acquire
Laser Commander - Lowered Level Req from 22, Increased Energy Req from 90
Req Energy 100 - From the humble Laser Pistol to the mighty Gatling Laser, you do +15% damage and have +10% chance to critically hit with any laser weapon.
Great perk for automatics, can now be taken with Logans Loophole
Better Criticals - Increased Level Req from 16, Increased PER and LUC Reqs from 6, Added LUC 7 Req
Req PER 7, AGI 7, LUC 7 - With the Better Criticals perk, you gain a 50% damage bonus every time a critical hit is scored on an opponent.
Lucky 7's, baby! One of the best perks in the game, now you need to spec your character right before you can take it
Chemist - Increased Level Req from 14, Increased Medicine Req from 60, Added INT 8 Req
Req INT 8, Medicine 100 - With the Chemist perk, any chems you take last twice as long.
Another insane perk that almost any build could take and abuse chems with, now with harder reqs. Logans users can still take it, but at the cost of any of the other powerful Level 20 perks
Rad Child - Removed Survival Req, Increased Level Req from 4, Added END 9 Req
Req END 9 - You truly are a rad child. As you go through the increasingly devastating stages of radiation sickness, you will regenerate more and more health.
Makes for some fun builds, but the regen it provides is too powerful for just any build to have access to. Now you have to work harder, and spec your character specifically to get this perk, but Irradiated Beauty now helps with some of the downsides of radiation poisoning.
Finesse - Increased Level Req from 10, Added LUC 8 Req
Req LUC 8 - With the Finesse perk, you have a higher chance to score a critical hit on an opponent in combat, equivalent to 5 extra points of Luck.
Great perk, especially for crit builds, who can likely still take this perk even with its new luck requirement.
Jury Rigging - Increased Level Req from 14, Increased Repair Req from 90, Added INT 7 Req
Req INT 7, Repair 100 - You possess the amazing ability to repair any item using a roughly similar item. Fix a Trail Carbine with a Hunting Rifle, a Plasma Defender with a Laser Pistol, or even Power Armor with Metal Armor. How does it work? Nobody knows... except you.
Completely trivializes the repair system, so as a consequence I made it harder to acquire
Roughin' It - Overhauled
Req END 8, Survival 100, Hardcore Mode Enabled - No matter how badly you're hurtin', a little shut-eye will get you back on your feet. In Hardcore Mode, you now restore health and limb condition after your sleep.
This perk was total dogshit in vanilla, I overhauled it to make it the best survival perk available, and a huge boon for hardcore players (In vanilla, this perk would restore all health if you slept at a campfire with Home on the Range, so I essentially preserved its functionality and removed its dependency on other perks)
Broad Daylight - Overhauled
Req Solar Powered, Science 100 - You've modified your Pip-Boy to draw power from sunlight, augmenting its processing power in V.A.T.S! When outside during daylight hours, your V.A.T.S. costs are reduced by 25% and your accuracy is significantly increased.
Another perk that completely sucked, now its Math-Wrath-on-crack! This perk has really high, specific requirements though so VATS builds will need to be tailored to get this perk, and it still only works outside in the daytime.
Level 30
Implant GRX - No Change
Req END 8 - You gain a non-addictive subdermal Turbo (chem) injector. This perk may be taken twice, with the second rank increasing the effect from 2 to 3 seconds and the uses per day from 2 to 3. [Activated in the Pip-Boy inventory.]
Jsawyer already balances this perk reasonably well
Here And Now - Overhauled
No Reqs - You've graduated from the school of hard knocks, inspired by the realisation that there's no better time to pursue progress than in the here and now. For the few levels you have left, you gain +8 skill points per level up.
Objectively the worst perk in vanilla, now its essentially 40 free skill points! However, it takes up a perk slot that'll either cost you 1 rank of Implant GRX or a level 34 endgame perk, if you were planning on taking those.
Level 34
Thought You Died - No Change
Req Good Karma - Your storied past has fallen from memory 'cause everyone thought you died. Your Karma is reset, you inflict +10% damage, and for every 100 points of Karma, you gain 10 Health. You are also immune to critical hits. (Requires Good Karma.)
Was the least strong Level 34 perk, so I preserved its crit immunity.
Just Lucky I'm Alive - Removed Crit Immunity
Req Neutral Karma - You've had lots of close calls. Whenever you finish a fight with less than 25% Health, your Luck increases by +4 for 3 minutes. Your critical hits also inflict +50% damage. (Requires Neutral Karma.)
Was powerful enough, so I took away the crit immunity.
Ain't Like That Now - Removed Crit Immunity
Req Bad Karma - Maybe you were bad once, but you ain't like that now. Your Karma has been reset to 0, you regenerate AP 25% faster, and your attack speed is increased by 20%. (Requires Bad Karma.)
See above.
Old World Blues
These perks have been overall nerfed, and had some of their effects changed completely; as a rule, the organ-less perks have the slightly more superhuman like effects, and the organ-ful perks have SPECIAL boosts
Spineless
Your spine has been replaced with advanced technologies: Your torso can no longer be crippled and your Damage Threshold (DT) has increased (+2).
Reinforced Spine
Your spine is back in your body, but some advance technologies remain: Your torso can now be crippled again, but your Damage Threshold (DT) and Strength (STR) have both increased (+2 and +1 respectively)!
Brainless
Your brain has been replaced with advanced technologies: You are more resistant to chem addiction (+25%) and you learn things faster (+10% xp rate).
Big Brained
Your brain is back in your body, but some of the advanced technologies remain: You are no longer more resistant to addiction now, but you still learn faster (+10% xp rate) and your Intelligence (INT) has increased (+1)!
Heartless
Your heart has been replaced with advanced technologies: You are more resistant to poison (+25%) and filters in your heart increased the efficacy of medicines (restore more health).
Cardiac Arrest
Your heart is back in your body, but some advanced technologies remain: You no longer receive bonus healing from medicines, but you are still resistant to poison (+25%) and your Endurance (END) has increased (+1)!
Spoiler:
TraitsShow
Bloody Mess - Removed Damage Bonus, Is Now a Trait
With the Bloody Mess trait, characters and creatures you kill will often explode into a red, gut-ridden, eyeball-strewn paste. Fun!
As a callback to classic Fallout games, and because it makes more sense as a trait, it now lives here. Take alongside Wild Wasteland for fun times.
Skilled - Removed XP Modifier, -2 Skill Rate per Level
You're talented, but you've let your arrogance get to your head. You gain +5 points to every skill, but earn 2 fewer skill points per level.
