When every shot, dialogue choice, and sprint could decide your fate in The Outer Worlds 2, the right perks can make all the difference. Whether you want to charm your way through corporate gatekeepers or blast marauders into space dust, here are the best early-game perks that set your spacer up for success.
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Best early game perks in The Outer Worlds 2
In The Outer Worlds 2, selecting the right early game perks can significantly boost your character’s effectiveness and survivability. Focus on perks that enhance combat skills, improve resource management, and increase exploration efficiency. Perks like “Natural Athlete” for better stamina, “Nicest Fedora” for increased charisma, and “Tinkerer” for weapon maintenance provide a strong foundation for any playstyle. Prioritizing these perks early on can make your journey through the Halcyon system much smoother and more rewarding.
Here are the best The Outer Worlds 2 perks to look out for in the early-game. Be sure to mark your favorites, so you don’t forget which ones you’re working toward.
- Trophy Hunter (no requirements): This perk increases your critical rate by 5% against all enemies and by an additional 15% against strong enemies. As armor and weapons with a high critical rate are scarce in the early-game, this skill is incredibly handy.
- Connoisseur (Medical 1): Improves your healing from drugs, food, and drinks by 25%. Thanks to the low skill point requirement, it’s an easy way to boost your early game survivability, and it works for any kind of character build.
- Pickpocket (Lockpick 1): Unlocks the ability to pickpocket NPCs. It may not be nice, but it’s a great way to obtain valuables and, more importantly, ammo, which is otherwise hard to obtain in The Outer Worlds 2.
- Pitch/Tossball Winger (Explosives 1): You deal 20% explosives damage and deal 50 physical damage upon hitting an enemy directly with an explosive. The extra physical damage won’t make much of a difference in mid- to late-game, but it works well against larger enemies in early-game, and the 20% explosion damage remains useful.
- Manual Reset (Hack 1): Deals 10% damage against automechs and unlocks the chance to stun them. The flying drones aren’t that threatening, but some of the sturdier automechs can pose a serious problem, so it’s great to gain an advantage.
- Space Ranger (Speech 1): You gain 2.5% damage for each skill point invested in Speech. Thanks to this fantastic perk, you can prioritize dialogue over combat prowess without becoming helpless. After all, you can’t avoid combat all the time. Even with only a level 6 Speech skill, an early-game damage bonus of 15% is quite significant.
- Through the Keyhole (Lockpick 2): This perk allows you to view the contents of locked containers before opening them. Handy, but the real value lies in the second buff obtained from this perk: A 50% weapon range increase. It’s the perfect early game perk for marksmen.
- Serendipitous Slayer (Guns 2): Pistols and SMGs gain 10% critical chance and you’ll automatically reload some bullets upon scoring critical hits. In all honesty, the automatic reload didn’t seem to make much difference, but that extra 10% critical chance is still worth it.
- Crabble Rancher (Guns 2): Marksman rifles, pistols, and shotguns receive 10% ranged damage and 20% critical chance. Another great way to boost critical chance in the early-game, provided you like the weapon types mentioned.
- Eden Windage (Guns 3 and “Crabble Rancher” unlocked): Marksman rifles, pistols, and sniper rifles gain 25% weapon range and weak spot damage. Together with “Crabble Rancher,” and especially if you’re willing to use marksman rifles, this perk offers an amazing combat boost.
- Wholesale Spender (Speech 4): You get a 10% discount and 20% sell value from vendors. Grab this handy skill in the early-game, and you’ll get rich in no time.
- Face Reader (Observation 5): You gain 20% damage against human enemies, which is brilliant, as you’ll meet a lot of them. On top of that, dialogue choices that’ll decrease your faction reputation are highlighted, so it’s the perfect perk for those who wish to become famous rather than infamous in The Outer Worlds 2.
- Silent Steps (Sneak 6): After crouching, your footsteps are silent for eight seconds. It may not sound that spectacular, but it really is useful when you’re trying to sneak past moving enemies, as it unlocks a way to improve your movement speed while remaining in stealth mode.
Which perks pair best with a guns-focused build
The best perks to pair with a guns-focused build in The Outer Worlds 2 are those that maximize critical hit chance, increase weapon range, improve damage to weak spots, and boost overall ranged weapon performance. Here are the most recommended perks:
Top Gunslinger Perks
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Trophy Hunter
This perk boosts your critical chance by 5% overall and by an additional 15-20% against bosses-an essential choice for any ranged build. -
Crabble Rancher
Increases all ranged damage by 10% and critical chance by 20%, offering one of the strongest early offensive boosts specifically for gun builds. -
Eden Windage
Increases weapon range by 25% and weak spot (headshot) damage by 25% for pistols, sniper rifles, and marksman rifles, making every shot more effective, especially from a distance. -
Through the Keyhole
Grants a 50% weapon range bonus, letting you safely engage enemies from further away-ideal for snipers and distance shooters. -
Trick Shot
Ricochets weak spot kills onto a nearby target, adding both damage and control in hectic combat encounters. -
Bullet Shield
Increases your base health and damage resistance by 10%, providing much-needed survivability when things get close. -
Rapid Recharge
Boosts your energy recharge rate by 500% for 5 seconds with a 30-second cooldown, crucial for Tactical Time Dilation users to keep their “bullet time” active longer.
Synergy and Loadouts
For a pure gunslinger or marksman setup:
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Combine Trophy Hunter, Crabble Rancher, and Eden Windage for potent crits, headshots, and overall ranged performance.
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Pick up Through the Keyhole or Rapid Recharge to extend your tactical effectiveness, especially during difficult fights.
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Take Bullet Shield for added durability, ensuring you stay alive as you push the offensive.
These perks form the core of a guns-focused character and synergize perfectly with each other, letting you deal maximum damage while staying efficient in both offense and survivability.
Which weapon mods boost pistol critical damage
The weapon mods that boost pistol critical damage include Target Cracker, Primed Target Cracker, and Sharpened Bullets. These mods directly increase the critical hit damage multiplier for pistols, making each critical shot significantly more powerful.youtube+1
Top Mods for Critical Damage
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Target Cracker
Raises critical damage by 60% for pistols.youtube -
Primed Target Cracker
Enhances critical damage by up to 110%, making it the most powerful critical damage mod for pistols.youtube -
Sharpened Bullets
Grants 75% increased critical damage for 9 seconds after securing a kill, ideal for continuous combat scenarios.
Additional Synergy Mods
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Hydraulic Crosshairs
Temporarily increases critical hit chance while aiming on headshot, synergizing well with pure pistol crit builds. -
Pistol Gambit/Primed Pistol Gambit
Boosts critical chance, indirectly making critical damage mods more effective by allowing more frequent crits.youtube
Applying a combination of these mods maximizes the critical potential of pistol weapons in your guns-focused build.youtube+1
