Fallout 76: Best Pistol Ghoul build

Discover everything you need to know about the Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76, including the best perk cards and weapons.

commando build fallout 76
Fallout 76: Best Pistol Ghoul build (Source: Bethesda Studios)

Ghouls in Fallout 76 are humans who have survived a nuclear holocaust, and they exhibit a zombie-like appearance. They are resistant to radiation damage and have enhanced regeneration. With the arrival of a recent update, Ghoul received 28 new Perk cards and 2 legendary Perk cards. The Pistol Ghoul Build in Fallout 76 is one of the most flexible builds that offers high damage output, great survivability, and exceptional mobility. This unique build comes with high damage potential, along with a radiation-healing Ghoulish perk. This setup is a great choice for fast-paced, high-damage combat with pistols while maintaining your health. Pistols are lightweight and work great in V.A.T.S. In this guide, we’ll discuss the best Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76, including some valuable tips and tricks and the best perks.

Everything About Pistol Ghoul Build in Fallout 76

The Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76 is a versatile setup that combines the high damage potential of pistols with innate healing. This build focuses on maximizing V.A.T.S., stealth, damage, and survivability. Agility, Luck, and Perception are the best stats to focus on, as they increase your combat effectiveness. Investing points in Agility allows you to boost pistol damage and AP Regen. However, Pistols consume less ammo than automatic weapons. X-01 Power Armor is the best armor to equip because it protects your character from several threats. Bandolier, Concentrated Fire, Ghoulish, Lone Wanderer, Gunsmith, and Gunslinger are the best perk cards that we include in the Pistol Ghoul build. Ensure you have enough Toxic Goo supply to keep your character active in combat.

Pistol Ghoul Build ProsPistol Ghoul Build Cons
High Damage OutputLimited Range
MobilityLower Ammo Capacity
Stealth Approach 

Best Strategy For Pistol Ghoul Build in Fallout 76

Focus on pistols that excel with VATS and benefit from the Ghoul’s increased damage. Get the mods that increase damage on critical hits, reduce AP consumption, and improve reload speed. Use a suppressor to reduce enemy detection and potentially increase damage. Perks like Glowing Gut, Fireproof, and Adrenaline are the best to choose. Glowing Gut refills your glow with consumables, Fireproof mitigates damage from explosions and fire, and Adrenaline enhances damage when close to enemies. Consume Toxic Goo to enhance your glow, making this a quick and reliable way. 

Select the armor that reduces your radiation resistance to maintain your glow and increase critical damage. Choose mutations that complement your build, such as those that increase damage or radiation resistance. Enhance your damage output with your guns and improve your defensive strategies to increase your survivability. Consider having a backup weapon for close-quarters combat. Prefer the perk cards and gear that reduce your radiation resistance to maximize the benefits of your ghoul abilities.

Best Weapons For Pistol Ghoul Build in Fallout 76

plasma pistol fallout 76
plasma pistol fallout 76

Here are the best weapons for the Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76.

Crusader Pistol

  • Fire Rate: 43
  • Range: 186
  • AP Cost: 10
  • Capacity: 12
  • Accuracy: 67
  • Fire Mode: Single Fire
  • Weight: 3.53

The Crusader pistol is a non-automatic pistol in Fallout 76. This unique pistol features a painted Brotherhood of Steel emblem. It can fire various projectiles when modified with different receivers. Crusader pistols can be modified with receivers to change the type of projectiles fired. You can deal elemental damage with it, allowing you to dominate enemies in close range. You can equip it with a suppressor, magazines, and scopes. This pistol can be crafted at a weapons workbench if its plan is known. However, the large magazine modification doesn’t visually increase the size of the pistol’s magazine.

This pistol is randomly dropped by the enemies. You need to unlock the weapon’s plans and craft it. The plans are acquired from Farming Daily Ops. We have furious on it for extra critical damage and reduced AP cost. You can have this mod with the Cryo to avoid AoE. You need to unlock the weapon’s plans and craft it. The plans are acquired from Farming Daily Ops. We have furious on it for extra critical damage and reduced AP cost. You can have this mod with the Cryo to avoid AoE.

Plasma Pistol

  • Fire Rate: 33
  • Range: 120
  • AP Cost: 25
  • Accuracy: 144
  • Weight: 3.0

Plasma Pistol is a good weapon in Fallout 76, particularly as a secondary weapon. This is the best weapon to choose if you’re a VATS user or enjoy a more agile approach. The strength of this weapon lies in its high damage output and ability to benefit from perks like Tank Killer. You can mod plasma pistols to be either automatic or sniper-like. This allows you to adapt different playstyles and approaches, making it easy to eliminate enemies in long-ranged combat. The plasma gun is an energy weapon that shoots plasma bolts. The bolts travel more slowly than beams emitted from laser weapons. This pistol is highly affected by the Grounded mutations but doesn’t spawn with the Double or Explosive legendary effects.

