Charisma — Fallout 76 eGuide | Prima Games eGuides

Modifications: Team Play, Barter Bonus
Buffs: Charisma Bobblehead, Magnetic Personality (Charisma; teammates only), Some clothing, Chems (Day Tripper, Grape Mentats, X-Cell), Beer

Charisma is your ability to lead and help others. It allows you to share higher-point perks and also affects your rewards from Group Quests and prices when you barter. As your Charisma increases, you’ll see small discounts to your vendor purchase prices, but greatly increased vendor sale prices. To share a perk card, you need 3 points of CHA per point value of the card you wish to share (for example, 9 CHA to share a 3-point card).

Value	XP from Group Quests	Caps from Group Quests
1	+0%	+0%
2	+5%	+5%
3	+10%	+10%
4	+15%	+15%
5	+25%	+25%
6	+30%	+30%
7	+35%	+35%
8	+40%	+40%
9	+45%	+45%
10	+50%	+50%
11	+55%	+55%
12	+60%	+60%
13	+65%	+65%
14	+70%	+70%
15	+75%	+75%

Charisma Perks (28)

The following table shows all 28 Charisma Perk Cards, listed by the earliest level you can obtain them.

Perk Name	C	U	R	Level	Ranks	Description
Inspirational		x		2	1, 2, 3	When you are on a team, gain 5/10/15% more XP.
Happy Camper	x			3	1, 2	Hunger and thirst grow 40/80% more slowly when in camp or in a team workshop.
Lone Wanderer			x	4	2, 3, 4	When adventuring alone, take 10/15/20% less damage and gain 10/20/30% AP regen.
Bodyguards		x		5	1, 2, 3, 4	Gain 6/8/10/12 Damage & Energy Resist (max 18/24/30/36) for each teammate, excluding you.
Hard Bargain	x			7	1, 2, 3	Buying and selling prices at vendors are better/even better/much better.
EMT	x			9	1, 2, 3	Players you revive come back with Health regen for 15/30/60 seconds.
Bloodsucker		x		11	1, 2, 3	Bloodpacks now satisfy thirst, no longer irradiate, and heal 50/100/150% more.
Magnetic Personality	x			13	1, 2	Gain 1/2 Charisma for each teammate, excluding yourself.
Field Surgeon			x	15	2	Stimpaks and RadAway will now work much more quickly.
Happy-Go-Lucky	x			17	1, 2	Your Luck is increased by 2/3 while under the influence of alcohol.
Injector	x			19	1, 2, 3	Players you revive have +6/12/18 AP regen for 10 minutes.
Team Medic		x		20	1, 2, 4	Your Stimpaks now also heal nearby teammates for 50/75/100% the normal strength.
Quack Surgeon		x		22	1	Revive other players with liquor!
Party Boy/Girl	x			24	2, 3	The effects of alcohol are doubled/ tripled.
Travel Agent	x			26	1	You pay 30% fewer Caps when Fast Traveling.
Healing Hands	x			28	1	Players you revive are cured of all Rads.
Animal Friend		x		30	1, 2, 3	Aim your gun at any animal below your level for a 25/50/75% chance to pacify it.
Overly Generous			x	32	1, 2	Rads increase your chance to inflict 25/50 Rads with melee attacks!
Anti-Epidemic		x		34	1, 2	Your disease cures have a 50/100% chance to cure a disease on nearby teammates.
Spiritual Healer		x		36	1, 2, 3	You regenerate health for 5/7/10 seconds after reviving another player.
Squad Maneuvers		x		37	1, 2	Run 10/20% faster when part of a team.
Philanthropist		x		39	1, 2, 3	Restore some/more/much more of your team’s hunger and thirst when you eat or drink.
Suppressor		x		40	1, 2, 3	Reduce your target’s damage output by 10/20/30% for 2 seconds after you attack.
Strange in Numbers		x		42	1	Positive mutation effects are +25% stronger if teammates are mutated too.
Rad Sponge		x		44	1, 2, 3	When affected by Rads, you periodically heal 15/30/50 Rads on nearby teammates.
Tenderizer		x		46	1, 2, 3	Make your target receive 5/6/7% more damage for 5/7/10 seconds after you attack.
Friendly Fire		x		48	1, 2, 3	Teammates hit by your flame weapons regen health briefly/more health briefly/even more health (no Molotovs).
Wasteland Whisperer		x		50	1, 2, 3	Aim your gun at a creature below your level for a 25/50/75% chance to pacify it.

