“The Outer Worlds 2” arrives October 29, 2025, with an expanded perk system built to deepen character identity. With 90 perks across multiple tiers, specialized prerequisites and nested perk chains, players can sculpt everything from stealth assassins to faction manipulators. Below is an organized guide to help you navigate the major perk categories and key standouts.
How Perks Work
Players earn one perk point every even-numbered level. Every five perks purchased unlocks a new tier. Many perks also require baseline skill investment, meaning early decisions in Lockpick, Guns, Explosives and Medical determine which late-game perks become accessible.
Skill gating encourages forward planning and prevents perk hoarding. Tier progression prevents early access to top-tier perks, pushing steady specialization.
Combat Perks
Sharpshooter boosts sneak attack and long-range damage for marksman and sniper rifles while reducing close-range output. Hail of Lead spikes damage on automatic weapons the longer they fire, rewarding spray-and-pray players. Heavy Handed allows melee power attacks to knock down enemies, creating crowd-control potential.
For close quarters, Point Blank Artist elevates shotgun, SMG and pistol damage against near targets. Penetrating Shots allows shotguns and SMGs to ignore armor at higher tiers.
Stealth and Ambush
Assassin dramatically increases movement speed after stealth kills, helping players reposition. Ghost grants temporary camouflage when investigated, adding invisibility-based ambush options. Suppressionist quiets pistols and silenced guns while boosting sneak damage.
Stalker rewards distraction or corpse-based stealth, while Sleight of Hands improves pickpocket speed and adds sneak attack damage based on Lockpick skill investment.
Stealth and Ambush Perks
| Perk | Description | Bonuses | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assassin | After scoring a kill from stealth, movement speed is greatly increased. | +100% Movement Speed for 5s | Sneak 8/1 |
| Ghost | Gain temporary Camouflaged when investigated while crouched. | Invisible, bonus damage, 3m cooldown | Sneak 2 |
| Suppressionist | Pistols gain increased sneak attack damage and reduced noise; silencers make guns silent. | -75% Firing Noise, +100% Sneak Attack | Guns 8, Sneak 8 |
| Stalker | Increased sneak attack damage against investigating enemies/distractions/corpses. | +200% Sneak Attack Damage | Sneak 5, Perk: Assassin |
| Sleight of Hands | Faster pickpocketing and bonus sneak attack damage from Lockpick skill. | -50% Pickpocket Time, +10% Sneak Attack per Lockpick | Lockpick 8, Perk: Pickpocket |
| Pickpocket | Ability to pickpocket unaware humans. | — | Lockpick 1 |
| Trick Shot | Weakspot kills silently ricochet to a second target. | — | Guns 1, Observation 1 |
| Through the Keyhole | Preview container contents; increased gun range. | +50% Weapon Range | Lockpick 2 |
| Grim Visage | Kills frighten nearby enemies temporarily. | Fear (8s) | Speech 9, Perk: Intimidator |
| Charlatan | Lies are more believable, reduced targeting by enemies. | — | Speech 6 |
| Tall Tale Teller | More extreme lies succeed; damage bonus vs non-focused enemies. | +20% Damage | Speech 10, Perk: Charlatan |
| Intimidator | Damaging enemies frightens them briefly. | Fear (8s), 2m cooldown | Speech 5 |
Explosives and Area Control
Explosive-focused perks create broad crowd control options. Secret Recipe ensures grenades deal full damage across their entire blast radius. Demolitionist widens explosive area-of-effect and prevents self-damage. Pitch/Tossball Winger causes direct hits with explosives to stagger targets while boosting damage output.
Players can unlock volatile grenade recipes, widen magazine sizes for special weapons and add mines to their inventory when disarming them.
