Perks

Perks
Perks are optional bonuses and abilities the player may equip on a Dwarf. Perks were implemented in Update 14: Feature Creep as a major new feature and reworked with Update 28: Feeling Perky. They are purchased using Perk Points which are awarded by completing Milestones. Once a milestone has been completed, the Perk Point reward can be claimed at your Key Performance Indicator terminal in the Space Rig. They offer small boosts to certain stats or give certain abilities, such as increasing the amount of minerals a Dwarf can hold in their pouch, or allowing a Dwarf to revive someone instantly once per mission. Once unlocked, all classes can equip a perk. Players start with one Active Active and one  Perk Slot. Active perks are activated as abilities by the player using a button, while passive perks are always active and always give a bonus. Some active perks also have a passive effect which does not need to be activated. An additional Active Slot is unlocked after Promoting each dwarf, and two extra Passive Slots can be unlocked for all dwarfs at perk Tier 4 and Tier 9. A list of perks and their functions can be found just below.

Milestones
Perks are purchased using Perk Points, which can be acquired by completing Milestones. Milestones may include completing missions in certain biomes, completing missions with certain mutators, gaining levels with a class, or unlocking a certain number of accessories. Milestones and milestone progress can be checked at your Key Performance Indicator terminal. Milestones have levels, typically from 1 to 5, with each level awarding perk points upon completion. For example, completing the 'Complete 1 Deep Dive' milestone will award points, and also unlock the 'Complete 3 Deep Dives' milestone, which will require the player to complete three additional deep dives. Milestones are not dwarf specific, and each class shares completed milestones and milestone progress.

Perk Tiers
Perks are divided into tiers. To progress to the the next tier of perks, you must buy a set amount of perks from the previous tiers. For example, to unlock tier 3 perks you must buy three tier 2 or tier 1 perks. Additional passive perk slots are available for purchase at tier 4 and at tier 9. Higher tiers may also contain higher levels of perks. The previous perk level must be purchased before you may buy the next level, even if you have access to that level's tier.

Milestones
Each milestone rewards the player with perk points; some milestones can only be claimed once. All milestones that can be claimed more than once will have their requirement increase each time it is claimed. The perk point reward amount remains constant. After completing the final requirement tier of a milestone, it will no longer appear in the milestones window. Total progress will still be tracked, and can be found on the statistics window.

Milestone progress is not cumulative. After claiming a completed milestone, your progress starts from zero.

Trivia

 * As of Update 33: New Frontiers, it costs 437 Perk Points to unlock everything and 570 Perk Points are available from Milestones, leaving 133 unused.
 * Before the Rebalance of the Hotfix 4 (Update 28) the total perks cost was 547 Perk Points, resulting in a total reduction of 22%.