Tips and Tricks - Fallout 76 Guide - IGN (2024)

IGN has the tips and tricks, strategies, and secrets you need to succeed in Fallout 76.

See the list below for the most essential tips and tricks to survive in Appalachia, from beginning tips to advanced tactics.

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Getting Started

• Don't like having to look at your Pip-Boy fill the screen every time you want to check your inventory? Now you can switch views by pressing the View Button (on Xbox controllers) to turn the Pip-Boy into a full overlay that allows you to see your surroundings while you navigate your menus! You can also use the View button when playing to swap between first and third person.

• Having second thoughts about your character's looks? You can edit your character at any time by going to the start menu and going to Character Customization - no need to quit the game first!

• You're in control of how loading screens look in Fallout 76. Any pictures you take in Photo Mode will be pulled from whenever you fast travel or load your character.

• Fallout 76 features many mini-challenges to undertake that award you with Atom Points you can spend on a shop for Cosmetics. Some will cycle out every day, others every week - and new ones will be added as you reach current goals.

• Unlike previous Fallout games, outfits and hats don't offer any additional defensive bonuses (excluding gas masks), only body armor like leather or power armor does, so feel free to get creative without sacrificing defense.

• When exploring, remember that all containers (and a few unique items like keys) are instanced for every player, so nobody can loot a chest before you get to it - but anything lying in the open (including bobbleheads) goes to whoever grabs it first, but items will respawn over time.

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• Survival is something to keep in mind in Fallout 76. Hunger and Thirst meters don't progress too rapidly (you'll get thirsty more often than hungry), but if you stay on top of things by eating and drinking you can get a bonus to stats when above 75%.

• Because the game is online, looking at your Pip-Boy won't freeze time. Utilize your quick buttons on the D-Pad to use Stimpacks or swap weapons.

• Favorite items that you don't want to waste time searching for in your inventory when things get heated - like food or chems, and they'll appear on your favorites wheel.

• Crafting stations are plentiful, especially near Vault 76 and the Overseer's Camp - but only one player can use a workstation for crafting at a time. Other players can still use it to salvage items, but if you're looking to craft in a crowded area, it may be better to keep moving, or build your own crafting station at your CAMP.

• You can fast travel to any place you have visited, but they'll cost more Caps to travel to the farther they are. The exceptions to this rule are Vault 76, your CAMP, and anyone in your party - they cost nothing to travel to.

• Feeling lost and unsure of certain mechanics? The Main questline will lead you through some tutorials on preparing food and drink - and reward you with some good loot too!

Grab, Scrap, and Stash

Like Fallout 4, a big part of your adventure is about exploring and finding junk in all different forms. Junk can be scrapped into base components that's needed for crafting, modding, cooking, and building - but junk can also become a burden, and you drop all your junk when you die.

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In order to be efficient, you'll want to constantly be scrapping your junk items after exploring an area. Most times, scrapping a junk item into components will also reduce weight by a surprising amount. You'll then want to either head back to your CAMP, or spend a few Caps to relocate it, and build a Vault-Tec Stash to store all of your crafting components. When stored, you'll still be able to use these components when at a workstation or building from your CAMP.

Your Stash only has a 800lb weight limit, so stash responsibly! Scrap all materials to base components before stashing, and scrap extra weapons and armor instead of hanging on to duplicates.

Note that certain locations like train stations, red rocket filling stations, and the Overseer's Camp also have Vault-Tec Stashes that let you access your items from the same space.

Combat

• Early on in your adventures, you'll find that guns may be more plentiful than ammo, especially when fighting the Scorched, who will always drop the weapons they carry. Fight smart, and have a melee weapon as backup to conserve ammunition. You can also visit Tinker Stations to craft more ammo.

• VATS has changed in Fallout 76 - your target is highlighted in real time, with a constantly changing percent chance to hit based on your stats and the distance to the target. You don't need to manually aim - as firing will pull form the percent chance to hit alone, and will fill the Critical Meter you can use for a guaranteed hit.

• Tapping the VATS button is a good early warning system that can highlight dangers you may not be aware of - especially minefields or small enemies - but each tap will drain your Action Points, even if there's nothing to target, so don't spam the VATS button!

• Before you reach level 5, you'll be unable to participate in PvP, and will have Pacifist mode permanently enabled. Once past level 5, shooting another player will deal reduced damage and alert them if they wish to fire back - at which point damage will be normalized, or will stay reduced if they do not fight back. If you don't want to accidentally engage in PvP, you can re-enable Pacifist Mode in the options to avoid this.

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• Any player who kills someone that has not fought back will be labeled a Murderer, and their icon will become red on the map, but they will not be able to see other player locations. They will also have a much larger bounty of caps on their head that is paid from their own stash if they are killed in revenge.
• If you keep murdering and have no Caps to pay out as a bounty, you'll instead be hit with a sizable debuff when killed, recuding your damage output across the board - both against monsters and players - for a certain amount of time.

Crafting

• When you start the game you'll only have a few basic recipes for weapons, armor, cooking, and other items. The only way to learn more is by finding these recipes in the wild, buying them from traders or other players, or finding them in chests.

• Many basic food recipes can be learned just by finding the food or plant item for the first time.

• Weapon and Armor Mods can be found in the world or in chests, and you can also find plans the same way, or learn more plans for mods by scrapping the associated weapon. Scrapping a weapon or armor in perfect condition may even give you the recipe for how to make it.

