The Fallout series has always put an emphasis on your character’s build, a collection of perks, stats, bonuses, and equipment geared toward a particular style of gameplay. Me, personally, I’ll never tell you how to play your character your way, however, there is a difference between a good strong build and one that leaves you unprepared for the caliber of enemies you are set to face.

Today we are going to be taking a look at our selection of the top 10 builds for Fallout 76 for you to derive some inspiration. Some are well known, others will leave you going “Wait, that actually works?”

10. The Rifleman

Another soldier reporting for duty sir, I've done my time in hell...

We open our list with a versatile build that functions in almost all combat situations, while rarely putting you out of your element. It’s all about hitting your enemy hard and quick. This is by no means the ultimate build where you will be able to stroll into Cranberry Bog and one-shot everything and come out smelling like a rose, but you will be able to stand toe-to-toe against most adversaries. This build isn’t about being the best, it’s about coming out alive.

What the Rifleman Excels In:

• This build is presented to be a simple and straightforward build that can be altered to enhance your overall combat efficiency, especially in both long-range and mid-range firefights.
• Perks focus on damage output and combat effectiveness, as well as self reliability.
• Not as strict on perk selection as some builds you will find online to allow you to customize to your preferences, be it in perks, stats, or equipment as long as the minimum presented are part of your setup. 

Build details:

• S.P.E.C.I.A.L: 3, 5, 3, 4, 8, 3, 6 (with extra points available to do as you will)
• Recommended Perks: Master Rifleman, Rifleman, Expert Rifleman, Gunsmith, Science Master, Tank Killer, Longshot, Covert Operative, Starched Genes.
• Weapons: Recommended is the Gauss Rifle or the Combat Rifle, and Legendary variations found.
• Armor: This build implies functionality over the rarity. It is recommended you wear whatever armor that is optimal for you with the best Legendary Effects you can get ahold of. One must get would be an improved Underarmor upgraded with the Shielded quality.
• Recommended Mutations: Healing Factor 

9. The Lone Gunman

Trips to the Super Duper Mart for toilet paper became way more intense after the war.

Another build centered around Rifles, from Ballistic to Energy, but also focused on stealth and resourcefulness, as this build is designed for you to go it alone into the fray. With this build, you are the lone survivalist in the wilds, the sole operative tasked with straight in and straight out. Other people would just slow you down on your mission.

What the Lone Gunman Excels In:

• This build will give you a great damage output with high stealth hit criticals. In RPG circles, we refer to this build as the Glass Cannon. Not a lot of HP, but packs a punch.
• This build excels at hit and run tactics, hit hard, hit fast.
• While this build does suffer a hit to HP and carry weight from low Strength and Endurance, when utilized effectively, everything will be dead in a matter of seconds anyway.

Build details:

• S.P.E.C.I.A.L: 2, 15, 2, 2, 11, 15, 9.
• Recommended Perks: Bandolier, Longshot, any perks that enhance the use of Rifles and Automatic Rifles, Rejuvenated, Lone Wanderer, Gunsmith, Nerd Rage, Adrenaline, Covert Operative, Escape Artist, Born Survivor, Sneak, Action Girl/Boy, Bloody Mess, Critical Savvy, Starched Genes, Class Freak.
• Weapons: Self-made weapons like Gauss Rifles, Combat Rifles, Energy Rifles, and Legendary variants. Unyielding and Bloodied effected gear will also benefit.
• Armor: Armor with the Chameleon legendary effect to enhance your stealth capabilities are invaluable to this particular build- the enemy can’t fight what it can’t see.
• Recommended Mutation: Speed Demon, Eagle Eye, Marsupial

8. The Civil War Soldier

Sometimes the old ways, are the best ways

Black Powder weaponry is powerful but slow. When I came across my first Black Powder Pistol in-game, I was turned off by how long it took to ram a fresh round down the barrel, completely ignoring the potential they offer. With the proper build arrangement you can take both the good and the bad of this particular weapon set and turn yourself into a completely (or partially) accurate historical reenactor. 

What the Civil War Soldier Excels In:

• This build optimizes the damaging potential of the Black Powder weapons, both pistol, and rifle, while also working to alleviate their inherent drawbacks.
• This build has highly potent Sniper and long-range capabilities, even if it does tend to rely on the games VATS system to overcome the weapons poor iron sights (don’t worry, we won’t tell, no shame)
•  A fun and challenging build, complete with a costume for style and role-play.

