Summary
Anyone who has played aFalloutgame will recognize the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system. This system represents the player’s stats, and each letter of the word represents a different stat. That system was brought back inFallout 76along with the perk card system.
As an added bonus,Fallout 76players now have access tolegendary perk cards. These are accessed later in the game and help players more than the traditional perks. Players need to be careful which ones they choose for their character because it costs points to remove them. When added, however, they make a huge difference.
Article updated on June 24, 2025, by Benjamin Joe:There are players hitting level 50 pretty much every day. After hitting level 50, players will be able to start unlocking legendary perks. While it can be a little confusing in the beginning, it doesn’t take long to work out which perks are best suited to certain builds. But since there are lots of new players coming to the game, it feels like the right time to update this article with some extra information to help those newer players on their journey through the ruins of post-war Appalachia. This article will go through all there is to know about the legendary perk system.
50
1
75
2
100
3
150
4
200
5
300
6
Legendary perk cards are unlocked in a similar way to standard perks.Standard perk cardsare unlocked as players level up. Each time they gain a new level, they get a new perk card.Legendary perk cards first start appearing when a player reaches level 50.
Overall, players will be able to unlock 6 legendary perk card spaces over time. Each new perk card space is unlocked at a different level milestone: 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, and 300. Once a player has unlocked all six of the legendary perk slots, the slots will be unlocked for all other characters they create.
How Long It Takes To Upgrade Legendary Perk Cards
When it comes to choosing legendary perks, players should think carefully about which cards they want first, as upgrading them is very costly.Upgrading a card costs perk points, and perk points are obtained in two ways:
Each legendary perk card has four stars. As the player levels up a legendary perk card, the cost goes up. The costs are as follows:
It costs 1 point to switch out a perk card after it has been equipped. So, it’s important that the player decides which legendary perk best suits their needs before equipping one.
Effect
While Unarmed, 5% Chance Of Triggering An Explosion On Attack Hits
While Unarmed, 10% Chance Of Triggering An Explosion On Attack Hits
While Unarmed, 15% Chance Of Triggering An Explosion On Attack Hits
While Unarmed, 20% Chance Of Triggering An Explosion On Attack Hits
This perk gives a 5% chance for a player’s fist to explode every time they hit an enemy when unarmed.The chance of these explosions increases to a maximum of 20%when the card is at the highest rank.
This perk can be very useful for those who enjoy creating unarmed builds. Sadly, it isn’t very high up on the list because there aren’t a lot of players who favor unarmed builds over other build types. But for tanky players who can soak up damage, this can be a very useful perk to have.
50% Chance For Melee VATS Attacks To Do Area Damage
The Hack and Slash perk is great for players who are working with a melee build and stick with a melee build. After all, some players switch between melee and gun builds. This perk, at the base level,gives players a20% chance for VATS melee attacks to cause area damage.
This is great whenever a player is surrounded by a group of enemies like Ghouls. When maxed out, that 20% chance increases to 50%. That means every other attack will be doing area damage. Since this works with all melee weapons, it can be used in both one-handed and two-handed builds.
Effects (Melee For Collateral Damage, Ranged For Far-Flung Fireworks)
Enemies Killed With A Melee/Ranged Weapon Have A 10% Chance To Explode
Enemies Killed With A Melee/Ranged Weapon Have A 13% Chance To Explode
Enemies Killed With A Melee/Ranged Weapon Have A 16% Chance To Explode
Enemies Killed With A Melee/Ranged Weapon Have A 20% Chance To Explode
Whichever perk a player chooses is based on their build type, but both cards do the same thing. Collateral Damage means that whenever an enemy is killed with a melee weapon, they have a chance to blow up and deal damage to nearby enemies.
Far-Flung Fireworks has the same effect but with ranged weapons.Each of these perks is useful for dealing with groups of enemiesand is excellent for crowd control. When maxed out, both of these cards provide a 20% chance for the effect to activate. While the explosive damage isn’t much, it can be very useful during events like Radiation Rumble, as it will grant the player some extra XP for tagging enemies.
Produce 150% More Rounds When Crafting Ammunition
The legendary perk card, Ammo Factory, lets playerscraft even more ammo. Starting off, this card will increase the amount of ammo a player crafts at one time by 50%.When fully upgraded, this 50% bonus increases to an incredible 150%.
If this card is used alongside the standard perks, Ammosmith and Super Duper,Fallout 76players will be able to craft lots of ammo cheaply. As most players already know, ammo can be hard to come by, so crafting extra ammo goes a long way. This perk card is best used as and when the player wants to craft ammo. While it does cost a point to switch out the card, Ammo Factory shouldn’t be kept active while not crafting ammo as it’s a waste of a spot.
