Thank you to Gilpo, Mapex, and Zeek for their patience and for answering my consistent questions.
SPECIALs and Stats
SPECIALs define your character's core abilities, each representing a key aspect of their skills and strengths. Understanding these attributes and how they align with your playstyle is essential for optimizing performance.
Stats directly impact your effectiveness in combat, exploration, and other in-game activities, providing critical bonuses and advantages.
This guide focuses on the purpose and benefits of buffing SPECIALs and Stats, helping you make informed decisions to maximize your character's potential.
Tips, Tricks, and Information
Food Buffs: Most food buffs do not stack. For example, taking two Intelligence food buffs will not increase Intelligence further. However, AP refill buffs are an exception and do stack.
Additional Buffs: To optimize your character, stack these alongside food buffs:
Alcohol buffs
Ally buffs
Armor buffs and stats
Bobblehead buffs
Chem buffs
Camp object buffs
Event buffs (e.g., Path to Enlightenment)
Magazine buffs
Mutations
Perk cards
Damaged Limbs and Effects: Combat damage to your limbs, head, or torso can cripple you and negatively affect your stats:
Crippled Head: Distorted vision and impaired healing.
Crippled Arms: Difficulty aiming weapons.
Crippled Torso: Slower AP regeneration.
Crippled Legs: Reduced movement speed.
Hunger and Thirst Bar
Although the debuff for empty hunger and thirst bars has been removed, the benefits remain active. Use the Rejuvenated perk card and Perfect Bubblegum alongside your food buffs to gain additional stat boosts.
Downloadable version available here.
Recommended Buffs for Your Build
In Fallout 76, choosing a build and committing to it is essential for success. While Min-Max and Hybrid builds are possible, they require significant resources to maintain. Below are bare minimum buff recommendations for various build types. These can be customized further based on your specific playstyle.
Ranged (Rifles, Commando, Sneak, Bows)
Playstyle: Stay at a distance or remain in sneak to avoid taking damage.
Recommended Food Buffs: Herbivore.
Key Specials and Stats to Buff:
Perception
Agility
Luck
VATS Crit Damage
Max AP
AP Regen
AP Refill (if needed)
Energy Resistance
Melee (Unarmed, 1-Handed, 2-Handed Weapons)
Playstyle: Engage enemies up close and withstand direct combat.
Recommended Food Buffs: Carnivore, Melee-focused.
Key Specials and Stats to Buff:
Strength
Endurance
Agility (if running Hack & Slash Legendary Perk Card)
Melee Damage
Max AP (if running Hack & Slash Legendary Perk Card)
AP Regen (if running Hack & Slash Legendary Perk Card)
Max HP
HP Regen
Damage Resistance
Energy Resistance
Rad Resistance
Disease Resistance
Heavy Weapons (Energy and Non-Energy)
Playstyle: Use Power Armor to maximize damage output and survivability.
Why Power Armor?
Stabilized Perk Card:
Rank 1: Increases accuracy and ignores 15% enemy Damage/Energy Resistance.
Rank 2: Further increases accuracy and ignores 30%.
Rank 3: Maximizes accuracy and ignores 45%.
Power Armor Bonuses:
7% Damage Reduction per piece (42% full set).
15% Rad Reduction per piece (90% full set).
Immunity to Fall Damage and Limb Damage.
Recommended Food Buffs: Carnivore, Hybrid for PVP, or Herbivore for PVE.
Key Specials and Stats to Buff:
Perception
Intelligence
Agility
Max AP
AP Regen
AP Refill (if needed)
XP Farming
Playstyle: Maximize XP gains.
Recommended Food Buffs: XP-boosting foods.
Key Specials and Stats to Buff:
Intelligence
XP
PVP
Playstyle: Focus on survivability and mobility in combat with other players.
Recommended Food Buffs: Hybrid or Carnivore for top-tier builds.
Key Specials and Stats to Buff:
Endurance
Agility
Max AP
AP Regen
AP Refill
Max HP
HP Regen
Damage Resistance
Energy Resistance
Poison Resistance
Strength
Key Details:
Strength caps at 100 points.
