Skyrim and Fallout 4's Most Popular Builds Have One Thing…

Summary

Bethesda's RPG franchises, The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, offer diverse perk systems that allow players to create characters that match their playstyles.
The Stealth Archer in Skyrim and the Infiltrator in Fallout 4 are the strongest and most broken builds in the games, utilizing sneak attack mechanics for massive damage.
While these builds are overpowered, they can become repetitive and involve a lot of waiting. They may struggle against larger enemies, but these encounters are infrequent.

What’s great about Bethesda’s premier role-playing franchises The Elder Scrolls and Fallout is that they don’t box the player into one class. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim players can use a sword on one hand and a spell on another, while Fallout 4 players can quickly swap from a pistol to a missile launcher in a jiff. However, players who want to have a more structured build can look to the perks system in both games. Some liked creating zany builds, like Unarmed in Skyrim and Heavy Weapons Demolitionist in Fallout 4. However, players who wanted to optimize their gameplay often used the Stealth Archer and Infiltrator in Skyrim and Fallout 4, respectively. These builds, despite being from two different games, work similarly and share one important trait.

The perks system in Bethesda’s RPG franchises is easy to understand and operates similarly. In Skyrim, the player chooses from 18 different skills, with corresponding perks. The game has over 251 perks in total. One can choose to level up seven individual SPECIAL skills in Fallout 4 and choose from over 70 perks overall. SPECIAL stands for strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck. With such diverse perk systems, players can create characters that truly represent their playstyles. For a lot of players, however, that playstyle involves picking off their enemies from the shadows.

The Strongest Builds in Skyrim and Fallout 4 Are All About Stealth

When one searches for the strongest or most broken builds in Skyrim and Fallout 4, they’ll probably see the Stealth Archer and Infiltrator. These builds have one important element in common: they optimize each game’s sneak attack mechanics. The games share the same sneak attack systems, albeit with a few minor differences. If a player lands a hit against an enemy while in stealth, they get a sneak attack bonus multiplier. The base ranged sneak attack for Fallout 4 is 3.3x, while Skyrim’s is 3x. That’s a ton of damage packed in a single shot.

These builds perform best using ranged weapons to limit the chances of the player being detected while launching their attack. The endgame Dragon Bow is the optimal choice in Skyrim, while the Railroad faction’s Deliverer is best for Fallout 4. This is because both weapon types can dole out huge damage without making a lot of noise. Plus, the Deliverer also offers Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (VATS) accuracy and action point cost bonuses for easy multi-kills. With armor enchanted/modded with stealth bonuses, the player can clear almost any dungeon without being seen by enemies.

The Stealth Archer and Infiltrator Playstyle and its Weaknesses

Stealth in Fallout 4 — Fallout 4 Stealth

The play style for Skyrim's Stealth Archer and Fallout 4's Infiltrator is simple: go into stealth and shoot the enemy to trigger the sneak attack multiplier. If one is against multiple enemies, it’s only natural that the other opponents get alarmed and start looking for the culprit. The player can shake these enemies off by dodging the opponent’s line of sight until they’re hidden again. They can then rinse and repeat, picking off enemies one by one in a single shot with their massive sneak attack bonus.

While both builds are quite overpowered, they have a few downfalls. The first is that the playstyle can get boring for a while because of its repetitive nature. It also involves a lot of waiting, as players need to stay in stealth to guarantee that their sneak attack hits properly. This build isn’t great for larger enemies, too. Stealth Archer players can do away with a bow against Dragons in Skyrim because of its immense damage even outside of stealth. On the other hand, Infiltrator mains in Fallout 4 may find it hard to bring down Deathclaws with a silenced pistol alone. Thankfully, such encounters are few and far between and can often be avoided.