Just some thoughts about the perks, what's worth taking and when.
Attributes - Always, always good to take them. The only real choice comes down to which you dump out on: Strength or Perception, as the other stats are essentially universal to most characters.
Marksmanship Skills - Weapon-specific perks are essentially useless in the early game. Ammo is limited, except arrows for bows, and most don't mature until you can invest a third point into them at around level 40ish. Boom Headshot is universally useful for all ranged weapons, and is a strong early game pick.
Scavenger skills - If you want to focus heavily on scavenged loot for guns, ammo, and trade fodder, this is where you start. Unfortunately, it's very weak early game, as you don't get quality bonuses until level 3. Salvage Ops, likewise, is a junk skill if you don't have the fabrication perks to use any of the advanced materials you obtain.
Melee Skills - These are more friendly, general-use skills compared to the Perception tree if you are focusing on a melee-centric build. There's little more satisfying than stepping up and picking fights with very little to fear except bleedout debuffs. Skull Cracker, like Headshot, is universally useful and the strongest early game pick, along with Sexual T-Rex for stamina management.
Construction Perks - These are very handy for people focusing on harvesting natural resources, as well as relieving the pain of low inventory space. While there are armor mods that relieve that pressure, they are excessively rare and require advanced skills to produce, so you can't go wrong here with Pack Mule as an early pick.
Fortitude Skills - Oh where do I start. If you like living, you go here. Even if you plan on having no armor at all, Pain Tolerance and Immunity are practically must haves in those close-call moments. Improved meat harvesting is also a strong choice early on when food is scarce. Crop skills are a bit of a 2nd-week skill to be sure, but you can't say you've settled somewhere until you've pooped on a potato.
Recovery Skills - One point in Fast healing is a given, and topping it off is a must for a melee build to counter bleed damage. Food/Water are both excellent skills for surviving harsh conditions, but they become less relevant by the time you can invest in them, so they can quickly become a waste. Self Medicated is a more endgame skill when you actually have stockpiles of meds to worry about.
Athletic perks - Rule #1 is #1 when it comes to stamina management, next to Sex Rex, as a universal skill for everyone. You may only need it to L2 or 3, but is a go-to early game choice. Parkour is a good midgame choice for scavengers navigating the dungeons, but not worth taking early on without the jump bonuses.
Stealth Perks - Hidden Strike is another one of those rare damage-dealing booster gems. It may only work on the first strike, but combined with other ranged bonuses, it can make or break a one-hit kill. If you plan on being a POI burglar, or want to travel at night, Movement and Shadows offer you that comforting option to not fight everything you see.
Influence Perks - These are, to be honest, terrible except in a multiplayer situation and you're the village layabout who signed up for the 'engineer' or 'medic' position and now have absolutely ♥♥♥♥ all to do while you wait for things to unlock in the INT tree. The group bonus that inhibits bleed is as amazing as it worthless to the person who takes it.
Craftsmanship perks - If you're not a stone-age idiot, you're coming here every time there's a point to be spent. Self sufficiency and sustainability is hard to come by, and therefore extremely valuable. Solo players, and multiplayers with unreliable friends, can expect to spend a LOT of time here in the midgame, but there's nothing that can really be done in the early stages.
My Picks for First Five Points:
Fast Healing
Boom Headshot
Skull Crusher
Sexual Tyrannosaurus
Rule #1
These skills are universally useful, and cover the most pressing needs of a fresh character regardless of future specialization: basic damage output, stamina management, & health recovery without meds or food. Future points can be spent adapting to your immediate needs and preferred playstyles. These take priority over things like resourcing skills simply because resourcing doesn't advance you; you will need to kill zombies, and these skills make that process of levelling up much easier.
Power Combinations:
Heavy Armor + Pain Tolerance + Immunity + Fast Healing - Who needs to sneak when you can storm a place and take the hits? This is a great combination of skills, ending in a build that really doesn't care about piddly things like infections, ferals, or the hazards of drinking out of a toilet.
Lucky Looter + Boom Headshot + Hidden Strike + Ninja Movement - The core of any POI-raiding burglar, perception and agility skills pair very well for this. You'll find all the best loot, and with Better Barter, find all the best deals.
Immunity + Well Insulated + Slow Metabolism + Fully Hydrated - Literally a hobo, or a gun toting drifter, but probably just a hobo. Who needs to settle down or boil water? Heck, who needs to cook food?
