The highly anticipated playable Ghoul is finally available in Fallout 76, and every player who reaches level 50 will get to choose between undergoing this transformation or remaining a human. For the players who have already transformed into a Ghoul in Fallout 76, or for players who are still on the fence about this decision, there are a handful of unwritten rules to be aware of concerning how the playable Ghoul differs from the experience of playing as a human.
As a Ghoul, players will no longer take damage from radiation, as it will instead heal them and it can provide additional buffs, so players will want to learn to take advantage of every source of radiation they can come across throughout the Appalachian wasteland. Beyond their immunity to radiation, there are several other side effects of becoming a Ghoul in Fallout 76 that players should take into consideration when putting together their endgame builds, and whether or not the transformation suits their ideal experience.
Fallout 76’s Playable Ghoul Has an Obvious Opportunity for a Fallout 3 Tie-In
Now that the franchise’s first playable Ghoul character has arrived, Fallout 76 may have the perfect excuse to revisit Fallout 3’s iconic setting.
The Unwritten Rules of Playing as a Ghoul in Fallout 76
Say Goodbye to Bloodied-Unyielding and Overeater’s Meta Builds
Longtime players should beware that changing to a Ghoul means players may need to invest in a new build because Ghouls aren’t compatible with Bloodied-Unyielding and Overeater’s meta builds in Fallout 76. Technically, Ghouls can still use Bloodied legendary weapons and Unyielding legendary armor, but because Ghouls heal when taking radiation damage, players won’t have a reliable way of staying below 20% health to meet the conditions of these legendary mods' optimal buffs. However, the Overeater’s legendary mod no longer works for Ghouls due to Ghouls not needing to maintain their hunger and thirst, so this meta build is off-limits for Ghouls.
Going Ghoul Isn’t Just for Melee Buffs
One of the biggest advantages of becoming a Ghoul in Fallout 76 is the significant melee buffs players will have access to. However, Ghouls are by no means limited to only using melee builds, as there is a wide variety of new Ghoul-exclusive Perk Cards readily available alongside several of the pre-existing human Perk Cards that Ghouls can still use to make any kind of playstyle or dedicated weapon builds viable in endgame content.
Create Your Own Sources of Radiation Damage to Heal and Fuel the Ghoul’s Glow Buffs
With the new Glow mechanic for Ghouls, radiation will heal Ghouls and overflow their health up to double their base amount of HP, with additional buffs available from specific, Ghoul-exclusive Perk Cards. Since environmental radiation isn’t always available in every fight, with the Gamma Gun and food and drink consumables, players can essentially create their own sources of radiation damage to generate Glow wherever and whenever.
The Gamma Gun, in particular, is an especially useful weapon to carry for Ghoul builds because it can inflict radiation damage when taking friendly fire, which heals Ghouls and generates Glow, and it also benefits greatly from Fallout 76’s recent pistol buffs when used offensively.
Players might also want to consider building a CAMP in Fallout 76 near a source of environmental radiation or using CAMP items that can generate radiation. This way, players can have a free fast travel point to top up on Glow between quests and activities, while saving consumable sources of radiation for precious moments during endgame activities.
Make a Perk Card Loadout for Trading with NPC Vendors
Players who transform their character into a Ghoul in Fallout 76 will receive a permanent -10 debuff to their Charisma attribute. This won’t affect how many Charisma Perk Cards players can equip, but it will affect the scaling of buffs from certain Perk Cards, and most importantly, it will affect players’ buying and selling prices at NPC vendors. Consequently, players may want to use a spare Perk Card loadout to minimize this Charisma debuff to save on Caps.
Fallout 76
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 54 /100 Critics Rec: 9%