Vanilla Skilled was a trait that offered no real downside and 65 free skill points (which are supposed to be rarer in JSawyer). I've made it a trait that now technically results in a net loss of 3 skill points (oH nO), but gives you a nice early game boost which is good for characters with already high INT or with builds that don't really need the skill rate as much.
Level 2
Heave, Ho! - Removed Explosives Req, Lowered STR Req from 5, Added VATS +25% Accuracy Bonus
Req STR 4 - Quite an arm you've got there. All thrown weapons fly farther and faster for you, and are significantly more accurate in V.A.T.S.
YUP fixes the vanilla bug that makes this perk affect launchers, so I decided it needed a little boost. Removed the explosives requirement that made it a pain for melee builds to take, lowered the STR requirement, and gave it a VATS accuracy bonus akin to Gunslinger and Commando.
Friend of the Night - Removed Sneak Req, Lowered PER Req from 6
Req PER 4 - You are a true friend of the night. Your eyes adapt quickly to low-light conditions indoors and when darkness falls across the wasteland.
This perk's utility is still quite dependent on the mods you use, as lighting and weather mods make nights darker, and various mods improve the nighteye filter. Eitherway, I made it have lower requirements to take (sneak doesn't seem imperative to good vision anyway), and it doesn't compete with the same top picks like Rapid Reload and Light Touch at this level.
Lead Belly - Lowered Level Req from 6, Removed Survival Req, Lowered END Req from 5
Req END 4 - With the Lead Belly perk, you take 50% less radiation when consuming irradiated food and drink, and no longer suffer negative effects from eating Raw and Spoiled foods.
JSawyer buffs this perk with the resistance to the Raw Food debuff, but this perk still felt like it belonged at level 2 to give it a fighting chance, alongside the reductions in requirements I gave to other perks at this level.
Bachelor/Cherchez/Killer/Widow - Added CHA 4 Req
Req CHA 4 - *Insert Respective, Unchanged Perk Descriptions Here*
Not much to say here, Jsawyer already buffs the perks that target women, I felt it was fitting to add a CHA requirement though, so misanthropes who can barely speak to people won't also be able to seduce them.
Retention - Lowered INT Req from 5
Req INT 4 - With the Retention perk, the bonuses granted by skill magazines last three times as long.
Small Req change to match those already made above.
Quick Draw - Lowered Level Req from 8, Lowered AGI Req from 5
Req AGI 4 - Quick Draw makes all of your weapon equipping and holstering 50% faster.
Rapid Reload and the Wish version of it have swapped places! It suits being a Level 2 perk much better, where its slightly useful but not gamechanging effect shouldn't have too stiff a competition. Req change for consistency also.
Fortune Finder - Lowered Level Req from 6, Lowered LUC Req from 5
Req LUC 4 - With the Fortune Finder perk, you'll find considerably more bottle caps in containers than you normally would.
What sole point of the game does pretty much every character have a little bit of money trouble? The very early game! I stuck this perk in Level 2 and followed the same pattern of SPECIAL Reqs as I have above.
Intense Training - No Change
No Reqs - With the Intense Training perk, you can put a single point into any of your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes.
Sometimes, you just want another SPECIAL point, I'm not gonna mess with that. Feel free to burn some of your perk slots on this if you desperately want to meet the SPECIAL Reqs of all the top level perks.
Swift Learner - Overhauled
No Reqs, 2 Ranks - With each rank in the Swift Learner perk, you gain an additional +1 skill point every level.
This perk was boring as shit in vanilla, so I decided to completely overhaul it. This will make more sense when you see what I've done to Educated, but the name and ranked nature of this perk made it perfect, in my eyes, to make it the former's replacement. This is a little bit of a nerf, I'd admit, but as it was in vanilla it was pretty much a go to pick for everyone, and you can still get +2 skill rate by level 4 like with vanilla Educated, it just requires 2 perk slots now. But never fear, I've made a hefty skill rate bonus available later on...
Cannibal - Lowered Level Req from 4
No Reqs - With the Cannibal perk, when you're in Sneak mode, you gain the option to eat a corpse to regain Health. But every time you feed, you lose Karma, and if the act is witnessed, it is considered a crime against nature.
Eating people, 2 levels earlier than before. Still required for Ghastly Scavenger, which is now required for a pretty ace perk later on....
Tag! - Lowered Level Req from 16
No Reqs - The Tag! perk allows you to select a fourth Skill to be a Tag skill, which instantly raises it by 15 points.
On what fucking planet was putting the perk that gives you an extra tag skill at level 16 a reasonable idea? Why not make it available at, I don't know, the closest fucking part to character creation that you possibly can, the first time you level up??? Enjoy your free skill points, use them on Guns or something so your melee build doesn't fucking die during Run Goodsprings Run.
Level 4
Travel Light - Removed Survival Req, Added Barter 30 Req
Req Barter 30 - While wearing light armor or no armor, you run 10% faster.
I thought vanilla had a few too many survival perks, so I changed it to a low barter requirement, along the lines of Long Haul.
Mad Bomber - Lowered Level Req from 6, Lowered Explosives Req from 45, Removed Repair Req
Req Explosives 30 - Your intimate knowledge of gadgets and explosives have combined to make you... the Mad Bomber! At Workbenches, you have special Explosives recipes unlocked for use.
Changed the requirements mostly to match the other perks at this level, and the Repair req felt superfluous anyway. With the tin grenade recipe changed by Jsawyer, however, this perk needed a recipe with an explosives requirement at 30 or below, so I removed the Schematics requirement from the Powder Charge, Efficient recipe, letting you craft them with this perk alone as a requirement! The Push's Tweaks version of this mod also reverses a lot of the changes it makes to this perk and its recipes (as in, re-enables them), so you can still take this perk and it's still useful for something.
Run n Gun - Lowered Guns OR Energy Req from 45
Req Guns OR Energy 30 - The Run 'n Gun perk reduces accuracy penalties with one-handed Guns and Energy Weapons while walking or running.
Another req change thats mostly just for consistency.
Infiltrator - Lowered Level Req from 18, Lowered Lockpick Req from 70, Bobby Pins Can No Longer Break
Req Lockpick 30 - With Infiltrator, if a lock is broken, and can't normally be picked again, you can attempt to pick it again one more time. This includes locks previously broken by a "Force Lock" attempt. Also, your bobby pins will no longer break!
This perk was a bottom-tier choice in vanilla; lockpicking isn't really all that difficult and if you DO force locks, you can save scum to avoid ever breaking locks. I gave it an extra little buff, to make it a decent Quality of Life perk, and put it at a level that was appropriate for it. Not going to turn many heads still, but its not up against any game changers at this level at least.
