With a heavy focus on non-automatic pistols and charm, a Gunslinger build is one of the most entertaining ways of playing Fallout 4. Gunslinger builds are a Fallout franchise staple and a hugely popular option in all modern Fallout games, including Fallout 4. The chance to play a character who can kill the Wasteland's deadliest creatures with nothing more than a quick-draw pistol can prove hard to resist.
Much like Fallout 4's best sniper build, the Gunslinger build has plenty of depth and flexibility, and players are encouraged to tweak and experiment to personalize it. To build a character, players will need to consider how to distribute the Sole Survivor's S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats and pick the best Perks. Finding the best weapons and armor can also significantly enhance a character's gunslinging capabilities.
Related
Fallout 4 offers plenty of firearms and melee weapons, that come with legendary effects and can be further enhanced with mods for better utility.
The Best S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats For A Gunslinger Build In Fallout 4
What Makes You S.P.E.C.I.A.L.?
Determining the Sole Survivor's S.P.E.C.I.A.L stat distribution is one of the first things Fallout 4 asks players to do. Fallout 4 takes a slightly different approach to previous Fallout games by setting all character stats to 1 by default and providing 21 extra points to distribute. All Perks have S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat requirements, so getting the right stat distribution ultimately determines what Perks can be chosen.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stat | Description |
|---|---|
Strength | Modifies a character's carry capacity and unarmed and melee damage |
Perception | Modifies a character's accuracy when using V.A.T.S. |
Endurance | Modifies character HP and sprint |
Charisma | Modifies a character's ability to persuade others in dialogue, barter with merchants, and lead companions |
Intelligence | Modifies a character's XP gain and their ability to hack terminals. |
Agility | It directly affects the character's number of Action Points (AP) and also increases their pickpocketing and sneaking capabilities. |
Luck | Modifies a character's critical hit meter recharge rate. |
Experienced Fallout players will find it slightly easier to increase S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats after character creation in Fallout 4 compared to previous games. Fallout 4 features 20 Bobbleheads, some of which directly increase stats.
Gunslinger builds rely heavily on V.A.T.S and scoring many critical hits to be effective, so Perception, Agility, and Luck are the best stats to prioritize. Putting some points into Intelligence is also recommended, as this provides useful abilities for all characters, such as hacking terminals and crafting different levels of gun mods. Strength and Endurance matter less, as their Perks are generally less relevant to a Gunslinger.
Below is a recommended stat distribution for an effective start to a Gunslinger build:
Stat | Level |
|---|---|
Strength | 1 |
Perception | 5 |
Endurance | 1 |
Charisma | 2 |
Intelligence | 4 |
Agility | 7 |
Luck | 8 |
The Best Perks For A Gunslinger Build In Fallout 4
Pick The Best Perks On The Perk Chart
Gunslinger builds use some of Fallout 4's best Perks, including many Luck-based Perks that increase Critical Hit damage and allow the Sole Survivor to bank Critical Hits for the right moment. It's worth noting that Perks also have level requirements and can be ranked up to unlock additional effects.
Related
Fallout 4's Character System allows for some extremely diverse builds, and the Perk Chart is where most of this optimization takes place.
The following Perks are recommended for the best Gunslinger build:
Perk | Requirements | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Awareness |
|
| A useful Perk that provides useful information about enemy targets. |
Lady Killer/Black Widow |
|
| Provides a useful damage bonus against some enemies. |
Gun Nut |
|
| Allows players to mod their weapons and improve their stats. |
Gunslinger |
|
| A core Perk for a Gunslinger build due to its massive damage boosts to non-auto pistols. |
Action Boy/Action Girl |
|
| Pistols use less AP per attack in V.A.T.S compared to other weapon types. This Perk increases AP recharge rate so characters can fire more shots. |
A high Agility stat also allows players to put points into the Sneak, Mister Sandman, and Ninja Perks, which improve the Sneak ability, allow characters to instantly kill sleeping targets, and massively increase ranged sneak attack damage. These can be included in a Gunslinger build if players want to introduce a stealth element to their gameplay.
