Commando

Requirements: Level 8

Ranks: 1

“While using a rifle (or similar two-handed weapon), your accuracy in V.A.T.S. is significantly increased.”

The Combat Shotgun is a two-handed gun, so this perk is just a no-brainer. Still, if you want to play around with one-handed weapons, Gunslinger isn’t a bad perk to pick up, either.

Impartial Mediation

Requirements: Level 8, Charisma 5

Ranks: 1

“With the Impartial Mediation perk, you gain an extra 30 points to Speech so long as you maintain a Neutral Karma level.”

Gaining 30 skill points isn’t a bad bonus for a perk-unfortunately, it’s alignment conditional. You really don’t need the 30 points into Speech , especially considering there are plenty of other fine perks out there to put you in a good way skill-point wise. Still, it’s definately better than a 10 skill point perk.

Rad Resistance

Requirements: Level 8, Endurance 5

Ranks: 1

“Rad Resistance allows you to – what else? – resist radiation. This perk grants an additional 25% to Radiation Resistance.”

25% is a fairly large amount of Radiation Resistance, but there are plenty of enviromental suits in the game, and of course, Rad-X. You can take a perk to permenantly gain resistance, or take a pill to get the resistance when you need it. Besides, plot areas that are blocked by radiation will spike up so quickly it’ll kill you anyways. Taking 25% of 700 rads/second will end you regardless. Oh, and also, you can always buy a My First Infirmary for your house and simply remove all rads any time you wish, which really makes Rad Resistance more obsolete.

The only time you’d need Rad Resistance is if there were some area in which you were in danger of dying from radiation poisoning without being able to a) cure your Rads with Rad-Away, b) up your Radiation Resistance with Rad-X, or c) get back to town to heal at your house or by paying a doctor. Think of any? No? Okay then.

Scrounger

Requirements: Level 8, Luck 5

Ranks: 1

“With the Scrounger perk, you’ll find considerably more ammunition in containers than you normally would.”

Or you could just buy ammo. Really, you will probably end up with hundreds of rounds of ammo for some guns by level 10, and past that point your ammo-to-kill ratio is greatly in the positive.

Size Matters

Requirements: Level 8, Endurance 5

Ranks: 3

“You’re obsessed with really big weapons. With each rank of this perk, you gain an additional 15 points to the Big Guns skill.”

Another skill perk, but this time 15 instead of 10. Still yuck.

Strong Back

Req: Level 8, Strength 5, Endurance 5

Ranks: 1

“With the Strong Back perk, you can carry 50 more pounds of equipment.”

This perk adds the same amount of carrying capacity as 5 points of Strength. It really helps with bringing in loot and carrying all the essential gear you’ll need. Sure as hell beats dropping 5 points into Strength. The only real reason I get my Strength to 5 is for this perk. No, it doesn’t make your character a better killer, but it sure as hell makes life easier, and pretty much drowns out the need for high strength if you’re not making a melee build. Even if your Strength will raise to 10 with Almost Perfect (and the Bobblehead) 50 extra pounds of carrying capacity will help you out.. Power Armor is heavy!