Power Armor Weight Limit: Without Calibrated Shocks, your carry weight is capped at 205 pounds until you reach 12 Strength.
Melee Mods: Mods that add fire, energy, cold, poison, or electrical damage scale with Strength and Melee Damage.
Heavy Weapons: High Strength does not directly affect damage output for Heavy Weapons but allows you to equip more Heavy Weapon damage perk cards.
Strength Benefits:
Carry Weight
Formula: 150 pounds + (Strength × 5).
Maximum: 1500 pounds over your current carry weight. Exceeding this limit will destroy items when dropped or moved.
Melee Damage
No cap, but limited by the Strength cap (100).
Calculations:
1-Handed, 2-Handed, Bash Damage: Weapon base damage + (Base damage × Strength ÷ 20).
Unarmed: Weapon base damage + (Base damage × Strength ÷ 10).
Food Buffs
Strength-related food buffs can enhance Melee Damage and Carry Weight.
Downloadable version available here
*Chally's Milk stacks on top of other Strength food buffs.
Perception
Key Details:
Perception caps at 100 points.
High Perception improves Compass Range and VATS Accuracy, but it does not directly increase ranged weapon damage. Instead, it allows equipping more ranged weapon perk cards.
Perception Benefits:
Compass Range
Formula: Perception × 12 feet.
No cap or limit: Increases the distance at which enemies and locations appear on your HUD as yellow or red dots.
VATS Accuracy Bonus
Formula: Perception × 0.4% Accuracy.
Maximum: 95% accuracy cap in VATS.
Food Buffs
Perception food buffs enhance accuracy and awareness, providing strategic advantages in combat.
Downloadable version available here
Endurance
Key Details:
Endurance caps at 100 points.
High Endurance increases your HP, reduces sprinting AP drain, and improves disease resistance.
Endurance Benefits:
HP Bar
Formula: 250 + (Endurance × 5).
No cap: Higher Endurance increases the total damage you can sustain.
Sprinting AP Drain
Formula: Endurance × -5% AP drain.
No cap: Each point reduces the AP drain while sprinting, allowing for longer sprints.
Disease Resistance
Endurance directly affects Disease Resistance by reducing the chance of contracting diseases:
At 1 Endurance, the disease chance is doubled (2.0 multiplier).
Each point in Endurance reduces the multiplier by 0.1.
At 15 Endurance, the multiplier reaches 0.85, or a 15% reduced chance compared to the base.
Additional bonuses can come from perks (Vaccinated, Natural Resistance, etc.) and conditions like being Well Fed or Well Hydrated, which add 15-35% Disease Resistance.
Food Buffs
Endurance-related food buffs improve survivability by boosting HP, reducing AP drain, and enhancing Disease Resistance.
Downloadable version available here
Charisma
Key Details:
Charisma caps at 100 points.
Sharing perk cards requires 3 Charisma points per rank of the card being shared.
Charisma Benefits:
Barter Prices
Charisma influences the buying and selling prices with vendors:
Higher Charisma reduces buying prices, bringing them closer to the item's base value.
Increases selling prices, allowing you to earn more caps.
Sweet Spot: At 25 Charisma, you pay 1.75× the base price and sell items for 25% of the base value.
Maximum effectiveness:
At 100 Charisma, you pay the base price (1.0 multiplier) and sell items for up to 62.5% of their base value.
Perk Card Sharing
Temporary Charisma buffs from food, chems, etc do not affect perk card sharing. Only your base Charisma points count toward sharing, with 3 Charisma points needed per card rank.
Event Rewards
Charisma does not influence event reward drops or rates. These are are determined by RNG.
Food Buffs
Charisma food buffs improve vendor interactions, enhancing buy and sell prices, but they do not impact perk card sharing.
Downloadable version available here
Intelligence
Key Details:
Intelligence caps at 100 points.
Higher Intelligence enhances XP gain, scrapping material returns, item durability, and hacking efficiency.
