Quick answer
You get 3 perk points and 4 slots, and perks unlock from your second run. Savings plus Vigilant is the safest start: 150 extra credits and no night robberies. Bad Lease is the easiest negative perk to take for an extra point.
On this page
Try a build
The Perk Planner counts your points and slots as you pick, and gives you a link to share the build.
How perks work
You have 3 perk points and 4 perk slots. There are 36 perks: six cost 2 points, 17 cost 1, three are free trade-offs, and 10 negative perks each give you a point back.
Perks aren't available on your first run.
The safest picks
Savings (1 point) adds 150 starting credits. That's over a quarter of an Apprentice's starting cash, and it arrives when money is tightest.
Vigilant (2 points) removes night robberies, so you don't have to pay for insurance just to stop them.
Diplomatic (2 points) adds 33% reputation from trade. It's the natural pick if you're chasing the Diplomatic achievement, which needs maximum reputation with one faction.
Model Citizen (1 point) gives +30 Security reputation and bigger Wanted List rewards. It suits players who plan to report criminals, and it helps with Snitches Get Riches.
Vending Machine (2 points) saves 1,200 favor and sells overnight from Day 1. See the vending guide before you pick it.
Good free picks
Prime Real Estate brings one more normal customer every day for 75 extra starting rent. It's a good deal if you can sell to that customer, but it's a poor one on a slow specialist start.
Careful Scavenger gives up two Dumping Ground actions to remove scavenging injuries.
Negative perks worth taking
Each negative perk gives a point. The easiest to live with depends on your plan:
- Bad Lease: +40 starting rent. It's a known cost you can plan around.
- Banned from the Commissary: fine if you don't plan to use food stamps.
What players are running
Early forum builds favor scavenging: Sawyer's Crew, and Careful Scavenger paired with Proficient Scavenger. That's one thread, so treat it as a starting point.
Perks to think twice about
- Secret Admirer: KeenGamer rates it as unreliable income.
- Degenerative Osteoarthritis: a poor fit for scavenging runs, because your attempts fall each week.
- Illiterate: you can't read guides, which is costly in a game built around them.
- Addiction perks: each carries an 8% trade penalty without the substance, although they're curable.
Challenge perks
Aug Menace and Makeshift Reactor cost a point but add new ways to lose: too many escaped Augs, or a reactor meltdown. Save them until you know the game.
Sources
- Starting perks: all 36 on the perk screen — AllThings.How, 2026-10
- Discussion: favorite starting perks — Steam Community, 2026-10-31
- Complete walkthrough and beginner tips — KeenGamer, 2026-10
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