+300 Rad Resist, Restore 1 Rad Per Second
Players who have a hard time dealing with radiation resistance will be thankful to get the What Rads? perk. To start, this perk grants players50 radiation resistance.This bonus is increased to 300 when the card is fully leveled up.On top of providing radiation resistance, this card also allows the player to heal themselves from radiation. At max level, this card allows the player to heal 6 rads per second.
It’s worth noting that this perk isn’t very good for bloodied builds. Many high-level players choose to keep their radiation high to increase their damage, XP gain, and damage resistance. But for high-health builds, this legendary perk is very good.
Auto-Unlock Skill 0 Terminal And Locks. +3 Lockpick And Hacking Skills
Auto-Unlock Skill 1 Terminal And Locks. +3 Lockpick And Hacking Skills
Auto-Unlock Skill 2 Terminal And Locks. +3 Lockpick And Hacking Skills
Auto-Unlock Skill 3 Terminal And Locks. +3 Lockpick And Hacking Skills
This card, at the base level, allows a player to pick any level zero lock andhack any level zero terminal. When maxed out, this card gives gamers the option to auto-unlock all terminals and locks. It is amazingly useful for any player who loves to explore and doesn’t want to waste precious perk points on lockpicking cards.
It’s important to note thatthis card doesn’t need to be equipped all the time.It only needs to be active when the player needs to unlock something. Also, when it comes to unlocking doors, the player will need to have at least one Bobby Pin in their inventory for this legendary perk to take effect.
Enemies Take 10% More Damage When They Attack The Player While On A Team
Enemies Take 20% More Damage When They Attack The Player While On A Team
Enemies Take 30% More Damage When They Attack The Player While On A Team
Enemies Take 40% More Damage When They Attack The Player While On A Team
This perk is great for players who enjoy somegood old-fashioned teamwork. At the base level, this card causes enemies to take 10% more damage if they attack the player while on a team. This can be very useful when taking down endgame bosses like the Scorchbeast Queen in the Scorched Earth event.
When maxed out, this card makes it so that enemies who attack the player will take 40% more damage.This is an incredibly powerful legendary perk.It’s something that lots of players constantly have active on their character. This perk works well with almost every build type. As long as the player is on a team, this perk will come in very handy.
+1 PER And +1 PER Perk Point. Perk Points Cap At 15
+2 PER And +2 PER Perk Point. Perk Points Cap At 15
+3 PER And +3 PER Perk Point. Perk Points Cap At 15
+5 PER And +5 PER Perk Point. Perk Points Cap At 15
Something that most players struggle with inFallout 76is having enough slots for perks. Well, there is a legendary perk card dedicated to each one of the SPECIAL stats. A fully upgraded legendary SPECIAL perk card gives the player a plus 5 for the selected SPECIAL stat. However, this is capped at 15.
The perception category is where lots ofthe rifle damage cardsgo.So, for players who use either a single shot or automatic rifles, having up to 5 extra points can really make a difference to a player’s damage output. Also, with high perception, players will see enemies appear on their HUD from further away.
+1 STR And +1 STR Perk Points. Perk Points Cap At 15
+2 STR And +2 STR Perk Points. Perk Points Cap At 15
+3 STR And +3 STR Perk Points. Perk Points Cap At 15
+5 STR And +5 STR Perk Points. Perk Points Cap At 15
Strength is an important stat inFallout 76.It influenceshow much a player can carryand how much unarmed damage they cause.While the latter effect isn’t that popular, since this game is all about looting and scavenging, the more the player can carry, the better.
Also, there are a few great carry-weight perks in the strength category. So, by having an additional 5 points to spend, the player increases their carry weight by a lot. There are also some damage resistance perks under the strength category that can help keep players alive.
+1 LCK And +1 LCK Perk Points. Perk Points Cap At 15
+2 LCK And +2 LCK Perk Points. Perk Points Cap At 15
+3 LCK And +3 LCK Perk Points. Perk Points Cap At 15
+5 LCK And +5 LCK Perk Points. Perk Points Cap At 15
The luck category has lots of must-have perks,like Starched Genes, Better Criticals, and Bloody Mess. It can be hard choosing which perks to have and which ones to keep out. So, by having extra slots for luck-based perk cards, the player doesn’t have to make those hard decisions as they can have all of the best cards.
Having high luckincreases lots of things that help to give players an edge. So, wherever possible, it’s always worth sticking a few extra points into the luck category.
