Level 44

Explosive Meta
Fallout 4
Everything blows up
build
by jaydan
Published Oct 3, 2026 · Updated Oct 3, 2026

Grab Spray n Pray from Cricket to start, as early as outside Diamond City
Kiloton Radium Rifle is a guaranteed upgrade in Far Harbor
Explosive Combat Shotgun is best, but requires luck or farming

If you get one or want to farm one you could take Rifleman instead, or just use an auto receiver

Don't shoot at your feet or you will blow up, too

Other crafting and qol passives are up to you

HP/Regen/Rad Regen recommended for Survival mode

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lvl

1 lvl-ups to
SPECIAL points

50 lvl
required

Iron Fist

Channel your chi to unleash devastating fury! Punching attacks do 20% more damage to your opponent.

Big Leagues

Swing for the fences! Do 20% more melee weapon damage.

Armorer

You gain access to Rank 4 armor mods.

Blacksmith

Fire up the forge and gain access to base level and Rank 1 melee weapon mods.

Heavy Gunner

Thanks to practice and conditioning, heavy guns do 20% more damage.

Strong Back

What are you, part pack mule? Gain +25 to carry weight.

Steady Aim

Stay on target! Hip-fire accuracy is improved when firing any gun.

Basher

Get up close and personal! Gun bashing does 25% more damage.

Rooted

You're part tree! While standing still, you gain +25 Damage Resistance and your melee and unarmed attacks deal 25% more damage.

Pain Train

Choo choo! All aboard! While wearing Power Armor, sprinting into enemies hurts and staggers them. (Robots and oversized enemies are immune to the stagger.)

Pickpocket

Your quick hands and sticky fingers make picking pockets 25% easier.

Rifleman

Keep your distance long and your kill-count high. Attacks with non-automatic rifles do 20% more damage.

Awareness

To defeat your enemies, know their weaknesses! You can view a target's specific damage resistances in V.A.T.S.

Locksmith

You can pick Master locks.

Demolition Expert

Your explosives now do double damage. Mines and grenades shot in V.A.T.S. explode for double damage, too.

Night Person

You are a creature of the night! Gain +2 to Intelligence and Perception between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

Refractor

You must be part mirror! Instantly gain +10 Energy Resistance.

Sniper

It's all about focus. You have improved control and can hold your breath longer when aiming with scopes.

Penetrator

There's no place to hide! In V.A.T.S. you can target an enemy's body parts that are blocked by cover, with a decrease in accuracy.

Concentrated Fire

Stay focused! In V.A.T.S. every attack on the same body part gains +10% accuracy.

Toughness

If nothing else, you can take a beating! Instantly gain +10 Damage Resistance.

Lead Belly

Your digestive tract has adjusted to the weirdness of the Wasteland! Take less radiation from eating or drinking.

Lifegiver

You embody wellness! Instantly gain +20 maximum Health.

Chem Resistant

You gain complete immunity to chem addiction.

Aquaboy / Aquagirl

Water is your ally. You no longer take radiation damage from swimming, and can breathe underwater.

Rad Resistant

Exposure to the Wasteland has made you more resilient, instantly granting +10 Radiation Resistance.

Adamantium Skeleton

Your skeleton has been infused with indestructible metal, reducing limb damage by 30%.

Cannibal

Feast on mortal flesh to heal your wounds! Eating human corpses restores Health.

Ghoulish

Sure, you're still human - on the outside! Radiation now regenerates your lost Health.

Solar Powered

Catch some rays! Gain +2 to Strength and Endurance between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Cap Collector

You've mastered the art of the deal! Buying and selling prices at vendors are better.

Lady Killer / Black Widow

You're charming... and dangerous. Men/Women suffer +5% damage in combat, and are easier to persuade in dialogue.

Lone Wanderer

When adventuring without a companion, you have 25 more action points.

Attack Dog

Your faithful canine companion can hold an enemy, giving you a greater chance to hit them in V.A.T.S.

Animal Friend

Commune with beasts! With your gun, aim at any animal below your level and gain a chance to pacify it.

Local Leader

As the ruler everyone turns to, you are able to establish supply lines between your workshop settlements.

Party Boy/Girl

Nobody has a good time like you! There's no chance you'll get addicted to alcohol.

Inspirational

Because you lead by example, your companion does more damage in combat, and cannot hurt you.

Wasteland Whisperer

Master the post-apocalypse! With your gun, aim at any Wasteland creature below your level and gain a chance to pacify it.

Intimidation

Time to show everyone who's boss! With your gun, aim at any human opponent below your level and gain a chance to pacify them.

V.A.N.S.

Let Vault-Tec guide you! The path to your closest quest target is displayed in V.A.T.S.

Medic

Stimpaks and RadAway restore all lost health and radiation, and work much more quickly.

Gun Nut

You gain access to Rank 4 gun mods.

Hacker

You can hack Master terminals.

Scrapper

Waste not, want not! You can salvage uncommon components like screws, aluminum, and copper when scrapping weapons and armor.

Science!

You gain access to Rank 4 high-tech mods.

Chemist

Any chems you take last 50% longer. Far out.

Robotics Expert

Machines will always serve humans, if you have anything to say about it. Hack a robot, and gain a chance to power it on or off, or initiate a self-destruct.

Nuclear Physicist

You've learned to split the atom... and command it. Radiation weapons do 50% more damage and Fusion Cores last an extra 25% longer.

Nerd Rage!

Genius. Is. ANGRY! When your Health drops below 20%, time slows and you gain +20 Damage Resistance and do 20% more damage while the effect lasts.

Gunslinger

Channel the spirit of the Old West! Non-automatic pistols do 20% more damage.

