White Knuckle All Perks

A guide that contains all perks and what they do. Some perks must be unlocked in the logbook.

Introduction

Hello!

This is a guide that shows all the perks, and what those perks do. I'm missing tier 3 experimental
perks at the moment. Bolded text is context for the images.

You can find my other White Knuckle guides here:
White Knuckle 100% All Achievements Guide
White Knuckle How to Enter the Developer Playground
White Knuckle All Items Detailed Guide
White Knuckle All Creatures and Hazards Detailed Guide
White Knuckle How to Use the Cheat Console
White Knuckle All Logbook Unlocks
White Knuckle How to Mod the Game
White Knuckle How to Get Good at the Game
White Knuckle Best Routes For Every Room (W.I.P)

Normal Free Perks

A normal perk computer.
Normal free perks are perks you can get with the normal modifier computers. You can find these modifier computers in the campaign at Interlude 1 and Forlorn Gateway and also break rooms in endless. Each modifier computer gives you two free perks to choose from.

Armored Plating

These bugs are POWERLESS against me
"Reduced grip loss from most hazards. Halves incoming damage"
This perk isn't as useful as many others, but if you have trouble with dying to anything that isn't the mass, I would recommend getting this. It doubles the amount of hits needed to kill you, which is pretty good with a certain enemy in the 3rd major region (Teeth) and it also reduces grip loss which is good for steam and turrets.

Back Strengtheners

I need more back strengtheners...
"Increases Encumberance Capacity by 3 Items"
This perk is pretty useful if you're hoarding roaches or saving items for skips. The default amount of items you can hold before getting slowed is 13, so just one of these upgrades bumps it up to 16.

Latissimus Optimization

Flying around because of my climbing speed
"Increased climbing speed by 30%"
A pretty good perk when combined with others. Just in case you're unaware, climbing speed is the speed you move when you are using your wasd keys while holding onto something. Overall, perks like these are good things to get, considering how 30% is a lot.

Metabolic Stasis

Just chill, take your time, and listen to the radios. (My audio is clipping SO hard right now)
"Increases the time buffs from items stick around"
Increases the time that it takes for certain items to wear out. Items such as the grubs, pills, and injectors. This can be very useful for speedrunning.

Regenerative Pads

couch potato....
"Regenerate stamina 50% faster when grounded"
This really isn't as good as it seems. A decent portion of the game is spent climbing, not walking, and do you really just want to sit around and let the mass eat you?

Somatic Painkillers

I've been holding onto this for 8 hours now.
"Increases maximum stamina by 30%"
This is an okay perk. I recommend this if you have trouble with stamina preserving and/or have trouble with keeping food. You don't need this at all if you are remotely good at using food.

Tissue Restoratives

I've been jump climbing this ladder for like a minute straight
"Increases stamina regeneration by 25%"
Basically just Somatic Painkillers. This perk makes it pretty hard to run out of stamina, but again, items are better help.

Velocity Augments

You can dodge turrets.
"Improves Walking/Running Speed by 25%, Improves Climbing Speed by 10%"
Far more powerful than people think. This perk is very good for speed, and can make any run much easier. 25% sounds low, but imagine if it was 50% faster instead. 50% faster would be incredibly fast, and 25% is half of that. This perk is also good in open areas, because you can just jump from platform to platform very easily.

Normal Paid Perks

A normal perk computer.
Normal paid perks are perks you can get with the normal modifier computers. You can find these modifier computers in the campaign at Interlude 1 and Forlorn Gateway and also break rooms in endless. Each modifier computer gives you one paid perk you can choose.

Anomalous Bonds

What reviving looks like.
"When reviving by disk, all items are carried with you"
A powerful perk. Not powerful for normal runs, especially endless, but powerful for very niche specific things. It costs 10 roaches, and whenever you revive, all items in your inventory stay there except disks in your inventory, but things like, for example, the flare gun ammo respawns. You can use anomalous bonds to keep reviving and grind flare gun ammo, which can be very helpful in certain situations.

Elastic Limbs

Only just two of this perk can let you reach this far!
"Increases Reach by 50%"
This perk has been nerfed to the ground multiple times, yet it still remains the best perk in the game by a longshot. You can skip a lot of obstacles and jumps, and it makes the game much more easy. If you see this perk, especially in an endless run, buy it immediately. It's only 15 roaches, which is a small price to pay for winning the game.

