Time to build the best you that you can be - because you're S.P.E.C.I.A.L.!
Well then! From all of us at Vault-Tec, let me be the first to congratulate you: you’ve done it! You’ve made it to the endgame of Fallout 76 - level 50 and beyond. I hope you enjoyed the last few weeks of gametime, because now you’re in the tweak, modify, and upgrade stage.You’ve learned a lot on your travels through the wasteland, and you have a good understanding of how you like to play. But there are a few more secrets to be found out where the wild radiation roams, and we want you to be as S.P.E.C.I.A.L. as you know you are! Specifically, we want to talk about your Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck - and some strong builds to plan your future around!
But before we do that, we should talk about the difference between being a Bloodied adventurer out in the wilds, or being a Full-Health tank that would make the Brotherhood of Steel proud (or consider you a heretic; it could go either way).
Pre-Build Intro: Bloodied vs Tank
Here’s a no-nonsense note from the author: the Fallout 76 endgame/metagame is broken down into two functional groups. You have individuals that focus on putting out the absolute most DPS they possibly can in any given situation; they’ve figured out their mutations, they’ve got a full set of armor with the Unyielding perk, and they know how to burn down Earl and the SBQ in under two minutes. They’re willing to accept the tradeoff of this build - being a glass cannon - as a worthwhile exchange.
Then you have players like me. I show up in full health, I roll in with a flamer, and I burn the world down around me wherever I walk. I don’t care if something hits hard because generally, I don’t notice it and even if it does, it doesn’t live long enough for me to be grouchy. I walk through the valley of death and fear no evil for my power armor does not lead me astray. Sure, things may take a little longer to die but I’m also sitting back behind my keyboard and drinking my morning caffeine while I’m doing it because I’m in easy mode. Yes, I keep a constant pile of stimpacks on me and yes I have to hit them - but that’s why they’re hotkeyed, and I’m doing it because I’m soloing.However you play is entirely up to you and there is no right or wrong. These specific builds I’m presenting here are designed for casual to semi-casual players, which is where the majority of the player-base is. I am leaving wiggle room for you to modify this as you need and I’m even going to point out a few changes you may want to consider here and there.
This is also not my list of ‘best armor’ or ‘best weapons.’ I’m not including ‘mutations’ in this list or recommended food items. With that said mutations are a big part of the end game, and finding ones that work for you can boost your damage, your jump speed, your stats - all of it. You’ll need to work them into your builds!
With a tank build, you focus on walking through the world and being able to ignore everything. You probably aren’t soloing the SBQ, the Ultracite Titan, or Earl, but there isn’t a Daily Op, Kill 30 X, or an Expedition you won’t be able solo - with ease, at that. You rarely die and you aren’t worried about much of anything.
Again, it’s up to you. Have fun, first and foremost. With 76, there’s not a lot of endgame to be had, and with what there is, you’re in for a grind.
Cause and… Armor Effect
The build type you play around is going to depend on the armor and weapon effects you use. That’s more to go into with this guide, but I do need to give you a little bit of guidance. With Bloodied, you’re going to be very focused on the stats you can get from your armor pieces; Unyielding is king, and the Bloodied effect on your weapons is what the build name is based around.
You’ll also need to have access to radiation sources - like Toxic Goo or the Asteroid C.A.M.P. item - to keep your health at a manageable level. Foods like Canned Coffee or Company Tea can make a big difference in your life, too. There’s a huge meta-game based around min/maxing your DPS, and if you go this route, I strongly encourage you to look outside this guide (partly because it’s outside my expertise, and partly because it’s a lot to take in at once).
Since my DPS is lower than that of a Bloodied build, I make sure that when I can, my weapons work with some of the more prevalent bad guys in the game - largely the Scorched since they make up one of the major four endgame fights and two of the five major ‘seasonal’ events every year in ‘76. To that end, Zealots is a perk on a couple of my weapons, and I use Ultracite ammo for both an increase in base damage and scorch-specific. Some of my armor is Mutant Slayer, so that the hulking green walls of meat and anger out there don’t give me as much of a headache.