Chem Resistant - Lowered Level Req from 16. Lowered Medicine Req from 60, Buffed Addiction Resistance from 50%
Req Medicine 30 - Having the Chem Resistant perk means you're 75% less likely to develop an addiction to chems, like Psycho or Jet.
A bum-tier perk in vanilla that has to compete with the likes of Logans Loophole. I made it a lot easier to obtain and buffed its effect, it should prove some use when you need to spam chems in the early game to survive Deranged Bright Followers or some other shit.
Unstoppable Force - Lowered Level Req from 12, Removed STR Req, Lowered Melee OR Unarmed Req from 90, Added +50% Crit Dam in Melee v.s Melee combat
Req Melee OR Unarmed 30 - Your martial might is truly legendary. When both you and your opponent are using Melee Weapons or Unarmed, you do a large amount of additional damage through enemy blocks, and +25% critical attack damage.
Consensus on this perk was that it wasn't particularly good, especially compared to Super Slam! and Piercing Strike which were available at similar levels. I felt early game also needed a melee perk too, as melee builds struggle the most early on. The base effect was also a little underwhelming on its own, so I buffed it to make it the perfect perk against tire-iron-wielding loons.
Junk Rounds - Removed LUC Req, Lowered Repair Req from 45, Recipes use Lead instead of Scrap Metal, and Powder & Primers instead of Cases, Increased Level Req from 2
Req Repair 30 - Survival is the mother of invention! Craft ammo at the Reloading Bench using alternate materials (Scrap Metal and Tin Cans).
JSawyer made some changes to this once-dogshit perk, but there were still problems; scrap metal is a relatively scarce and useful resource, which you might want to ration, and the recipes still required cases (which are the most scarce reloading resource generally). I changed the scrap metal requirements to lead, requiring the same amount of lead per bullet as a standard recipe, and changed the cases to powder & pistol requirements, again equivalent to the standard recipes (surely the tin cans were for make-shift casing material, and not turned into explosive powders and primers?).
Computer Whiz - Lowered Level Req from 18, Lowered Science Req from 70, Reduces Password Length by 2 Characters
Req Science 30 - Fail a hack attempt and get locked out of a computer? Not if you're a Computer Whiz! With this perk, you can attempt to re-hack any computer you were previously locked out of. Password length is also reduced.
Refer to Infiltrator, I did this for the same reasoning. Enjoy your Quality of Life. Password Length reduction requires Stewie's Tweaks (which you should be using anyway)
Mister Sandman - Lowered Level Req from 10, Lowered Sneak Req from 60
Req Sneak 30 - With the Mister Sandman perk, when you're in Sneak mode, you gain the option to silently kill any human or Ghoul while they're sleeping. And, all Mister Sandman kills earn bonus XP.
This is a niche perk, and I think niche perks should be available at lower levels and skill requirements so they might provide some use to the early game.
Terrifying Presence - Lowered Level Req from 8, Lowered Speech Req from 70, You Always Crit Against Fleeing NPC's (NOT CREATURES)
Req Speech 30 - In some conversations, you gain the ability to initiate combat while terrifying a mob of opponents, sending them fleeing away for safety. Also, all attacks you land on fleeing Humans or non-feral Ghouls are critical hits.
Everyone's favourite Roleplay perk! And I believe that Roleplay perks should be available early on and have minimum requirements. Also, now all the times you send enemies fleeing for 5 seconds or so with the sickass dialogue options you get from this perk can be taken advantage of!
Old World Gourmet - Removed END Req, Lowered Survival Req from 45, Buffed Snack Bonus from +50%, Increased Level Req from 2
Req Survival 30 - Thanks to unclean living you've learned the secrets of the lounge lizards! +25% Addiction Resistance. +100% Health bonus from Snack Foods. Scotch, Vodka and Wine now give you Health in addition to their normal effects.
Just another lowering of requirements to a fun yet niche little perk, and giving it a slight boost.
Level 6
Purifier - Lowered Level Req from 12, Added Melee OR Unarmed 50 Req
Req Melee OR Unarmed 50 - As a purifier of the wasteland, you do +50% damage with Melee and Unarmed weapons against Centaurs, Nightstalkers, Spore Plants, Spore Carriers, Deathclaws, Super Mutants, and Feral Ghouls.
Melee builds need their perks as fast as they can come, and this one's pretty useful albeit not as game-changing as Super Slam! or Slayer. Gave it a suitable skill requirement to boot. If you're brave, you can try taking the I-15 past Sloan to Vegas after doing some early-game content with this perk (it probably still won't go well for you).
Pyromaniac - Lowered Level Req from 12, Removed Explosives Req, Added Energy 50 Req
Req Energy 50 - With the Pyromaniac perk, you do +50% damage with fire-based weapons, like the Flamer and Shishkebab.
It's an energy perk now! And it's available at a level where flamers and incinerators are relevant! Gehenna users weep.
Tribal Wisdom - Lowered Level Req from 10, Lowered Survival Req from 70, Buffed Poison Resistance to +50%
Req Survival 40 - Your limbs take 50% less damage from Animals, Mutated Animals, and Mutated Insects, you gain +50% resistance to Poison Damage, and can eat Mutated Insects when you're in Sneak mode.
You can now take ooga-booga perk sooner, and it gives you a poison resistance actually worth mentioning. Pair this with Entomologist next level and go teach some Cazadors a lesson.
Nuka Chemist - Lowered Level Req from 22, Lowered Science Req from 90
Req Science 40 - You have unraveled some of the greatest mysteries of Pre-War masters: formulas for developing special Nuka-Colas! This perk unlocks special Nuka-Cola recipes at the Workbench.
Lowered its insane requirements, as its not exactly an overpowered perk
Toughness - Removed END Req, Added STR 5 Req
Req STR 5, 2 Ranks - With the Toughness perk, you gain +3 to overall Damage Threshold. This perk may be taken twice, with the second rank granting an additional +3.
Gotta have strength to have big muscles like the guy in the picture, and END fans have enough perks and health already. Consider it a pseudo-melee perk for all the lead you'll take to the face while charging at people with a sledge.
Commando - Lowered Level Req from 8, Added PER 5 Req
Req PER 5 - While using a rifle (or similar two-handed weapon), your accuracy in V.A.T.S. is significantly increased.
It makes sense.
Rad Resistance - Lowered Level Req from 8, Removed Survival Req, Doubled Resistance Bonus
Req END 5 - Rad Resistance allows you to -- what else? -- resist radiation. This perk grants an additional 50% to Radiation Resistance.