10mm Automatic Pistol

  • Fire Rate: 75
  • Range: 174
  • AP Cost: 8
  • Capacity: 15
  • Accuracy: 70
  • Fire Mode: Automatic
  • Weight: 5.25

The 10mm auto pistol is a versatile firearm that is well known for its moderate stopping power and accessibility. The 10mm pistol is highly modifiable. This allows you to customize its optics, accuracy, fire rate, and more. It can be chambered for either 10mm rounds or 10mm ultracite rounds. You can find the 10mm pistol near a crashed Vertibot or obtain it early in the game, even at level 1. You can find 10mm pistols scattered all over the place, so you can pick them up. This weapon is a good choice for builds like stealth and crit. It can deal significant damage, especially with perks and mods that enhance damage output. This is a great weapon for stealth kills, especially with a suppressor. You can run it automatically with the Gunslinger Master, at least in small bursts.

Best Armor For Pistol Ghoul Build in Fallout 76

x-01 power armor fallout 76
x-01 power armor fallout 76

Here is the best armor for Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76.

X-01 Power Armor

  • Damage Resistance: 398
  • Energy Resistance: 453
  • Radiation Resistance: 453

The X-01 power armor is a set of power armor that is the best choice for all the players who are running the Pistol Ghoul build. It offers high energy and radiation resistance and is a popular choice among players. It allows the players to mitigate the incoming attack’s effectiveness, increasing their survivability in the game. You can learn the plans to craft X-01 while doing the Enclave questline. It is also matched for energy resistance by the T-51b and outclassed by the T-65.

T-51b Power Armor

  • Damage Resistance: 300
  • Energy Resistance: 300
  • Radiation Resistance: 181

T-51b Power Armor is a good choice to avail if you’re running a Pistol build in Fallout 76. It’s generally considered a good and popular choice, especially for its high damage resistance. While it excels in damage resistance, T-51b has lower radiation resistance compared to other power armor. This armor is easier to obtain and modify compared to other power armor types like T-65. It can also be modified with various mods, including those purchasable with caps, which adds to its versatility.

Best Perks Pistol Ghoul Build in Fallout 76

Gunslinger is the best perk for the Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76 because it allows your manual pistol to deal damage in combat. You have the option to transform into ghouls with the recent The Ghoul Within update. This build allows you to deal massive damage with melee weapons that increase combat effectiveness. Here are the best perks for the Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76.

  • Lone Wanderer (Charisma)- When adventuring alone, take 15% less damage and gain AP regen. Cost: 3
  • Gunsmith (Intelligence)- Guns break slower, and you can now craft Tier 1 guns.
  • Gunslinger (Agility)- Your non-automatic pistols now do additional damage.
  • Better Criticals (Luck)- V.A.T.S. criticals now do additional damage.
  • Bandolier (Strength)- Ballistic weapon ammo weighs less.
  • Crack Shot (Perception)- All pistols now have more range and more accuracy when sighted.
  • Ghoulish (Endurance)- Radiation now regenerates your lost Health.

Best Perks Beginner Build in Fallout 76

Bloody Mess is the best perk for a beginner build in Fallout 76 because it increases the damage with your equipped pistol and explodes the enemies.             

  • Ironclad (Endurance)- Gain additional Damage and Energy Resistance while not wearing Power Armor.
  • Lone Wanderer (Charisma)- Take less damage and regenerate AP while playing solo.
  • First Aid (Intelligence)- Stimpaks restore more lost Health based on INT.
  • Sneak (Agility)- You are harder to detect while sneaking.
  • Bloody Mess (Luck)- Increases damage and makes enemies explode.
  • Pack Rat (Strength)- The weight of all junk items is reduced.
  • Commando (Perception)- Basic combat training means automatic rifles do additional damage.

Best Main Stats Perks for Pistol Ghoul Build in Fallout 76

main stats perks fallout 76
main stats perks fallout 76

Concentrated Fire is the best main stat perk for the Pistol Ghoul build because it provides your pistol more accuracy and damage per shot. Focus on increasing your survivability, damage output, and utility. You can allocate a total of 56 SPECIAL points to increase your character’s stats. You start with 1 point in each of the 7 SPECIAL attributes for a total of 7 points. And you gain 1 SPECIAL point every time you level up. You’ll have a total of 56 SPECIAL points to spend at level 50. Here are some of the best maintenance perks for the Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76.

