Highlights
- S.P.E.C.I.A.L. and perk card systems return in Fallout 76, allowing for more personalized gameplay.
- Legendary perk cards offer a game changer, but players should choose wisely - equipping and switching them cost points.
- Unlocking legendary perk cards is gradual at milestone levels; players should prioritize upgrade costs and desired perks carefully.
Anyone who has played a Fallout game will recognize the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system. This system represents the player's stats, and each letter of the word represents a different stat. That system was brought back in Fallout 76 along with the perk card system.
Fallout 76: 10 Best Perks For New Players
Newcomers to Bethesda's Fallout 76 should consider the following excellent beginner perks.
As an added bonus, Fallout 76 players now have access to legendary perk cards. These are accessed later in the game and help players more than the traditional perks. Players need to be careful which ones they choose for their character because it costs points to remove them. When added, however, they make a huge difference.
Updated on April 29, 2024, by Benjamin Joe: Since this article was written, several major changes have been made to Fallout 76, and some of those changes have impacted the usefulness of certain legendary perks. Also, thanks to the release of the very popular Fallout TV series, there's a renewed interest in Fallout games, including Fallout 76. While legendary perks will depend a lot on a player's build, there are some that are great to use, no matter the build. With that in mind, it's important for each player to decide which legendary perks are best suited to their playstyle and needs before choosing any.
How To Unlock Legendary Perk Cards
Legendary perk cards are unlocked in a similar way to standard perks. Standard perk cards are unlocked as players level up. Each time they gain a new level, they get a new perk card. Legendary perk cards first start appearing when a player reaches level 50.
Overall, players will be able to unlock 6 legendary perk card spaces over time. Each new perk card space is unlocked at a different level milestone: 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, and 300. Once a player has unlocked all six of the legendary perk slots, the slots will be unlocked for all other characters they create.
How Long It Takes To Upgrade Legendary Perk Cards
When it comes to choosing legendary perks, players should think carefully about which cards they want first, as upgrading them is very costly. Upgrading a card costs perk points, and perk points are obtained in two ways:
- Scrapping Standard Perk Cards: 2 Points Per Card Level
- Season Rewards: Usually A 50 Point Reward Towards The End Of The Season
Each legendary perk card has four stars. As the player levels up a legendary perk card, the cost goes up. The costs are as follows:
- Level 1: 0 Points
- Level 2: 50 Points
- Level 3: 100 Points
- Level 4: 150 Points
It costs 1 point to switch out a perk card after it has been equipped. So, it's important that the player decides which legendary perk best suits their needs before equipping one.
12 Exploding Palm
Cause Unarmed Chaos
- Unlocks at Level 50
- Provides a 5% chance of causing an explosion when attacking physically.
This perk gives a 5% chance for a player's fist to explode every time they hit an enemy when unarmed. The chance of these explosions increases to a maximum of 20% when the card is at the highest rank.
This perk can be very useful for those who enjoy creating unarmed builds. Sadly, it isn't very high up on the list because there aren't a lot of players who favor unarmed builds over other build types.
11 Hack And Slash
Melee Explosions That Can Devastate Enemy Groups
- Unlocks at Level 50
- Melee VATS attacks have a 20% chance to cause area damage.
The Hack and Slash perk is great for players who are working with a melee build and stick with a melee build. After all, some players switch between melee and gun builds. This perk, at the base level, gives players a 20% chance for VATS melee attacks to cause area damage.
Fallout 76: 7 Worst Melee Weapons, Ranked
Players who enjoy melee combat in Fallout 76 should stay away from the following melee weapons that are less than ideal.
This is great whenever a player is surrounded by a group of enemies like Ghouls. When maxed out, that 20% chance increases to 50%. That means every other attack will be doing area damage.
10 Collateral Damage/Far-Flung Fireworks
Blow Up Enemies For Extra Carnage
Collateral Damage | Far-Flung Fireworks |
|---|---|
Unlocks at Level 50 | Unlocks at Level 50 |
Provides a 10% chance for enemies to explode if they are taken down with a melee weapon. | Provides a 10% chance for enemies to explode if they are taken down with a ranged weapon. |
Whichever perk a player chooses is based on their build type, but both cards do the same thing. Collateral Damage means that whenever an enemy is killed with a melee weapon, they have a chance to blow up and deal damage to nearby enemies.
Far-Flung Fireworks has the same effect but with ranged weapons. Each of these perks is useful for dealing with groups of enemies and is excellent for crowd control. When maxed out, both of these cards provide a 20% chance for the effect to activate.
9 Ammo Factory
Craft Even More Ammo
- Unlocks at Level 50
- Allows players to craft 50% more ammo.
The legendary perk card, Ammo Factory, lets players craft even more ammo. Starting off, this card will increase the amount of ammo a player crafts at one time by 50%. When fully upgraded, this 50% bonus increases to an incredible 150%.
Fallout 76: Every Workshop Location (& What Resources They Provide)
Workshops are valuable locations in Fallout 76 that allow players to expand their control and gather valuable resources. This is where to find them.