Charisma-Related Perks: Overview

Aside from a couple of perks tailored to the Lone Wanderer, expect many of these perks to be related to team interaction and play, including “self-sacrificial” perks that do you no good but affect other members of your squad. There are a few perks with bonuses during the revival of others,granting you powers to diminish diseases and Rads and give health to teammates. Other perks augment the power of Stimpaks and alcohol. Also expect a better way to barter, lessen the costs of Fast-Traveling, and a method to pacify animals (and later, all creatures). Mainly, though, this is an attribute that plays well with others.

Animal Friend

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 30
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3
Description: Aim your gun at any animal below your level for a 25%/50%/75% chance to pacify it.

Advice: You need to wait a while to access this perk, but once you have it, anything that’s considered an irradiated animal may become docile. Aim down your sight at the animal you want to pacify, and if it works, you can give it simple commands (e.g., pacifying a Mutant Hound and ordering to attack its previous Super Mutant masters). This tends not to work on Legendary animals. Also, if you holster your weapon, use a terminal, sit, or leave and return to the area, a pacified animal becomes hostile again. Expect this to affect Brahmin, Dogs, Mole Rats, Opossums, Mutant Hounds, Radstags, Yao Guais, Wolves. You can then keep it as a temporary “pet” (although it’s more of a meat shield) until it dies or you kill it. Then activate the Perception perk Butcher’s Bounty. Finally, note there are two variants of this perk, called Wasteland Whisperer (Charisma) and Robotics Expert (Intelligence), which affects creatures and robots rather than creatures. Pick all three for true mastery!

Anti-Epidemic

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 34
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2
Description: Your disease cures have a 50%/100% chance to cure a disease on nearby teammates.

Advice: Providing your teammates are close enough (it’s worth instructing them to move away if they don’t want to be cured), this acts as Cure Disease up to 100% of the time by Rank 2. Naturally, if you have three teammates and everyone has a disease, then this is a huge boon to getting rid of a pesky bout of Dysentery, but this isn’t a perk you need to have active constantly. Indeed, it’s only needed infrequently, especially as diseases won’t incapacitate you or your team. There are Endurance perks (e.g., Iron Stomach, Natural Resistance, Thirst Quencher, and Vaccinated) that reduce the chances of catching a disease, making this perk far less effective (or, you can tell your team to ignore those perks, so they can pick other Endurance perks, while you throw out disease cures like candy): In fact, once you acquire a Cure Disease Recipe, you should activate this perk (if you’re the team “medic”) so you can receive XP from the multiple doses you administer and from making the cures.

Bloodsucker

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 11
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3
Description: Bloodpacks now satisfy thirst, no longer irradiate, and heal 50%/100%/150% more.

Advice: The benefits of this perk, which is accessible relatively early into your exploration, become much more pronounced when you accrue a number of these items, either purchased from a Health Supplies Vending Machine or by scouring hospitals, such as the AVR Medical Center in Charleston. But the real bonus comes after acquiring the recipe to make Blood Packs at the Chemistry Station, after which this perk becomes much more helpful. While Blood Packs may not remove the need for Stimpaks entirely, they have a set amount of Hit Points they grant you (plus the bonus of the perk) compared to a Stimpak, which offers a percentage increase; this can be more advantageous depending on the situation, though Stimpaks are much more ubiquitous. Remember to study the Stimpak-related perks (e.g.., the Intelligence perk First Aid, the Agility perk Born Survivor, and the Luck perk Mystery Meat, and the low-Health-related perks (e.g., the Intelligence perk Nerd Rage and the Agility perk Dead Man Sprinting). These may be negatively affected by Bloodsucker.

Bodyguards

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 5
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3, 4
Description: Gain 6/8/10/12 Damage and Energy Resist (max 18/24/30/36) for each teammate, excluding you.