Build details:

• S.P.E.C.I.A.L: 3, 11, 1, 4, 5, 5, 6 (with extra points to spare)
• Recommended Perks: All of the Slugger perk cards, all the Rifleman cards, Tank Killer, Concentrate Fire, Lone Wanderer, Gunsmith, Weapon Artisan, the Gunslinger cards, Sneak, Covert Operative, Bloody Mess, Better Criticals, Better Criticals, Reaper’s Sprint.
• Weapons: The core focus of this build is the utilization of Black Powder weapons, which possess some of the highest base damage in the game. While slow to reload, they hit hard. Legendary variants are highly recommended. A solid side Melee weapon will serve you well.
• Armor: For this build, you will want to go as optimal as you can with the games drops and whatever Legendary armors you can get your hands on. For the aesthetic purposes of the build, you will want to get a civil war soldier's uniform and cap. Both can be found at Prickett’s Fort.
• Recommended Mutation: Chameleon, Marsupial, Speed Demon (for faster reload speed!)

7. The Brawler

It's not a survival game until you try to bare-knuckle box an apex predator.

Everyone eventually tries a build like this. Why would you need to repair your weapons and collect ammo when all you’re packing is these two fists? But why? Why forgo the destructive power of bullet and blade for something reckless like charging headfirst into a swarm of Super Mutants with just what mother nature gave you? Maybe it’s the thrill of the fight, to rise up to the challenge of our rivals. Only you can find that answer as you traverse the path of the Fist. 

What The Brawler Excels In:

• A fun and challenging build for those wanting to see just how much the game is willing to let you get away with, just running in there and bare knuckling everything.
• A lack of having to scrounge for weapons means more carry weight for legendary armors, food, and other necessities.
• The fact that this build is possible and feasible will leave you laughing every time something that should have killed you, is instead a bloody mess at your feet.

Build details:

• S.P.E.C.I.A.L: 14, 4, 12, 6, 5, 11, 3
• Recommended Perks: Barbarian, Martial Artist, Iron Fist, Incisor, Refractor, Adamantium Skeleton, Radicool, Lifegiver, Ironclad, Suppressor, Tenderizer, Nerd Rage, First Aid, Adrenaline, Dodgy, Dead Man Sprinting, Moving Target, Action Girl/Boy, Blood Mess
• Weapons: The game starts you out with the only weapon you will need for this build. If you feel you must, Legendary metal knuckles and a Bloodied Power Fist, particularly a Bloodied Power Fist, will make you unstoppable.
• Armor: You will want Legendary armor with effects like Unyielding or in that vein, or any effect that offers bonuses to putting your fist in things. Always strive for good DR/ER to your level.
• Recommended Mutations: I highly advise Speed Demon and Healing Factor if you can get it for maximum survivability.

6. Mothman Cultist

The world has ended. Well. Guess it's time to start worshipping a Cryptid!

A melee/stealth build that digs into the mindset of the cultists whose corpses litter the Wasteland. This build is all about embracing the strange and creepy aspect of being a crazed cultist dwelling out in the thicket, muttering to themselves as they creep through the brush and punishing those that wander in their Master's domain. This is the sort of build I like to refer to as a Functional Roleplay build, with fluff and the tools to make it viable, and actually really fun!

What the Mothman Cultist Excels In:

• High stealth capability, that allows you to get close to your target for the strike and take them down before his friends even know you’re there.
• The ghastly use of Cannibalism will allow you to both offer sacrifice to your dark deity and have a reliable source of food without having to resort to pre-war packaged goods.
• The name of the game is stalking into your target’s area, and picking them off one by one when the time is right, allowing you to turn a dip into a local Scorched den, into you giving them, generously, the opportunity to star in their very own slasher horror film.

Build details:

• S.P.E.C.I.A.L: 7, 2 , 1, 4, 1, 7, 3
• Recommended Perks: The gladiator cards, Night Eyes, Cannibal, Lone Wanderer and Inspirational depending if on a team or alone, Makeshift Warrior, Sneak, Ninja, Escape Artist, Bloody Mess.
• Weapons: Since we’re playing a Cultist for this build it only stands to reason that our primary weapon of choice is the Cultist Dagger or the Cultist Blade, and the Legendary variants.
• Armor: Muffled and Chameleon armor will enhance your sneak attack capabilities, and this is another build where you will want to go optimal, but for aesthetic reasons, you will want to acquire the Ritual Bindings and Mask, which can be found in the basement of the Point Pleasant Mothman museum.
• Recommended Mutations: Adrenal Reaction or Twisted Muscles, Carnivore, Healing Factor.