One of the shittiest perks in vanilla, will still only be made particularly useful if you use mods to make RADs more of a pain, but now the perk is doubled in effectiveness and easier to get, right?
Ferocious Loyalty - Lowered CHA Req from 6
Req CHA 5 - The power of your personality inspires die-hard loyalty from your followers. When you drop below 50% Health, your companions temporarily gain much greater resistance to damage.
Its a consistency change for an ok perk, not everything needs a thorough explanation
Comprehension - Increased Level Req from 4, Increased INT Req from 4
Req INT 5 - With the Comprehension perk, you gain double the bonus from reading magazines and one additional point from skill books.
Ah yes, the perk that power gamers love to take so that they can min max their characters with spreadsheets and maps and calculators. No reason to mess with their fun, I just pushed it a little further into the game, and they already have their INT set to 10 probably. Can't make the level req any higher without those players being overencumbered with the dozens of books they've already somehow accrued before arriving at Vegas.
Gunslinger - Added AGI 5 Req
Req AGI 5 - While using a pistol (or similar one-handed weapon), your accuracy in V.A.T.S. is significantly increased.
Gunslingers need decent agility for rootin' and tootin' and shootin'
Scrounger - Lowered Level Req from 8
Req LUC 5 - With the Scrounger perk, you'll find considerably more ammunition in containers than you normally would.
Consistency again. Finding more ammo is actually fairly useful in JSawyer.
Level 8
Rapid Reload - Added OR Energy 50 Req, Added OR Explosives Req, Increased Level Req from 2, Increased OR Guns Req from 30
Req AGI 5, Guns OR Energy OR Explosives 50 - Rapid Reload makes all of your weapon reloads 25% faster than normal.
At level 2, this was a strong pick for any build that made use of guns or even energy weapons. I bumped it to level 8 so it doesn't dominate some of the less ubiquitous picks, but also made it attainable with the energy weapons or explosives skills (Thump Thump fans rejoice).
Demolition Expert - Increased Level Req from 6
Req Explosives 50, 2 Ranks - With each rank of this perk, all of your Explosives weapons do an additional 10% damage and have 10% larger area of effect.
Jsawyer already makes some balancing changes to this perk, it just got bumped to Level 8 to make room for the less desirable perks at Level 6
Shotgun Surgeon - Increased Level Req from 6, Increased Guns Req from 45
Req Guns 50 - Your precision with a scattergun is something to behold. When using shotguns, regardless of ammunition used, you ignore an additional 10 points of a target's Damage Threshold.
Same reasoning as above.
Home on the Range - Lowered Survival Req from 70
Req Survival 50 - Whenever you interact with a campfire, you have the option of sleeping, with all the benefits that sleep brings.
Not the most jawdropping perk ever made, but it has some decent utility in Hardcore and in balanced modlists. I just made it a little easier to attain.
Vigilant Recycler - Lowered Science Req from 70, Increased Level Req from 6
Req Science 50 - Waste not, want not. When you use Energy Weapons, you are more likely to recover drained ammunition. You also have more efficient recycling recipes available at the Workbench.
Level changes are for the same reasoning as Demolition Expert & Shotgun Surgeon, but I made the perk easier to attain (There were plenty of recipes unlocked by this perk below Science 70 anyway)
Hand Loader - Lowered Repair Req rfom 70, Increased Level Req from 6
Req Repair 50 - You know your way around a reloading bench and don't let good brass and hulls go to waste. When you use Guns, you are more likely to recover cases and hulls. You also have all hand load recipes unlocked at the Reloading Bench.
See above.
Entomologist - Removed INT Req, Lowered Survival Req from 40, Added +10% Crit Chance, Increased Level Req from 4, Added Science 25 Req, Lowered DAM to +25%
Req Science 25, Survival 25 - With the Entomologist perk, you do an additional +25% damage and have +10% chance to critically hit every time you attack a mutated insect, like the Radroach, Giant Mantis, or Radscorpion.
The Cazador-busting perk. The crit chance is additive, like Light Touch, so automatics should shred fast-moving bugs now. I messed with the requirements to better represent a field-hobbyist bug nerd, while keeping them low so you don't need much investment if you want to conquer the north-west part of the map or fly through Scorpion Gulch. You'll just unfortunately have to wait until a later level (Tribal Wisdom might help hold you over until level 8 if you're determined to go an unconventional route to Vegas).
Animal Friend - Lowered Level Req from 10, Removed CHA Req, Removed Survival Req, Added Wild Wasteland Req
Req Wild Wasteland, 2 Ranks - At the first rank of this perk, animals simply won't attack. At the second rank, they will actually come to your aid in combat, but never against another animal.
No amount of charisma is going to make you able to tame a wild animal on sight. This makes a lot more sense in a Wild Wasteland playthrough.
Stonewall - No Change
Req STR 6, END 6 - You gain +10 Damage Threshold against all Melee Weapons and Unarmed attacks and cannot be knocked down in combat.
Jsawyer has this one covered.
Educated - Overhauled
Req CHA 6, INT 6 - All that book-learnin' has filled your noggin' with all sorts of useful information, which you can't wait to share with the world! All skills, excluding Speech, now have a +10 bonus for the purpose of skill checks in dialogue.
A big change, but bear with me. Skill rate boosts are still available, with a new one available at a higher level. In my effort to make Swift Learner a desirable perk, I made it the replacement for vanilla Educated, and with this mod Educated is now great for pacifist/speech builds!
Light Touch - Removed Repair Req, Increased Level Req from 2, Added LUC 6 Req
Req AGI 6, LUC 6 - Heavy armor just isn't your thing! While wearing light armor you gain a +5% Critical Hit Chance and your enemies suffer a -25% Critical Hit Chance.
Amazing perk for builds using automatic weapons, and overshadowed a lot of perks at level 2. I thought the repair req was weird too, so I changed it to a luck req as its a crit perk.
Level 10
Hobbler - Overhauled
Req Melee 60 - With the Hobbler perk, you deal 10% more damage with Melee Weapons for every crippled limb the opponent has.
This perk sucks in vanilla, and I felt because Unarmed had its own unique perk, that melee weapons should have one too (I mean, just look at the perk picture). Now a counterpart to Eye for Eye, this perk should make weapons with limb damage modifiers more desirable.
Paralyzing Palm - Lowered Level Req from 18, Lowered Unarmed Req from 70
Req Unarmed 60 - With Paralyzing Palm, you will sometimes perform a special V.A.T.S. palm strike that paralyzes your opponent for 30 seconds. Note that in order to perform the Paralyzing Palm, you must be completely unarmed.