That said, there’s one more thing you need to do to be ready for the daily grind, and that starts at level 50, when you can…
Be LEGENDARY!
Legendary perks. You'll be well over level 300 by the time you finish your collection of these. It's the longest grind in the game.
When you see my build suggestions, you’re going to notice that I have a lot more S.P.E.C.I.A.L. perks than the average bear. That’s because at level 50, you gain access to the Legendary Perk system - which completely changes your approach to the game. You gain access to 6 of them in total; and they unlock ACCOUNT WIDE (so if you have more than one character, guess what? You can stat them out right away!) at levels 50, 75, 150, 200, and 300.
These perk cards can be ranked up - but they take a unique currency called ‘perk coins.’ These coins are awarded on the Scoreboard, or can be earned by selling your unused normal perk cards at a 2 coin-per-card exchange rate. To level up a Legendary Perk, you’ll spend 50, 100, and finally 150 coins to get them to level 4.It’s a lot. Getting to level 300 is a time consuming feat for most players, and unlocking them to your full potential will take a while.
However, it’s absolutely worth it. Some of the perks are incredible, such as making your enemies explode or filling your fusion cores. Others are a little iffy - but I went in another direction that serves me very, very well.My recommended Legendary Build, as a Full-Health Tank
- Legendary Perk Card: Agility, rank 4
- Legendary Perk Card: Perception, rank 4
- Legendary Perk Card: Strength, rank 4
- Legendary Perk Card: Intelligence, rank 4
- Master Infiltrator (auto-unlock level 3 locks and terminals, no other perks required)
- Ammo Factory (create 150% more rounds per craft)
Master Inf does come with a downside - sometimes players lock up their supplies, and accidentally unlocking something can turn you into a Wanted man. But that’s the price we pay for convenience. Speaking of, I’m all for making things easier…
How S. P. E. C. I. A. L. is Your Life?
Big note: you can unlock extra loadout slots at 500 atoms a pop. It's expensive, but if you like to have a variety of weapon loadouts, it's arguably the best Atom Shop purchase you can make.
After playing the game for a few months or years, you may want to go, “Is this all there is to it? Can I make my sessions a little less of a chore?” Yes, you can. After this section, we’ll get right to the builds you can play around with in FO76, but before then, let me address a set of perks you may want to mix in with your builds just to make your life a little easier.
You’ll note that these are sprinkled through the builds in the list but not explicitly called out. Some can be replaced; some aren’t necessary for every play style, and some don’t change how you play but how your play session goes, or even what armor you pick. As such, it’s customizable to your needs - but you can never go wrong with hulking Strength and a lot of Intelligence.Strength
- Traveling Pharmacy 3 reduces the weight of all of your chems by 90%. This effect is replicated as a legendary effect on armor, and it doesn’t stack with the perk effect. If you don’t have it on your armor, use it. If you do, don’t. It makes carrying around stimpacks much less of a headache.
- Pack Rat 3 reduces the weight on junk items up to 75%... but we honest, hard working wastelanders never ever take anything that doesn’t belong to us from the wasteland. Like TP3, some armor has it, some doesn’t, it doesn’t stack, use accordingly.
Perception
- Green Thumb is insanely helpful if you ever need to harvest Flux for Ultracite ammo, fusion cores, or other. Anymore, I just leave it on all the time; I never run out of diseased cranberries for cranberry juice or regular ones for cranberry cobbler. I can easily harvest 70 crimson flux at a time with this perk on, and it’s part of every build I have.
- Lone Wanderer is a perk that only applies if you don’t group up. You gain extra AP regen and extra damage resistance. The moment you join a group with someone, you lose the effects. However, you can also grab Inspiration instead and join a casual group the moment you log in - and gain a hefty slew of additional xp as you travel. It’s up to you; either one works quite well.
- NOTE: Between writing this guide and sending it to be approved, I played around with Inspiration. It is a really sizable exp boost, and with the game rewarding you with Scoreboard Points every time you gain 10,000 exp until you rank 100 in the season, it might really well be preferable to Wanderer. Plus, Insp is one less CHA point than Lone, so you get one more point to play with.
