Every Fallout 76 mutation, and what they all do

Radiation isn't all bad in Fallout 76: it can make your DNA more interesting by causing you to mutate. While Fallout 76 mutations may give some of your stats a few benefits, it will also penalize others. In the video above (also on YouTube), I contract the marsupial mutation, which lets me jump much higher but also makes me dumber, like some sort of stupid, heavily-armed kangaroo.

Mutations will occur randomly. When you're exposed to radiation via proximity, eating and drinking, or combat, there's a 5% chance you'll mutate for every 5 HP irradiated. Mutations will remain with you even if you die and respawn. You can also obtain mutation serums from a vendor in Whitespring and from The Enclave's science division, though they're pretty pricey.

When you take RadAway, there's a chance it will cure your mutation in addition to removing rads from your system. There's also a Fallout 76 perk called Starched Genes, which can do two things depending on when you equip it: prevent you from mutating in the first place, or—if you have mutated already—prevent you from curing your current mutation via RadAway, which is useful if you've found a mutation you like and want to keep it. There's also a perk called Stranger in Number, which increase the positive aspects of your mutation by 25% if you have a mutated teammate.

Here's every Fallout 76 mutation, and their pros and cons:

Chameleon
Pro
: Grants invisibility...
Con: ...as long as you don't have a weapon equipped, and don't move

Marsupial
Pro: +20 carry weight, added jump height
Con: -4 intelligence

Bird Bones
Pro: +4 intelligence, falling speed is slower
Con: - 4 strength

Egg Head
Pro: +6 intelligence
Con: -3 strength, -3 endurance

Healing Factor
Pro: +300% health regeneration
Con: -55% chem effects

Talons
Pro: + 25% damage using unarmed attacks
Con:  -4 agility

Empath
Pro: Teammates take -25% damage
Con: Player with mutation takes +25% damage

Scaly skin
Pro: +50 damage and energy resistance
Con:  -25 action points

Eagle Eyes
Pro: +25% to critical damage
Con: -4 strength

Grounded
Pro: +100 energy resistance
Con:  -20% energy damage dealt

Herbivore
Pro: Vegetables provide 2x normal benefit
Con: Meat provides zero benefit

Carnivore
Pro: Meat provides 2 times normal benefit
Con: Vegetables provide zero benefit

Adrenal Reaction:
Pro: Increased weapon damage while at low HP
Con: -50 Max HP

Electrically Charged
Pro
: Chance to shock melee attackers
Con: Small amount of damage done to player

Herd Mentality
Pro
: All SPECIAL stats +2 while in a group
Con
: All SPECIAL stats -2 while playing solo

Plague Walker
Pro
: Diseases act as a poison aura against enemies
Con: You still suffer the negative effects of the disease

Speed Demon
Pro
: +20% to movement speed and reloading
Con: +50% drain to hunger and thirst while moving

Twisted Muscles
Pro
: +25% melee damage, increased chance to ripple limbs
Con: -50% gun accuracy

Unstable Isotope
Pro
: 10% chance to release radiation when struck by melee attack
Con: Small amount of damage done to player

Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.