Intelligence Benefits:
XP/Experience Points
Intelligence directly increases XP earned from actions.
Formula: 1 Intelligence = +3% XP gain.
Cap: At 100 Intelligence, XP gain is increased by 300%.
Scrapping Materials
Intelligence increases the materials returned when scrapping weapons and armor.
Cap: At 25 Intelligence, scrapping yields a 33% material return.
Stacks with the Scrapper Perk Card for even higher material recovery.
Condition/Duration Bar
Intelligence boosts the durability of weapons and armor you craft.
Cap: At 20 Intelligence, items gain +100% durability.
This improvement follows a curve, with diminishing returns as you approach the cap.
Hacking
Intelligence makes terminal hacking easier by reducing the number of words to choose from.
Cap: At 10 Intelligence, the word pool is at its smallest, simplifying password guesses.
Event Rewards
Intelligence does not affect event reward drops or rates; these are determined by RNG.
Food Buffs
Intelligence food buffs amplify XP gains, making them essential for leveling efficiently.
Downloadable version available here
Agility
Key Details:
Agility caps at 100 points.
Higher Agility increases your Action Points (AP) and enhances your Sneak Bonus.
Agility Benefits:
AP Bar
Agility directly adds to your total Action Points (AP), which are used for activities like VATS, sprinting, gun bashing, power attacks, and jet pack usage.
Formula: 60 + (Agility × 10).
No cap: The more Agility you have, the higher your total AP.
Sneak Bonus
Agility improves your ability to remain undetected while sneaking.
Formula: Agility × 5 = Sneak Rating.
No cap: Higher Agility results in better stealth performance.
Food Buffs
Agility food buffs increase AP and enhance stealth capabilities, making them valuable for sneaky and action-heavy builds.
Downloadable version available here
Luck
Key Details:
Luck caps at 100 points.
Higher Luck improves VATS crit generation and enhances the durability of looted items.
Luck Benefits:
VATS Crit Meter
Luck accelerates the refill rate of your VATS crit meter.
Formula: 5 + (Luck × 1.5).
Higher Luck allows you to trigger critical hits more frequently.
Tip: Use the VATS Crit Calculator (File > Make a Copy > Enter your values into the copy) to optimize your build and achieve a crit every second shot by balancing perk cards, legendary effects, and Luck.
Condition/Duration Bar
Luck boosts the durability of weapons and armor looted from enemies or received as event rewards.
Cap: At 50 Luck, durability is increased by +85%.
This improvement follows a curve, with diminishing returns approaching the cap.
Event Rewards
Luck does not affect event reward drops or rates; these remain determined by RNG.
Food Buffs
Luck food buffs provide bonuses to critical hit generation, enhancing VATS efficiency for combat-focused builds.
Downloadable version available here
XP
Key Details:
Event XP Cap: 6000 XP per successful event completion.
Creature XP Cap: 4000 XP per kill.
XP Formula:
XP Earned = Base XP × [1 + (INT × 0.03)]
How It Works:
Base XP: This is the starting amount of XP you get from killing enemies, completing events, or other activities.
INT Multiplier: Your Intelligence (INT) increases the amount of XP you earn. Each point of INT adds a 3% boost to your XP.
Example:
Your Intelligence (INT): 25 (including all buffs like perk cards, food, drink, or chems).
Base XP from an event: 150 XP.
Step 1: Multiply your INT by 0.03 to calculate the boost.25 × 0.03 = 0.75 (this is the XP boost from INT).
Step 2: Add the boost to 1 to get your total multiplier.1 + 0.75 = 1.75.
Step 3: Multiply the base XP by the total multiplier.150 × 1.75 = 262.5 XP (rounded to 263 XP in-game).
Helpful Tools
Food Buffs
XP food buffs provide bonuses that significantly enhance your XP gains, making them essential for efficient leveling and farming.
Downloadable version available here
All Intelligence and XP Buffs
Downloadable version available here
Carry Weight
Key Details:
Carry weight is capped at 1500 pounds over your character's current limit.