There are few situations where the 30 seconds paralysis from this is more useful than the VATS-free implementation of Super Slam, so to reflect its niche nature I made it available earlier.
The Professional - Increased Sneak Crit Dam from +20%, Increased Level Req from 6
Req Sneak 70 - Up close and personal, that's how you like it. Your Sneak Attack Criticals with pistols, revolvers, and submachine guns, whether Guns or Energy Weapons, all inflict an additional 50% damage.
YUP fixes the perk to work as intended, but the intended effect was way too weak considering Better Criticals exists. I buffed it to the same level as aforementioned perk, but still only for sneak crits. There are a few more perks now that boost sneak crit damage, which technically in very niche situations where they all stack will boost sneak crit damage considerably, but they've all got high individual requirements so you'd have to really specialize to get them all.
Robotics Expert - Lowered Level Req from 12, Increased Science Req from 50
Req Science 60 - With the Robotics Expert perk, you do an additional 25% damage to any robot. But, even better, sneaking up on a hostile robot undetected and activating it will put that robot into a permanent shutdown state.
Not much to say here, its a decent perk
Long Haul - Lowered Level Req from 12
Req END 6, Barter 70 - You have learned how to pack mountains of gear for the Long Haul. Being over-encumbered no longer prevents you from using Fast Travel.
Still the same perk effect, just available slightly earlier.
Sneering Imperialist - Increased Dam Bonus from +15%, Increased VATS Accuracy Bonus from +25% to +50%, Increased Level Req from 8
No Reqs - You don't take kindly to raiders, junkies, or tribals trying to "settle" or "stay alive" in civilized lands. Against dirty raider and junkie types as well as Zion's tribals you do +20% Damage and have a bonus to hit in V.A.T.S.
A niche perk that only affects a small and relatively weak pool of enemies, so I just boosted it further to squeeze more use out of it. The VATS bonus should make sniping them a cakewalk (Three Card Bounty, anyone?)
Fight the Power - Increased Crit Chance from +2%
No Reqs - You've had enough of the so-called "authorities" pushing poor folks around! You gain +5 Damage Threshold and +5% Critical Chance against anyone wearing the faction armor of the NCR, Legion, or Brotherhood.
Just a little extra incentive for you to take the perk.
Strong Back - Increased Level Req from 8
Req STR 5, END 5 - With the Strong Back perk, you can carry 25 more pounds of equipment.
Small change, its a good perk
Mysterious Stranger - Removed LUC Req, Added Wild Wasteland Req
Req Wild Wasteland - You've gained your own personal guardian angel... armed with a fully loaded .44 Magnum. With this perk, the Mysterious Stranger will appear occasionally in V.A.T.S. mode to lend a hand, with deadly efficiency.
Feels fitting to make it exclusive to Wild Wasteland, as its got that wacky classic Fallout energy but is inherently unrealistic in nature.
Miss Fortune - Removed LUC Req, Added Wild Wasteland Req
Req Wild Wasteland - Just when your enemies think they have the upper hand, Miss Fortune appears to turn their world upside down. Appearing only in V.A.T.S., she has the ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
See above.
Ghastly Scavenger - Lowered Level Req from 12
Req Cannibal - With Ghastly Scavenger, when you're in Sneak mode, you gain the option to eat a Super Mutant or Feral Ghoul corpse to regain Health. Every time you feed, you lose Karma, and if the act is witnessed, it is considered a crime against nature.
Available halfway from Cannibal to a high-value perk later on, of which this is a requirement...
Level 12
Piercing Strike - No Change
Req Melee OR Unarmed 70 - Piercing Strike makes all of your Unarmed and Melee Weapons (including thrown) negate 15 points of Damage Threshold on the target.
Don't fix what ain't broke.
Center of Mass - Lowered Level Req from 14, Lowered Guns Req from 70, Added OR Energy 60 Req, Buffed DAM Bonus from +15%
Req Guns OR Energy 60 - You don't fool around with fancy trick shots. Straight to the midsection and down they go. In VATS, you do an additional 25% damage with attacks targeting the torso.
Wasn't the most attractive perk before, so gave it a little boost
Hit the Deck - No Change
Req Explosives 70 - Your extensive familiarity with Explosives allows you to ignore a portion of their damage. Your Damage Threshold is increased by 25 against any and all Explosives -- even your own.
No need to change anything here.
Hunter - Overhauled
Req Survival 60 - With the Hunter perk, you deal +25% more damage and an additional +25% more critical hit damage against Animals, Mutated Animals and Abominations, from the lowly Gecko up to the mighty Deathclaw!
Vanilla Hunter was so underwhelming; you don't need a crit damage perk for coyotes and geckos. I instead made it work against pretty much all non-insect wildlife in the Mojave, and spread the bonus across regular and crit damage.
Living Anatomy - Added -5 DT v.s. NPCs, Increased Level Req from 8, Removed +5% DAM v.s. NPCs
Req Medicine 70 - Living Anatomy allows you to see the Health and Damage Threshold of any target. Your attacks also ignore 5 points of Damage Threshold against Humans and non-feral Ghouls.
DT penetration makes more sense to me than a DAM bonus if we're talking about targeting the anatomical weakspots of a human opponent, plus in my eyes its a good buff to the perks' utility.
Math Wrath - Increased Level Req from 10
Req Science 70 - You are able to optimize your Pip-Boy's V.A.T.S. logic, reducing all AP costs by 10%.
Only bumped this up to not crowd Level 10 up too much. Still a decent perk.
In Shining Armour - Removed Science Req, Buffed DT Bonuses from +5 and +2, Increased Level Req from 2, Increased Repair Req from 20
Req Repair 70 - Beams reflect off the mirror-like finish of your gleaming armor! You gain an additional +10 Damage Threshold against energy weapons while wearing any metal armor, +5 while wearing reflective eyewear.
Being a science perk made no sense to me, so I made it a repair perk (polishing down metal surfaces to an expert standard). Thankfully this perk was already fixed in Jsawyer, I just made it much better.
Nerd Rage - Overhauled
Req STR < 5, INT 6 - You've been pushed around long enough! With the Nerd Rage! perk, your attack speed is raised by 50% and you gain +15 Damage Threshold whenever you drop below one third of your Health.
A lot of small changes here, to make the perk more appropriate for the kind of build that'll use it. Being a nerd with below-average strength and above-average intelligence is now required, and it makes you spam attacks faster in your blind range instead of giving you that STR buff that only melee builds would care about. Also activates at a higher health threshold now, so you don't have to dance as close to death.
