Discover the Best Unarmed Build in Fallout 4 and how to create a powerful character with Perks, S.P.E.C.I.A.L., Stats, armor, and weapons.
This build guide has been updated for Game version 1.10.980 on PC and Free Next Gen Update on PlayStation and Xbox.
Best Unarmed Build in Fallout 4
What makes the Unarmed build unique in Fallout 4 is that it uses melee attacks for damage while surviving with blazing speed. The unarmed build does incredible damage even without weapons, thanks to Iron Fist and Blitz perk. The more distance you travel using VATS, the more damage you will do. The unarmed build is enjoyable; you won’t have to worry about constantly collecting ammunition, upgrading weapons, and scrounging for material. Meanwhile, having a streamlined perk loadout makes you do big damage and survive.
The downside of the Unarmed build is the reliance on the companion Cait or Nick Valentine for lockpicking or hacking. Using either or saves you many perk points, and allows for more damage and survivability. You won’t have much range, so that can be an issue. Moreover, this build will not use intelligence, science, or power armor. You can modify the unarmed build slightly to pick up Pain Train, a power armor melee perk, but it complicates things. Thus, we recommend the Unarmed build for players tired of looting empty ammunition contains and just want to punch enemies in the face!
| Unarmed Build Pros | Unarmed Build Cons |
|---|---|
| Great Damage | Zero Range |
| No Ammunition! | Limited Crafting |
| Easy to Play | Companion Dependent |
Features and Mechanics for Best Unarmed Build in Fallout 4
The following list presents all the essential Unarmed Features and Mechanics in Fallout 4:
- Damage – unarmed
- Range – 3 meters
- Weapon – Power Fist
- S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats
- Strength – 10
- Perception – 1
- Endurance – 2
- Charisma – 1
- Intelligence – 2
- Agility – 9
- Luck – 3
- Best Perks – Blitz, Iron Fist, Rooted, Moving Target, Ninja
- Companion – Cait
Related:
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats
10 Strength and 9 agility are the best S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats for the Unarmed build because your melee attacks scale off your strength, and agility unlocks Blitz. Blitz allows you to gap close at targets in VATS, doing damage based on the distance and helping land punches. Luck is also important for damage bonuses like the Bloody Mess perk and, eventually, Better Criticals. Endurance is helpful and can be increased if your survivability is low.
Below is the best recommended S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats for the Unarmed build in Fallout 4 videogame RPG:
- 10 Strength (S): influences your carrying capacity, melee damage, and the effectiveness of melee weapons.
- 1 Perception (P): affects your accuracy in VATS, the chance of detecting stealthy enemies, and the ability to pick locks and spot traps.
- 2 Endurance (E): It affects your maximum health, radiation resistance, and ability to withstand environmental hazards.
- 1 Charisma (C): influences your success in dialogue options, ability to negotiate prices with vendors, and effectiveness in leading companions.
- 2 Intelligence (I): affects the number of experience points earned, the quality of crafted items, and your effectiveness with terminals.
- 9 Agility (A): It affects your overall movement speed, ability to sneak effectively, and performance in VATS.
- 3 Luck (L): affects critical hit chance, the likelihood of finding valuable items, and the outcome of random events.
Additionally, consider collecting Bobbleheads throughout your Fallout 4 (FO4) adventure. Bobbleheads are collectible items scattered throughout the game world. Each bobblehead represents a particular attribute or skill, and when collected, it permanently increases your character’s corresponding stat or ability.
Best Perks
Blitz, Iron Fist, and Rooted are the best perks for the Unarmed build in Fallout 4. Blitz allows you to use VATS at a much further range, increasing the chance to hit a target and paralyzing them with Iron Fist. Iron Fist also increases the damage caused by unarmed attacks, even when using Knuckles or Power Fist weapons. Rooted is a damage reduction perk for standing still, which is helpful when using multiple blows to finish at the target.
Here is the list of the best and recommended Perks for the Unarmed Build in Fallout 4:
- Blitz – the further you travel, the more damage this melee initial attack does. Using it as a gap closer and huge damage boost for unarmed builds.
- Iron Fist – this perk passively boosts damage and, at later levels, can stun enemies on a critical hit.
- Rooted – grants a huge damage reduction boost when you need it standing still and swinging at enemies.
- Moving Target – sprinting reduces damage and is helpful when closing the distance to use Blitz.
- Ninja – you can sneak and do damage on unsuspecting targets, one-shotting nearly every enemy.
In Fallout 4, perks are special abilities and bonuses that enhance your character’s skills, combat prowess, and survival capabilities. Perks are acquired by spending perk points each time your character levels up. Perks are divided into categories, each corresponding to one of the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes. These perks offer a wide range of customization options, allowing players to tailor their characters to suit their preferred playstyles. However, there are no respecs or redoing of Perks. Thus, your selections are vital to increasing your character’s overall power.
