Making proper perk card builds? (Newbies Read. The thread that keeps on giving)

[Blues Man]

In another thread ZeroFate suggested I make proper perk card builds.
I didn't want to derail that thread so I'm here asking...
Where do I go to find out what proper builds are?

[The Presence]

https://nukesdragons.com/fallout-76/character

Edit: There's probably some other ones too. It's been a long time since I've used those builder sites, so I'm not sure which one currently is the most up-to-date and accurate.

[Blues Man]

thanks

[Mooman]

Usually a build is based on the weapon(s) being used then a divide between full health and low health (often called Bloodied).

I run 12 different builds over 4 characters. All full health so could double that just by going low. Here they are in no particular order:

Heavy Guns Power Armor.
V.A.T.S. Power Armor (Plasma Caster mostly).
Explosive no Power Armor (M79 or Auto Grenade Launcher mostly).
Rilfes (Covers Commando and Rifleman with card swaps).
Bows.
Pistols.
Melee no Power Armor (Covers Unarmed, 1H, 2H with card swaps).
Melee Power Armor.
Heavy Guns no Power Armor.
Shotguns.
Pepper Shaker (Specialised Heavy Guns Power Armor).
Explosive Power Armor (Hellstorm/Missile Launchers mostly).

I'm sure there are many more such as Berserkers or stealth variants (I run full noise as that is what events end up being) but they cover most of the weapons and odd split interactions.

[Blues Man]

Originally posted by Mooman:

Usually a build is based on the weapon(s) being used then a divide between full health and low health (often called Bloodied).

I run 12 different builds over 4 characters. All full health so could double that just by going low. Here they are in no particular order:

Heavy Guns Power Armor.
V.A.T.S. Power Armor (Plasma Caster mostly).
Explosive no Power Armor (M79 or Auto Grenade Launcher mostly).
Rilfes (Covers Commando and Rifleman with card swaps).
Bows.
Pistols.
Melee no Power Armor (Covers Unarmed, 1H, 2H with card swaps).
Melee Power Armor.
Heavy Guns no Power Armor.
Shotguns.
Pepper Shaker (Specialised Heavy Guns Power Armor).
Explosive Power Armor (Hellstorm/Missile Launchers mostly).

I'm sure there are many more such as Berserkers or stealth variants (I run full noise as that is what events end up being) but they cover most of the weapons and odd split interactions.

I'm lvl 50.
So far I've put as many points in vats and single shot scoped rifles. To stay far away from mobs. Underground and in buildings I still use vats and the sniper rifle, shotgun, or melee.
I always tap vats once in a while to detect a mob then sneak. Perks for sneaking.
I have a few heavy guns but they burn through ammo too fast.
I have the perks to get more ammo when I build ammo but still I'm running out of mats too fast.
But mobs are quickly getting too tough for this setup. Regular armor doesn't protect enough and my guns are not powerful enough for quick kills.
This gives me something to think about.

[Phantom]

Originally posted by Blues Man:

I'm lvl 50.
So far I've put as many points in vats and single shot scoped rifles. To stay far away from mobs. Underground and in buildings I still use vats and the sniper rifle, shotgun, or melee.
I always tap vats once in a while to detect a mob then sneak. Perks for sneaking.
I have a few heavy guns but they burn through ammo too fast.
I have the perks to get more ammo when I build ammo but still I'm running out of mats too fast.
But mobs are quickly getting too tough for this setup. Regular armor doesn't protect enough and my guns are not powerful enough for quick kills.
This gives me something to think about.

You should then look into

Unyielding armour x5 (ideally +1 int too, and then sentry for the third), pickup toxic goo at westtek to keep bloodied

Bloodied fixer / railway / handmade / plasma caster / other (Ideally 25% faster fire rate and reload), 130-145% additive damage to a weapon REALLY kicked it up a few notches

Fixers can 1-2 shot supermutants at 1-2 ap per shot, railways can 1 shot supermutants, handmades 2-4 shot supermutants, and plasma caster will 1 shot supermutants

serendipity, dodgy, richochet, blocker, fireproof as essential perks

Use commando for the fixer/railway/handmade or heavy weapon for the caster


Have a friend, she migrated from xbox to pc xmas ish. We boosted her to level 7xx in a couple hours. Intelligence exp builds are powerful POWERFUL leveling tools. as a bonus they do massive damage AND rip through scoreboards

[Mooman]

You really have to focus on 1 weapon. You could do rifles/shotgun (strength/perception) hybrid but realistically that would be a long term goal as you'd need some legendary special.

