Wasteland 2 Wiki Guide


Wasteland 2 features many diverse Skills that will help Rangers survive in the wild.

Table of Contents[edit]



There are a total of 29 different skills divided into 3 classifications: 10 weapon skills, 10 general skills and 9 knowledge skills. All Rangers start with 12 Skill Points to spend, and gain more each level depending on their SP per Level value. Skills levels range from 0 (the starting value) to 10. How much SP upgrading a skill costs depends on the skill level: levels 1-3 cost 2 points per increase, levels 4-6 cost 4 points per increase, levels 7-9 cost 6 points per increase, and bumping your skill value from 9 to 10 costs 8 points. In other words: skills are easy to learn, but harder to master.

It is generally advisable to focus on a few skills and master those, while using excess Skill Points to learn the basics of other skills as a fallback: for instance, a sniper-style Ranger who has 8 points in Sniper Rifles may also want to put 3 points in Bladed Weapons in case the enemy manages to rush her.The premade Characters generally have three skills at 2 points. That is a balanced approach between specializing and generalizing, but with 12 Skill Points available, you can opt to go even further and push one skill all the way to 4, which spends 10 of your points in one go, or generalize and start out with six skills. How you customize each Ranger is up to you, though aiming for a balanced party with varied skills is highly advised!

Critical Success and Failure[edit]

With many skills, each time you use them you'll have a small chance of Critical Success or Critical Failure. Critical Success may mean you succeed at low odds and complete the action more quickly, while Critical Failure may come with a penalty such as breaking the object you're interacting with - and sometimes preventing you from using the object again. Be careful not to use your skills on objects you have very low odds of success with, and remember that it's not the end of the world if you break a few toasters along the way.

Using Skills[edit]

Skills can be used by adding them to the respective Ranger's Skill Bar.Skills are typically used by selecting them and clicking on the object in the environment upon which you want to use the skill, but some skills are passive or may require consumable items (like Field Medic and Surgeon) before they can be used. Using skills often takes time, but the greater your chance of success using the skill, the faster it will complete.

Weapon Skills[edit]

Not every weapon is equally well-suited to the different challenges Rangers face. Each weapon skill covers a specific sub-set of weapons that range from the basic starting arms to the advanced weaponry looted from more dangerous enemies.

Assault Rifles[edit]

Assault Rifles are a favorite of the experienced Ranger: flexible, reliable and useful in almost any situation. Assault rifles have good range, good Armor Penetration, good damage and multiple firing modes. However, they use up a significant amount of Action Points per shot, ammo is hard to find and expensive, and they lose accuracy in close quarters.

Bladed Weapons[edit]

Bladed Weapons are excellent for getting in close and personal with low-armored enemies, such as the various mutated animals in the wastes. The Critical Hit rate is high, but Armor Penetration and damage of non-Critical Hits are not very good. Bladed weapons do not consume ammo.

Blunt Weapons[edit]

Blunt Weapons offer a close range alternative that is a bit more dependable than bladed weapons, and better suited against armored enemies. The Armor Penetration is good and, if you do land a Critical Hit, the damage multiplier is high, but the Critical Hit Chance is significantly lower than for bladed weapons. Blunt weapons do not consume ammo.


Brawling is the final fallback if all your ammo is gone or your weapons have been lost. Brawling has a very low Action Point requirement, allowing for many attacks per turn for fast characters, and the hit rate is high, but overall damage is very low. Fists do not consume ammo.

Energy Weapons[edit]

Energy Weapons have a unique inverse relation to the enemy's armor: the bigger and thicker the armor, the more it amplifies the heating and melting effects of the energy weapon's blasts, doing more and more damage- picture that metal-plated enemy getting boiled alive in his armor. Energy weapon damage scales very quickly with enemy armor. The downside is that energy weapons do very little damage against unarmored enemies, and as energy ammo is pretty uncommon, you may find it advisable not to waste it on unarmored foes.


Handguns are useful as a primary weapon and also a prime choice as a secondary weapon, because handguns and handgun ammo are quite common. Handguns have a high Critical Hit rate, cheap ammo and cost relatively little Action Point to use, but they suffer from low Armor Penetration and range.

Heavy Weapons[edit]

Heavy Weapons are extremely powerful armaments, dangerous to both your enemies and - if they're not positioned well - your allies. Heavy weapons all have Area of Effect (AoE) attacks, covering a radius or cone of area and potentially affecting everyone in that area. Heavy weapons do very high damage and have good Armor Penetration , but a single shot takes a lot of Action Points, so using them can slow down the Ranger and offer bonus Melee Critical Hit Chance to opponents due to the Rangers' limited mobility. Heavy weapons are also expensive and sometimes hard to find ammo for. That said, a single opportune use of a heavy weapon may swing a seemingly hopeless fight in your favor.


Shotguns are ideal crowd-clearing weapons. All shotguns have an AoE cone inside which any characters - friendly or enemy - will be damaged. This makes shotguns tricky to use, but there's little that beats the joy of clearing a group of foolishly clustered enemies with a single shot. Shotguns use medium Action Points, meaning a well-balanced Ranger could take multiple shots per turn, but they do not have great range or Armor Penetration and shots lose effectiveness the farther away an enemy is.

Sniper Rifles[edit]

Sniper Rifles have an extremely high damage output per shot. A good sniper can start off combat by taking out an enemy with a single shot, and remain deadly throughout the fight. But despite their damage, and long range, their high Action Point cost per shot means you generally can take only one shot per turn and do little else. Also, sniper bullets are very expensive and hard to find, and the weapon loses all effectiveness if enemies come within close range.