Advice: A good offense is a good defense, said some sports guy before the bombs dropped, and this adage has never been more apt than with the correct use of this perk. It essentially allows you (and teammates if they have this perk or are sharing it) some “free armor” and resistance from the most common enemy damage, and it stacks with your other Damage Resistance perks. So, as a “perk overload” example, with three other teammates, you can receive up to 36 Damage Resistance (Rank 4). Then add one or more of the following: The Strength perk Barbarian and Bullet Shield, the Perception perk Refractor, the Endurance perk Ironclad, the Agility perks Evasive and Moving Target, and the Luck perk Junk Shield. You can maximize your defense with some of these perks active, and that’s before any armor is counted!

E.M.T.

Rarity: Common
Level: 9
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3
Description: Players you revive come back with health regen for 15/30/60 seconds.

Advice: This perk is available early but is sometimes overlooked: If you’re a lone wanderer out to make friends or you overhear a fellow player in distress, utilize this perk to give the revived player some additional chance at survival. Perhaps they’ll thank (or pay) you for your gesture? But where this perk truly shines is with a group of like-minded teammates: Volunteer to be the “medic” and then step in and revive your fellow explorers if the feces hits the fan. If you’re fighting other humans, this becomes even more important, as you want to combine as many benefits on newly revived teammates as possible. Think about partner perks, such as the Charisma perks Healing Hands, Injector, and Quack Surgeon, and the Luck perk Dry Nurse. These are also useful additions to your battlefield care of duty.

Field Surgeon

Rarity: Rare
Level: 15
Ranks:
Points: 2
Description: Stimpaks and RadAway will now work much more quickly.

Advice: Both Stimpaks and RadAway are likely to be your most often-used chems, and both work to heal you or remove radiation from you over a number of seconds. Lessening that offers a small but helpful reduced window of time that can occasionally mean the difference between life and death: For example, take this perk if you’re being struck by multiple Ghouls and their Rad attacks and damage are overwhelming the healing/curing powers of the Stimpaks and RadAway you’re frantically applying. The perk has no ranks to worry about either; it just works. The main problem with this perk is that it’s unnecessary in most other situations—if you’re healing in safety, you can wait a few seconds longer to feel better, so there’s no need to use this perk. However, you can quickly select it, use your Stimpaks and RadAways, and shelve the perk again. Consider other 2-point Charisma perks that involve combat, where Field Surgeon is most effective; you may have one you prefer over this, or you may want this to give you the edge during frantic combat situations where quick healing is key.

Friendly Fire

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 48
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3
Description: Teammates hit by your flame weapons regen health briefly/more health briefly/even more health (no Molotovs).

Advice: Instead of setting fellow teammates ablaze without any positive (or negative) effects, why not give them a slight health boost for a couple of seconds? Though this perk is highly situational, there are tactical advantages for such a burned offering: First, “flame attacks” can be launched from a flare gun or a Flamer, or if you activate a flamethrower trap in your C.A.M.P. or workshop, or if you set a patch of oil ablaze. Why would you want to do this? If you’re defending your C.A.M.P. or workshop from enemies and you’ve set up flamethrower traps that you are triggering using a switch, or you’re lugging about a Flamer. Let your friends charge in, or give them a roasting, and watch as that extra health regeneration bolsters them into defeating the enemy. Don’t have a Flamer or flamethrowers? Then you might only want to bring this perk out for occasions when you do. Do you have multiple Flamers? Then everyone set fire to everyone else, intermittently but continuously, as you burn your foes alive! Worried about damage? Consider the Endurance perk Fireproof.

Happy Camper

Rarity: Common
Level: 3
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2
Description: Hunger and Thirst grow 40%/80% more slowly when in camp or in a team workshop.