Exceeding the carry weight cap will destroy items when you attempt to drop or move them.
Carry weight food buffs do not stack; only the most recently applied buff will be active.
Carry Weight Formula:
The total carry weight cap is calculated as:[Character's Current Total Carry Weight] + 1500 = Carry Weight Cap
Example:
Current total carry weight: 350 pounds
Add 1500: 350 + 1500 = 1850 pounds
Result: You cannot exceed 1850 pounds without risking item destruction.
Herbivore Considerations:
Currently, no dedicated Carry Weight food buffs exist for Herbivore players. However, running the Herbivore mutation and consuming a Herbivore serum allows access to certain Carnivore Carry Weight food buffs, such as Smoked Mirelurk Fillet.
Food Buffs
Carry weight food buffs are essential for hoarders, enabling fast travel and better inventory management.
Downloadable version available here
VATS Crit Damage
Key Details:
There is no cap or limit on VATS Crit Damage.
Also referred to as VATS Crits or Critical Damage in VATS.
Note: Crit Damage buffs do not apply to melee weapons.
How VATS Crits Work:
Each successful hit in VATS builds up the Crit Meter.
Once the Crit Meter is full, trigger a VATS Crit to guarantee a hit with extra damage.
VATS Crits ignore most enemies' damage reduction, making them highly effective against armored foes.
Optimization Tip:
Use the VATS Crit Calculator (File > Make a Copy > Enter your values into the copy) to determine the optimal combination of:
Perk cards
Legendary effects
Food buffs
Luck
This can help you achieve a Crit every second shot, enhancing combat efficiency.
Food Buffs
VATS Crit Damage food buffs enhance combat performance by increasing critical damage potential.
Downloadable version available here
Melee Damage
Key Details:
Cap: There is no cap or limit on Melee Damage, but it is restricted by the Strength cap.
Applicability: Melee damage applies to all unarmed, one-handed, and two-handed melee weapons.
Food Buff Interaction: Melee damage food buffs do not stack; only the last applied buff will take effect (as of December 5, 2023).
Melee Damage Formula:
Melee damage is calculated based on the weapon's base damage, your Strength attribute, and specific bonuses from consumables or other temporary effects.
One-Handed and Two-Handed Weapons:
Total Damage = Base Weapon Damage × (1 + (Strength × 0.05) + Food Buff Percent)
Unarmed Weapons and Fists:
Total Damage = Base Weapon Damage × (1 + (Strength × 0.10) + Food Buff Percent)
Example Calculation:
Base Weapon Damage: 100
Strength: 10
Food Buff: +25%
One-Handed/Two-Handed Weapons: Total Damage = 100 × (1 + (10 × 0.05) + 0.25) = 100 × 1.75 = 175
Unarmed Weapons: Total Damage = 100 × (1 + (10 × 0.10) + 0.25) = 100 × 2.25 = 225
Additional Benefits:
Stacking with Strength: Melee damage stacks on top of Strength bonuses to amplify damage output.
Weapon Versatility: Supports all melee weapon types, including unarmed options.
Food Buffs
Melee Damage buffs take your base damage and apply the percentage bonus.
Downloadable version available here
Max AP
Key Details:
Effect: Increases the length of your AP bar, allowing for more actions in V.A.T.S., sprinting, power attacks, jetpacks, and more.
Cap: There is no cap or limit on your AP bar; its length depends on your total Agility and any applied buffs.
Base AP Calculation:
Formula:
Base AP = 60 + (Agility × 10)
Example Calculation:
Agility: 10
Base AP = 60 + (10 × 10) = 160 AP
AP Usage includes:
V.A.T.S.: Targeting and attacking.
Sprinting: Moving quickly across the map.
Gun Bashing: Attacking with your weapon's stock.
Power Attacks: Strong melee attacks.
Jetpacks: Flight using Power Armor or other gear.
Additional AP Usage:
Entering V.A.T.S. without a target: Costs 5 AP per attempt.
Successfully targeting in V.A.T.S.: Does not consume additional AP.