Night Person - Overhauled
No Reqs - When the sun is down, a Night Person gains +15% movement speed and +20% Action Point regeneration. This perk directly affects your "internal clock," and remains active both inside and outside.
Another case where I've replaced shitty SPECIAL buffs. This perk should now be much better for sneaky and agile characters who want to move in the darkness.
Alertness- Lowered PER Req from 6, Added Crit Immunity
Req PER 5 - You've learned to keep your senses alert to any danger. When crouched and not moving you gain a +2 to your Perception attribute to help you find enemies before they find you, and are immune to critical hits.
Probably the only temporary SPECIAL boost I kept. Added crit immunity, which I actually removed from 2 of the Lvl 35 Perks. Overall it might still seem like a mediocre perk, but its now a requirement for a much better perk available later.
Plasma Spaz - Increased Level Req from 10
Req Energy 70 - You're just so excited about plasma that you can't (magnetically) contain yourself! When using plasma weapons (including Plasma Grenades), AP costs are reduced by 20% and you attack 20% faster.
Good perk, didn't change much from Jsawyer
Level 14
Ninja - Lowered Level Req from 20
Req Sneak 80, Melee OR Unarmed 80 - The Ninja perk grants you the power of the fabled shadow warriors. When attacking with either Melee or Unarmed, you gain a +15% critical chance on every strike. Sneak attack criticals do 25% more damage than normal.
After Jsawyer fixed it, this is a really good perk. I just moved it lower down to make room for Super Slam! and Slayer to be the high-tier melee perks they deserve to be.
Pack Rat - Increased Level Req from 8
Req INT 5, Barter 70 - You have learned the value of careful packing. Items with a weight of 2 or less weigh half as much for you.
A really good perk in hardcore mode, I just had to bump it up to make room for other perks earlier.
Heavyweight - Increased Level Req from 12
Req STR 7 - Have you been working out? Weapons heavier than 10 lbs. now weigh half as much for you. (Modified weapons that drop below 10 lbs. will not gain this benefit.)
Tiny change not really worth mentioning.
Fast Metabolism - Increased Level Req from 12, Added END < 6 Req, Buffed Health bonus from 20%, Stimpacks now work faster
Req END < 6 - With the Fast Metabolism perk, Stimpaks heal roughly +33% and work faster than before!
A decent perk in hardcore mode, but it could be better, so I buffed the total health received by stimpaks (up to +50% for Expired Stimpaks, because integers) and also made it so stimpaks work much faster than before with this perk (shaving a second or two off each type). The low endurance restriction I just added for flavour and rewarding players who don't have high endurance for other, more powerful perks (In classic fallout, fast metabolism gives you low poison and RAD resistance, which a lower END score reflects)
Life Giver - No Change
Req END 6 - With the Life Giver perk, you gain an additional 30 Hit Points.
No need to change it, its a simple perk with a handy bonus, doesn't necessarily stick out as an amazing or terrible perk.
Adamantium Skeleton - Added END 5 Req
Req END 5 - With the Adamantium Skeleton perk, your limbs only receive 50% of the damage they normally would.
It just felt right.
Light Step - Removed PER Req, Increased AGI Req from 6
Req AGI 7 - With the Light Step perk, you'll never set off an enemy's mines or floor-based traps.
Perception has enough perks, and I just preferred it like this.
Cowboy - Lowered Guns and Melee Reqs from 45, Added Explosives 25 Req, Increased Level Req from 8
Req Guns, Melee, Explosives 25 - You do 20% more damage when using any revolver, lever-action firearm, dynamite, knife, or hatchet.
The perk affects guns, melee weapons and dynamites, so I changed the reqs to suit that. I increased the level req because many of these weapons are still useable in the early game, so to move their buff to the mid game made sense. Its still a really good perk.
Grunt - Lowered Guns Req from 45, Added Melee 25 Req, Increased Explosives Req from 20, Increased Level Req from 8
Req Guns, Melee, Explosives 25 - Just good, honest infantry work! You do 20% more damage with 9mm and .45 Auto Pistols and SMGs, Service Rifles, Assault Carbines, Battle Rifles, Light Machine Guns, Frag Grenades, Grenade Rifles and Launchers, and Combat Knives.
See above. The req changes I think reflect basic training for a soldier, or basic experience for a gunfighter better than before.
Spray & Pray - Lowered Level Req from 22
No Reqs - Your attacks do much less damage to companions, allowing you to liberally spray an area with reckless abandon.
Didn't belong at a level that high. Logans Loophole enjoyers can now use it.
Nerves of Steel - Lowered Level Req from 26, Buffed AP Regen from +20% to +25%
Req AGI 7 - With the Nerves of Steel perk, you regenerate Action Points much more quickly than you normally would.
Same reasoning as above, plus a small buff
Level 16
Sniper - Overhauled
Req PER 7, Guns OR Energy 80 - With the Sniper perk, your Sneak Attack Criticals do +50% damage when aiming through a scoped weapon.
Didn't like the vanilla perk; the agility requirement didn't make sense, snipers don't always aim for the head because they're harder to hit, energy weapons also have scopes available etc. I made it a perk that actually reflects what snipers are know for.
Splash Damage - Increased Level Req from 12, Increased Explosives Req from 70
Req Explosives 90 - When you're deep in enemy territory, you just start chucking grenades and hope for the best. All Explosives have a 25% larger area of effect.
A really good perk that I made just a little more difficult to obtain.
Walker Instinct - Overhauled
Req Alertness, Survival 80 - Your instincts and preparedness give you an edge over your enemies, as long as you remain grounded in your element. You gain +25% Damage Resistance and +5 Critical Hit Chance when crouching outside.
This perk sucked in vanilla, I made it paradise for marksmen and outdoorsmen. Indirectly gives Alertness a use too.
Certified Tech - Removed Science Req, Lowered Level Req from 24, Added Repair 90 Req, Added Robotics Expert Req
Req Robotics Expert, Repair 90 - Your knowledge of robotic components allows you to break them more easily and salvage their mechanical corpses. You have a +25% chance to score critical hits against robots, and you'll also find more useful components on robots you destroy.
Since Jsawyer fixed this perk, its pretty useful, I just changed the reqs to what I felt made sense.
Action Boy/Girl - No Change
Req AGI 6, 2 Ranks - With the Action Boy/Girl perk, you gain an additional 15 Action Points to use in V.A.T.S.
No change necessary.
Weapon Handling - No Change
Req STR < 10 - Weapon Strength Requirements are now 2 points lower than normal for you.