Advice: It can take some time to build your first (or even your tenth) C.A.M.P. to make it just right, and even longer to construct a defensive, resource-rich workshop that the enemy will trouble attacking. So why not remove most of your hunger pangs and thirst while you’re under construction? Basically, any time you enter the C.A.M.P. or workshop build menu modes, this perk is active, so this is the time to activate it. This is a low-level perk, but one that’s helpful even as you progress; it prevents you from wasting as much food and drink and enables you to concentrate on building the best base you can muster. You could also play this perk, sit in your C.A.M.P. or workshop, and bring up the Build menu while you ponder your next move, consult this guide, or pause the game, slowing down your metabolism while you take a real-life break without worrying too much about the constant need to eat or drink. Also augment this with all the related Endurance perks All Night Long, Cannibal, Dromedary, Good Doggy, and Slow Metabolizer.

Happy-Go-Lucky

Rarity: Common
Level: 17
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2
Description: Your Luck is increased by 2/3 while under the influence of alcohol.

Advice: Increased Luck provides a better Critical Hit recharge rate and finer-quality looted item condition and durability. These can be excellent for those focusing on V.A.T.S. combat or who want better scavenged items. Take this perk and raise your Luck by up to 3 (Rank 2) once you find alcohol to imbibe (do this just before you need the extra Luck, as alcohol effects last only a few minutes). Alcohol includes all the Beer, Moonshine, Bourbon, Rum, Vodka, Whiskey, and Wine you can find; though you can’t craft alcohol, it is abundant throughout Appalachia. Remember you also receive the effects the alcoholic beverage gives you, on top of the Luck increase! Then use the partner Endurance perk Professional Drinker, and the Charisma perk Party Boy/Girl to lessen the negative effects of being a lush.

Hard Bargain

Rarity: Common
Level: 7
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3
Description: Buying and selling prices at vendors are better/even better/much better.

Advice: Note that “vendor” in this instance means the robotic vendors, as well as any wandering vendors you might meet. Remember, too, that your Charisma Points affect the vendor’s bartering, so increase that by normal means, chemical means (like Grape Mentats), or with another perk (e.g., Magnetic Personality, which adds Charisma for each teammate you’re with). This is an excellent perk to take; it’s available early on, and it’s the foundation of anyone who wants to start a career as a crafter or resource manager. Just be aware that a vendor has a set amount of Caps, and once you’ve cleaned out the vendor, they cannot purchase any more from you. So, have a good working knowledge of where all the trading posts are in Appalachia (typically at every train station and in most towns). Then figure out what crafting materials give you the best rate of return (think about items that have a high value in your Pip-Boy’s Item menu but are easily or cheaply produced). Once you have resource generators at your C.A.M.P. or workshop, you can set and forget them, return and gather the resources, then sell them and accrue Caps quickly and proficiently—and for a much better price if this perk is active. Finally, the Weapons Store, Armor Store, and Clothing Store Vending Machines available for your camp or workshop require Rank 2 of this perk to be constructed.

Healing Hands

Rarity: Common
Level: 28
Ranks:
Points: 1
Description: Players you revive are cured of all Rads.

Advice: This perk allows you to revive any player you like; they don’t have to be part of your team. While most players are likely to be thankful (though you get the XP for your charitable action), some might not want Rads out of their system—like those using the Endurance perk Radicool and the Charisma perks Overly Generous, Rad Sponge, and, most importantly, Ghoulish. In fact, very occasionally, you actively revive an enemy player with Healing Hands who is relying on high Rads and you cause yourself or your team problems! Once it’s determined whether your team actually needs Rad cures at their time of revival, offer to become the team “medic” and think about partner perks, such as the Charisma perks E.M.T., Injector, and Quack Surgeon, and the Luck perk Dry Nurse.

Inspirational

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 2
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3
Description: When you are on a team, gain 5%/10%/15% more XP.

Advice: This is an early perk, and taking it too early might not be entirely beneficial; you aren’t able to be shot at or enter PvP combat with other humans until Level 5, but you’ll reach that level more quickly with this perk active. However, your teammates are likely to help you out, and as you progress and want to reach a pivotal level (such as Levels 10, 15, 20, etc., where you can craft higher-level items or weapons), then this becomes much more helpful. It also gains more importance the higher level you are, as the XP gains are percentage-based. As it takes a lot more XP to get from Level 29 to 30, compared to 2 to 3, reaching that Level 15 percent more quickly (Rank 3) suddenly becomes a much more interesting proposition, providing you can find some friends out there in the wilderness. Also note this is the only perk that actively adds XP bonuses.