Level Progression
The level and perk progression is geared towards NOT using Power Armor and heavy investment into intelligence. However, you can use Pain Train around level 10 for this style. It’s much easier to do unarmed without power armor due to crafting materials, perk progression, and overall simplicity. Thus, we will load the perks up with damage reduction to help with survivability. However, this build will still do incredible damage and be much easier to avoid ammunition farming that bogs down gameplay.
Level 1 – 10
Levels 1 through 10 focus on unlocking the initial skills that increase damage and reduce damage taken. The Unarmed Build doesn’t have to invest in locksmithing because Cait is our companion. Moreover, we won’t be using Dogmeat and solo gameplay, so Lone Wanderer and Scrounger are unnecessary for ammunition collection.
Here’s a list of the best perks to select from levels 1 to 10 with the Unarmed Build Guide in Fallout 4:
- Level 1 – None
- Level 2 – Iron Fist
- Level 3 – Blitz
- Level 4 – Medic
- Level 5 – Rooted
- Level 6 – Moving Target
- Level 7 – Action Boy
- Level 8 – Sneak
- Level 9 – Iron Fist 2
- Level 10 – Ninja
Level 11 – 20
From levels 11 through 20, you will focus more on survivability and crafting. You can access basic unarmed modification even with one point into Blacksmith and Armorer. Moreover, you can wear the Grognak costume immediately and use leather or combat armor.
Here’s a list of the best perks to select from levels 11 to 20 with the Unarmed Build Guide in Fallout 4:
- Level 11 – Blacksmith
- Level 12 – Armorer
- Level 13 – Endurance + 1
- Level 14 – Life Giver
- Level 15 – Bloody Mess
- Level 16 – Ninja 2
- Level 17 – Bloody Mess 2
- Level 18 – Iron Fist 3
- Level 19 – Action Boy 2
- Level 20 – Medic 2
Level 21 – 30
Here’s a list of the best perks to select from levels 21 to 30 with the Unarmed Build Guide in Fallout 4:
- Level 21 – Armorer 2
- Level 22 – Rooted 2
- Level 23 – Blacksmith 2
- Level 24 – Moving Target 2
- Level 25 – Armorer 3
- Level 26 – Sneak 2
- Level 27 – Sneak 3
- Level 28 – Save
- Level 29 – Blitz 2 + Blacksmith 3
- Level 30 – Medic 3
Level 31 – 40
From levels 30 and beyond, the enemies will get more difficult. Therefore, you can increase the Luck SPECIAL stat or go for damage perks. However, you can unlock pain training and increase intelligence to gain science. Either playstyle is effective. The Pain Train playstyle relies on power armor and many junk materials with constant crafting. Just depending on what you enjoy, modify slightly if you want science.
Here’s a list of the best perks to select from levels 31 to 40 with the Unarmed Build Guide in Fallout 4:
- Level 31 – Iron Fist 4
- Level 32 – Bloody Mess 3
- Level 33 – Ninja 3
- Level 34 – Luck +1
- Level 35 – Mysterious Stranger
- Level 36 – Mysterious Stranger 2
- Level 37 – Live Giver 2
- Level 38 – Live Giver 3
- Level 39 – Armorer 4
- Level 40 – Luck +1
Level 41 – 50
Here’s a list of the best perks to select from levels 41 to 50 with the Unarmed Build Guide in Fallout 4:
- Level 41 – Mysterious Stranger 3
- Level 42 – Luck +1
- Level 43 – Rooted 3
- Level 44 – Moving Target 3
- Level 45 – Better Criticals
- Level 46 – Iron Fist 5
- Level 47 – Better Criticals 2
- Level 48 – Better Criticals 3
- Level 49 – Medic 4
- Level 50 – Mysterious Stranger 4 (DLC or Pain Train)
Gear and Weapons
An unarmed build-in Fallout 4 wants to use the Power Fist, Grognak Costume, and Combat armor. This combination gives you great damage and survivability and is easy to obtain. Below are gear, weapons, and armor suggestions for the Unarmed build in Fallout 4:
- Power Fist – The power fist is considered an unarmed weapon on your arm. The downside is you won’t be able to use Power Armor, but it hits hard and can be modified with Blacksmith Perk. Two alternatives are Knuckles and Deathclaw Gauntlet. You can use a fist to start and find unarmed weapons later but do not use baseball bats and others because they use the Big League perk, NOT an iron fist.
- Grognak costume – the Grognak Costume adds +2 strength and a 25% damage modifier to melee weapons. The main reason this is helpful is for the +2 strength. Moreover, you can equip armor with the costume minus the torso. You can find the costume in the Hubris Comics building.
- Armor – Either equip leather and or combat armor while using this build. You want the Brawling perk in arms for more unarmed damage. In the legs, take the custom fitted perk for less AP while sprinting.
Companions
Cait is the best companion for an unarmed build in Fallout 4 because she has lockpicking skills. You can command Cait to pick any lock, including Master, which saves you a massive amount of perk points in perception in Locksmithing. Cait is also a powerful companion with a great story and background. We also don’t suggest Lone Wanderer for this build because you must increase Charisma to 3 and limit your perk points.
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