Hi, all gamers! The main topic of this guide is to highlight 5 indispensable mutations to help you get through in Fallout 76. Before delving into the mutations themselves, I highly recommend utilizing 3 different perks to maximize the benefits of your mutations. Let's dive in!

Legendary Perks

Starched Genes: This perk safeguards your mutations, preventing their loss and inhibiting the acquisition of new mutations from radiation exposure.

Strange In Numbers: Enhancing the potency of your mutations, this perk becomes particularly effective when you're in a team with other mutated players, which is quite common in Fallout 76. We'll delve deeper into this perk when discussing the mutations.

Class Freak: While some may argue it's unnecessary, I strongly advise using this perk as it mitigates the negative effects of mutations. At Level 3, it reduces these negative effects by 75%, essentially minimizing their impact.

Mutations

Now that you're familiar with these perks, let's explore the 5 essential mutations in Fallout 76.

1. Carnivore / Herbivore

The first mutation I would recommend is either Carnivore or Herbivore, depending on your preference. Some players may pick the Herbivore because of the benefits of cranberry products and similar items. However, some melee builds may favor the Carnivore route.

Consider your consumables, buffs, and play style before deciding which one suits you best. The advantage of these mutations is that you'll receive double hunger satisfaction from your chosen type. For Carnivores, eating meat provides double satisfaction, while Herbivores get the same from plants. This applies to HP restoration as well.

Additionally, you won't face any disease chances of consuming your chosen type. The downside of choosing Carnivore or Herbivore, respectively, is the lack of hunger satisfaction, HP regeneration, or buffs from consuming the opposite type of food.

2. Egg Head

The second mutation I recommend is the Egg Head. This one is fantastic because it boosts your Intelligence by +6, a significant increase. While it comes with a -3 penalty to both strength and endurance, combining it with perks like Strange in Numbers can mitigate these drawbacks. With the Strange in Numbers, your Intelligence boost can reach +8.

Furthermore, using the Class Freak reduces the negative effects to just minus one strength and minus one endurance. For builds like Bloodied, these penalties become negligible because of the substantial boosts from armor, other perks, and standard special stats. Overall, the Egg Head offers a substantial Intelligence boost with manageable drawbacks.

3. Herd Mentality

The third mutation I highly recommend is the Herd Mentality. Fallout 76, being an online game, you'll likely spend most of your time in a team. This mutation boosts your stats consistently. When acquired, it provides a +2 bonus to all your special stats while in a team.

This effectively nullifies any negative effects from previous mutations. However, if you choose to play solo, you'll lose 2 special stats. Thus, being in a team is generally advantageous. You gain more XP, especially if you're in a casual team. So, stick to a team, whatever your preference.

4. Speed Demon

Moving on to the next mutation - the Speed Demon. This mutation offers the benefits of increased speed, with a +20% movement speed and +20% reload speed. Whether you're a melee build seeking to swiftly engage enemies or prefer running and gunning while reloading faster, it caters to both play styles.

However, it comes with a drawback of a +50% drain on Hunger and Thirst. Fortunately, the negative effects of Hunger and Thirst were removed from Fallout 76. Previously, failing to eat and drink resulted in stat loss, but this aspect has been eliminated. Therefore, there's no longer a need to consume food and drink.

5. Marsupial

The last one is undoubtedly the most popular mutation in Fallout 76, is the Marsupial. This mutation offers 2 significant benefits. Firstly, it grants a +20 Carry Weight, which is highly desirable. Additionally, it provides a remarkable increase in jumping height. If you encounter someone leaping to extreme heights, it's likely because of the Marsupial mutation.

However, it does come with a notable drawback of -4 Intelligence. Yet, when paired with the Class Freak, this reduction is minimized, often to just -1 Intelligence because of the 75% reduction from the acquired perk. Furthermore, combining it with Herd Mentality effectively mitigates this negative effect.