Doesn't need changing.
Rad Absorption - Overhauled
Req END 7 - With the Rad Absorption perk, your accumulated RADs are slowly converted into health over time, healing you and reducing your radiation level!
Now this should be finally worth taking. As long as your RADs are above 0, you lose 1 RAD per second and regenerate 1hp per second, effectively converting your radiation level to health. Not as good as Rad Child still, but less restrictive!
Tunnel Runner - Lowered Level Req from 26, Removed Armour Restriction
Req AGI 8 - With the Tunnel Runner perk, your movement speed is greatly increased while sneaking.
The light armour restriction felt unnecessary; light armour gets enough love and the AGI req is already high. Also, Logan gang rise up.
Atomic! - Lowered Level Req from 20
Req END 6 - With the Atomic! perk, you are 25% faster and stronger whenever you're basking in the warm glow of radiation. Outside irradiated areas, your Action Points (AP) regenerate faster and faster the higher your level of radiation sickness becomes.
The first in a series of Rad Child companion perks, made sense for it to be available earlier than it.
Mile in their Shoes - Overhauled
Req Medicine, Science 50 - You have come to understand Nightstalkers. Consuming Nightstalker Squeezin's now grants +10% movement speed, +25% poison resistance and +25 Sneak, and Nightstalker-based consumables grant increased benefits!
A shitty perk in vanilla, I buffed Squeezin's to be somewhat useful, and incorporated the buffs to Hydra, Mushroom Cloud and Nightstalker Tail from the Viable Mile in Their Shoes perk (a pretty cool perk, it has other features that I didn't include, check it out). Still a weird perk, but usable.
Solar Powered - Lowered Level Req from 20, Added +20% AP Regen, Removed STR Bonus
Req END 7 - With the Solar Powered perk, you regenerate Action Points +20% faster when in direct sunlight, and slowly regenerate lost Health.
Removed the wanky strength bonus, replaced it with a more useful AP regen. Its also a requirement for a higher level perk which has been made a lot better...
Level 18
Super Slam! - Increased Level Req from 8, Increased Melee OR Unarmed Req from 45, Increased STR Req from 6
Req STR 8, Melee OR Unarmed 90 - All Melee Weapons (except thrown) and Unarmed attacks have a chance of knocking your target down.
One of the greatest perks in the game, making melee builds absolutely ferocious. I put it in an appropriate place.
Meltdown - Increased Level Req from 16
Req Energy 90 - Meltdown causes foes killed by your plasma weapons to give off a corona of harmful energy. Note: this can cause a chain reaction.
Great perk, very fun
Silent Running - Increased Level Req from 12, Increased AGI Req from 6, Increased Sneak Req from 50
Req AGI 7, Sneak 90 - With the Silent Running perk, running no longer factors into a successful sneak attempt.
This perk makes sneaking absurdly easy, it deserved higher requirements.
Concentrated Fire - Added OR Explosives 80 Req, Changed Energy Req to OR, Increased Guns OR Energy Req from 60
Req Guns OR Energy OR Explosives 80 - With Concentrated Fire, your accuracy to hit any body part in V.A.T.S. increases slightly with each subsequent hit on that body part.
The perk that puts the All American on the map. Great for laying down high volumes of fire, and users of launchers will be able to take this perk now.
Grim Reaper's Sprint - Lowered Level Req from 20
No Reqs - If you kill a target in V.A.T.S., 20 Action Points are restored upon exiting V.A.T.S.
Still a good perk, just not quite level 20 material.
Eye for Eye - Lowered Level Req from 20, Buffed DAM Bonus from +10%
No Reqs - For each crippled limb you have, you do an additional 20% damage.
This perk needed a good boost, and now it provides a gamechanging buff but at a heavy cost.
Voracious Reader - Lowered Level Req from 22
Req INT 7 - You don't just read books, you tear into them. Damaged books you pick up become blank magazines, which you can use to copy your existing skill magazines at a workbench (or convert blank magazines back to books).
Now Logan's Loophole friendly.
Lessons Learned - Overhauled
No Reqs - The wasteland has taught you some hard lessons, but you've come out stronger as a result. You gain +20% Radiation, Poison and Fire Resistance, +10 Hit Points, and +5 to Damage Resistance and Action Points.
Removed the shitty XP modifier and made it a flat-bonus perk. Might buff if it seems a little underwhelming.
Burden to Bear - Overhauled
Req STR 8, END 6 - The wastelander with the most gear wins! (... or at least survives.) Medium and heavy armor no longer impair movement speed.
What the perk was originally supposed to be. Credit to TrueVoidwalker for the implementation. Make sure you don't have the Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged version of this enabled in the ini, or the level requirement will be overwritten.
Irradiated Beauty - Overhauled
Req END 7 - Look at that "healthy" glow! Penalties from Radiation Poisoning are reduced, and you gain +1 Charisma per stage of Radiation Poisoning.
This perk sucked before, and we already have Rad Absorption, so I made it a companion perk to Rad Child. The SPECIAL penalties are reduced by -1 for each stage, meaning minor RAD poisoning now has no debuff!
Them's Good Eatin' - Reduced Level Req from 20, Removed Survival Req, Added Ghastly Scavenger Req
Req Ghastly Scavenger - Any living creature you kill has a 15% chance to have the potent healing items Thin Red Paste or Blood Sausage when looted.
This perk completely trivializes survival healing and needs management, even with the nerf in Jsawyer. Now, theres a very good reason to go down the Cannibal route (besides, it only made sense, you can literally loot the items from this perk from any NPC).
Level 20
Slayer - Lowered Level Req from 24, Increased Melee OR Unarmed Req from 90
Req AGI 7, Melee OR Unarmed 100 - The slayer walks the earth! The speed of all Melee Weapons and Unarmed attacks is increased by 30%.
Top tier perk that pairs amazingly with Super Slam, now available for Logans Loophole users
And Stay Back - Increased Level Req from 10, Increased Guns Req from 70, Added LUC 7 Req
Req LUC 7, Guns 100 - You've discovered a Shotgun technique that has a chance to knock an enemy back.
Insanely powerful perk that functions like Super Slam but with range, needed to be made harder to acquire
Laser Commander - Lowered Level Req from 22, Increased Energy Req from 90
Req Energy 100 - From the humble Laser Pistol to the mighty Gatling Laser, you do +15% damage and have +10% chance to critically hit with any laser weapon.