  • Nerd Rage (Intelligence)- While below 20% Health, gain additional Damage Resist, 10% damage, and 15% AP regen.
  • Gun Fu (Agility): Bonus damage when swapping targets in V.A.T.S.
  • Critical Savvy (Luck)- Critical Hits now only consume your critical meter.
  • Bandolier (Strength)- Ballistic weapon ammo weighs 45% less.
  • Concentrated Fire (Perception- V.A.T.S. targets limbs. Focus fire to gain more accuracy and damage per shot.
  • Ghoulish (Endurance)- Radiation heals instead of hurting you.
  • Strange in Numbers (Charisma)- Positive mutation effects are 25% stronger if teammates are mutated too.

Best Skill Perks for Pistol Ghoul Build in Fallout 76

Bone Shatter is the best skill perk for the Pistol Ghoul build because it grants the opportunity to cripple enemies, allowing you to decrease their mobility. Here are some of the best skill perks to consider for the Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76.

  • Jaguar Speed (Agility)- Allows you to sprint faster when your Glow is high.
  • Bone Shatterer (Strength)- It provides a chance to cripple enemies, allowing you to decrease their mobility.
  • Concentrated Fire (Perception)- V.A.T.S. targets limbs. Focus fire to gain more accuracy and damage per shot.
  • Fireproof (Endurance)- Reduces damage taken from explosions and flame attacks.
  • Feral Presence (Charisma)- Reduce your target’s damage output by 15% after you attack for 5 seconds.
  • Serendipity (Luck)- Provides a chance to avoid damage when health is below 35%.

Best Combat Perks for Pistol Ghoul Build in Fallout 76

Radioactive Strength is the best combat perk for Pistol Ghoul build because it enhances your melee damage. These perks must synergize with the unique abilities and mechanics of Pistol Ghoul. Here are some of the best combat-focused perks for this build.

  • Adrenaline (Agility)- Gain additional damage for 30s per kill. Duration refreshes with kills.
  • Serendipity (Luck)- Gain a chance to avoid damage while below 35% health.
  • Radioactive Strength (Strength)- It increases melee damage by 150%, significantly enhancing close-quarters combat effectiveness.
  • Concentrated Fire (Perception)- This allows you to target specific enemy body parts in V.A.T.S., enhancing your accuracy and damage with each shot.
  • Glowing Gut (Endurance)- Enhance the radiation absorption from food and drinks by 300%.
  • Feral Presence (Charisma)- Mitigate the incoming damage by 15% for 5 seconds after being attacked.

Best Potions For Pistol Ghoul Build in Fallout 76

nukashine fallout 76
nukashine fallout 76

Here are the best potions for the Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76.

  • Blight Soup- +100% critical hit damage.
  • Nukashine- Grants a 100% melee damage increase.
  • Canned Coffee– Quick AP regeneration for faster V.A.T.S. use.
  • Toxic Goo- Deals a high amount of radiation damage (125 rads) to the player but also provides a significant health restoration effect.
  • Orange Mentats- +10% V.A.T.S. accuracy.

Best Tips and Tricks for Pistol Ghoul Build in Fallout 76

Here are the best tips and tricks Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76.

  • Make sure your weapon can deal high crit damage.
  • Select perks that improve VATS accuracy, critical hit chance, and AP regeneration.
  • You need to learn how to maintain Glow and avoid over-radiating.
  • Invest in Luck for critical damage and perks like “Wild West Hands” for instant reload.
  • Consider armor with reduced radiation resistance.
  • Use agility perks and movement to avoid damage and reposition for better shots. 
  • Choose a weapon like a 10mm auto pistol or crusader pistol for dealing massive damage in close-range combat.
  • Enter a Feral state to gain a substantial +150% melee damage boost.
  • Choose the armor set that increases passive health regeneration.
  • Invest points in Agility to maximum combat effectiveness.

FAQs about Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76

What is Ghoul in Fallout 76?

Ghouls in Fallout 76 are humans that are mutated by the radiation of the nuclear wasteland. Becoming a ghoul is a permanent change unless you manually revert.

What are the best perks for the Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76?

Bandolier, Concentrated Fire, Ghoulish, Lone Wanderer, Gunsmith, and Gunslinger are the best perk cards for the Pistol build in Fallout 76.

Which is the best weapon for a Pistol Ghoul build in Fallout 76?

Crusader Pistol is the best weapon for a Pistol build in Fallout 76 because it has a fast firing rate and more damage-dealing potential.

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