- Batteries Included is an actual part of several of my builds but it stays on with everything. It decreases the weight of energy ammo - which includes fusion cores, fusion cells, and 2mm slugs (used in Gauss weapons). It really can make the difference between being deeply over-encumbered and walking around with enough ammo to overthrow a small country.
- Thru-Hiker reduces food and water weights by 90%. Like TP3 and PR3 above, some armor has it, some doesn’t. But if you’re like me and you make a meal of everything… it’ll help.
- Starched Genes 2 is a make-or-break for me. It prevents radiation from randomly causing you to mutate, and it prevents Rad Away from curing your mutations. When you get to the later levels, you’ll discover Serums that grant you some major stat or effectiveness boosts - and this allows you to keep them no matter what.
- Class Freak 3 reduces your negative mutation effects by 75% - so your INT doesn’t take as bad of a hit on a couple of mutations, you don’t lose chem effectiveness, and other trade-offs become more manageable.
- Good with Salt is entirely optional. I like it when I’m building my C.A.M.P because it means I can spend an hour without losing all of my Relish or Cram Burgers; or I can go afk and not lose some of my Cranberry Juice. It’s just a useful, optional, QOL (quality of life) perk.
Honorable Mention: A Night At C.A.M.P.
Stay home with me, under the glowing, radioactive clouds...
This build is short, sweet, simple. It exists to make your life easier when you’re at your home away from the Wasteland. You’ll change a few things in this out as you need, but mostly, whenever I come home I slip into this build and do what needs to be done for my character - be that repairing armor or making ammo.
On this build, your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. doesn’t matter, but I generally use a ton of things in the INT line.What makes it work:
- CHA: Happy Camper x2 reduces your hunger and thirst in your camp by 80%, so you’re not having to waste extra food while you build things
- INT: Scrapper creates more materials when you break down items, Chemist allows you to craft more chems every combine you make, Contractor reduces the number of items you need to build an object in your camp.
- INT: Fix it Good and Weapon Artisan at lvl 3 doubles the amount of durability you can repair your armor and weapons with (extending their lifespan twice as much)
- AGI: Ammosmith gives you an additional 80% more ammo per combine. I don’t have to tell you why this is useful.
- LCK: Super Duper is a perk I don’t have to explain. Get it. Max it. Every time you craft something - anything - put it on.
5. 2-Handed Automatic Melee
Time to be a buzz... killer.
The first actual combat build on this list, this one is designed for two weapons: either the Automatic Axe or the Chainsaw. This build will give you some major, major DPS that turns those weapons into outright slaughter machines.
With all of the entries on this list, I’m including a screenshot (above) of everything I use with the build, then below, listing the critical parts. The cards I don’t list? Swap them around as you need to fit your playstyle.S.P.E.C.I.A.L. spread:
STR 15, PER 8, END 3, CHA 9, INT 5, AGI 15, LCK 11
Requirements
- STR: Slugger, Expert Slugger, Master Slugger are your three base 2h-melee perk base cards to up your damage
- STR: Martial Artist reduces your melee weapon weight by 60% and gives you a 30% faster swing speed
- PER: Glow Sight throws down an extra 60% damage on glowing enemies, making rad-sick bad guys go bye-bye even faster.
- END: Fireproof is 45% less damage from flame and fire, which helps against… a lot of things.
- CHA: Suppressor and Tenderizer debuffs your opponent for the few seconds they’ll live. Suppressor reduces their damage output, and Tenderizer increases the amount of damage they can take.
- INT: Stable Tools is a new card that makes your automatic melee weapons take 10, 25, or 40% longer to break when using. It’s a pretty useful QOL perk to have on for this build.
- AGI: Action Boy 3 helps you recover AP regen. Really useful if you’re using Power Armor and sprinting everywhere.
- AGI: Sneak 3 makes you 75% harder to detect, but you may not actually need this. Chainsaws really aren’t made to be quiet.
- AGI: Ninja 1 makes your melee sneak attack deal 30% more damage. Again, this isn’t major-major to have.
- LCK: Luck of the Draw 3 is a must-have. It auto-repairs your weapon as you use it, which means you can use it for longer.