Weapon Mods and AP Costs in V.A.T.S.:
Mods that reduce AP cost:
Light
Quick
Hair Trigger
Advanced
Reflex
Marksman
Sharpshooter
Mods that increase AP cost:
Heavy
Long
Rapid
Piercing
Automatic
Large
Drum
Full
Scope
Sniper
Food Buffs
Max AP food buffs provide a significant increase to your AP pool, enhancing your efficiency in combat and mobility.
Downloadable version available here
AP Regen
Key Details:
There is no cap or limit on AP regeneration.
The base AP refresh rate is 6 AP per second.
AP Regen Formula:
Base Percentage Regen:
Base AP Regen: 6% of Max AP per second.
Adding Buffs:
Additional buffs and effects are applied cumulatively.
Example Calculation:
[Base AP Regen + AP Refresh Gear] × [Buff Multiplier]
[6 + (5 × 5) + 10] × [(100 + 45 + 15 + 35 + 25) ÷ 100]
= 90.2% of Max AP restored per second.
Time to Refill AP Bar:
Formula: 100 ÷ Total AP Regen (%).
Example:
Total Regen: 90.2% per second.
Time to refill from 0% to 100% AP: 100 ÷ 90.2 = 1.1 seconds.
Additional Information:
AP Regen Buffs: AP regeneration is influenced by food, drinks, perks, armor effects, and mutations.
Food Buffs
AP regeneration food buffs provide a faster refill rate for your Action Points, allowing for more frequent usage of VATS, sprinting, and other actions.
Downloadable version available here
AP Refill
Key Details:
Purpose: AP refill buffs instantly replenish your AP bar, making them essential for builds relying heavily on Action Points (e.g., VATS, sprinting, or power attacks).
Dual Buff Foods: Some items, such as Cranberry Relish, provide multiple benefits, like XP and AP Refill. However, while the XP buff is affected by mutations, Strange in Numbers, and magazines, the AP Refill effect is not buffed by any modifiers.
Stacking: Unlike most buffs, AP Refill effects stack so you can consume multiple of the same buff such as Canned Coffee.
Food Buffs: AP Refill food buffs provide instant replenishment of your Action Points, offering a quick recovery option during combat or high-action gameplay.
Downloadable version available here.
Max HP
Key Details:
There is no cap or limit on Max HP.
Higher Max HP extends your health bar, allowing you to withstand more damage before dying.
Important Note:
Pies, such as Pumpkin Pie and Carnival Pie, cannot be buffed by mutations or the Strange in Numbers perk card.
Food Buffs:
Max HP food buffs provide a substantial boost to your overall survivability in combat, making them essential for tank and melee builds.
Downloadable version available here.
HP Regen
Key Details:
Hit Point Regeneration is a passive form of healing, comparable to the Healing Factor mutation but slower and less potent.
HP Regen Food Buffs do not Regen Health during combat.
Important Note: HP Regen food buffs are not affected by mutations or the Strange in Numbers perk card. This means that these buffs will work for both Herbivore and Carnivore builds.
Food Buffs
HP Regen food buffs provide consistent, low-level healing, making them useful for maintaining health over time in combat or while exploring.
Downloadable version available here.
Damage Resistance (DR)
Key Details:
There is no limit to Damage Resistance (DR), but it works on a curve, offering diminished returns at higher levels of resistance, depending on the enemy type.
Benefits of Higher Damage Resistance:
Reduces the amount of physical damage (e.g., bullets, knives, fists) you take from enemies.
For most enemies: A DR of 300–400 is sufficient for common encounters.
For tougher challenges: Expos, Raids, Nuked Bosses (Earl, Titan, and Queen), Encryptid, Daily Ops, and Heart of the Swamp bosses typically require a DR of 700+ when combined with damage avoidance perks and optimized gear.
Food Buffs:
Food buffs provide an accessible way to boost your DR temporarily for challenging fights.
Downloadable version available here.
Energy Resistance (ER)
Key Details:
Energy Resistance has no cap, but it works on a curve, providing diminished returns at higher levels, depending on the enemy type.