• Weapons and armor can break over time, but they won't disappear, they just can't be equipped - but you can repair them at Weapon and Armor workbenches.

• When building your CAMP, you can "Blueprint" other structures you place down to save the layout of your CAMP. When you log out and then back in, or need to move the location of your CAMP, you can pull up the blueprint list to instantly restore your CAMP to the way it was. Just remember that your CAMP cannot be placed too close to other static Locations and points of interest, and must be on somewhat flat terrain.

• Store, Don't Scrap - after placing your ideal campsite, if you need to get rid of something you plan to put somewhere else, don't scrap it: you'll only get a portion of the resources you used to make it. By storing an item, it can be brought back (or placed in a blueprint) without an associated cost.

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Perks and SPECIAL

Unlike other Fallout games, you begin Fallout 76 with 1 point in each of the SPECIAL stat categories: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck.

Each time you level up, you'll be able to allocate an additional point to any of the stats, up to a maximum of 15 points in any category, and you will stop gaining points at level 50.

You will also be able to choose from several Perk Cards each time you level up, from each of the SPECIAL categories (though some levels won't show a brand new Perk Card for all the categories). You can choose one card to keep each time you level - and though it will recommend a card from the stat you just increased, you can filter available cards from each category. Whichever cards you don't pick won't be available to choose from again until you level up next.

The exception to this rule are Perk Card Packs that you get every other level from Level 4 to Level 10, and then every 5 levels thereafter with no actual level limit in sight. These cards are all added to your inventory, and may include duplicates of cards you already have or ones you can't use until a later level.

Each Perk Card requires a certain amount of points in its related stat category to be equipped, and combining two of the same card will boost its abilities and its cost. Once you have at least 3 in Charisma, you can share the effects of a card with the rest of your party: You will need 3x the Charisma of the cost of the card's points to do this.

• Remember you can swap out cards at any time, and in doing so can drastically alter your role in a group, especially if you share cards with your team. Share a perk card to increase stimpack effectiveness, and you're a healer! Keep a lockpicking perk card handy to become the group thief, and much more!

Death is Only the Beginning

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• When you reach 0 health, you'll drop to your knees and await death. In this period, another player can revive you with a Stimpack (or other items if the associated Perk Cards are equipped). If you are attacked during this period, you'll die.

• Upon death in Fallout 76, you drop all of your non-essential junk items and components in a paper sack. You'll be given a quest with a map marker to get your items back, but anyone else can loot it first if they find it.

• Prepare for the worst by building your CAMP outside a dangerous looking location. If you die, you'll have a nearby place to respawn at for free that can be your staging area.

• Radiation will reduce your maximum health, and you'll need to use RadAway to regain that health. If you die, you'll still keep your radiation (except if you die entirely from radiation - at which point you'll respawn with a little of your maximum health intact.

• After level 5, you can start contracting Diseases and Mutations. Diseases can be transmitted in a variety of ways and can only be removed by using cures or waiting until it runs its course - death will not get rid of them. Mutations can randomly be acquired when getting hit by radiation, and they can both help and hinder you. Like diseases, they can't be cured by death, but unlike diseases - they won't leave you unless you use RadAway for a chance to remove them.

• Want to keep your Mutations? The Starched Genes perk can allow you to keep active mutations indefinitely, or prevent you from obtaining new ones.

Advanced Tips

• Bobbleheads and Magazines are no longer permanent buffs. They'll enter your inventory and you can choose when to get a temporary (but lengthy) bonus. Finding the same type of collectible can refresh that bonus before it runs out - so use it wisely when entering dangerous territory.

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• While Thirst and Hunger meters move fairly slow, keeping yourself well fed and well hydrated give you small stat bonuses, so it's worth it to constantly be eating and drinking food recipes.

• If you see critters scampering about, don't dismiss them. Even Opossums carry meat you can cook for stat bonuses, and since they don't fight back, that's a free meal!

• Inspect fallen logs whenever you can to obtain wood - which is needed for cooking most food recipes.

• You can step into any large body of water and collect dirty water instead of just drinking it, which is good to stockpile to then boil and purify, or use in cooking.

• Free up your Perk Card slots from situational events like Lockpicking or Hacking until you find locked chests and terminals, then swap cards, and swap back once you've finished.

• Don't be afraid to fight something higher level than you. Higher level enemies might do more damage, but they don't always have a lot more health or armor - a level 20 Bloatfly can still be killed quickly, but can kill you a lot quicker.

• Power Armor Frames can be found out in the world, often next to Power Armor Stations. If you find one, quickly transfer any armor plates that you can't equip yet into your inventory so that you can enter the frame. Once you do so, no one else can take your frame, even if you step out. When you do exit your owned Power Armor frame, you can put it into your inventory - or it will automatically transfer to your inventory after a few minutes or if you leave the area, so that you can never lose it.

• Resting in a bed can give you a slight bonus if you do so for awhile, just remember to sleep in a bed with a frame that's off the ground to avoid getting diseases.

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• If a location seems oddly empty, look at your map for any players who may have explored, looted, and killed everything just moments before - you may want to wait a bit for things to respawn before committing to fully exploring that area.

• Public Workshops can be tempting to claim for yourself, but remember that other players can fight for control, and waves of enemies will eventually spawn to force you to defend your land, which may be hard on your own.