Heavy Strike

Nobody escapes my hammer.
"Increases the damage of your hammer. You can now hammer in Pitons with a single swing"
A neat little 5 roach upgrade. If you're planning to go 5k or 10k meters, this makes it easier. Even though you don't need to hammer pitons ever, you can two-shot Barnacles, one-shot Bloodbugs and gasbags, and I assume you can stun Teeth in only one hit too.

Ligament Restructure

A relatively high jump.
"Increases jump height by 30%"
A decent perk. It costs only 5 roaches. This can be good if you're able to adapt, but otherwise, it kind of messes with your muscle memory.

Pheromone Glands

Many money.
"Roaches Love You"
An interesting perk that costs 10 roaches. This perk makes it so roaches don't run away, you cant crush roaches, and the only way you can blow up red roaches is by picking them up. This perk isn't worth it, considering it's not that hard to just pick up the roaches and not crush them, and red roaches are very rare.

Pulse Organ

These double jumps go pretty high.
"Increases your number of midair jumps by 1"
A very good perk. Not only do you jump higher than Ligament Restructure, you can control your jump much easier. Stacking this can get pretty powerful, and it's only 10 roaches.

Rabbit DNA

Flying through the air.
From a first glance, you might just think it can make you go high vertically. That is true, it makes you go a decent height similar to the other jump perks if you stand still. But if you're moving while you long jump, you fling yourself far. You can chain this and... bunny hop... but there is one major flaw, long jumping takes stamina. If you're good at reserving stamina, I recommend this perk.

System Reorganization

Fella isn't even close to hitting me
"Improves your movement, jump, climb, and stamina regen by 15%"
Not a bad perk. It's completely just preference whether you want to use this perk or not. It costs 10 roaches.

Experimental Perks

An experimental perk computer.
Experimental perks are perks you can get at only experimental perk computers. You can find the experimental computer in the campaign at the Silos break room. Experimental perks either give you a timed boost, gives you some items, or gives you permanent perks with a major upside and major downside, or just an upside or downside. When a timed perk has 5 minutes left, it makes a click sound, similar to a sound in Interlude Ascent. When a timed perk runs out, it makes a loud and sad sounding sound. You can check how much time is left in the inventory though.

Bad Parent

I'm the bestest of parental guardians
"We're disappointed in you"
This perk gives you a Grub, an Injector, and Pills, which is the best combo of items in the game. This combo of items can let you skip absolutely any part of the entire game very quickly.

Bulletproof

Im grabbing onto flipping steam right now
"Prevents grip loss from most hazards. Halves incoming damage. Lasts for 15 Minutes"
Literally just armored plating, except instead of reducing grip loss, it completely prevents grip loss, so you can't get knocked off of anything by being hit. If you struggle with enemies, then get this. If you struggle with mass and climbing, focus on other upgrades.

Disk Jockey

They want me to fight the turret?
"We thought you might need the help"
This perk gives you a gold disk. The only way to find this gold disk is from this experimental perk. It is worth 3 entire revives, which can be incredibly useful.

Employee Motivator

This is you when you get this perk
"+75% Climbing Speed +25% Mass Speed"
If you're good at the game, then get this. This can be incredibly helpful if you think you can outrun the mass. 75+ climbing speed is a lot, and it's like the "only climbing" perk except you can actually walk.

Employee Retention

Ok well you're at least out of the mass
"-50% Mass Speed -20% Climbing Speed"
Combined with a climbing speed perk, this can be kind of powerful. There's only 1200 meters of The Mass in the campaign right now, but in the future there might be more, and also if you're playing hard mode The Mass might be a problem at the start.

Friends Upstairs

Supply crate???
"The right climber in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. Lasts for 10 Minutes"
A very interesting perk. For 10 minutes, briefcases fall from the sky, and make a loud beeping sound. If you break open a briefcase with a hammer, it opens, giving you some pretty nice loot.

Hang Tight

Me hanging tight live footage
"You got this!"
Gives you an auto piton and 3 pill bottles. That's it. It's not really special, but it's not that bad either. If you like auto pitons and pills then get this I suppose.

Martial Patch

Nobody escapes my hammer still.
"+ Increases the damage of your hammer. + You can now hammer in Pitons with a single swing. Lasts for 10 minutes"
Literally the exact same as Heavy Strike, except it lasts for 10 minutes and doesn't cost 5 roaches. There is no other difference at all.

Metabolic Overdrive

Look man I don't have many ideas for these pictures
"+30% Jump Height +30% Climbing Speed Lasts for 8 Minutes"
Not bad, but it's only 8 minutes. This can make you traverse the substructure easier, but there are better options than this perk.

