Summary

• Taking radiation damage in Fallout 76 may result in the player contracting a mutation.
• Every mutation in the game has positive and negative effects.
• Some mutations can be very useful, and should be kept, while others are too detrimental to leave uncured.

With close to 20 mutations total in Fallout 76, the effects of taking radiation damage in the wasteland can be unpredictable. Mutations provide both positive and negative effects on the player (except for one), and can be tricky to remove without the right remedies. While some mutations are worth getting rid of, there are a few which players will want to keep as long as possible.

Those who want to better manage either keeping mutations or getting rid of them in Fallout 76 should invest in the Starched Genes perk, which makes it possible to lock mutations and also lower the chance of acquiring them. Wearing a hazmat suit can be an effective preventative measure, but the best bet for removing a mostly negative one lies with RadAway or a decontamination shower. But, be careful before getting rid of a mutation – it's possible for some of these "afflictions" to be more beneficial than harmful.

Keep: Chameleon

No Negative Effect

While all other mutations in Fallout 76 have some ive effect that will ultimately hinder the player, the Chameleon mutation does not. The Chameleon mutation allows for the player to be completely invisible when unarmored and standing still. There was a bug at one point that would cause the player to go invisible permanently when combined with the Escape Artist Perk, but this has since been addressed in a recent Fallout 76 patch.

Especially with Fallout 76 set to expand its map, Chameleon is one of the best mutations because it doesn't take anything away from the player. Other mutations remove health or attributes and make consumables less effective, but not the Chameleon mutation. While unarmored and stationery is perhaps not the most effective combat stance to use, those who are pursuing a stealth build could find the Chameleon mutation to be extremely useful.

Cure: Empath

Cons Outweigh The Pros

Empath mutation could be useful for helping out the player's teammates, the drawbacks far outweigh the benefits

There are a few mutations in Fallout 76 that make the game less fun, and the Empath mutation is one of them. While the positive effects of the Empath mutation could be useful for helping out the player's teammates, the drawbacks far outweigh the benefits. The positive side is that teammates do 25% more damage, but the drawback is the player takes 33% more damage.

The only way this mutation is beneficial for a large group is if the player agrees to stay back and as far away from the action as possible and let teammates do the work. This is simply not a fair trade-off to give teammates more damage at the expense of being much more vulnerable. There is a possibility for someone utilizing a more tanky build to take advantage of the Empath mutation in Fallout 76, but there are far better options that make the game more enjoyable.

Keep: Healing Factor

A Net Positive

One of the most frustrating mechanics in RPGs is health which doesn't regenerate. There are few things more irritating than having to put off a mission and wander around an open world just to find some healing items to progress the game. Fallout 76 is regarded as the most controversial Fallout game, and while fortunately, health does regenerate on its own – albeit at a remarkably slow rate – there's a mutation that provides a workaround to this annoying mechanic.

The Healing Factor mutation in Fallout 76 increases the player's health regeneration while not in combat by 300%, allowing wastelanders to get on with playing and not have to wait around for a bar to fill up. The only drawback is that chems are 55% less effective, but these are entirely optional consumables anyway. Especially for those who don't want to bother damaging their character with chems, the Healing Factor mutation is one worth keeping.

Cure: Speed Demon

Not As Cool As It Sounds

Without any extra knowledge, having the Speed Demon mutation in Fallout 76 sounds like it would be incredibly beneficial. Unfortunately, it's one of the many mutations where the benefits aren't worth the drawbacks. The Speed Demon mutation lives up to its name by making the player move and reload 20% faster, but it also increases the drain on hunger and thirst by a whopping 50%.

Hunger and thirst depleting 50% faster isn't even remotely worth being able to move 20% quicker. Supplies and consumables are few and far between in the Fallout 76 wasteland, and having to use them that much more often just to move a bit faster is a major hindrance. Players should spend as much RadAway as necessary to rid themselves of the Speed Demon mutation upon contracting it.

Keep: Twisted Muscles

Perfect For Melee Builds

Out of all the mutations it's possible to contract in Fallout 76, Twisted Metal is one of the best. It bears resemblance to another great mutation, Healing Factor, in which the negative effect can be ignored entirely, but the positive effect can be utilized regularly. Twisted Muscles increase melee damage by 25%, and increase the chance of crippling limbs when attacking with a melee weapon.