Great perk for automatics, can now be taken with Logans Loophole
Better Criticals - Increased Level Req from 16, Increased PER and LUC Reqs from 6, Added LUC 7 Req
Req PER 7, AGI 7, LUC 7 - With the Better Criticals perk, you gain a 50% damage bonus every time a critical hit is scored on an opponent.
Lucky 7's, baby! One of the best perks in the game, now you need to spec your character right before you can take it
Chemist - Increased Level Req from 14, Increased Medicine Req from 60, Added INT 8 Req
Req INT 8, Medicine 100 - With the Chemist perk, any chems you take last twice as long.
Another insane perk that almost any build could take and abuse chems with, now with harder reqs. Logans users can still take it, but at the cost of any of the other powerful Level 20 perks
Rad Child - Removed Survival Req, Increased Level Req from 4, Added END 9 Req
Req END 9 - You truly are a rad child. As you go through the increasingly devastating stages of radiation sickness, you will regenerate more and more health.
Makes for some fun builds, but the regen it provides is too powerful for just any build to have access to. Now you have to work harder, and spec your character specifically to get this perk, but Irradiated Beauty now helps with some of the downsides of radiation poisoning.
Finesse - Increased Level Req from 10, Added LUC 8 Req
Req LUC 8 - With the Finesse perk, you have a higher chance to score a critical hit on an opponent in combat, equivalent to 5 extra points of Luck.
Great perk, especially for crit builds, who can likely still take this perk even with its new luck requirement.
Jury Rigging - Increased Level Req from 14, Increased Repair Req from 90, Added INT 7 Req
Req INT 7, Repair 100 - You possess the amazing ability to repair any item using a roughly similar item. Fix a Trail Carbine with a Hunting Rifle, a Plasma Defender with a Laser Pistol, or even Power Armor with Metal Armor. How does it work? Nobody knows... except you.
Completely trivializes the repair system, so as a consequence I made it harder to acquire
Roughin' It - Overhauled
Req END 8, Survival 100, Hardcore Mode Enabled - No matter how badly you're hurtin', a little shut-eye will get you back on your feet. In Hardcore Mode, you now restore health and limb condition after your sleep.
This perk was total dogshit in vanilla, I overhauled it to make it the best survival perk available, and a huge boon for hardcore players (In vanilla, this perk would restore all health if you slept at a campfire with Home on the Range, so I essentially preserved its functionality and removed its dependency on other perks)
Broad Daylight - Overhauled
Req Solar Powered, Science 100 - You've modified your Pip-Boy to draw power from sunlight, augmenting its processing power in V.A.T.S! When outside during daylight hours, your V.A.T.S. costs are reduced by 25% and your accuracy is significantly increased.
Another perk that completely sucked, now its Math-Wrath-on-crack! This perk has really high, specific requirements though so VATS builds will need to be tailored to get this perk, and it still only works outside in the daytime.
Level 30
Implant GRX - No Change
Req END 8 - You gain a non-addictive subdermal Turbo (chem) injector. This perk may be taken twice, with the second rank increasing the effect from 2 to 3 seconds and the uses per day from 2 to 3. [Activated in the Pip-Boy inventory.]
Jsawyer already balances this perk reasonably well
Here And Now - Overhauled
No Reqs - You've graduated from the school of hard knocks, inspired by the realisation that there's no better time to pursue progress than in the here and now. For the few levels you have left, you gain +8 skill points per level up.
Objectively the worst perk in vanilla, now its essentially 40 free skill points! However, it takes up a perk slot that'll either cost you 1 rank of Implant GRX or a level 34 endgame perk, if you were planning on taking those.
Level 34
Thought You Died - No Change
Req Good Karma - Your storied past has fallen from memory 'cause everyone thought you died. Your Karma is reset, you inflict +10% damage, and for every 100 points of Karma, you gain 10 Health. You are also immune to critical hits. (Requires Good Karma.)
Was the least strong Level 34 perk, so I preserved its crit immunity.
Just Lucky I'm Alive - Removed Crit Immunity
Req Neutral Karma - You've had lots of close calls. Whenever you finish a fight with less than 25% Health, your Luck increases by +4 for 3 minutes. Your critical hits also inflict +50% damage. (Requires Neutral Karma.)
Was powerful enough, so I took away the crit immunity.
Ain't Like That Now - Removed Crit Immunity
Req Bad Karma - Maybe you were bad once, but you ain't like that now. Your Karma has been reset to 0, you regenerate AP 25% faster, and your attack speed is increased by 20%. (Requires Bad Karma.)
See above.
Old World Blues
These perks have been overall nerfed, and had some of their effects changed completely; as a rule, the organ-less perks have the slightly more superhuman like effects, and the organ-ful perks have SPECIAL boosts
Spineless
Your spine has been replaced with advanced technologies: Your torso can no longer be crippled and your Damage Threshold (DT) has increased (+2).
Reinforced Spine
Your spine is back in your body, but some advance technologies remain: Your torso can now be crippled again, but your Damage Threshold (DT) and Strength (STR) have both increased (+2 and +1 respectively)!
Brainless
Your brain has been replaced with advanced technologies: You are more resistant to chem addiction (+25%) and you learn things faster (+10% xp rate).
Big Brained
Your brain is back in your body, but some of the advanced technologies remain: You are no longer more resistant to addiction now, but you still learn faster (+10% xp rate) and your Intelligence (INT) has increased (+1)!
Heartless
Your heart has been replaced with advanced technologies: You are more resistant to poison (+25%) and filters in your heart increased the efficacy of medicines (restore more health).
Cardiac Arrest
Your heart is back in your body, but some advanced technologies remain: You no longer receive bonus healing from medicines, but you are still resistant to poison (+25%) and your Endurance (END) has increased (+1)!
Compatibility
Will need patching with mods that edit perk records, otherwise it shouldn't interfere with too many things in your load order. A handful of scripts have also been modified, but overall any conflicts that do arise should be pretty simple to fix in FNVEdit.
As mentioned earlier:
Make sure you have disabled the Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged version of Burden to Bear in its config file
Credits
Yukichigai, and all contributors to the Yukichigai Unofficial Patch
PushTheWinButton, miguick and TrueVoidwalker for the Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus
PushTheWinButton for JSawyer Ultimate Edition
TrueVoidwalker for Burden To Bear - Original (and Spartan3995 for the original concept)
TommInfinite and all contributers to SUP NVSE
lStewieAI for lStewieAl's Tweaks and Engine Fixes
Joshua Eric Sawyer for the original JSawyer plugin, and for his work on Fallout New Vegas
Manan6619 for their Viable Mile in Their Shoes mod
RoyBatterian for SawyerBatty FNVQolore7 for Vigor