Even after you understand all of the individual Perks in Fallout 3, putting them all together to form an effective character can be difficult. This general tips section, the last article in the Fallout 3 Perk Guide, provides tips on how to plan a character who makes use of all the best Perks.
Remember Requirements
The easiest thing to forget about when planning which perks you intend to take are the requirements needed to be eligible for a perk. This is because early perks don't have very strict requirements, and so early into the game you will see most perks show up. At later stages however, many perks have strict requirements. Take Cyborg, for instance. It is a good combat perk, but to take it, you need 60 skill points in both Medicine and Science. Unless you were planning with those requirements in mind, it is likely that a combat oriented-character would not be able to take the Cyborg perk.
If you want an optimal character, you should pick a few important perks - the ones you feel are really critical to the success of your character - and plan out your skills so that you don't miss a perk that you really want because you didn't have the requirements. You need to be extra careful with powerful higher-level perks as well, because - unlike lower level perks - you won't be getting many chances to pick a missed high-level perk up if you happen to lack the requirements for it when you level up.
Stacking Perks, Skills, and Attributes
One rule that you should always stick to when taking perks is to use them to help maximum advantages you already have. Taking a few combat perks and a few stealth perks and a few non-combat perks probably won't result in an outstanding character. This is both because stacking perk effects allows you to be incredibly powerful in a certain area, and because you'll ultimately need to give your skills and attributes a clear focus in order to qualify for the best high-level perks. For example, the level 20 perk Ninja requires 80 points in Sneak and 80 points in Melee weapons. If you're going to take that perk, you might as well design your entire character to be focused on melee combat and stealth. And if you plan to take Ninja, that you might as well take Silent Running. And if you're focusing on combat and sneak attacks, you probably want to take perks which increase your crit chance and your crit damage. As in most games, specialization is key.
Fallout 3 Perk Guide
Fallout 3 is a complex game, with choices that will challenge you throughout your life in the Wasteland. One of these choices is your Perks - the abilities that make you more powerful than the average survivor. This guide will help you choose the best Perks, so you can not only survive, but thrive.