Explosives and Area Control Perks
| Perk | Description | Bonuses | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secret Recipe | Explosives deal full damage across entire blast zone. | Full Blast Radius Damage | Explosives 6 |
| Demolitionist | Increased area-of-effect; no self-damage. | +50% Radius, Immune to own explosives | Explosives 20, Perk: Secret Recipe |
| Pitch/Tossball Winger | Direct grenade/mine hits stagger and deal extra damage. | +20% Explosive Damage, 50 physical stagger hit | Explosives 1 |
| Incendiary Chef | Unlocks Volatile Grenades recipe; grants grenades. | Craft Volatile Grenades | Explosives 8 |
| Defuser | Disabling mines adds them to inventory. | Gain mines | Explosives 3 |
| Grenadier | Unlocks additional throwable slot; bonus explosive damage. | +10% Explosive Damage | Explosives 2 |
| Hot Blooded | Faster Burn buildup and heals from Burn damage ticks. | +20% Burn stacks, Heal from Burn | Explosives 1 |
| Deep Drums | Increased magazine size; auto-reload trickle. | +50% Magazine Size | Guns 3 |
Companion and Leadership Perks
Comradery grants party-wide damage resistance after reviving a companion. Shrug It Off awards temporary health when combat begins or a companion falls. Negotiator boosts reputation gains and accelerates companion ability charge times, helping diplomacy-focused characters maintain good standing with factions.
Inspiring Commander and Tall Tale Teller offer combat buffs tied to speech checks and threat manipulation.
Companion and Leadership Perks
| Perk | Description | Bonuses | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comradery | Party gains damage resistance after revives; damage doesn’t slow revive progress. | +25% DR for 10s | Leadership 5 |
| Shrug It Off | Temp health when combat starts or companion drops. | +50% Max Health (temporary) | Bulletshield perk, 8+ perks |
| Negotiator | Faster ability charge; immediate positive faction rep. | +75% Rep Gain, -20% Ability Charge | Speech 9, Leadership 9 |
| Inspiring Commander | — | — | — |
| Tall Tale Teller | Lies succeed, damage bonus vs non-aggro enemies (fits dual category). | +20% Damage | Speech 10, Perk: Char |
Crafting, Engineering and Armor Perks
Makeshift Armorer provides bonus armor value tied to bits spent crafting. Master Armorer unlocks an additional mod slot for body armor, opening space for layered defensive builds. Scrapper ensures automechanicals drop crafting materials, and Tinkerer boosts damage on modded weapons.
Treasure Hunter and Restricted Access improve vending and inventory advantages, while wholesale spending perks offer discounts with loyal vendors.
Crafting, Engineering and Armor Perks
| Perk | Description | Bonuses | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makeshift Armorer | Crafting temporarily boosts armor based on bits spent. | +1 Armor per 25 bits crafted | Engineering 3 |
| Master Armorer | Adds additional armor mod slot. | +1 Body Armor Mod Slot | Engineering 20, Perk: Makeshift Armorer |
| Scrapper | Automechs drop crafting materials. | More crafting materials | Engineering 1 |
| Tinkerer | Modded weapons deal bonus damage scaling with Engineering. | +15% +2.5%/Engineering | Engineering 5 |
| Restricted Access | Access restricted vendor inventory. | — | Hack 1 |
| Wholesale Spender | Vendor loyalty discounts/sell bonus. | -10% prices, +20% sell value | Speech 4 |
| Treasure Hunter | — | — | — |
| Brand Enthusiast | Matching weapon/armor brand boosts damage and armor. | +20% Damage, +10 Armor | 1+ perks purchased |
Status, Elemental and Healing Perks
Hot Blooded accelerates Burn buildup and heals when that damage ticks. Caustic Researcher increases bonus stacks on vulnerable foes suffering Corrosive damage. N-Radiator deals bonus N-Ray damage on a short cooldown, while Zyranium-powered builds trade poisoning risk for increased energy regeneration.
Medical paths unlock inhaler overload capabilities, adding movement speed, evasion and armor bonuses at the cost of toxicity.