Only Climbing

Literally just flying through the air
"+200% Climbing Speed -60% Walking Speed"
Actually isn't that bad. Because you have such high climbing speed, you can get insane momentum and fling yourself far. However, normal jumps are a bit harder to make, but as long as you're climbing onto something you can get absurdly high momentum.

Peripheral Binding

Floating
"-50% Player Gravity -70% Player Stamina +50% Damage Taken"
I'm not a fan of this perk, but I've seen about 4 people in the discord server say it's incredibly powerful. You can skip large long areas very easily and with less risk. For example, service shaft, haunted pier, lost pier, and some rooms in Silos are incredibly easy using this perk. It is also referred to as "P-binding"

Piton Enthusiast

Lotta pitons
"You're so good at pitons, who needs rebar? Pitons are secured upon placement. Rebar? Absolutely not"
This perk is only good if you've shoved 3816 pitons up your booty and are planning to use it constantly as your only way to climb. You don't even need to hammer in pitons to use them by the way, so this perk is useless combined with the fact that YOU CANT EVEN HOLD REBAR.

Physics Graduate

flare and rocket
"Every action has an equal and opposite reaction"
Gives you 2 explosive rebars, 1 flare gun, and 4 flares. If you're good at rocket jumping and flare jumping, this is a decent perk. The 4 flares is a lot of flares too, considering that you get extra free flares at Habitation.

Pulse Bladder

Big jump, but hands are unusable.
"Increases your number of midair jumps by 1. Midair jumps drain stamina. Regular jumps drain stamina slightly"
DO NOT GET THIS. Do. Not. Get. This. This is the worst perk in the entire game, and getting it is like if you just willingly jumped into the mass. The normal double jump perk is only 10 roaches, and just because this version is free does not mean its better. Climb-jumping already drains a lot of stamina, and do you really want to drain more? Midair jumps also drain way too much stamina. If you have full stamina, it takes 4 double jumps to completely run out.

Regular Painkillers

I've been holding onto this for 47 hours now.
"Doubles Stamina. Lasts for 10 Minutes"
Somatic Painkillers but more powerful. Again, I only recommend this if you have trouble with stamina preserving and/or have trouble with keeping food. You don't need this at all if you are remotely good at using food.

Slow and Steady

I've been holding onto this for 9023 hours now.
"+200% Stamina -25% Speed"
It's just like the other stamina upgrades. Get it if you need it, it depends on your skill.

Teleporter Malfunction (Major spoilers for a certain lost region)

The two eyes.
"Trapped in the moment between your birth and your death"
This is actually a really good perk. It gives you two Blink Eyes, which means 6 free teleports, which means you're saving 16 roaches with this perk. Don't forget how valuable Blink Eyes are, you only get one per lost pier in Endless Substructure.

last 2 experimental perks becaus i ran out of characters to type because steam hjas a flipping 8000 character limit per section

Adoption Day

Stupid babies on the floor
[idk the description of the perk my apologies]
Gives you 4 grubs. Not really that good, because there are a decent amount of places where you can get 3 - 4 grubs, but if there are no other experimental perk this would be pretty good, especially if you want the endangered achievement.

Unstoppable Conviction

Still can't escape the turret...
"+3 Midair Jumps. Lasts for 6 Minutes."
Really really powerful, but you have to be quick because it's only a 6 minute perk. You can fly through literally any level for 6 entire minutes.

[Axiolot]

This guide is amazing, thank you for making it

[Qwergin]

Check my logbook guide. You need to get the "Go around come around" achievement.

[Mr.White]

How do you unlock tier 3 unstable perks?

[Qwergin]

Nope. You can unlock perks, but the current perks you have enabled on your character is only per run. Perks save through revive deaths though, even timed perks save through revive deaths.

[thefirstkeyblademaster]

Do perks carry over to future runs?

[LUVS2SPWGE]

pulse bladder is a good perk.

[chelmare]

Hi, if u want u can use perk card from my guide.

[Sheller]

"you want me to fight the turret" got me

[Qwergin]

I got tier 3 unstable perks, I added the 3 new perks that come with it and now all perks are in this guide

[Pänis69]

There are a bunch of half life references, especially for Hl1. As an example, the bug model is almost identical to that in half life one, the Bus/Train thing at the entrace to the delta Labs is fairly similiar aswell, and many more. If you haven't played them that might not be as glaringly obvious