5. Wastelander with a Shotgun

I'm asking you politely...did you eat my Fancy Lad Cakes?

I never cared for Shotguns myself. They’re heavy in carrying weight, their shots have a spread, and they’re a little on the slow side. But that may be because I’ve been using them all wrong. One does not simply pick up a Shotgun and hope for the best. You have to be one with the Shotgun.

What the Wastelander with a Shotgun Excels In: 

• Dealing high amounts of damage.
• Effective against enemy mobs and other players.
• Can make short work of groups of enemies, quickly.

Build details:

• S.P.E.C.I.A.L: 13, 9, 1, 7, 8, 9, 9
• Recommended Perks: Scattershot, All Shotgunner cards, Strong Back, Concentrated Fire, Skeet Shooter, Lone Wanderer, Tenderizer, Gunsmith, Enforcer, Action Girl/Boy, Bloody Mess, Better Criticals, Four Leaf Clover.
• Weapons: Shotgun builds are a precise science of both perks and the weapon in hand. A marriage if you will. Naturally...You’re using Shotguns. Naturally, you’re going to want Legendary effects on your shotgun. Me, I advise looking out for one with the Furious Damage effect.
• Armor: For personal protection, I would keep your eyes peeled for armor with the Unyielding Legendary effect.
• Recommended Mutations: Marsupial, Speed Demon

4. The Sniper

Watch this...Past the car, off the street sign, through the tire, nothing but headshot.

No clever name for this, as the name implies exactly what it’s all about. You pull the trigger, something or someone gets a severe and final headache. This build is designed for those who like to take out their enemies from a faraway. The name of the game is keeping the enemy several arms lengths away from your personal space, and baby you have a big personal bubble.

What the Sniper Excels In:

• Clearing out outdoor areas of enemy patrols and clusters before moving in.
• Providing cover fire from a safe distance and keeping an eye on your mates six.
• The monsters can’t kill you if they can’t reach you, and they can’t reach you if they’re already dead!

Build details:

• S.P.E.C.I.A.L: 3, 14, 3, 4, 6, 15, 10
• Recommended perks: Bandolier, Sniper, Long Shot, Rifleman, Night Eyes, Lone Wanderer, Gunsmith, Weapon Artisan, Action Girl/Boy, Marathoner, Covert Operative, Ammosmith, Adrenaline, Storm Chase, Bloody Mess.
• Weapons: Long-range scoped rifles are the weapon of choice of the Sniper, might I recommend the Brotherhood Recon Rifle?
• Armor: Power Armor is loud, and you travel light. I recommend armor carrying with it the Muffled or Chameleon Legendary Effects, but also some Unyielding pieces as a backup.
• Recommended Mutations: Eagle Eyes, Chameleon

3. The Boom Boy

I don't think we're getting our deposit back, guys.

Are you just not interested in things like accuracy? Are nearby abandoned cars just dormant explosive payloads awaiting your signal to go off? Do you like watching it rain...the remains of your enemies? If so, then you, my friend, are a bonafide Boom Boy. You like blowing stuff up. You blow yourself up sometimes. It’s just that much fun. This is not about tactics. It’s not about strength or endurance. It’s about going wild.

What the Boom Boy Excels In:

• This build is centered around making stuff blow up, which can really ruin the day of enemies that like to come in groups.
• Designed to help you shrug off the residual radiation that typically comes off things and enemies that explode.
• With this build, you’ll get the Last Laugh in PVP if you die, blowing up and hopefully taking your opponent out with you.

