Every mutation in Fallout 76 explained.
Our Fallout 76 Mutations guide explains how mutations work and lists all of the mutations in the game.
Appalachia may be beautiful, but it’s highly irradiated. While there are many areas of the game where you’re free to roam around largely unharmed, some pockets of West Virginia are so flush with radiation you’ll genuinely be at risk of mutating.
Mutations in Fallout 76 are just what you’d expect. The higher your Rads rating is, the more likely you are to gain a mutation. You’ll gain a special bonus, but also a significant drawback. Some of the positive effects can be extremely strong, for example, you can gain permanent health regeneration. However, Chem effects and healing will be reduced by 55%.
If you’ve embraced a mutation where the benefits outweigh the negatives, then you can actually lock them in with a special perk. Of course, you can also cure unwanted mutations with special meds too.
Below we’ve put together everything you need to know about mutations and listed every single one in the game as well.
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Mutations: Overview
Here’s a quick overview of how mutations function in Fallout 76:
- You’ll obtain mutations by being exposed to high levels of radiation.
- The higher your Rads level, the more likely you are to obtain a mutation.
- Mutations can be cured with RadAway, Diluted RadAway or by walking under decontamination arches found in the world.
- If your Rads level is low, you’ll have a greater chance of your mutation being cured.
- The Starched Genes perk can remove your chance to mutation and also prevent mutations from being cured. This means you can choose to keep mutations you’re comfortable with, or not obtain any further mutations at all.
Mutations List
Below we’ve listed all the mutations in the game, along with their positive and negative effects.
Make sure you watch this video by JuiceHead as he takes an in-depth look at every mutation available in Fallout 76.
| Mutation | Positive Effect | Negative Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Adrenal Reaction | Increased damage output at low health | -50 Health |
| Bird Bones | +4 Agility, fall more slowly, and take less fall damage | -4 Strength |
| Carnivore | Gain double benefits from eating meat with no risk of disease | Gain no benefits from eating vegetables |
| Chameleon | Invisible in combat if unarmored and stationary | Must be unarmored and stationary for effect to work |
| Eagle Eyes | +4 Perception and +25% V.A.T.S. Critical Damage | -4 Strength |
| Egg Head | + 6 Intelligence | -3 Strength, -3 Endurance |
| Electrically Charged | Chance to shock enemies in a radius when you are struck by melee attacks | Small damage to yourself when this occurs |
| Empath | Your teammates receive 25% less damage | You receive 33% more damage |
| Grounded | + 100 Energy Resistance | -50 Energy Weapon damage |
| Healing Factor | Permanent health regeneration | Chem effects (including healing) reduced by 55% |
| Herbivore | Gain double benefits from eating vegetables with no risk of disease | Gain no benefits from eating meat |
| Herd Mentality | Gain double benefits from eating vegetables with no risk of disease | -2 to all SPECIALs when solo |
| Marsupial | +20 carry weight, and you can jump much higher | -4 Intelligence |
| Plague Walker | Gain an aura of poison damage, scaling with the number of diseases you are suffering from (up to 4) | You must be diseased |
| Scaly Skin | +50 Damage and Energy Resistance | -50 Action Points |
| Speed Demon | +20% run and sprint speed, +30% faster reload speed | Gain hunger and thirst 50% more quickly while moving |
| Talons | +25% Fist Damage, and fist attacks cause 25 additional bleed damage over 5 seconds | -4 Agility |
| Twisted Muscles | +25% Melee Damage, and a small chance to cripple your opponents | Gun accuracy reduced by 50% |
| Unstable Isotope | Chance to blast enemies in a radius with radiation when you are struck by a melee attack | Small damage to self when this occurs, and many enemies are immune to radiation too |