4. Shotgun
This... is... my... BOOMSTICK.
This is a build for people that like to get up close and personal with a boom stick. While there aren’t a lot of high-end shotguns in the game, this build works with the Gauss Shotgun, the Cold Shoulder, and the Peppershaker (although the PS also works with a Heavy Gunner build and Heavy Gun perks, so be mindful of that). I use this whenever there’s a daily challenge of “cripple limbs” because it just makes it so, so easy. I also use it to hunt Mole Miners and Scorched for their gifts during their special event, just for expediency and to save on power armor cores.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. spread:STR 15, PER 15, END 1, CHA 9, INT 11, AGI 14, LCK 10
Requirements:
- STR: Shotgunner, Master Shotgunner, Expert Shotgunner are your main damage boosts for this build
- PER: Skeet Shooter is critical, as it increases accuracy and decreases spread, meaning more bullets hit the fleshy bits you’re aiming at
- PER: Concentrated Fire allows you to pick and choose which body part you don’t want a bad guy to use, and it’s arguably the single-most helpful perk to have when you’re tasked with ‘crippling’ enemy limbs
- PER: Grenadier boosts the explosive ability of your exploding ammo, which a lot of shotguns have.
- INT: Demolition Expert gives an extra 60% damage to your explosives, including exploding shells (like the Gauss Shotgun)
- AGI: Enforcer adds an extra 15% stagger chance and 30% chance to cripple a limb for your shotguns. Combined with Concentrated Fire, you can keep a Mirelurk Queen from walking around with ease.
- LCK: Grim Reaper’s Sprint will randomly recharge your AP on kills. Since you’ll use VATS a lot for targeting with a shotgun, this will allow you to kill, and kill, and kill even faster.
- INT: Batteries Included if you’re using a Gauss Shotgun or the laser mod on a Peppershaker
- AGI: Adrenaline gives you an extra 10% (max of 60%) damage per kill for 30 seconds, which can let you clear a swarm of bad guys quickly and violently.
3. Non-Automatic Rifleman
Time to go hunting.
Again, like the build name says - if you’ve got a non-automatic rifle, this one is for you. This works well with firearms like the Western Spirit, the Gauss Rifle, The Dragon, and the Enclave Plasma Rifle. It isn’t the fastest killing build, but it works if you feel like stalking your way through the Wasteland.
As an aside, this build doesn’t take a lot to put together to be useful. You’ll note in the screenshot above that a lot of things in it are more for quality of life than they are actual damage. The good news is that it means you can use this build as a solid base as you earn more perk cards and specialized, high-dps weapons later on in the game.
It also means that you can play around with QOL perks without losing effectiveness. Consider an extra point in AGI for improved stealth, improving your stimpack use with First Aid, defending yourself against big booms with Fireproof, or other adjustments.S.P.E.C.I.A.L. spread:
STR 7, PER 15, END 3, CHA 9, INT 10, AGI 14, LCK 13
- PER: Rifleman, Expert Rifleman, Master Rifleman are your three damage boosts.
- PER: Tank Killer ignores up to 36% of your target’s armor and gives a 9% chance to stagger (in case your first shot doesn’t kill them)
- AGI: GunFu is so freaking helpful; it swaps targets when you kill something in VATS and boosts your damage output on the next one. Used in conjunction with a fast-firing weapon like the Western Spirit, and you can take an army of scorched down to Headshot City in a matter of seconds (especially if you combine it with Grim Reaper’s Sprint).
- LCK: Better Criticals is self-explanatory. You’re using VATS with your rifles; and if you’re using VATS, you’re using critical hits.
2. Automatic Rifles, aka, The Commando Build
While not my personal preference, a good automatic build can make you the ultimate non-PA killer.
This may be the last suit of cards you’ll ever need. If you opt to go with a Bloodied build, you’re almost certainly going to grab a Fixer or an Automatic Homemade rifle. As a result, you need perks to really put the hurt out there.
