Raising the character’s level is a core component of quickly gaining power in Fallout 76. Certain items require a certain amount of attributes and skills which only come with high levels. If the player wishes to be the strongest Wastelander they’ll need to be high level to face the various enemies and other players.
To prevent leveling from being a long and grueling process there are a number of strategies players can use to speed things along. Here are some of the most recommended tips to reach the max level in Fallout 76 as efficiently as possible.
Updated October 16th, 2022 by Hodey Johns: This article was originally published as a list, ranking the best strategies for leveling while simultaneously answering the initial question. It doesn't make sense to choose between eating for food an experience boost and then fighting monsters, the two strategies must be combined to be successful. Also, some of the information was outdated due to patches and alterations from the game's original state. The article has been condensed to give players the maximum amount of information as quickly as possible. There are still explanations for each point, but the points have been grouped together for a reading experience that places information over exposition.
Max Level
It’s important to know right away there isn’t technically a level cap in the game, but there is a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. cap. Once the player has reached level 50 they will no longer receive S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points upon leveling up, 56 points is the max and each attribute can have a maximum of 15 points.
Every level after 50 the player can still receive perk cards and rank them up all the way to gold level. There are hundreds of perk cards to chase after and no limit to how high the player’s level can be. According to the fanbase the average player should hit level 200, hardcore players will be north of 500, and a few exploiters will be in the thousands. The latter camp would most assuredly put this game at the top of the franchise tier list.
Boosting Intelligence
Intelligence adds just over 2% experience points (2.072% to be precise) per each attribute point. As a result, stacking intelligence is a colossal part of the experience process.
Read A Magazine
Read Zeta Invaders or Atomic Command and gain an intelligence point for an hour.
Armor Up
Wear all five pieces of the Unyielding Intelligence Armor, the Internal Database power armor helmet mod, and underarmor with Shielded Casual Lining for a total of 20 experience points. Don't wear impractical armor, there is perfectly good armor just waiting to be donned.
Eating Strategy
With a combination of the Curator perk, the Live, Laugh, and Love #3 perk magazine, the Strange in Numbers perk, and the Herbivore mutation, players can get 11.25 intelligence points for an hour when they eat a Brain Bomb. Other foods and combinations work, but this is the most effective for intelligence gains at this time.
Bobblehead: Intelligence
These trophies give players an extra 2 intelligence for two hours when used with the Curator perk.
Injection
Taking a Berry Mentats injection with the Chem Fiend perk at level three gives the player 5 intelligence for 8 minutes.
Mutations
With the Strange in Numbers perk, the Egg Head mutation gives players 7.5 intelligence and the Herd Mentality mutation gives players 2.5 intelligence.
Team Up
Join a full casual team to get up to 4 more intelligence points.
Night Person
A maxed-out Night Person perk gives players an additional 3 intelligence attribute points.
Boosting Experience
After gaining experience, the next frontier is getting experience boosts to be as high as they can be. With both buffs in place, the player is going to have a tough time not leveling up every few minutes. Regardless of which location in the series players visit, extra experience gains never hurt.
Sleep
Sleeping at the start of every login is an easy way to get a 5% experience buff for the gaming session.
Lunchboxes
Each Lunchbox, when utilized will provide a 25% boost and can be stacked four times for a 100% boost.
Eating Strategy
With a combination of the Curator perk, the Backwoodsman #6 or the Live, Laugh, and Love #3 perk magazine, the Strange in Numbers perk, and the Herbivore mutation, players can get an 18.75% boost for an hour when they eat a Cranberry Cobbler.
Bobblehead: Leader
These trophies give players an extra 5% in experience gains for two hours when used with the Curator perk.
Team Up
Join daily ops, events, or hunting teams to get a 100% experience boost for their respective targets.
Time It Right
Various events (like double experience boost weekends) will give players more experience points.
Inspirational
A maxed-out Inspirational perk gives players up to 15% more experience when playing in a group.
The Path To Enlightenment
Completing the event for the Wise Mothman gives players 5% more experience for an hour.
Strong Meat Sweats
During Graham's Meat Cook, turn in 15 prime meats for a 15-minute 5% experience boost.
Best Farming Route
Frankly, the best farming route is understood to be the one designed by Angry Turtle. Running this route goes over all the major battle locations and maximizes experience gained per second. If players intend on power leveling, this is the route to follow.
Now imagine doing this route with all of the boosts mentioned active. The game has a lot of work to do in terms of improvement, but this route is entertaining and full of action. Sitting around and waiting for high-level monsters to spawn is a thing of the past.
Daily Missions
With an ideal build, players can knock out their daily quests in a matter of minutes. It's a quick and painless process. It gets even easier as gamers will recognize the quests that are given to them, efficiently turning them in at the start of a game session.
If friends are around, go ahead and hunt or do events with them. But when waiting for the group, it never hurts to have a personal goal getting done while waiting on the team. Doing these missions every day will get the player on the same footing as the rest of the veterans in short order.
Fallout 76 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.