The only downside to the Twisted Muscles mutation is that it decreases gun accuracy by 50%, which makes it much more difficult to aim firearms. But, for players committed to playing a melee-only build, being less accurate with a pistol or rifle is completely irrelevant. For those who want to get up close and personal to take out the many scary monsters in Fallout 76, it's worth spending some time taking radiation damage to try to get the Twisted Muscles mutation.

Cure: Carnivore

Impractical & Pointless

Some Fallout 76 mutations can be used to the player's benefit, and others are unsalvageable. While the Carnivore mutation perhaps doesn't weigh the player down as much as Speed Demon or Empath, it's not worth keeping and should be removed with RadAway as quickly as possible. The Carnivore mutation lives up to its name by making meat-based consumables twice as effective, but rendering any plant-based consumable useless.

Consumables aren't easily located in the wasteland of Fallout 76, especially in the early parts of the game. While something like the Carnivore mutation can seem appealing at first glance, especially when surrounded by Brahmin (which can be located all around Appalachia), it will always come back to haunt the player. There will come a time when the player's options for consumables are limited, and removing half of the potential pool is not helpful.

Keep: Marsupial

Its Downsides Can Easily Be Overcome

While it's impossible to negate some of the more dampening effects of Fallout 76's other mutations, the Marsupial mutation provides great benefits that outweigh the drawbacks. Players infected with the Marsupial mutation have +20 carry weight, and can also jump higher. The only downside is that it decreases the player's Intelligence by four, but it's easy to make up for this elsewhere.

While having less Intelligence in Fallout 76 can certainly have negative effects, perks like No Weaknesses (which will raise Intelligence to 5 if below 5) allow the player to cheat the system, even at low levels. There are also Bobbleheads and other perks that increase Intelligence, and having the extra carry weight alone is crucial to ensuring the player never gets over encumbered.

Cure: Herbivore

Just As Bad As Carnivore

Just like the Carnivore mutation, Herbivore is a widespread detriment to gameplay in Fallout 76. The two are opposites of one another; while Carnivore doubles the effectiveness of meat, Herbivore doubles the effectiveness of plants. But, once under the effect of the Herbivore mutation in Fallout 76, eating meat will do nothing of benefit for the player.

The only way to make these mutations useful would be to have both at the same time, but there is no way to have Herbivore and Carnivore in Fallout 76. While the Herbivore mutation may seem beneficial if the player has an inventory of plant-based consumables, there will come a time when meat is the only option. Anyone infected with either the Herbivore or Carnivore mutations should use RadAway to get rid of them immediately.

Keep: Grounded

Can Be Used In The Player's Favor

Players will encounter many dangerous opponents and strong weapons in Fallout 76 not least of which are energy weapons. Not only do energy weapons do loads of damage, their colorful tracers can also be distracting to deal with in combat. While there may not be a way to alleviate the blinding colors, there is a way to stop energy weapons from hitting like a freight train.

The Grounded mutation in Fallout 76 gives players who contract it +100 energy resistance at the expense of energy weapons doing 50% less damage. There is a simple fix for this – use any other kind of weapon in Fallout 76 besides an energy weapon. With such a clear method of weighing incoming energy damage negation over energy damage output, the Grounded mutation is one of the best in all of Fallout 76.

Cure: Adrenal Reaction

Too Risky To Be Helpful

If there's one skill that is universally intriguing in any RPG game, it's doing more damage. Similar to Speed Demon, the Adrenal Reaction mutation sounds cool, but its improvements come with some not-so-worth-it drawbacks. While the Adrenal Reaction mutation in Fallout 76 does make the player much more powerful, it comes at too high a cost.

Those who take enough radiation damage to contract the Adrenal Reaction mutation will be blessed with increased weapon damage at low health, and cursed with 50 less maximum health. While these skills do go hand-in-hand, doing extra damage isn't worth the risk of always having to be close to death. In a game like Fallout 76 where many enemies do mass amounts of damage, and players will also be naturally avoiding damage anyway, it's better to not lock down a guaranteed low health just for a chance of doing more damage.

Along with several tie-ins to Prime Video's Fallout series, mutations are one of the more interesting draws to Fallout 76, a game which can be rough to play after experiencing the other Fallout games the franchise has to offer. Playing around and experimenting with which mutations work well with each other is a mechanic not available in any other Fallout game. While it is discernibly different, especially considering the multiplayer aspect, there is still fun to be had in Fallout 76.