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Look, I know your son, Shaun Erectus (Codsworth-approved) got kidnapped and is probably breastfeeding from the pus of a raider’s oozing pimple. But you have to interact with the wasteland in Fallout 4. Finding bobbleheads, crafting drugs, and murdering mutant cows takes priority here. That’s why you want the best-starting stats in Fallout 4 that will let you interact with most of the game. I recommend the following starting build in Fallout 4.
Best Starting Stats in Fallout 4
SPECIAL or your stats in Fallout 4 stands for:
- Strength
- Perception
- Endurance
- Charisma
- Intelligence
- Agility
- Luck
Each stat determines your playstyle and gravitating towards one or the other might lock you out of other in-game opportunities. For example, Intelligence governs Hacking and determines the level of computers you can hack (and some of these computers control locks or access to treasures).
You get 21 points to allocate at the start of the game.
At the same time, you can’t neglect the other physical stats like Strength as they will help you survive the wasteland. With that in mind, I recommend the following spread when creating your character:
- Strength – 3
- Perception – 4
- Endurance – 1
- Charisma – 6
- Intelligence – 6
- Agility – 3
- Luck – 5
I believe that this will let you experience the game without having to re-spec your character or regret that you focus on one stat over the other. This is a loose build but it’s something you can consider as a generalist playstyle. This build won’t particularly excel in anything, of course.
From here, you can then decide where to go depending on your whims or preferences. However, below is an explanation of the choices and what you can change. By the way, you can’t re-spec in the default, unmodded game. So I recommend reading the explanations below to give you an idea of what you want later on.
SPECIAL Spread Explanation
Strength – 3 is crucial for the Armorer perk as till will let you tinker with the Power Armor and more advanced armor mods. From here, you can add one more point; Strength at 4 will give you access to Blacksmith, letting you modify melee weapons. That’s not necessary though, but if you decide to go the melee route, then you can dedicate more points to this using a SPECIAL book.
Perception – 4 is for the Locksmith perk, which lets you pick Advanced locks (most locks in-game, basically). Don’t change this if you want access to all locked doors and containers.
Endurance – 1, this stat is debatable. However, during the early game, you don’t really need it much. I would raise it to 4 points if you like using chems or drugs (in-game) to boost your combat capabilities. If not, then you can safely ignore Endurance.
Charisma – 6, this is something you need to raise to 6 as soon as possible using a SPECIAL book or a bobblehead (if you started at Charisma 5 to make Strength 4 for a melee playstyle). 6 will give you the Local Leader perk along with Lone Wanderer and Cap Collector. If anything, it will open up more dialog options for you.
Intelligence – 6 is for experience to help you level up fast. Intelligence-related perks give additional XP. Moreover, Medic, Gun Nut, Scrapper, Science, and other perks are interesting in this tree. It’s by far the best starting stat in Fallout 4 as the benefits can go a long way. However, if you choose to focus on melee, take one point off this and put it to Strength.
Meanwhile, if you choose to focus on stealth, take two points off this and give it to Agility. Speaking of which…
Agility – 3 is debatable. Putting it to 3 will unlock Sneak. Moreover, perks like Gunslinger and Commando can help you specialize better in traditional guns. So if you like more playstyle options, put this to 3. Otherwise, you can leave it at 1 and give the points to Charisma.
Luck – 5 lets you have Bloody Mess, Idiot Savant, and Scrounger perks. You can also give a point to this using a bobblehead or SPECIAL book as Luck 6 will give you Better Criticals.
Playstyle for the Starting Stat Build in Fallout 4
With a nice stat spread, you can go in just about any direction and test things out to see what clicks for you. With that said, leveling up should still be your priority so that you can unlock all the aforementioned (and bolded) perks above.
And also make sure to rank those perks up as they become available. Again, you can’t re-spec in Fallout 4 (unless you have a mod) so picking your starting stats in Fallout 4 wisely ought to be more fun in the long run.