Perk | Requirements | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Gun Fu |
|
| Allows a character to stack damage and Critical Hits when shooting multiple targets in V.A.T.S. |
Bloody Mess |
|
| A classic Fallout series Perk that provides a broad damage bonus. Essential for anyone who wants to play as The Ghoul from the Fallout series. |
Better Criticals |
|
| It provides a massive increase in critical hit damage and synergizes well with a high-luck stat. |
Critical Banker |
|
| Allows characters to save up Critical Hits to use against particularly tough enemies. |
Grim Reaper's Sprint |
|
| Provides additional AP for more ranged attacks. |
The Best Weapons And Armor For A Gunslinger Build In Fallout 4
Gear Up With The Game's Best Pistols And Armor
As the Gunslinger Perk only boosts non-auto pistol damage, the Gunslinger build mainly uses pistols. Fallout 4's Commonwealth has several excellent pistols for players to choose from, including the following:
Gun | Damage | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
10mm Pistol | 18 | A classic Fallout starter weapon with low base damage, but easily modded and upgraded if players have the Gun Nut Perk. | Can be found inside Vault 111's Overseer's Office. |
Old Faithful | 24 | A unique Laser Gun variant with the Instigating effect (double damage against targets with full health), giving it synergy with builds that have high Luck. | Sold by Commonwealth Weaponry at the Diamond City Market by Arturo Rodriguez, one of Fallout 4's best merchants. |
.44 Magnum | 48 | A high-damage revolver with some limited mod options. | It can be found or purchased at many locations in the Commonwealth. |
Eddie's Peace | 48 | A unique variant of the .44 Magnum that deals +50% extra limb damage. | Dropped by Eddie Winter during Long Time Coming, a quest for Fallout 4's best companion Nick Valentine. |
The Gainer | 48 | A unique variant of the .44 Magnum with the Incendiary effect (set enemies on fire for an additional 15 fire damage over time). | Next to a skeleton at the Vitale pumphouse east of Finch Farm. |
The Deliverer | 25 | A unique variant of the 10mm Pistol with increased V.A.T.S. hit chance and -25% AP cost per shot, making it ideal for builds with high Agility. | Given by Deacon at the end of the Tradecraft quest for the Railroad faction. |
Kellogg's Pistol | 48 | A variant of the .44 Magnum that refills all AP on a Critical Hit. | Dropped by Kellogg during the Reunions main quest. |
In contrast, a Gunslinger is much more flexible regarding armor and clothing choices. Players can take two broad approaches: picking items that boost core stats such as Perception, Agility, or Intelligence or opt for items that shore up weaker stats.
In Fallout 4, players can equip clothing items and add armor pieces on top for additional effects. Alternatively, players can wear special outfits, most of which cannot be equipped with extra armor.
Regardless, players frequently come across clothing, armor, and outfits that boost one or more S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats and have decent damage and energy resistance values. As such, most of these items are fairly interchangeable, but there are a few pieces to keep an eye out for:
Name | Type | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Mantis armor | Armor pieces |
| Sold by the traveling merchant Lucas Miller |
Commando armor | Armor pieces |
| Sold by Proctor Teagen after players join the Brotherhood of Steel and kill Kellogg |
Minuteman Outfit | Clothing |
| Looted off dead Minutemen at Lexington's Super Duper Mart |
Silver Shroud armor | Outfit |
| Obtained from the Silver Shroud questline, one of Fallout 4's best side quests. It can be upgraded into one of the best outfits in the game. |
Players can also wear Power Armor, which they find throughout the Commonwealth, although these require Fusion Cores.
Overall, the Gunslinger build has earned its place as a hugely popular build option in most Fallout games, and it works exceptionally well in Fallout 4.
Fallout 4
- Franchise
- Fallout
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- November 10, 2015
- Genre(s)
- RPG , Action
- Engine
- Creation
- ESRB
- M FOR MATURE: BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, USE OF DRUGS
- How Long To Beat
- 27 Hours
- Metascore
- 87
- Gaming
- Fallout 4
- Fallout
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