Fallout 76 continues the longstanding tradition of dropping players into an unforgiving world, ripe with creeps and creatures looking to kill you if the radiation doesn't. Being outfitted with the best mutations in Fallout 76 will not only make your stay in Appalachia more pleasant but may even ensure that you survive.
In Fallout 76, mutations are sometimes randomly contracted when you become irradiated enough. If you're content with them, the Starched Genes perk will ensure that you keep your Mutations list exactly as it is. When taken once, a Serum will grant you its associated Mutation and, if consumed a second time, you receive increased benefits with decreased drawbacks.
Updated December 27, 2022 by Andrew Scariati: Fallout 76's best mutations continue to evolve along with Bethesda's updates to the game. While they typically benefit you, in Fallout 76 mutations are not exclusive to the player, and with the introduction of Mutated Public Events, it seems that the feature will continue to be expanded as Bethesda spices things up. In addition, there are new items called Infusions which are temporary mutations that grant powerful benefits for a limited amount of time. Keep an eye out for these new features and additional options throughout the Mutation Invasion update. If you're interested in hunting down Fallout 76's best serums ASAP, then your best bet is to pay a visit to MODUS at the Whitespring Bunker
11 Scaly Skin - Free Damage Reduction
Scaly Skin is one of the best Fallout 76 mutations for new players to choose from, especially if you plan on playing the game more like an FPS than an RPG. Scaly Skin grants 50 points to your damage and energy resistance, allowing you to soak up attacks with ease.
If you want to collect every one of the best serums in Fallout 76, then head on over to MODUS to grab this serum as soon as you can. If you plan to transition to a V.A.T.S-based build, be sure to cleanse yourself of this mutation using RadAway as the 50-point penalty to your AP will be a hefty price to pay.
10 Carnivore And Herbivore - Just Eat
Carnivore and its twin mutation, Herbivore, grant double the satisfaction from eating, double the health restoration, and immunity to food-borne disease. While identical in function, Carnivore is more beneficial, as eating raw or irradiated meat will frequently transmit disease, whereas there are simply fewer dangerous vegetarian options.
Eating and drinking are necessities in Fallout 76, as there is no toggle to turn off 'Hardcore' mode. Being well-fed grants a bonus to damage resistance, HP, and Strength, so the benefits are well worth the hassle of feeding yourself regularly. Keep in mind that being a Carnivore will mean that you receive no benefit from vegetables and likewise with meat for Herbivores, so choose your lifestyle wisely.
9 Electrically Charged - Shocking To The Touch
Regardless of if you're running a melee character, or you're looking to perfect your Rifleman build, Electrically Charged is an excellent quality-of-life Fallout 76 Mutation for all players. Upon being hit, you have a small chance to electrocute any melee attackers who run at you. The drawback is that you too will be hurt by the shock unless you build around avoiding it.
Sometimes, it's easy to simply miss a Radroach or Molerat sneakily creeping up on you before they strike, but with Electrically Charged, enemies like these will be fried before you even decide to strike back. It's a bit startling to suddenly spark with an electrical current, but a relief to know that whatever struck you won't be coming back for more.
8 Birdbones - Fall Like A Bird
Birdbones is an excellent Mutation for players who love to explore and simply won't be stopped by cliffs or ridges. Birdbones bestows a flat +4 to Agility and additionally grants the ability to fall more slowly from great heights, ultimately reducing fall damage. This comes at a rather large -4 to Strength, so you'll want to offset that if possible.
On its own, Birdbones is a bit niche, but works exceptionally well with certain other abilities that launch you to great heights, in addition to offering V.A.T.S. users a nice bump to their Action Points. If you aim to be a silent sniper or generally rely on ranged combat, Birdbones will be exceedingly useful for taking up your perch and raining fire from above.
7 Talons - Tear Enemies To Shreds
As you may have guessed from the name, Talons is all about using your most primal power to cut your foes to shreds with a huge Unarmed damage boost and additional Bleed damage. In this case, the tradeoff is -4 Agility, but if you're going all-in on an Unarmed build, you probably can survive just fine without those extra points.
