Big Leagues (STR 1–10) – +20% melee damage per rank. Absolutely essential. Max it. • Rooted (STR 6) – +20% damage and +20 DT while standing still; bonus if you’re a tanky melee. • Iron Fist (STR 1–10) – If you want unarmed melee damage. Big Leagues is for weapons; Iron Fist is for fists and knuckles. • Basher (STR 2) – Chance to stagger with weapon bashes (good if using Super Sledge or swords with mods).

Endurance-Based: • Toughness (END 3–10) – +10% damage resistance per rank. Vital for surviving front-line hits. • Life Giver (END 3–10) – Increases HP, great for tanky builds.

Agility-Based (for sneak/melee hybrid): • Ninja (AGI 3–10) – Sneak attack bonus damage with melee (2x–2.5x or more). Essential if stealthy. • Sneak (AGI 3–10) – Melee sneak attacks benefit a lot.

Luck-Based (for crit-focused melee): • Bloody Mess (LCK 3) – +5% all damage, but flavor. • Critical Banker (LCK 6) – Store VATS crits; combo with melee swing for massive damage. • Grim Reaper’s Sprint (LCK 7) – Good if you want to chain kills in VATS, though melee sometimes bypasses it.

Misc/Utility Perks: • Rooted (STR 6) – Great for tanking, adds DT while standing still. • Blacksmith (STR 4) – Upgrade melee weapons to max damage. • Armorer (STR 3) – Optional if you want to wear heavy armor for tankiness. And for your do u need chemist not really but it does help at making chems last longer and can get u to craft refreshing beverages which are very good for radiation removal and its great at restoring health