[slippingsnake]

Originally posted by Blues Man:

... I've put as many points in vats and single shot scoped rifles....

yieks, single-shot does not give high dps, even the Plasma-Caster can oblterate common enemies he falls behind on bigger targets.

But this is actualy not a problem, around level 100 you should be able to buy all the perks you need (incl. repair etc.)

It might be important for you how you want to approach the game: "lone Wanderer" and exploring everything on your own or "Power-User" with lots of events, wich is what most of us do because this makes use of the reward-system.

Join a casual team, during events stay close to your temmates for shared loot and xp.

learn to fast-travel to your team mates (don't stalk them), to daily ops and expeditions.

Learn to minimze time used for inventory management and learn to throw things away.

I frequently have low level randoms in my team and I like that, but the outcome for them is very different depending if they stay with the team or not.

[slippingsnake]

Originally posted by Mooman:

You really have to focus on 1 weapon. You could do rifles/shotgun (strength/perception) hybrid but realistically that would be a long term goal as you'd need some legendary special.

nope.
you can use different kinds of weapons, there is simply no scenario where you need to kill enemies as fast as possible, except you want to mke sure others don't get xp and loot during events.

This max dps thing has become a festish by people who see FO 76 as a shooter and don't get over that.

Carry-weight perks and Excavator Power Armor can be much more helpful for daily live then squeezing the most damage out of your character

[Blues Man]

I've been soloing and public events.
In events I always get overloaded. I can carry 275 pounds. I'm not getting shut out in loot. In public events anyway.
I've seen team leaders on the map and have noticed events on the map too
But haven't tried to get in those. Wasn't sure what to do. The other day I paid the travel money to one... nobody else was there.

There is a lot I don't know.
Been looking at builds online today and see a lot of build use those perks so you don't get rid of mutations. Who knew?? I'm behind in the cards I really need.

[Mooman]

Originally posted by slippingsnake:

Originally posted by Mooman:

there is simply no scenario where you need to kill enemies as fast as possible, except you want to mke sure others don't get xp and loot during events.

This max dps thing has become a festish by people who see FO 76 as a shooter and don't get over that.

Plenty of scenarios where you have to kill quick in public events, especially when there aren't plenty of players to rely on to carry for you such as towards the end of seasons. Any event with a defensive target (ie. most of them) if you want to contribute you'll need a focused build.

Focusing on 1 weapon isn't about max dps, it's about having adequate dps due to poor design and balancing. Plenty of posts over the years of players that hit that levelling hole and feeling under-powered due to builds with too many utility perks.

[lucg]

And, a character's build is complete around level 125. If you add the perk points from legendary cards, it's around level 450. (Maybe, this may have changed with the help in the scoreboards)

With experience and when you will have more perk cards, it's possible to switch perk cards and have many different builds for one character ... .

[ZeroFate]

You can also head to youtube and search for a guy named Angry Turtle. He makes excellent build videos for every weapon you can think of and does all his own testing to prove them viable. He includes best mods and perk card builds.

[slippingsnake]

Originally posted by Mooman:

Plenty of scenarios where you have to kill quick in public events, especially when there aren't plenty of players to rely on to carry for you such as towards the end of seasons. Any event with a defensive target (ie. most of them) if you want to contribute you'll need a focused build.

Focusing on 1 weapon isn't about max dps, it's about having adequate dps due to poor design and balancing. Plenty of posts over the years of players that hit that levelling hole and feeling under-powered due to builds with too many utility perks.

you can have adequate damage with a jack-of-all trades and use different weapons.

Tesla Rifle for "Rad Rumble" and "Moonshine Jamboree", Vampire (Chainsaw, Flamer, Pllasma-Gun, Minigun/ shredder) for "Eviction Notice", Plasma Gatling for SBQ, mix of all these tools for Earl... and back to Vampire-Flamer to tank the Sheepsquatrch-Imposter.

1-star legendaries are usualy good enough for this purpose, though this might depend on strategy and focusing on the objectives of the event and staying alive.

[slippingsnake]

oops, and again I forgot to mention:
Love-Tap (Vampire SMG) from "Love Tunnel" has a 50% to be rewarded and will be lvl 15/ 25/ 35/ 45 depending on the Character.

.45 Ammo can be an issue early on but this gun should carry low levels through most situations.

Edit: and get an Excavtor Power Armor

[Zombie_Pizza]

play your way, with your build. if you copy someone else you are playing their game, their way. no such thing as a perfect build, someone will always have a better build than you.