FO76 | An Entrepreneur's Guide to the Wasteland✔️

My Trader/Scrounger Build

This is the number of points I have on each S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attribute and all the permanent perk cards I am currently using. I have also added Bethesda's official definition of each perk so you can get an idea of what I'm going for. At the end of this page, I will list some things that you should also think about adding as perks for yourself depending on what you want to craft, sell, and carry at all times. Make your build your own!

STRENGTH (12)
*Pack Rat 3 - the weight of all junk items is reduced by 75%
*Strong Back 4 - gain 40 to carry weight
*Traveling Pharmacy 3 - weight of all chems (including stimpaks) are reduced by 90%
*Bandolier 2 - ballistic weapon ammo weighs 90% less

Why? | I chose Strong Back for obvious reasons. It's hard to carry as much as you want across the wasteland without making stop after stop at your camp, Red Rocket, or train station. So those extra 40 points of capacity are phenomenal to someone who crafts, scraps, and scrounges on the go. While you restock your vending machine, ballistic ammo is the ammo you're going to find and sell the most of, so it's important for that to weigh as little as possible. Bandolier does just that. Pack Rat also reduces junk - which are the most important items - by three quarters. Traveling Pharmacy is a must (or at least to have level 1 or 2 of this perk) because you'll be selling a lot of chems during your travels. Chems can mean the difference between life and death in some cases, so they're in high demand.

PERCEPTION (8)
* Green Thumb - reap twice as much when harvesting flora
*Rifleman 3 - your non-automatic rifles now do +20% damage
*Expert Rifleman 3 - your non-automatic rifles now do +20% damage
*Butcher's Bounty 1 - 40% chance to find extra meat when you search an animal corpse

Why? | Green Thumb is "cheap," because it only costs 1 point in Perception. You'll get twice as many herbs, and a lot of herbs are used in chem-crafting. More supplies = more crafting = more caps. Butcher's Bounty isn't a necessity for this build, but I use it because it will help me get more meat for cooked food, so I don't have to eat the prewar food. I sell all my prewar food because it doesn't go bad. And lastly, I use these two rifle cards because a rifle is my weapon of choice. Now, here's where my preference will eventually screw me later... Whatever rifle I choose to use, I will have less (if any) ammo of that type to sell in my vending machine. However, rifles are the most common weapon and the most versatile, so I prefer them. More specifically, I prefer the Gauss Rifle. If you want to make even more caps and save on materials and ammo, think about getting melee perks instead!

ENDURANCE (5)
*Adamantium Skeleton 2 - your limb damage is now reduced by 40%
*Sun Kissed 2 - quickly regenerate radiation damage between the hours of 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM
*Ghoulish 1 - radiation now regenerates some of your lost health

Why? | Let's say that during your travels through the wasteland, you become over-encumbered. Don't fool yourself; no matter what kind of perks you have, it's bound to happen at some point. While over-encumbered, you cannot run. So if you get yourself into some trouble on the way back to your camp or workshop or wherever you're headed, and you're low on health, these particular perks will help keep you alive. Reduced limb damage, radiation regeneration during the day, etc. All of these things will help keep you alive while you're fumbling through your Pip-Boy to look for that jar of Buffout or bottle of beer to raise your carry weight so you can get the hell out of there. Also, I prefer to travel and complete quests during the day and stay at my camp and craft at night, so I use the daytime perks.

CHARISMA (7)
*Bodyguards 4 (interchangeable with Lone Wanderer 3) - gain 12 damage and energy resist (max 36) for each teammate, excluding you
*Lone Wanderer 3 (interchangeable with Bodyguards 4) - when adventuring alone, take 20% less damage and gain 30% AP regeneration
*Travel Agent - you pay 30% fewer caps when fast traveling
*Happy Camper 2 - hunger and thirst grow 80% more slowly when in camp or in a team workshop