As with previous games, Fallout 4 lets you pick your starting stats point by point. But where should you be putting those points? To give you a helping hand, here are the most important starting stats in Fallout 4.
Most Important Starting Stats in Fallout 4
The most important starting stats (or SPECIAL stats) in Fallout 4 are Strength and Perception. That’s not to say you should max them out, but I’d recommend putting at least one extra point into each, raising them to six. And you should absolutely not dial them back to 1 so you can bulk up your other stats.
Why? Because, in the early stages of the game, Strength and Perception count for an awful lot. You absolutely will run out of ammo and end up flailing at enemies with whatever melee weapon you have on hand. If you have next to no strength, you might as well be hitting them with a feather duster.
Perception affects your accuracy in VATS, which is crucial for taking on multiple enemies. You can run away fast enough to give your VATS time to recharge, but the better your Perception, the more damage you’ll do in slo-mo.
But don’t your initial stat choices affect the way your character develops? Absolutely, but Fallout 4 gives you more freedom to level up your stats later. You can start out with a Charisma of 1 and still max it out as you play.
Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 3 made it quite hard to boost your SPECIAL stats, but in Fallout 4, you can increase them by spending points when leveling up. So you’re not locked into building a strongman or a sharpshooter just by putting a point or two into Perception and Strength.
So, Strength and Perception are the most important stats in Fallout 4.