Benefits of Higher Energy Resistance:
Reduces the amount of energy-based damage (e.g., plasma, laser) you take from enemies.
For most enemies: An ER of 300–400 is sufficient for day-to-day encounters.
For tougher challenges: PVP, Exposures, Nuked Bosses (Earl, Titan, and Queen), Encryptid, Daily Ops, and Heart of the Swamp bosses typically require an ER of 700+ combined with damage avoidance perks and optimized gear.
Food Buffs:
Energy Resistance food buffs provide a temporary boost, ideal for preparing against energy-heavy enemy types or challenging encounters.
Downloadable version available here.
Rad Resistance (RR)
Key Details:
Achieving 100% Radiation Resistance is not possible, even with full armor, hazmat suits, Power Armor, buffs, and chems. At minimum, you will always take +1 Rad per second in irradiated environments.
Benefits of Higher Radiation Resistance:
Reduces the Rads per second you receive from environmental sources, creatures, and specialized weapons.
Mitigates overall radiation damage, helping you stay alive longer in highly irradiated areas or during combat with radiation-based enemies.
Additional Notes:
The same Rad Resistance buffs stack, allowing for increased resistance. For example:
Consuming two Glowing Fungus Soups can provide up to 100 Rad Resistance.
Consuming two RadShield doses provides +600 Rad Resistance.
Food Buffs:
Rad Resistance food buffs are an effective way to prepare for radiation-heavy encounters or exploration in highly irradiated zones.
Downloadable version available here.
Poison Resistance (PR)
Key Details:
There is no cap on Poison Resistance; however, it follows a curve, offering diminished returns at higher resistance levels.
These buffs can be challenging to farm consistently.
Recommendations:
For sustainable Poison Resistance:
Use the Funky Duds Legendary perk card, which provides additional Poison Resistance when equipped.
Alternatively, consider the Natural Resistance perk card. This Endurance-based card scales Poison Resistance based on your character's Endurance level and is active when your character is not diseased.
For players who cannot run these perks due to level restrictions or lack of perk slots, food-based Poison Resistance buffs remain a viable option.
Stacking Poison Resistance Buffs:
The same Poison Resistance buffs stack for higher resistance.
Example: Consuming two Cave Fungus Soups can provide up to 50 Poison Resistance.
Sources for Poison Resistance Buffs:
Cave Fungus Soup
Location: Communist Collectron
Steeped Black Bloodleaf Tea
Location: Yasmin - Camp Ally
Tato Soup
Locations: Whitesprings Restaurant, Communist Collectron
For more detailed information, refer to the Poison Resistance Guide here.
Food Buffs:
Poison Resistance food buffs offer temporary protection against poison damage, serving as an effective supplement to perk cards like Funky Duds or Natural Resistance.
Downloadable version available here.
Disease Resistance
Key Details:
Disease Resistance has no cap but follows a curve, with reduced benefits at higher levels.
You must be level 15 or higher to contract a disease.
Perk cards like Iron Stomach, Natural Resistance, and Thirst Quencher only work if your character is free of disease.
Certain diseases, such as Blight, Jelly Fingers, Sludge Lung, and Rattle Hands, should be treated quickly as they can reduce AP regen, carry weight, and damage output.
Disease Resistance food buffs are not affected by mutations or the Strange in Numbers perk card. This means that these buffs will work for both Herbivore and Carnivore builds.
Disease Mechanics:
Diseases are caused by consuming dirty food or water, environmental hazards, or contact with diseased creatures.
You can only contract one disease every 30 minutes and the same disease every 45 minutes.
Server hopping resets this cooldown, allowing a new disease to be acquired immediately.
Food Buffs:
Incorporating Disease Resistance food buffs can provide temporary protection against debilitating effects during challenging scenarios.
Downloadable version available here.
Cryo Resistance
No Food Buffs in Game.
Fire Resistance
No Food Buffs in Game.
Other Food Buffs
Key Details:
Random and oddball buffs that are good to know about but no one really uses because there are better options available.
Downloadable version available here.
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