Submachine Guns[edit]

Submachine Guns are cheap and easy-to-find weapons for the Ranger that prefers the spray-and-pray approach to combat. SMGs fire multiple rounds per shot, have very cheap ammo, and bonus accuracy at close range. However, they have low Critical Hit Chances, low Armor Penetration and are only effective up to medium range.

General Skills[edit]

General Skills are a hodge-podge of practical skills you may find useful in the wastes. This includes a variety of dialog or negotiation-based skills, but also survivalist skills such as Outdoorsman, Weaponsmithing, and others.

Animal Whisperer[edit]

Animal Whisperer does not just represent a fondness of talking to puzzled animals in one's spare time. No, the whispering actually works. Animals are pacified by this skill, and sometimes even made to follow the party around which can sometimes result in various bonuses. Maybe someone out there in the wastes that's lost his dog will even reward you for leading her back home.


Barter represents the ability to get a better deal from merchants and vendors. Each point in Barter represents a bonus in trading situations, reducing the cost of items you buy. Barter works for the entire group as long as the Ranger with the skill is in range, and the bonus does not stack between multiple Rangers.

Brute Force[edit]

Brute Force is the Ranger's capacity to kick down, push over and smash through things. Doors, walls, pillars, even cows - whatever you see upright and think "that should be down", make it so! This skill can also occasionally be used on locked doors or containers, but the results can sometimes be less than ideal - for example, you might destroy some of the contents of the container.

Hard Ass[edit]

Hard Ass is the ability to talk tough and intimidate people, with the purpose of getting them to abandon a fight or simply let you pass. Each of the conversation ("Ass") skills can be used at the Conversation Screen by selecting the Ranger with the skill and clicking the corresponding keyword - which is unlocked if their skill level is sufficient. Each conversation skill is situational, and once the opportunity is missed, it usually won't come back again for that specific conversation.

Kiss Ass[edit]

Kiss Ass represents the ability to persuade people using flattery and general sweet talking. It tends towards the deceptive. It works in conversations in a similar way to Hard Ass and Smart Ass.


Leadership is the ability to command others and inspire confidence through one's commands. It has two major effects: one is that recruits will be less likely to ignore your commands and go rogue in combat. Additionally, the Leadership skill "inspires confidence", giving an increase in Chance to Hit to nearby team members (the range of this effect is determined by the Ranger's Charisma attribute).


Outdoorsman is used mostly while traveling on the World Map. It reduces the rate of water consumption, and makes it possible to avoid random encounters, potentially keeping you out of dangerous unexpected firefights.


Perception indicates a keen eye for small details. It can be used actively to highlight interactive objects in the area, but is also frequently used when simply moving the pointer over something; the game will check for Perception scores and offer the ability to inspect the object further. Perception is also occasionally used in conversations to reveal special information about a character that less attentive Rangers might miss out on.

Smart Ass[edit]

Smart Ass is the manipulative end of the conversation skills, turning people to your way of thinking either with honest logic, or by simply outsmarting and confusing them. It works in conversations in a similar way to Hard Ass and Kiss Ass.


Weaponsmithing allows a Ranger to strip useless weapons down for parts. These parts can be good for nothing but selling, but they will also occasionally produce a modification which can then be applied to any weapon to increase its performance. Modifications have a minimum Weaponsmithing skill level required to install them on weapons, so it's good to have one person in your party with at least a few points in Weaponsmithing.

Knowledge Skills[edit]

Knowledge Skills are those that require a combination of intelligence, cleverness and experience. This can be purely "smart" skills like Computer Science, or quick-fingered ones like Lockpicking, or those that require a little of both, like Alarm Disarming.

Alarm Disabling[edit]

Alarm Disarming allows a Ranger to safely disable detection systems and alarms on doors, tripwires, and other alarm devices. This is often the only way to get through some areas peaceably, or open certain electronically sealed doors and safes. It combines well with Perception, which gives the ability to notice all these traps by other methods than just walking into them.

Computer Science[edit]

Computer Science gives the knowledge and ability to use computers and similar electronic devices, allowing the Ranger to interface, hack and repair them. Experienced hackers may even be able to sway robots and synths to join their side in combat.


Demolitions is used to arm and disarm explosives, though the most common "in the field" purpose is to disarm mines and booby traps others have left for you. It pairs well with the Perception skill, as even if you know how to disarm a bomb, it won't do you much good if you can't find it.

Field Medic[edit]

Field Medic represents the ability to apply quick, effective but limited medical treatment, making it a life-saver in combat situations. Field medics restore CON and can remove some status effects using various items.


Lockpicking is the skill of unlocking simple, reinforced locks on doors and chests, without the use of a key.

Mechanical Repair[edit]

Mechanical Repair gives a Ranger the skill to repair engines, appliances, and other machines. This is a situational skill that might help you solve a mechanical problem or open up a new path to get where you're going.


Safecracking is high tech lockpicking, allowing a Ranger to open safe doors and vaults. Containers and doors with these high tech locks generally can't be easily opened with gunfire or conventional explosives.


Surgeon teaches a Ranger how to save the lives of the grievously wounded. This kind of surgery generally takes more time and effort than the quick work of a field medic. If a Ranger goes down, a surgeon is the only one who can get them back on their feet, and they will also fix any status effects the Ranger gained from injury.

Toaster Repair[edit]

Toaster Repair is a highly specialized skill focusing purely on the repair and maintenance of toasters. Repairing a toaster allows one access to its contents, and you'll be surprised: people leave the darndest stuff inside those things!