Build Guide: Feral Ghoul Unarmed (Reverse onslaught)
Starting March 18, 2025, it will be possible to play as a ghoul in Fallout 76. This brings new advantages and disadvantages. In addition to radiation resistance and glow (which acts as a kind of shield), there are also new perks that enable entirely new builds.
Feral as Melee Base
The basis for this ghoul build is its "Feral" status. We can use this as the base for the build, just like "Bloodied" for humans. By the way: A ghoul cannot play Bloodied, as all radiation used for healing is absorbed, and there is no radiation bar for ghouls. The feral status is represented by the new bar on the bottom right above the AP bar. When this drops to 0% (which is currently only possible over time and not through aid), the ghoul is considered feral and gains:
- +150% Melee Damage, -300% Gun Accuracy
- -5 END
- -30 Max AP
- -99 Charisma
- -30 HP
These are some negative points, but the +150% melee damage provides a good foundation for a melee build. A melee/ranged weapon hybrid isn't possible, however, as the -300% weapon accuracy makes it almost impossible to hit anything. In VATS, the hit chance drops to 0, and outside of that, you can only hit with shotguns.
Reverse onslaught with Melee
Another foundation is the new onslaught mechanic, which we can also use for melee. Unfortunately, not all onslaught perks can be used, but the reverse onslaught is, and with "Furious" and "Pounders" on a melee weapon, we can play with 19 stacks.
Reverse onslaught means that the stacks (5% damage per stack) build up 1 per second up to the maximum. The maximum is 19 with the two legendary mods: Furious 9 and Pounders 10. So, as soon as you enter the game, the stacks build up. When you hit an enemy, a stack is subtracted and then added again every second. This grants you a 95% bonus with 19 stacks for unarmed weapons (as in this build), as well as one-handed and two-handed melee weapons.
Weapons and Armor
The primary weapon for the feral unarmed ghoul is the gauntlet. The gauntlet is an unarmed weapon that can be purchased from the settlers for a small amount of gold. The settlers' gauntlet, with its energy damage, is the best unarmed weapon. Alternatively, a Deathclaw Gauntlet or a Power Fist (such as the "Facebreaker," which lacks the fourth legendary mod) are also possible.
This Feral Melee Ghoul uses a Gauntlet with the legendary mods: Furious, Heavy Hitters, Strength, and Pounders.
The armor is Secret Service armor with the legendary mods: Automatic Stimpack + Vanguard, a mix of poison resistance / strength / AP acceleration, Thru Hikers, and "Bruisers" in the 4th slot.
It doesn't really matter which armor you use; the first mod can be anything else. I found Vanguard useful and added an Auto Stim piece to have a parachute in boss fights. The Queen can hit pretty hard, despite the blocker perk. Chameleon armor, for example, is also possible to further improve your stealth ability. Only Unyielding has no advantage here, since you're not playing with low health. Civil Engineer armor also makes sense, as the set bonus provides a melee damage bonus.
Generally, the idea is that the ghoul should be able to absorb as much radiation as possible from the environment and have little radiation resistance, but ambient radiation has hardly any effect. It takes a very long time to get enough light from ambient radiation. It's much more effective to supplement the radiation with toxic goo or water.
Skillset: The Perk Cards
The perk cards marked in italics are new Ghoul perk cards.
"High Glow" means a value of 180 or more. The glow is your Ghoul Shield, which reflects your hit point bar. So, if you have 240 HP and your Glow bar is 75% or more full, your value is above or equal to 180 and you have "high glow." Of course, if you have more HP, this percentage will decrease.
Strength to 15 (+5 legendary STR):
Blocker to 3,
Incisor to 3,
Bone Shatterer to 1 (chance to cripple),
Brick Wall to 2 (immunity to stagger at High Glow),
Radioactive Strength to 3 (150% increased damage with strong attacks, i.e., all Auto Axe attacks [Bug: This perk isn't actually intended to work with automatic melee weapons, but it currently does]),
Iron Fist each to 3* to increase unarmed damage
Perception at 3:
Green Thumb at 1*,
Butchers Bounty at 2* (both perks are only used to increase yield when farming/hunting food buffs)
Endurance at 13:
Adamantium Skeleton at 1,
All Night long at 3 (extends the effects of pre-war alcohol like whiskey),
Lifegiver at 2,
Fireproof at 3,
Glowing Gut at (increases the radiation absorption of food and drinks by 300%; Toxic Goo then gives 198 RAD), and
Professional Drinker (you'll never become addicted to alcohol)
Charisma at 10:
Party Boy at 3 (to triple the effects of pre-war alcohol like whiskey),
Strange in Numbers,
Meat Tenderizer at 2,
United Ordeal at 3 (to increase SPECIALS when another ghoul is in the Team) and
Feral Presence to 1 (to reduce damage by 15% for 5 seconds after an enemy attack while wild)
Intelligence to 4 (+5 legendary INT):
Science / Science Expert / Science Master to 2 (to increase the damage of energy weapons; the Auto Axe is an energy weapon with the Electrified mod),
Science Monster to 3 (we receive 15% bonus damage for 10 seconds on each hit if we have Glow)
Note: Science Perks only affect the auto axe, not the Gauntlet. If you want to switch to the auto axe inbetween this is a possibiliy, otherwise the Perks are not needed.