Lone Wanderer

Rarity: Rare
Level: 4
Ranks:
Points: 2, 3, 4
Description: When adventuring alone, take 10%/15%/20% less damage and gain 10%/20%/30% AP regen.

Advice: Who needs friends? Not anyone who wants to take advantage of this damage bonus and quicker AP regeneration! Technically, “adventuring alone” means not being part of a team, so you could conceivably keep this perk active, pal around with some friends, but not become a teammate via the Social menu until you need to, or the perks everyone is sharing are better than this one. If you’re lucky enough to get this perk early on, use it immediately, as it’s a powerful perk for such an early level. Also compare and stack it with all the other Damage Resistance and AP-related perks from this and other attributes. You also want to compare this to Bodyguards, which is essentially the “team” version of this perk; if you have a team of four, the bonuses are better than wandering by yourself.

Magnetic Personality

Rarity: Common
Level: 13
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2
Description: Gain 1/2 Charisma for each teammate, excluding yourself.

Advice: Depending on your team and perk rank, you could have a team-related Charisma modifier of up to +6 (three teammates, Rank 2). You can also stack Charisma bonuses by swigging a Beer, with the fabled Grape Mentats (adding +5 to your Charisma) or other chemical means. Now that you have the Charisma of a cult leader, it’s time to put this charm into practice by taking advantage of the main benefits a high Charisma grants you. Get to a trader and start haggling for some of their more valuable items without paying normal prices. Use the Hard Bargain Charisma perk to get a price so low your friends will think you’ve stolen that Weapon Mod! Finally, make sure you gobble down your Grape Mentats and apply this perk just before you finish any Group Quest; that way you receive the very best rewards the quest has to offer. Need rare goods? This is a great way to get them!

Overly Generous

Rarity: Rare
Level: 32
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2
Description: Rads increase your chance to inflict 25/50 Rads with melee attacks!

Advice: This is a dangerous perk, but one with some rewarding benefits as it dishes out a rare damage type (Rads) against anyone you’re battering, bludgeoning, or slicing with a melee weapon. This could be a stealth attack or simple, bloody hand-to-hand combat with a human foe you want to irradiate, though your attack won’t really affect anyone in Power Armor. Remember that high Rads may also lead to mutations! To keep from dying from radiation poisoning, partner this perk with the Endurance perk Ghoulish to keep you from dying or using up too many RadAways. You may also take Rad Resistance, lessening your radiation increases but still allowing the melee attacks to be irradiated. The Charisma perk Rad Sponge doesn’t offer similar effects, but it does rely on you having high Rads, making it useful if you’re tagging along in a team.

Party Boy/Girl

Rarity: Common
Level: 24
Ranks:
Points: 2, 3
Description: The effects of alcohol are doubled/tripled.

Advice: Woohoo! Whether you’re taking the Strength and (lack of) Intelligence buff from Whiskey, or the Strength, Charisma, and (lack of) Intelligence buff from Beer, this perk can turn you into a hulking brute or any other combination of buffs and negative effects that alcohol gives you. At Rank 2, think about using alcohol as a cheaper replacement (or addition) to chems, as they offer similar benefits. For example, take Vodka to heal at a much enhanced rate, instead of, or as well as, Buffout. Just ensure you understand the addition penalties and negate them with the Endurance perk Professional Drinker, before thinking about adding the Charisma perk Happy Go Lucky to further play with your various attributes, Health, Carry Weight, and other statistics.

Philanthropist

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 39
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3
Description: Restore some/more/much more of your team’s Hunger and Thirst when you eat or drink.

Advice: Correctly preparing for an outing in a newly discovered part of the Appalachian wilderness includes prepping for running out of ammunition, gathering items to repair weapons with, and obtaining a good supply of food and drink in order to keep everyone (ideally) Well Fed and Well Hydrated (over 75% Hunger and Thirst meter). With this perk, only you need to concern yourself with the team’s culinary needs, effectively quadrupling the effectiveness of food and drink (Rank 3), providing everyone needs to be fed at the same time. Scavenging for food and drink, pooling resources so only around a quarter of the usual food and drink are needed means time spent attempting other activities. Also augment this with all the related Endurance perks All Night Long, Cannibal, Dromedary, Good Doggy, and Slow Metabolizer, as well as the Charisma perk Happy Camper. The last perk is very helpful if you’re contending with a drawn-out enemy battle!