Status, Elemental and Healing Perks
| Perk | Description | Bonuses | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Blooded | Burn stacking & heal on Burn tick. | Heal from Burn, +20% stacks | Explosives 1 |
| Caustic Researcher | Faster Corrosion Vulnerable buildup; crit vs Dissolved. | +20% Vulnerable stacks, +10% Crit | Medical 1 |
| Hungry Guns | Larger biomass ammo pool; increased Corrosive damage. | +100% Biomass, +10% Corrosion | Medical 4, Perk: Caustic |
| N-Radiator | Periodic bonus N-Ray damage. | 100% Bonus Damage (3s CD) | Science! 20 |
| Zyranium Powered | Faster energy recharge based on poisoning. | Up to +10 energy per 1s | Science! 5 |
| Space Ranger | Speech skill adds damage scaling. | +2.5% Damage per Speech | Speech 1 |
| Foodie | Boosts food/drink healing + inhaler charge. | +25% Heal, +25% Charge | Medical 2/1 |
| Inhaler Overload | Spend extra inhaler charges for large bonuses. | +20% Damage, +10% Evasion, +3 Armor, +50% Move | Medical 5, Pharm-thusiast |
| Crash Recovery | Regenerate HP while crashing. | 2% HP/sec | Medical 8 |
| Lasting High | Use inhaler while crashing, longer crashes. | Reduced heal, slower depletion | Medical 12, Crash Recovery |
| Pharm-thusiast | Two primers; reduced toxicity. | -25% Toxicity | Medical 2 |
Reputation and Faction Damage
Psychopath grants bonus damage against factions who dislike you, scaling based on hostility. Serial Killer rewards hearts from slain humans with permanent max health increases. Grim Visage frightens nearby hostiles on kill, forcing them to flee.
Faction perks dramatically alter social outcomes and combat rhythm.
Reputation and Faction Damage
| Perk | Description | Bonuses | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychopath | Damage vs disliked factions scales by hostility tier. | +10/20/40% Damage | 1+ perks |
| Serial Killer | Human hearts grant permanent max HP. | +5 Max HP per heart | Perk: Psychopath |
| Grim Visage | Kills frighten nearby hostiles. | Fear (8s) | Speech 9, Intimidator |
| Negotiator | Positive faction rep on meeting; exalted status. | +75% Rep Gain | Speech 9, Leadership 9 |
| Wholesale Spender | Vendor goodwill benefits. | Discounts/sell bonus | Speech 4 |
Movement and Mobility
Gun Runner reduces weapon spread while sliding or sprinting, enabling mobile firefights. Ninja raises evasion while moving, with extra bonuses for lighter armor. Run and Hitter spikes melee damage after sustained sprinting.
For players favoring evasive tactics, these stack favorably with light gear investments.
Movement and Mobility
| Perk | Description | Bonuses | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gun Runner | Fire while sliding/mantling/sprinting; reduced spread. | -50% Spread, -50% Movement Accuracy Penalty | Guns 4 |
| Ninja | Increased evasion while moving; better in light/medium armor. | +10% evasion heavy, +20% medium/light | None |
| Run and Hitter | After sprinting, first melee attack deals bonus damage. | +25% (1H) / +50% (2H) | Melee 2 |
| Supersonic Arms | — | — | — |
| Shiny New Toy | Damage bonus after weapon swap. | +20% Damage | Guns 5 or Melee 5, Perk: Commando |
Late-Game Chains
Several perks form perk chains, unlocking deeper bonuses after prerequisite perks are selected. Crash Recovery leads into Lasting High, while Makeshift Armorer unlocks Master Armorer at higher tiers. Crabble Rancher opens Eden Windage.
These branching choices encourage investment in focused clusters rather than broad sampling.
Late-Game Chains (Prerequisite Links)
| Perk | Chain Relationship | Bonuses | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crash Recovery → Lasting High | Crash sustain → crash extension w/ inhaler | Crash heal → longer crashes | Medical 8 → Medical 12 |
| Makeshift Armorer → Master Armorer | Temporary bonus → extra mod slot | +Armor → +Mod Slot | Engineering 3 → 20 |
| Crabble Rancher → Eden Windage | Marksman dmg → weakspot/range scaling | Ranged dmg/crit → +range/+weakspot | Guns 2 → Guns 3 |
| Commando → Multitasker/Shiny New Toy | Extra slot → auto reload/weapon-swap dmg | Slot unlock → QoL reload/swap | Guns/Melee paths |
| Psychopath → Serial Killer | Faction hate dmg → heart trophies | Damage → perm HP | Perk prerequisite |
| Manual Reset → Plug Puller | Hack disable → permanent disable | Temporary → permanent | Hack 20 |
Planning Your Build
After the tutorial mission you’ll get another chance to respec your character. You’ll wake up from cryo (that’s a minor spoiler, sorry), and get asked if you’d like to respec. If not, you’re off to the races and there’s no more respec-ing from there on out.