Agility to 6 (+5 legendary AGI):
Ninja to 3 (to increase stealth attack damage in melee by 2.9x),
Escape Artist (to hide faster),
Action Ghoul to 3 (increases AP regeneration by 45%),
Sneak to 1 (for better stealth abilities),
Gunslinger Master for reverse onslaught
Luck to 5 (+5 legendary LCK):
Bloody Mess to 3 (increases overall damage by 15%),
Ricochet (reflects damage with a chance to rebound onto the enemy),
Class Freak to 3 (reduces the negative effects of mutations by 75%),
Good with Salt to 1 (makes food last 45% longer), and
Faulty Spots (increases weak point damage by 15%)
Legendary Perks
- Taking one for the team **** (Enemies take 40% more damage when attacking you while you're on a team.) (This legendary perk stacks even when you're hidden but other teammates are being attacked, e.g., during events.)
- Feral Rage 4* (While feral, all glow-based skill abilities cost 50% less glow)
- Legendary Strength to 4 **** (+5 STR and +5 STR skill points. Skill points are capped at 15)
- Legendary Intelligence to 4 **** (+5 INT and +5 INT skill points. Skill points are capped at 15)
- Legendary Agility 4 **** (+5 AGI and +5 AGI skill points. Skill points are capped at 15)
- Legendary Luck 4 **** (+5 LCK and +5 LCK skill points. Skill points are capped at 15)
By using legendary SPECIALS, we can use more points in the skillset than was previously possible. The legendary SPECIALS supplement the points defined for the skillset in the loadout, up to a maximum of 15 in the skillset. Beyond that, the points are applied but cannot be used for perks. For example, if you choose 12 PER in the skillset and have legendary PER at 4*, you will still only receive 15 points for perk cards, but you will have 17 PER for active SPECIALS in the Pipboy.
Mutations
Ghouls can have the same mutations as humans. There are no new ghoul mutations. However, ghouls only receive mutations from serums, not from environmental radiation. Accordingly, you don't need "Starched Genes" under Endurance, as you don't receive new mutations randomly, nor do you need to remove radiation with Rad-Away. Of course, you shouldn't use Rad-Away if you're not using the perk card, otherwise you'll remove random mutations.
Carnivore:
This mutation is the most important for melee combat. It increases both strength and melee damage.
Herd Mentality:
This increases all SPECIALs by +3 when you're in a team (even solo).
Marsupial:
Grants +400% jump height, +25 carry capacity, and -1 INT (with class Freak)
Talons:
Unarmed attacks deal +25% more damage and cause bleeding -1 END
Twisted Muscles:
+25% more melee damage + chance to cripple -12.5% weapon accuracy
Speed Demon:
+50% faster feralization while moving, +25 movement speed, +reload
I also use:
- Electrically Charged (Chance to electrocute the enemy with melee attacks)
- Unstable Isotope (Medium chance to irradiate the enemy with melee attacks)
Melee-Buffs for Ghouls
As a feral ghoul, we don't use chems because chems cancel our feral state.
Aids that stack:
- Magazine: U.S. Covert Operations Manual #8 (+25% unarmed damage)
OR Grognak the Barbarian #1 (+15% more melee damage) - Bobblehead: Unarmed Bobblehead (+25% Unarmed Damage)
OR Melee Bobblehead (+20% more melee damage)
Foods/Drinks that stack:
- Whiskey (+6 STR; best pre-war liquor for melee combat)
- Nukashine +100% melee damage (sugar-free or vintage) Beware of the blackout on vintage
- Deathclaw Steak / Stingwing Fillet +5 STR (30 min) or Deathclaw Wellington +8 STR (60 min)
- Tasty Mutton Meat Pie (+213% melee damage, 60 min)
OR Tasty Mutant Hound Stew (+213% melee damage, 60 min)
OR Tasty Yao Guai Roast (+213% melee damage, 60 min)
Don't forget the CAMP buffs:
- Weight Bench (+2 STR for 30 Min.)
- Allied Super Mutant: Maul (+1 STR, +20 RAD resistance, 30% weight reduction for melee weapons, for 30 minutes)
Gameplay
Here your can see a clip of the unarmed ghoul vs. super mutants in huntersville:
And here is the unarmed ghoul build vs whitespring ghouls (yes, they are attacking the player ghoul):
Your Feedback
What do you think of the Feral Unarmed Ghoul? I think this build is a good complement to the Auto-Axe Ghoul for everyday use. The Auto-Axe Ghoul is good for bosses, and the Unarmed Ghoul is good for challenges and daily farming.
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
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