Quack Surgeon

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 22
Ranks:
Points: 1
Description: Revive other players with liquor!

Advice: Though this appears to be more of an amusing diversion than a perk to take seriously, it allows you to carry alcohol and Stimpaks and to use liquor (which is a less valuable item) in a revival. It means you have more opportunities to revive, and the revived player usually takes the bonus the liquor grants them along with the chance to live again. Also remember this can be done on any player, including teammates (meaning it can be used in a pinch during a workshop defense or other group battle). This perk is also cheap, only taking up a single point of Charisma. Add it to your “revival” repertoire, employing it with “revival” Charisma perks E.M.T., Healing Hands, and Injector, and the Luck perk Dry Nurse.

Rad Sponge

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 44
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3
Description: When affected by Rads, you periodically heal 15/30/50 Rads on nearby teammates.

Advice: For this to occur, and for the effects to be particularly potent, you need to be adventuring in extremely hostile environments, such as during a Rad Storm, in a highly irradiated area, and after a nuclear strike. While you take the brunt of the Rad damage, your teammates are content with Rad removal instead. You can heal Rads yourself, though for the perk to be continuously effective, you need to be taking Rad damage (e.g., by testing out less protective clothing). The benefits of this perk can be tentative at best, until you partner this with the Endurance perk Ghoulish, allowing you to absorb all the Rads you could ever wish for, with your teammates staying safe and Rad-free, even under the most oppressive of radioactive conditions!

Spiritual Healer

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 36
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3
Description: You regenerate health for 5/7/10 seconds after reviving another player.

Advice: This doesn’t have to be limited to teammates, and technically it isn’t one of the “revival” perks, as the perk affects you and not anyone on your team. This perk is highly situational, meaning you’ll use it very rarely, so you may wish to simply swap the perk in just before a revival. It’s actually more helpful if you’re under attack from enemy players, and you need a modicum of health regeneration to protect you while the player is saved and immediately afterward. In addition, increase the potency of every revival by choosing some related Charisma perks like E.M.T., Healing Hands, Injector, and Quack Surgeon, and the Luck perk Dry Nurse.

Squad Maneuvers

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 37
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2
Description: Run 10%/20% faster when part of a team.

Advice: This gives your entire team the benefit of enhanced movement, though this is related to running rather than sprinting. Only one of your team needs to activate this perk, and it has no upper range limit. It’s great for getting into position before your rivals (whether they’re human or not) and can be used in place of sprinting if you don’t need to reach a location as early as possible but still fairly quickly (and it saves you AP in the process). It also has benefits to a variety of other perks where running is featured, like the Agility perks Escape Artist and Gun Runner. Escape Artist is particularly interesting, as it allows one or more of your team all the benefits of sneaking, without the usual “crouch speed” slowdown. And if the stealthy members are carrying a silenced pistol with Gun Runner equipped...then you can sneak at almost sprint speeds!

Strange in Numbers

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 42
Ranks:
Points: 1
Description: Positive mutation effects are +25% stronger if teammates are mutated too.

Advice: Only one of your team needs to have this perk active, and not all your teammates must have mutations active, though only those with mutations will feel the strengthened positive effects. Remember this works with any number of mutations you’ve managed to catch and cultivate! If you’ve studied the Mutations section of this guide and found one whose negative effects you can stand, then ensure one of your teammates is looking a bit odd after a disease bout, and mutate beautifully together! Also be sure to look out for the Luck perks Class Freak and Starched Genes to keep your impurities more potent, and for as long as possible!

Suppressor

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 40
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3
Description: Reduce your target’s damage output by 10/20/30% for 2 seconds after you attack.