Attributes - Always, always good to take them. The only real choice comes down to which you dump out on: Strength or Perception, as the other stats are essentially universal to most characters.
Marksmanship Skills - Weapon-specific perks are essentially useless in the early game. Ammo is limited, except arrows for bows, and most don't mature until you can invest a third point into them at around level 40ish. Boom Headshot is universally useful for all ranged weapons, and is a strong early game pick.
Scavenger skills - If you want to focus heavily on scavenged loot for guns, ammo, and trade fodder, this is where you start. Unfortunately, it's very weak early game, as you don't get quality bonuses until level 3. Salvage Ops, likewise, is a junk skill if you don't have the fabrication perks to use any of the advanced materials you obtain.
Melee Skills - These are more friendly, general-use skills compared to the Perception tree if you are focusing on a melee-centric build. There's little more satisfying than stepping up and picking fights with very little to fear except bleedout debuffs. Skull Cracker, like Headshot, is universally useful and the strongest early game pick, along with Sexual T-Rex for stamina management.
Construction Perks - These are very handy for people focusing on harvesting natural resources, as well as relieving the pain of low inventory space. While there are armor mods that relieve that pressure, they are excessively rare and require advanced skills to produce, so you can't go wrong here with Pack Mule as an early pick.
Fortitude Skills - Oh where do I start. If you like living, you go here. Even if you plan on having no armor at all, Pain Tolerance and Immunity are practically must haves in those close-call moments. Improved meat harvesting is also a strong choice early on when food is scarce. Crop skills are a bit of a 2nd-week skill to be sure, but you can't say you've settled somewhere until you've pooped on a potato.
Recovery Skills - One point in Fast healing is a given, and topping it off is a must for a melee build to counter bleed damage. Food/Water are both excellent skills for surviving harsh conditions, but they become less relevant by the time you can invest in them, so they can quickly become a waste. Self Medicated is a more endgame skill when you actually have stockpiles of meds to worry about.
Athletic perks - Rule #1 is #1 when it comes to stamina management, next to Sex Rex, as a universal skill for everyone. You may only need it to L2 or 3, but is a go-to early game choice. Parkour is a good midgame choice for scavengers navigating the dungeons, but not worth taking early on without the jump bonuses.
Stealth Perks - Hidden Strike is another one of those rare damage-dealing booster gems. It may only work on the first strike, but combined with other ranged bonuses, it can make or break a one-hit kill. If you plan on being a POI burglar, or want to travel at night, Movement and Shadows offer you that comforting option to not fight everything you see.
Influence Perks - These are, to be honest, terrible except in a multiplayer situation and you're the village layabout who signed up for the 'engineer' or 'medic' position and now have absolutely ♥♥♥♥ all to do while you wait for things to unlock in the INT tree. The group bonus that inhibits bleed is as amazing as it worthless to the person who takes it.
Craftsmanship perks - If you're not a stone-age idiot, you're coming here every time there's a point to be spent. Self sufficiency and sustainability is hard to come by, and therefore extremely valuable. Solo players, and multiplayers with unreliable friends, can expect to spend a LOT of time here in the midgame, but there's nothing that can really be done in the early stages.
My Picks for First Five Points:
Fast Healing
Boom Headshot
Skull Crusher
Sexual Tyrannosaurus
Rule #1
These skills are universally useful, and cover the most pressing needs of a fresh character regardless of future specialization: basic damage output, stamina management, & health recovery without meds or food. Future points can be spent adapting to your immediate needs and preferred playstyles. These take priority over things like resourcing skills simply because resourcing doesn't advance you; you will need to kill zombies, and these skills make that process of levelling up much easier.
Power Combinations:
Heavy Armor + Pain Tolerance + Immunity + Fast Healing - Who needs to sneak when you can storm a place and take the hits? This is a great combination of skills, ending in a build that really doesn't care about piddly things like infections, ferals, or the hazards of drinking out of a toilet.
Lucky Looter + Boom Headshot + Hidden Strike + Ninja Movement - The core of any POI-raiding burglar, perception and agility skills pair very well for this. You'll find all the best loot, and with Better Barter, find all the best deals.
Immunity + Well Insulated + Slow Metabolism + Fully Hydrated - Literally a hobo, or a gun toting drifter, but probably just a hobo. Who needs to settle down or boil water? Heck, who needs to cook food?
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