Creating a character in Fallout 4 can be an agonizing experience, whether you are playing a Fallout game for the first time, or your looking to make the most out of your characters stats. While the rules have changed somewhat, how you decide to distribute your SPECIAL points will say a lot about how your character will play out.

While there are no truly wrong or right ways to make your character, the list below offers certain Optimal Builds for those looking to make a certain type of character, and what Perks they should look into obtaining as they level up their character.

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Please note that these builds are merely guidelines - so feel free to tweak them as you see fit, or add your own! Also be sure to check out our Things to Do First in Fallout 4 to get off to a great start.

Build Types



The Crafter

Attribute

Points to Assign

Strength

4

Perception

5

Endurance

3

Charisma

6

Intelligence

6

Agility

2

Luck

2



Do you yearn to craft? Is DIY your MO? Do you enjoy the home and garden network? Then The Crafter is the build for you. This build focuses on every stat related to obtaining perks used for crafting the best stuff around. With Strength 4, you’ll have access to both the Armorer and Blacksmith perks to make armor and weapon mods. Having Charisma 6 nets you the Local Leader perk, which in addition to letting you construct supply lines between settlements (all the better for crafting), you’ll also be able to construct trading booths to earn some caps on the side.

Meanwhile, an Intelligence of 6 will let you get Gun Nut for better gun mods, Scrapper, for getting better components out of scrapping weapons and armor, and Science! for getting access to high-tech mods. Finally, if you are truly all about crafting, dump 5 points into Perception and unlock the Demolition Expert perk - because it lets you craft explosives at any chemical station! This build will of course leave you a bit slow, weak, and luckless - so divvy up the remaining points between Endurance, Agility and Luck as you see fit.

The Brute

Attribute

Points to Assign

Strength

9

Perception

3

Endurance

7

Charisma

1

Intelligence

3

Agility

2

Luck

3



If being large and in charge is your calling card, consider The Brute. Leave the talking, sneaking, and tinkering to the wimps - you’ve got bigger fish to fry. This build focuses on being a monster right out of the gate. With a whopping Strength of 9, you’ll be able to have your pick of perks that increase weapon damage, bashing damage - or just all around brute force. Be sure to put one final point to top it off as soon as you find some Power Armor and a healthy heap of fusion cores to keep it going.

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With Perception 3 you’ll have just enough accuracy, and the ability to pump up your rifle damage if you choose. An Endurance of 7 will turn you into a hard hitting warrior who can take damage too - with the Adamantium Skeleton perk to ensure your limbs remain intact. Finally, with just 3 in Intelligence you can mod your weapons to be even more lethal, and Agility 2 to get the Commando perk to increase your automatic gun damage. And don’t forget 3 in Luck to get the Bloody Mess perk - because as a Brute you need to paint the walls with the blood of your enemies

The Ninja

Attribute

Points to Assign

Strength

4

Perception

6

Endurance

1

Charisma

1

Intelligence

1

Agility

9

Luck

6



Silent, deadly, quick to deal massive, but not as much room to take it - The Ninja is a good pick for those who crouch like it’s a second nature. Getting at least 4 in Strength lets you pick up the Blacksmith perk for even more lethal weapons to stab with - and make some sneakier armor to boot. Perception 6 will make you even more deadly at night with the Night Person perk, and it's always best to be sneaking at night.

Agility 9 gets you the best sneaky perks, stopping at better range for your melee weapons (If you find yourself more a gun nut - bump it up to 10 later). Finally, 6 in Luck will net you such Perks as Better Criticals, and even Idiot Savant, since your Intelligence will be sitting at 1. Of course if having Intelligence, Endurance, and Charisma at 1 seems a bit much, you can always dial back on the Luck or Perception. Trading out some Luck for a 3 in Intelligence can net you the Gun Nut perk, which can make getting a suppressor much easier.

The Smooth-talking Scientist

Attribute

Points to Assign

Strength

2

Perception

3

Endurance

2

Charisma

10

Intelligence

8

Agility

2

Luck

1



With your cunning genius and silver tongue - make the world follow your every beck and call - whether they be human, robot, or otherwise. Just make sure you keep your gullible goons between you and your enemies. The Smooth-talking Scientist is all about getting other people to do your dirty work and staying far from the real threat. With a 10 in Charisma, you’ll have access to both Wasteland Whisperer, which lets you pacify and command creatures below your level, as well as Intimidation, which can do the same to humans.

As for the AI threat, an 8 in Intelligence gives you the Robotics Expert perk, letting you hack robots to gain control of them. The last 5 points can be spread evenly around the other stats so you aren’t a total wimp, but how you spend them is really up to you.

How Creation Works

Creating a character in Fallout 4 takes place during the tutorial segment when meeting with the Vault-Tec salesman. He'll invite you to fill out a questionnaire including your name and your choices in the seven SPECIAL attributes. These decisions are not final at this point...you'll have a chance to respec just before emerging from Vault 111.

Each attribute governs a different aspect of your character in two ways:

First, the numeric value of each attribute affects your raw abilities tied to that attribute.

Strength governs melee damage and carrying capacity

Perception governs VATS accuracy and sleight-of-hand

Endurance governs running capacity and hit points

Charisma governs many aspects of conversation and persuasion

Intelligence influences XP bonuses

Agility adds Action Points in VATS

Luck governs critical frequency

Second and just as important, SPECIAL attributes govern available Perks. Perks in turn define many of your character's abilities: Lockpicking, Hacking, damage bonuses, extra drops from loot, and a host of other special attributes. We recommend you choose a few abilities that you really want to have access to throughout the game when planning your attributes.

Recommended Early Perks

Several Perks that are especially useful for starting characters:

Scrounger - A simple Perk that adds up and has very low Luck requirements, Scrounger really helps out in the early game when certain ammunition calibers are scarce.

Hacker - The ability to access Expert terminals opens a lot of doors

Science! - If you're interested in Modding it's an absolute must.

Concentrated Fire - An absolute must for Perception builds, concentrated fire vastly improves the capabilities of VATS and makes headshots a breeze

Locksmith - Expert locks are pretty common, and this perk gets you into a lot of closed safes.