I should note that this is not my build as I… don’t actually use it! I do use automatic weapons, but they’re in the Heavy category (and don’t count for the Commando cards). I did talk to my partner who uses automatic weapons almost exclusively, and I’m pretty confident you’ll find this build helpful.S.P.E.C.I.A.L. spread:
STR 6, PER 15, END 7, CHA 4, INT 11, AGI 14, LCK 15
- PER: Commando, Expert Commando, Master Commando are your prime DPS buffs
- PER: Tank Killer increases your rifle damage and ignores armor
- END: Lifegiver gives you a boost to your maximum health, which you need if you aren’t using much health to begin with
- END: Radicool boosts your STR while you’re high on rads
- CHA: Tenderizer is a helpful debuff that procs when you hit your target
- INT: Nerd Rage is a MAJOR part of a Bloodied build! While you’re low on health, you gain 40% damage resistance, 15% AP regen, and 20% damage. Since you’re always low on health…
- AGI: This set lists Adrenaline, Gun Fu, and Action Boy - which are all viable (and we’ve talked about before). However, I’d also like to ask that you consider mixing in some Sneak modifiers, like Covert Operative 3, which grants an extra 50% sneak attack damage for your ranged weapons and Sneak itself which keeps you hidden. Combine this with a Chameleon legendary effect, and you’re doing colossal levels of hurt.
- LCK: Bloody Mess is one that I generally use with my builds but not always. For this one though? It does a flat 15% more damage at level 3, and you, my friend, are all about the DPS.
- LCK: Better Criticals, and Grim Reaper’s Sprint won’t hurt you at all. But they’ll hurt your victims.
Or, if you’re like me…
Why terrorize it when you can just tank it.1. Power Armor Heavy Gun
My turn, and my time to shine.
Ahoy, Wastelander! Are you ready to be the walking hunk of fusion-core-powered-steel you were destined to become? This is my primary build and the one I use literally daily across the wilds of West Virginia. You are going to be able to walk away unscathed with the right equipment on this one; I recommend Union Power Armor as your go-to suit for this.
Weapon wise? Holy Fire, Nuka-Launcher, Gauss Minigun, Plasma Caster, Peppershaker, Gatling Gun - if it’s big, if it’s heavy, and if it makes things go ‘boom’ or ‘splat,’ here you go.S.P.E.C.I.A.L. spread:
STR 15, PER 11, END 3, CHA 9, INT 14, AGI 12, LCK 10
- STR: Heavy Gun, Expert Heavy Gun, Master Heavy Gun
- STR: Bear Arms reduces the weight of your heavy guns by 90%, which is good, because they’re… well, heavy…
- PER: Concentrated Fire 3 is not critically useful but it really does make a difference with slow-fire, long-distance guns like the Plasma Caster
- PER: Glow Sight is great because a lot of end-game content contains glowing bad guys.
- PER: Grenadier 3 is a given because a lot of Heavy Guns have an explosive component
- INT: Batteries Included reduces the weight of your fusion cores and the rest of your energy ammo types. You may want to consider switching this with STR: Bandolier if you aren’t using weapons like the Gauss Minigun or Plasmacaster that use energy ammo, and instead focus on auto-grenade launchers or weapons that take 5mm ammo.
- INT: Stabilized is a must-have. Your heavy weapons gain accuracy and ignore 45% armor as long as you’re wearing Power Armor yourself.
- INT: Portable Power fits nicely with Stabilized and Batteries Included, since it reduces your Power Armor parts and chassis weights by 75%
- INT: Demolition Expert 5 boosts your explosive damage.
- CHA: Suppressor debuffs your victims.
- LCK: One Gun Army gives your heavies a 12% chance to stagger and a 12% chance to cripple
- AGI: Adrenaline 5 ups your ability to clear a room in quick succession
- CHA: Friendly Fire will heal your allies (including friendly NPCs that you need to keep alive) when you blast them with fire-based weapons (like the Holy Fire).
- AGI: Enforcer is spectacular when added to a build that uses the Peppershaker as a weapon - you cripple literally everything, and almost instantly.
- END: Fireproof reduces your damage from explosions. Like the ones you’ll be causing. A lot.
All locked and loaded? Ready to take on the worst of the wasteland? Before you go, take a minute and check out some of these articles below!
