Summary
- Mutations in Fallout 76 offer powerful buffs with drawbacks, best used strategically for various builds.
- Starched Genes perk allows players to keep Mutations, and certain Mutations suit specific playstyles.
- Some Mutations are better for general use, while others cater to specialized builds; choose wisely.
Unless players receive them early through trading with another player or randomly while suffering radiation damage, completing the Enclave questline in Fallout 76 will introduce them to Mutations. These provide players with some of the best buffs in Fallout 76, although they often come with negative effects that players should carefully consider when choosing their Mutations.
With the right perk loadouts in Fallout 76, players can make Mutations a permanent enhancement to their character, as well as increase their positive effects and decrease their negative effects. There is no limit to how many Mutations players can stack together, although some of them aren’t worth suffering the negative effects associated with them.
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S-Tier
- Adrenal Reaction
- Carnivore
- Empath
- Herbivore
- Herd Mentality
- Speed Demon
These Mutations in Fallout 76 provide universal, must-have buffs that players can mix into any existing build. For Instance, Adrenal Reaction is part of Fallout 76’s Bloodied Meta, where, when combined with Bloodied Legendary weapons and the Nerd Rage perk, players can increase their weapon damage by over double. Investing into this playstyle by regularly having low health will give players a permanent damage increase, though this Mutation can also be handy in a pinch when a player’s health naturally gets low in the middle of a fight.
At max rank, the Starched Genes perk will prevent players from accidentally losing or gaining any Mutations.
When it comes to Carnivore and Herbivore, these Mutations are two sides of the same coin, whereas utilizing both of them would be counterintuitive. In general, Carnivore is best for players who utilize food buffs for melee builds, while Herbivore is best for players who utilize food buffs for critical hits in Fallout 76’s version of VATS and/or stealth builds.
A-Tier
- Eagle Eyes
- Marsupial
- Scaly Skin
- Talons
- Twisted Muscles
Unlike how the best Mutations provide universal buffs for any build, these Mutations provide buffs for highly specialized builds. Consequently, these Mutations are only recommended for players who are committed to builds that primarily utilize only one weapon type, as they will often debuff other weapon types until players cure themselves of the Mutation.
B-Tier
- Chameleon
- Electrically Charged
- Plague Walker
- Unstable Isotopes
The B-tier Mutations are somewhat of a neutral ground, where they aren’t the most useful, but they also don’t have much of a tradeoff. Aside from their unique effects, these mutations can prove especially useful for players who are looking to increase the number of Mutations that they have in order to receive the full benefits from the Mutant Legendary armor and Legendary weapon effects in Fallout 76.
While the Chameleon Mutation’s invisibility can be a game-changer for stealth builds in Fallout 76, it requires players to not wear any armor, which ultimately means missing out on several additional buffs from any Legendary armor effects. For Electrically Charged, Unstable Isotope, and Plague Walker, the damage from these Mutations is so small that they aren’t very reliable.
C-Tier
- Bird Bones
- Healing Factor
Both C-Tier Mutations come with steep tradeoffs that players will likely need to invest in multiple perks to reduce their negative effects, though these Mutations can still be useful for specific builds. It’s worth mentioning that the Bird Bones Mutation also reduces fall damage, though this is mostly redundant for players who use Power Armor in Fallout 76, as Power Armor eliminates all fall damage, as well as limb damage.
The Strength In Numbers perk will increase the positive effects of Mutations if players are on a team with other Mutated players, while the Class Freak perk will reduce the negative effects of Mutations.
D-Tier
- Egg Head
- Grounded
Much like the C-Tier Mutations, the D-Tier Mutations also come with burdensome negative effects. Yet, even after investing in perks that reduce these negative effects, the positive effects of these Mutations can still be underwhelming, so they are only recommended for players who have the means to cure them after their temporary use cases.
Fallout 76
- Released
- November 14, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Engine
- Creation
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Fallout
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- How Long To Beat
- 34 Hours
- File Size Xbox Series
- 97 GB (May 2024)
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
