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Fallout 3 Hints
Level 8 Perks
* Commando: This is the two-handed rifle-using version of the level 6 perk Gunslinger, and is also useless to everyone who isn't a V.A.T.S.-focused fighter. Even then, you should probably choose between Commando and Gunslinger instead of taking both. (If you're not sure, take Commando, since rifles are generally more powerful than pistols.)
* Impartial Mediation: This perk gives a huge +30 to the Speech skill as long as your character's karma is neutral, which is very easy to maintain by using the Easy Ways to Raise Karma and Easy Ways to Lower Karma tips. However, it's yet another perk that only raises a skill, so my general recommendation against such perks applies here as well.
* Rad Resistance: Adding 25 to your rad resistance isn't at all useful due to the plentifulness of rad-x and radaway items, plus the "my first infirmary" item that you can buy for your home once you finish the "The Power of the Atom" misc. quest. Also, you should get Lesko's Lab Coat early in the game and keep it with you at all times, since it only weighs one pound and can be worn for a +20 rad resistance when you have to be in areas that hit you with more than 1 or 2 rads per second.
* Scrounger: This is similar to the level 6 perk Fortune Finder, and is just as useless. Sure, you get more ammo from many containers, but it's always possible to find and buy more ammo than you'll ever need, even without this perk. The single exception is alien power cells, which are very rare. If you have this perk, you can get a lot more of them from the few ammo boxes that contain them.
* Size Matters: Even though this perk significantly increases your Big Guns skill every time you take it, it's still just another skill-increase-only perk. Get the Big Guns bobblead, then see the Big Guns Skill Books list to find Big Guns skill books, including one that respawns every few days.
* Strong Back: This is another "everybody" perk, since everybody can benefit from the ability to carry an extra 50 pounds of stuff. This is very useful for looting purposes alone, and is essential later on when you're wanting to lug power armor and several heavy weapons around with you everywhere you go. (And you probably will want that eventually.)
Just about any character should take Strong Back at level 8, even if their Strength stat is high. Even a Strength of 10 will only give you a carrying capacity of 250 pounds, and Strong Back will increase that to 300. For level 9, take the Commando perk if you're a rifle-using V.A.T.S. addict, and yet another Intense Training perk if you're not. (If you're an explosives fanatic, and don't have another attribute you really want to raise, you might want to take the Demolition Expert perk again.)
