Summary
- Fallout 76's perk card system offers flexibility and allows for multiple builds, a departure from the omnipotent builds in previous games.
- Players can share perks with teammates, adding extra quality of life and survivability perks, enhancing teamwork in Fallout 76.
- Legendary perk cards provide additional skills and utility, offering more flexibility as players progress in Fallout 76.
Recent Fallout games, particularly Fallout 4, let players achieve omnipotent builds, where players could combine all the best parts of certain skill and weapon proficiency builds without compromising on their strengths. Ultimately though, this was a double-edged sword, as some players enjoyed the power fantasy provided by these types of builds, while other players resented the ability to create a jack-of-all-trades protagonist since this undermines the RPG elements that the Fallout franchise is known for. Yet despite this kind of omnipotent build being a divisive element of the modern Fallout games, Fallout 76’s attempt to subvert this controversy has proven to be equally divisive among fans of the franchise.
At launch, Fallout 76’s perk card system was a popular source of criticism among Fallout fans, with it being considered a downgrade compared to the progression systems from past Fallout games. One of the main criticisms of Fallout 76’s perk cards that still rings true today is that the level cap prevents players from achieving the same depth of builds that the past games allowed. However, as different as it may be from the progression system that Fallout fans had grown familiar with, Fallout 76’s perk cards still have some redeemable strengths.
Upcoming Fallout 76 Feature Shows How Far Fallout 4's Base Building Has Come
A new feature scheduled to come to Fallout 76 in the Milepost Zero update is a testament to the growing appreciation for the game's base building.
Fallout 76’s Perk Card System is a Step in the Right Direction
Respeccing Skill Points and Having Multiple Builds in Fallout 76 is Easier Than Ever Before
One thing that Fallout 76 does differently from past games is allowing players to have multiple perk loadouts on a single character/playthrough. In a sense, all the pieces to make omnipotent builds are still there in Fallout 76, players would just have to swap out certain perks on the fly. This is admittedly quite tedious though, so players are better off making multiple perk loadouts at the 'What Makes You SPECIAL?' Stations. For instance, many players have loadouts dedicated to crafting and farming XP in Fallout 76, as well as additional builds designed for specific weapon types.
Players start with two perk loadout slots available, and additional perk loadouts can be purchased with premium Atoms currency in Fallout 76’s Atomic Shop.
Fallout 76 Lets Players Share Perk Cards With Teammates
Players can also share perks in Fallout 76 with teammates on public or private teams. So, on a full team of four players, these shared perks can add up to bring a lot of extra quality of life and survivability perks that players might be missing out on. Shared perks aren’t always coordinated in such an ideal way on public teams, but this feature still has potential, especially when players communicate to see what perks would be most useful to their teammates.
Players have the option to reject shared perks from teammates, which is useful when teammates are sharing perks that conflict with certain builds.
Fallout 76’s Legendary Perk Cards Offer Additional Skills
Additionally, Fallout 76 features legendary perks that players unlock upon reaching certain level thresholds, with these legendary perks providing additional utility and survivability skills. Players can eventually equip up to six legendary perks at a time, and these perks can be interchanged or upgraded by using perk coins. At first, perk coins in Fallout 76 will be a rare commodity, but over time, players can amass more of them than they would ever need, so the Legendary Perk slots become a lot more flexible as players progress.
Overall, Fallout 76’s perk card system offers a lot of flexibility that past games didn’t offer. So, despite not offering the same kind of linear depth in build crafting compared to the other modern Fallout games, this flexibility is arguably a refreshing departure from the jack-of-all-trades builds that have proven troublesome for the Fallout franchise, even if it’s only a small step towards addressing a larger problem.
Fallout 76
- Released
- November 14, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Engine
- Creation
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Fallout
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- How Long To Beat
- 34 Hours
- File Size Xbox Series
- 97 GB (May 2024)
- Metascore
- 53
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
