Fallout 4: All Intelligence Perks, Ranked

Highlights

• Invest perk points in Fallout 4 to enhance abilities and gameplay; perks in the Intelligence column include descriptions.
• Gun Nut grants access to craft advanced weapon mods at weapon workbenches, offering self-sufficiency and more sophisticated mods with each rank.
• The Chemist perk increases chem duration by 50% per rank, enhancing stat buffs and beneficial effects.

Intelligence is the “I” in Fallout‘s S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats. Unlike in previous games, this stat does not govern skill checks. Instead, it increases the amount of experience that players gain from all sources by 3.33%. Players with high Intelligence scores will also see fewer possible passwords when hacking terminals, making hacking easier with more points in this stat.

Most of the Intelligence perks in Fallout 4 are great. Unlike Luck Perks, there is not a uniform theme to Intelligence Perks. Instead, they grant bonuses to a wide range of things, from crafting to chem usage to life-saving buffs at low health.

15 V.A.N.S.

Let V.A.T.S. Guide You To The Objective

V.A.N.S. allows players to see the quickest path to their current objective. After unlocking this perk, the V.A.T.S. display will show an opaque line over the shortest distance to get to their marked objective. While this can be useful for guiding players out of the larger, more labyrinthine buildings in the downtown area, there is not a lot of utility in this overall.

The Nuka World DLC added a second rank to this perk, which grants players a permanent +2 bonus to their Perception stat. While this is nice, many players would agree that it is not necessarily worth investing two points in this perk just for the bonus.

14 Gun Nut

Build Gun Mods Yourself

The Gun Nut perk allows players to craft their own gun mods at weapon workbenches. Each rank grants access to more sophisticated mods, such as an ignition module that adds fire damage to the Junk Jet’s projectiles. For players who enjoy crafting their own things and staying as self-sufficient as possible, this is a great perk.

However, players can also find weapons with the mods attached while exploring. Gun Nut is not needed to use these existing mods on weapons; it only adds the ability to craft them. Therefore, players who are patient (or who have the caps to purchase mods from vendors throughout the Commonwealth) don’t really need to invest perk points here.

13 Chemist

Get More Benefits From Chems

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While some players avoid using chems for the sake of roleplaying or just because they don’t want to rely on drugs in-game, chems can be extremely useful for surviving the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout. Chems like Buffout improve melee damage and carry capacity, while Mentats can help players get rich by improving bartering prices.

Each rank of the Chemist perk extends the duration of all chems by 50%. The extra time with buffs to stats can be a game-changer, especially when players have invested points to unlock all four of this perk’s ranks. While it may not be for everyone, this perk can be incredibly beneficial.

11 Scrapper

Turn Unwanted Gear Into Useful Junk

Fallout 4 can easily collect a lot of unwanted weapons and armor while exploring the Commonwealth. Fortunately for them, they can sell these items to make some quick caps or use a weapon workbench to salvage them for useful crafting items.

The Scrapper perk allows players to receive uncommon (at rank 1) and rare (at rank 2) junk items when salvaging weapons and armor. With the Far Harbor DLC, there is a third rank which grants even more salvage. This can be helpful for players who just need a specific set of items to craft that next weapon mod or to round out their favorite settlement.

10 Nerd Rage!

Gain A Damage And Resistance Boost When Low On Health

The final perk of the Intelligence column is Nerd Rage, which helps players stay alive when their health falls below 20% of the maximum. Time slows down, players gain 20 damage resistance, and their damage output increases by 20% when they are at low health, just from the first rank of Nerd Rage. Each subsequent rank adds 10 damage resistance and an extra 10% damage.

While it may not function for a huge amount of time like the solar-powered perk, having this perk can mean the difference between life and death in dire situations.

9 Nuclear Physicist

Improve Radiation Weapons And Fusion Cores

This perk is essential for players that use Power Armor since it increases the duration of Fusion Cores that the suits use as a power source. With all three ranks of Nuclear Physicist, Fusion Cores last twice as long as they do by default, making it so that players don’t need to collect and carry as many of them as they would otherwise. This is especially nice for Survival players since Fusion Cores weigh four pounds each as part of the added difficulty.

The other aspect of this perk is that it boosts the damage output of radiation weapons, which is a nice buff for players looking to roleplay as Children of Atom or those who like to irradiate their enemies.

8 Science!

Use High-Tech Mods For Weapons And Armor

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The various ranks of the Science! perk unlocks access to the tiers of high-tech mods in the game. These include weapon mods like automatic barrels for laser weapons and the electrified mod for blades. There are also Power Armor mods that require this perk like the Jet Pack, which requires all four ranks of this perk, and the Armorer perk.

The Science! perk also grants the ability to craft more advanced turrets at settlements, making it a key perk to have for players who want to maximize their defense. This is a great perk to have for its variety of uses.

6 Hacker

Hack Into Any Terminal

Each rank of the Hacker perk allows players to hack into more sophisticated terminals. At rank 1, players can hack Advanced terminals. At rank 2, they can hack Expert terminals. At rank 3, they can hack Master terminals, which means that no computer in the game is beyond their reach. The fourth and final rank prevents players from getting locked out of a terminal if they get the password wrong, which is nice but not as useful as obtaining the first three ranks.

Players can also order certain companions like Nick Valentine or Ada to hack into terminals if they don’t want to invest perk points into Hacker. However, that means they have to use these companions, and sometimes there is a terminal too tough to crack for even them.

5 Robotics Expert

Pacify Robot And Build Your Own

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With just the first rank of the Robotics Expert perk, players can sneak up behind an enemy robot and either turn it off or initiate its self-destruct sequence. The next ranks of this perk are similar to the Charisma perk Wasteland Whisperer except they can give robots specific commands instead of irradiated beasts.

The Robotics Expert perk also unlocks the ability to craft types of robot parts at Robot Workbenches. Players with all three ranks of this perk can build any robot they wish, outfitting them with nuclear weapons or the powerful laser beam of an Assaultron. Whether players use it to craft their own robots or simply subdue the ones roaming the Commonwealth, this is a great perk to have.

3 Medic

Make Stimpacks And Radaway More Effective

Each rank of the Medic perk boosts the usefulness of stimpacks and Radaway. the first rank is the largest gain, with 40% more effectiveness, with each subsequent rank granting 20%. When players have all four ranks of this great perk, a stimpack will restore all lost health and Radaway will remove all radiation.

By making these two crucial Aid items more effective, players will use them less often. This means that players on all difficulty levels will stretch their supply of stimpacks and Radaway further so that they won’t run out. More importantly, Survival players won’t suffer the negative effects as often.

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