Run a Deathclaw Gauntlet or your Unarmed weapon of choice and get swinging, because there's simply no better boost that you can get for your build to compete with this excellent Mutation.
6 Eagle Eyes - A Sniper's Dream
Much like its fellow bird-inspired Mutation, Eagle Eyes seems designed with sniper builds in mind. Eagle Eyes offers a significant +25 percent critical-hit damage in addition to a +4 to Perception to make landing those precision shots even easier. Again, you will suffer a -4 to Strength, but this can be largely ignored as snipers will rely on their Perception to do the bulk of their damage.
Eagle Eyes can help make snipers much more viable in a game that is packed with mobile enemies. Though the play style as a whole is best reserved for role-playing or particular missions, it will definitely be far more rewarding to watch your enemies drop after one shot via your bonus damage, rather than relying on follow-up shots to put them down.
5 Twisted Muscles - Wookie Strength, Stormtrooper Aim
Melee builds will be excited for Twisted Muscles' flat 25 percent bonus to melee damage and increased chance to cripple limbs at the cost of 50 percent of your gun accuracy. Even at mid-range, you may want to drop your gun and charge with your melee weapon, as even firing at immobile mutated frogs may look like a Stormtrooper trying to hit...well, anything.
Luckily, choosing Twisted Muscles as a melee character is a simple decision as guns likely won't even be in your inventory if you're committing to getting up close and personal with your foes. This should be an immediate addition for anyone slashing their way through the game.
4 Healing Factor - Rest and Rejuvenation
Healing Factor is an essential Fallout 76 mutation for all play styles and builds, as it will save you a lot of hassle with your inventory and improve general adventuring. Healing Factor provides a 300 percent increase to your regeneration while you are not in combat, at the cost of 55 percent reduced Chem effectiveness.
If a majority of your Chems are Stimpaks, then this Mutation is perfect for you, as you almost entirely eliminate the need for Stimpaks. This frees up inventory space and head space, as you focus attention on your next objective rather than pausing to heal between each location.
3 Speed Demon - If You're Not Fast, You're Last
Speed Demon is perhaps one of the most useful standalone Fallout 76 Mutations, but it becomes even better when combined with either Herbivore or Carnivore. Speed Demon increases both player movement and reloading speed by 20 percent — a massively useful buff to perhaps your two most used attributes.
All of that extra speed means you'll need to eat and drink more often to counteract the 50 percent faster drain on your hunger and thirst meters that come with this Mutation. However, this shouldn't be a problem, as Herbivores and Carnivores alike will be able to fill their bellies worry-free to fuel their frenetic combat habits.
2 Adrenal Reaction - The Famous Bloodied Build
Fallout 76 players have heard all about the meta-relevant Bloodied builds — characters whose play-style revolves around intentionally playing at low health to activate a wealth of buffs and bonuses. Adrenal Reaction is the linchpin of this popular build, as you gain additional weapon damage at low health, in addition to the 'drawback' of having 50 less HP.
While this may be one of the best Fallout 76 mutations, it does take careful perk building, particular armor sets, and more to take full advantage of the potency behind Adrenal Reaction and perk combinations like Bloody Mess, Rifleman, or Commando.
1 Marsupial — Press Jump For Liftoff
Marsupial stands alone atop the most necessary mutations to have, and offers so much more than other QoL Mutations and perks can. Marsupial increases your carry weight by 20 — an already impressive boost — and increases your jump height at the cost of -4 Intelligence.
"Increased jump height" may be a bit of an understatement, as combining this perk with high Agility will send you flying — quite literally — across the sky. In a game with so many mountains, wrecked buildings, and other obstacles in your way, the increased jump height simply cannot be praised enough. Fallout 76's mutations are designed to make your life easier, and no other mutation accomplishes this quite like Marsupial.