Update 24 Ready!
Since Wastelanders’ release, Fallout 76 has had a large influx of new players. I logged over 900+ hours in the game so far, myself! I tried a few builds and finally landed on this one for my primary “main” character. Are you wanting to take the Scorch Beast Queen or Wendigo Colossus on solo? This Heavy Gunner build for Fallout 76 is designed for high DPS, high XP, high survival and some versatility.
One fact I’ve learned in Fallout 76 so far; the game practically begs you to play low health builds! The interplay between mutations, perks, and gear creates powerful synergies where stats and damage are insane. Bear with me, there’s a lot to unpack in how all this works.
Power Armor Setup Heavy Gunner Fallout 76 Build
Fighting the Scorch Beast Queen or Wendigo Colossus almost demands power armor. They hit very hard and the added armor penetration and mitigation from power armor is very important. When I want maximum damage and survival I jump into my power armor and use the following perk load out:
Legendary Perk Cards
Update 22 brings Legendary Perk Cards! This changes the game considerably once your character reaches lvl 300+. I opted for the following legendary perks (if you’re not high enough to unlock Legendary Perk Cards yet, here’s a version of my perks you can use while you work toward the final build):
Ammo Factory: This is a heavy gunner build! Ammo is ALWAYS in demand! Make your life easier and max this legendary perk!
Legendary Intelligence: +5 Intelligence means max Intelligence (great for XP).
Legendary Luck: +5 Luck means max Luck for more versatility and use of some great perks!
Funky Duds: If you’ve ever attempted to tank the Scorch Beast Queen or done the Colossal Problem event I’m sure you’ve notice how poison is one of the few things that can destroy even the tankiest build. This perk is GREAT!
Sizzling Style: Continuing our tanky approach to this build, more fire resist helps surviving those darn fire ember cave-ins during the Earle fight much easier!
Master Infiltrator – Being able to quickly hack or lockpick without swapping cards is a fantastic addition to the game. However, it’s not a requirement. If you don’t mind swapping perks, you could certainly consider something like Power Armor Reboot for added survivability.
Unyielding Armor Setup (no power armor)
When I grind for XP and farm for junk / loot, it can certainly be done in power armor. However, I switch to a full set of unyielding armor to add an additional +15 to all my stats (except endurance). I will also boost my intelligence and xp bonuses with food and other aid items to maximize XP and SCORE gain while I’m at it. The additional benefits of public groups and Herd Mentality mutation with Strange in Numbers perk push these bonuses higher in power armor but make the numbers crazy high when in unyielding armor! I switch my perk cards when I jump out of power armor to the following:
Mutations for Heavy Gunner Fallout 76 Build
I love mutations! I run quite a few mutations on every build I make. This also means I run Starched Genes and Class Freak on every build as well. The mutations that are most important for this build’s synergies are:
- Herd mentality
- Empath
- Adrenal Reaction (increases damage output the lower your health)
Mutations that are super nice to have but are not required:
- Speed Demon
- Egg Head
- Marsupial
- Bird Bones
- Herbivore (or Carnivore)
- Plague Walker
- Scaly Skin
Gear Suggestions for Heavy Gunner Fallout 76 Build
A word on power armor:
After a lot of research and testing of my own, it’s pretty evident that the Excavator armor is perfectly adequate for all end-game content. In fact, it only under-performs in terms of mitigation by 1 or 2 points of damage. Literally. All the high end status symbol power armor models in FO76 are just that, status symbols. You certainly can use any of the high end armors if you wish. It’s just that the Excavator armor is almost just as good as all of them.
That being said, here are the recommended mods for your power armor (whichever you use):
- Torso: Emergency Protocols – very important for surivability
- Head: Targeting HUD – makes it much easier to see targets
- Legs: Calibrated Shocks – who doesn’t want 100 more carry weight?
- Arms: Whatever you want or none. There are no good arm mods, currently
Weapons
Heavy guns are my favorite in Fallout 76. There’s good news too! There are a lot of heavy guns to choose from in this game. If you’re just starting out, however, there is a free .50 Cal Machine Gun that works quite well with this build. Just get Beckett as a guest in your CAMP and complete his quest line. The final reward is a .50 Cal Machine Gun named “The Final Word”.
“The Final Word” is a fantastic heavy gun and could, conceivably, be the only heavy gun you need! But, where’s the fun in that?
The first gun I would look for after securing a Final Word would be a Vampire Exploding heavy gun! The Vampire trait allows you to stand toe to toe with the big baddies of the Wasteland and not even flinch. The Exploding trait, which at close range would normally kill you, is mitigated by the healing properties of Vampire. AND – while update 22 changed base damage calculations from multiplicative to additive, explosive traits are still multiplicative! This is why we’re using the Demolition Expert perk as it increases weapon damage for the explosive trait considerably. All heavy guns perform well with this build but the following traits do best:
- VAMPIRE
- Anti-Armor
- Bloodied
- Furious
Armor
I resisted trying a low health build when I started playing Wastelanders. But, the more I learned how much a low health build combined with unyielding can buff stats (in addition to all the other synergies) – it’s hard to ignore! Five piece unyielding of whatever you can get your hands on is a good place to start. Then you can work toward sourcing better versions and rolling for secret service unyielding pieces over time. You won’t be as tanky as power armor, obviously. So be more mindful of how you plan to attack since you lack the ability to just run in gunz-a-blazin’.
Have fun in the wastelands of West Virginia, Vault Dwellers! I hope this build guide helps make the game as fun for you as it is for me. See you in the bog…