Commando

Your automatic weapons now do double damage and have a greater chance to stagger opponents.

Sneak

Become whisper, become shadow. You are 20% harder to detect while sneaking.

Mister Sandman

As an agent of death itself, you can instantly kill a sleeping person. Your silenced weapons do an additional 15% sneak attack damage.

Action Boy/Girl

There's no time to waste! Action Points regenerate 25% faster.

Moving Target

They can't hurt what they can't hit! Get +25 Damage Resistance and +25 Energy Resistance when you're sprinting.

Ninja

Trained as a shadow warrior, your ranged sneak attacks do 2.5x normal damage and your melee sneak attacks do 4x normal damage.

Quick Hands

In combat, there's no time to hesitate. You can reload all guns faster.

Blitz

Find the gap and make the tackle! V.A.T.S. melee distance is increased significantly.

Gun Fu

You've learned to apply ancient martial arts to gunplay! Do 25% more damage to your second V.A.T.S. target and beyond.

Fortune Finder

You've learned to discover the Wasteland's hidden wealth, and find more bottle caps in containers.

Scrounger

You know just how to scavenge to keep the fight going, and find more ammunition in containers.

Bloody Mess

When an enemy explodes, nearby enemies may suffer the same fate.

Mysterious Stranger

Who is he? Why does he help? Who cares! The Mysterious Stranger will appear occasionally in V.A.T.S. to lend a hand, with deadly efficiency...

Idiot Savant

You're not stupid! Just... different. Randomly receive 3x XP from any action, and the lower your Intelligence, the greater the chance.

Better Criticals

Advanced training for enhanced combat effectiveness! Criticals do 50% more extra damage.

Critical Banker

You're a patient battlefield tactician, and can save a Critical Hit, to be used in V.A.T.S. when you need it the most.

Grim Reaper's Sprint

Death becomes you! Any kill in V.A.T.S. has a 15% chance to restore all Action Points.

Four Leaf Clover

Feeling lucky? You should! Each hit in V.A.T.S. has a chance of filling your Critical meter.

Ricochet

What goes around comes around! An enemy's ranged attack will sometimes ricochet back and instantly kill them. The closer you are to death, the higher the chance.

Leveling Roadmap

Companions

Know Your Enemy

danse

Thanks to your relationship with Danse, you deal +20% more damage against Feral Ghouls, Super Mutants and Synths.

United We Stand

garvey

Thanks to your relationship with Preston, you deal +20% more damage and gain +20 Damage Resistance when facing three or more opponents.

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Bobbleheads

Unarmed

Plus 25% critical damage with unarmed attacks.

Small Guns

Plus 25% critical damage with ballistic guns.

Big guns

Plus 25% critical damage with heavy weapons.

Speech

All vendors have 100 more caps.

Sneak

10% harder to detect.

Energy weapons

Plus 25% critical damage with energy weapons.

Explosives

Plus 15% damage with explosives.

Melee

Plus 25% critical damage with Melee Weapons.

Science

Get one extra guess when hacking terminals.

Repair

Fusion cores last 10% longer.

Medicine

Stimpaks do 10% more healing.

Lock picking

Lockpicking is easier.

Barter

Prices are 5% better

Luck

+1 Luck.

Strength

+1 Strength.

Perception

+1 Perception.

Endurance

+1 Endurance.

Charisma

+1 Charisma.

Intelligence

+1 Intelligence.

Agility

+1 Agility.

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Magazines

SCAV! 4

+5% explosives damage.

add perk

Quests

add perk

Consumables (1)

Psychobuff

+25% Damage, +3 Strength, +3 Endurance and +65 max Health for 8 minutes.

0% 0.1

×1

Total effect

Str

End

+65

Damage

+25%

Total weight 0.1

Weapons

Spray n' Pray

Fire Rate

127

shots per
10 sec

Automatic

Ammo

100.45 Round

Range

107

100%50%

AP Cost

Reload Time

3.2s

428

15.6

Legendary

Explosive

Bullets explode on impact doing 15 points area effect damage.

Modifications

Powerful Receiver

Superior damage.

Gun Nut (2)

Recoil Compensating Stock

Exceptional recoil.

Gun Nut (2)

Short Light Barrel

Improved hip-fire accuracy.

Large Quick Eject Drum

Superior ammo capacity. Improved reload speed.

Gun Nut (2)

Standard Sights

Standard.

No Muzzle

Swap

Kiloton Radium Rifle

133

Fire Rate

shots per
10 sec

Automatic

Ammo

40.45 Round

Range

107

191

100%50%

AP Cost

Reload Time

3.6s

596

19.1

Legendary

Explosive

Bullets explode on impact doing 15 points area effect damage.

Modifications

Powerful Automatic Receiver

Improved damage and rate of fire. Inferior Range.

Gun Nut (3)

Science! (4)

Recoil Compensating Stock

Exceptional sighted accuracy and recoil. Better aim with scopes. Improved bash.

Gun Nut (1)

Science! (3)

Long Ported Barrel

Superior recoil, range and sighted accuracy. Poor hip-fire accuracy.

Gun Nut (1)

Science! (3)

Large Quick Eject Mag

Superior ammo capacity. Improved reload speed.

Gun Nut (2)

Science! (4)

Glow Sights

Improved focus and better sighted accuracy.

No Muzzle

Weapon

Throwables

Fragmentation Grenade

271

AP Cost20

Blast Radius8.9m

0.5

Throwable

Armor Sets

Combined

160

110

515

20.5

hat

Militia Hat

0.5

eyewear

mask

clothing

Armored Maxson's Battlecoat

Ballistic Weave Mk5

160

110

Ballistic Weave

500

torso