Build details:

•  S.P.E.C.I.A.L: 7, 5, 15, 1, 5, 10, 8
•  Recommended Perks: Strong Back, Ordnance Express, Grenadier, Fire in the Hole, Sun Kissed, Ghoulish, Cannibal (hey, why waste carry weight on food when you have explosives to carry?), Lead Belly, Iron Stomach, Demolition Expert, Action Girl/Boy, Marathoner, Light Footed, Last Laugh, Blood Mess.
• Weapons: I would aim for the Auto-Grenade Launcher. Sure it looks like a .50 Caliber Machine Gun...and it shoots grenades as fast as one too. Spray your enemies with a bouquet of explosive death. Also, a healthy supply of Frag Grenades, Plasma Grenades, and Pumpkin Bombs to make you even more of a workplace hazard.
• Armor: I recommend any Legendary armor with the Life-Saving effect in case you get a little too close to the explosions, with maybe a few pieces of Unyielding for those times when you get lost in the moment and can’t be bothered with keeping your health up.
• Recommended mutations: Healing Factor, Marsupial, Speed Demon. For fun, try and get Unstable Isotope so the enemies that get a hit in aren't left out of the fireworks.

2. The Bloody Gunner

Even with the collapse of society, pest control still has job security.

No there isn’t a system in the game that has you covering yourself in the blood of your enemies. Considering how irradiated everything is, you wouldn’t really want to. No, this build is designed as a Heavy Gunner making use of the Bloodied Legendary effect, stomping through the battlefield and carving a path of destruction. The Bloodied effect increases your damage the lower your health is. Some players suggest capping your HP with radiation damage to keep you at a certain threshold to maximize damage. 

What the Bloody Gunner Excels In:

• A perk arrangement that offers envious damage resistance and damage that makes even weapons like The Dragon sit down in a mid-life crisis.
• Highly optimized for the solo player experience.
• Damage output so high, you’re going to want to wait to let other people tag the big bad monsters first before you completely devastate them so they don’t get locked out of loot drops.

Build details:

• S.P.E.C.I.A.L: 15, 6, 4, 7, 11, 5, 8
• Recommended Perks: All Heavy Gunner cards, Bear Arms, Bandolier, Concentrated Fire, Traveling Pharmacy, Radicool, Tenderizer, Lone Wanderer, Nerd Rage, Stabilized, Gunsmith, Adrenaline, Bloody Mess, One Gun Army, Starched Genes.
• Weapon: With your health capped low, if you’re playing as suggested for optimal Bloodied effect, you don’t want the enemy getting up on you, and you’re going to want them dead fast. For this, I am suggested a Bloodied .50 Caliber Machine Gun. 
• Armor: You are going to want to wrap a sturdy and reliable set of Power Armor to protect your hide while running around with your health capped low. Just saying.
• Recommended Mutations: Speed Demon, Marsupial.

1. The Juggernaut

A lad on his way to deliver a fresh-baked batch of pain.

Imagine this for a second. You and the boys are storming the red fields of the Scorchbeast Queen’s domain. Hot lead is flying, the battle cries and death throes of man and beast alike are a symphony on the breeze. Then you see it. Gleaming steel forming a near impervious fortress around that one glorious fool charging headlong into battle with a massive hammer in hand, bolstering the hearts of the troops. The Juggernaut is a build for taking punishment and leading the squad into battle, taking the hits so they can dish out the death.

What the Juggernaut Excels In:

• Works best in teams. As the group's Tank, to use MMO nomenclature, you take the hits to divert attention from the others.
• Hardy as hell, you can take a hit.
• Crushing your enemies, seeing them driven before you, and hearing the lamentations of the Radstag.

Build details:

• S.P.E.C.I.A.L: 15, 4, 7, 9, 6, 6, 9
• Recommended perks: Full Charge, Blocker, Pain Train, Slugger, Incisor, Solar Powered, Suppressor, Portable Power, Power User, Dodgy, Ricochet, Serendipity. For group tactics, any perks that add bonuses to being in a team for those big raid events.
• Weapons: This build is designed to utilize the crushing power of two-handed melee weapons. My personal advice to you would be dropping by Watoga and grabbing All Rise when you hit level 50.
• Armor: This build is designed for you to be at your peak performance in Power Armor. Anything you wear when outside of it, go nuts. But get the Power Armor. Love the Power Armor. Be the Power Armor.
• Recommended Mutations: Electrically charged, Healing Factor will make you definitely beefier.

You may also be interested in:

• Fallout 76 Best Perks To Start With And Level Up (Top 10 Perks)
• [Top 10] Fallout 76 Best Weapons
• [Top 10] Fallout 76 Best Armors
• [Top 10] Fallout 76 Best Mutations
• Fallout 76 Best Power Armors (And How To Get Them)