Advice: Battling foes can be extremely difficult, especially when facing down groups, so activate this perk before combat, launch an attack, and add a few seconds of “enforced downtime” for your foe, whose retaliatory attacks are at almost two thirds strength (Rank 3) for a couple of seconds. This gives you time to attack another foe (and repeat the technique), reload, reach for a Stimpak, or finish off your foe while they’re weakened. This is also great for using on human foes you’re battling, striking them before moving into a different position and shrugging off far less damage from them than normal. The only downside is that the perk halts the effect if you attack again, and sometimes enemies (especially humans) like to heal during that time instead, creating a “shoot, then wait, then shoot” plan for those wise to what is happening to them. You can’t really stop that by pressing the attack without interrupting the effects. This is the sister perk to Tenderizer, so think about using both of them together.

Team Medic

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 20
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 4
Description: Your Stimpaks now also heal nearby teammates for 50%/75%/100% the normal strength.

Advice: Some of the previous perks in the Charisma section of this guide recommended you become the team’s medic in order for everyone to have a specific role (to employ a wider variety of perks), but this perk really takes that role and runs with it! At Rank 3, your Stimpaks are essentially four times as potent, providing everyone is nearby, everyone needs healing at the same time, and you don’t mind using the four Charisma points necessary to have this perk in play (over other, more “selfish” Charisma perks). Think about partnering this with the different revival Charisma perks E.M.T., Healing Hands, Injector, and Quack Surgeon, and the Luck perk Dry Nurse.

Tenderizer

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 46
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3
Description: Make your target receive 5/6/7% more damage for 5/7/10 seconds after you attack.

Advice: Here’s a rather unique method of slaying foes—by almost killing them and then breaking off the attack just prior to their demise and watching them falter and fall remotely. Or, use it when tackling multiple opponents, engaging the first, then switching targets, wounding every foe while your perk carries out the remote attacks. Remember that at Rank 3, expect to inflict a more sizable remote wounding. For example, if you strike a foe for 50 damage, expect another 3.5 damage (7%) for 10 seconds afterward, adding to your damage for free! This is also a great way to finish off a human foe; before they realize it, they’ve taken additional damage they weren’t expecting! The only downside is that the perk halts the damage if you attack again, and sometimes enemies (especially humans) like to heal, and you can’t really stop that by pressing the attack without interrupting the effects. This is the sister perk to Suppressor, so think about using them together.

Travel Agent

Rarity: Common
Level: 26
Ranks:
Points: 1
Description: You pay 30% fewer Caps when Fast Traveling.

Advice: A place that used to cost 10 Caps now costs 7? What might be seen as a travel bargain to some could be seen as a perk with little use other than for this very specific need. If you’re constantly spending Caps traveling to and from locations, or simply wish to save a few Caps by utilizing the card for Fast-Travel, then give it a go. If you don’t mind the extra Caps expenditure (as you can make up the lost Caps through searching for Caps Stashes or trading), or you circumvent paying for Fast-Travel entirely by placing your (or using your teammate’s) C.A.M.P. near a location as a staging area, or you Fast-Travel to a train station nearby without the Caps expenditure, then you might want to shuffle this card to the back of your deck.

Wasteland Whisperer

Rarity: Uncommon
Level: 50
Ranks:
Points: 1, 2, 3
Description: Aim your gun at a creature below your level for a 25%/50%/75% chance to pacify it.

Advice: This is a late-level perk, but once it’s accessible, anything counted as a creature may become docile. Aim down your sight at the creature you want to pacify, and if it works, you can give it simple commands (e.g., pacifying a Feral Ghoul and then instructing it to attack its fellows). This tends not to work on Legendary variants, and if you holster your weapon, use a terminal, sit, or leave and return to the area, a pacified creature becomes hostile again. Expect Feral Ghouls, Scorched, Super Mutants, Mirelurks, Radtoads, Radroaches, Radscorpions, Deathclaws, Bloatflies, Bloodbugs, Stingwings, Mongrels, Anglers, Gulpers, Hermit Crabs, and other creatures to be affected by this. You can then keep your new pal as a temporary pet (although it’s more of a meat shield) until it dies or you kill it. Finally, note there are two variants of this perk: Animal Friend (Charisma) and Robotics Expert (Intelligence), which affects animals and robots rather than creatures. Pick all three to dominate the lesser life-forms of Appalachia!