The Outer Worlds is an open world, first-person shooter game with some strong RPG elements. As you level up, you can increase your character’s stats, making them tougher, better able to fight, sneakier, or more persuasive, to name just a few benefits. You can also unlock points to spend on Perks. The Perks will give you important skills that can make life easier as you try to make your way through the world of the game.

How To Use Character Perks In The Outer Worlds

To level up in The Outer Worlds, you can explore, fight, or finish quests to gain experience. Leveling up will get you skill points, and every second level will get you Perk points. You can then spend these points to improve your character.

To spend Perk points, open up the main menu, then go to the Character tab. From there, go to the Perks menu. Select the perk you wish to spend your Perk Point on, and press X on PS4, A on the Xbox One, or click on it on PC. With the perk, then highlighted, hit Square on PS4, X on Xbox One, or E on PC to equip the Perk.

How To Unlock Perk Tiers

Every five Perks that you equip will unlock a new Tier. The first Tier is automatically unlocked, so five Perks will unlock Tier 2, and ten Perks will unlock Tier 3. Many of the higher tier Perks offer additional benefits to existing Perks, while some will be completely new.

You cannot unequip a Perk; once you equip it, it becomes a permanent part of your character. If you wish to change the Perks, you will need to respec the character entirely using the game’s respec method. As such, it pays to think carefully about which Perks you wish to equip in the game, as you may not want to fully respec a character to change a single Perk if you make a choice that you are not happy with.

If you are wondering what all the Perks do, we have a full guide to the various Perks that you might find helpful.