If this card is used alongside the standard perks, Ammosmith and Super Duper, Fallout 76 players will be able to craft lots of ammo cheaply. As most players already know, ammo can be hard to come by, so crafting extra ammo goes a long way.
8 What Rads?
No Need To Worry About Radiation
- Unlocks at Level 50
- Provides 50 Rad Resist and replenishes one Rad every second.
Players who have a hard time dealing with radiation resistance will be thankful to get the What Rads? perk. To start, this perk grants players 50 radiation resistance. This bonus is increased to 300 when the card is fully leveled up. On top of providing radiation resistance, this card also allows the player to heal themselves from radiation. At max level, this card allows the player to heal 6 rads per second.
It's worth noting that this perk isn't very good for bloodied builds. Many high-level players choose to keep their radiation high to increase their damage, XP gain, and damage resistance. But for high-health builds, this legendary perk is very good.
7 Master Infiltrator
Unlock Everything
- Unlocks at Level 50
- Allows players to pick any level zero lock while providing +3 to Hacking and Lockpicking.
This card, at the base level, allows a player to pick any level zero lock and hack any level zero terminal. When maxed out, this card gives gamers the option to auto-unlock all terminals and locks. It is amazingly useful for any player who loves to explore and doesn't want to waste precious perk points on lockpicking cards.
It's important to note that this card doesn't need to be equipped all the time. It only needs to be active when the player needs to unlock something.
6 Taking One For The Team
Cause More Damage While On A Team
- Unlocks at Level 50
- Causes enemies to take 10% additional damage when they attack a player on a team.
This perk is great for players who enjoy some good old-fashioned teamwork. At the base level, this card causes enemies to take 10% more damage if they attack the player while on a team. This can be very useful when taking down endgame bosses like the Scorchbeast Queen in the Scorched Earth event.
When maxed out, this card makes it so that enemies who attack the player will take 40% more damage. This is an incredibly powerful legendary perk. It's something that lots of players constantly have active on their character.
5 Legendary Perception
See Enemies Coming From Further Away
- Unlocks at Level 50
- Grants +1 Perception and +1 Perception Perk Points. Increases with Rank.
Something that most players struggle with in Fallout 76 is having enough slots for perks. Well, there is a legendary perk card dedicated to each one of the SPECIAL stats. A fully upgraded legendary SPECIAL perk card gives the player a plus 5 for the selected SPECIAL stat. However, this is capped at 15.
The perception category is where lots of the rifle damage cards go. So, for players who use either a single shot or automatic rifles, having up to 5 extra points can really make a difference to a player's damage output. Also, with high perception, players will see enemies appear on their HUD from further away.
4 Legendary Strength
Carry More And Hit Harder
- Unlocks at Level 50
- Grants +1 Strength and +1 Strength Perk Points. Increases with Rank.
Strength is an important stat in Fallout 76. It influences how much a player can carry and how much unarmed damage they cause. While the latter effect isn't that popular, since this game is all about looting and scavenging, the more the player can carry, the better.
Also, there are a few great carry-weight perks in the strength category. So, by having an additional 5 points to spend, the player increases their carry weight by a lot. There are also some damage resistance perks under the strength category that can help keep players alive.
3 Legendary Luck
A Better Chance For Better Criticals
- Unlocks at Level 50
- Grants +5 Luck and +5 Luck Perk Points. Increases with Rank.
The luck category has lots of must-have perks, like Starched Genes, Better Criticals, and Bloody Mess. It can be hard choosing which perks to have and which ones to keep out. So, by having extra slots for luck-based perk cards, the player doesn't have to make those hard decisions as they can have all of the best cards.
21 Beginner Tips for Fallout 76
Fallout 76 is significantly different from other games in the series, so players will need to take advantage of these tips to succeed in the game.
Having high luck increases lots of things that help to give players an edge. So, wherever possible, it's always worth sticking a few extra points into the luck category.
2 Legendary Agility
More AP In VATS
- Unlocks at Level 50
- Grants +1 Agility and +1 Agility Perk Points. Increases with Rank.
Agility is a very important category that Fallout 76 players often overlook. It gives players a boost to the amount of AP they have in VATS. This can be very useful when taking down tougher enemies.
Also, there's one perk card in particular that comes under agility that is pretty costly in terms of points: Adrenaline. This perk allows the player to do more damage for each consecutive kill. This is a perk that lots of high-level players like to maximize due to the amount of extra damage it allows them to inflict.
1 Legendary Intelligence
Earn Even More XP
- Unlocks at Level 50
- Grants +1 Intelligence and +1 Intelligence Perk Points. Increases with Rank.
Leveling up is one of the most important parts of Fallout 76. Leveling up means that a player can have more perks and more points to spend. Each point that a player puts into the intelligence category, the more XP they earn.
So, having high intelligence means leveling up faster. A plus 5 to intelligence translates roughly to a 10% increase in XP gain. So, to level up 10% faster, players should invest points as soon as possible in the intelligence legendary perk card.
