Best Reverse Onslaught Builds for Fallout 76

When it comes to scaling your damage in Fallout 76, Onslaught is the go-to mechanic for every player. You gain Onslaught stacks whenever you hit an enemy, and each stack increases your damage. The Reverse Onslaught build, on the otherhand, does the opposite — instead of generating stacks on-hit, Onslaught is gained passively and spent when you hit an enemy.

This reverse interaction makes for some interesting build paths for Reverse Onslaught builds in Fallout 76, and if you’re interested in how this works, here’s a guide to help you understand its mechanics as well as sample build that you can use as a template.

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How Does Reverse Onslaught Work in Fallout 76?

You can start a Reverse Onslaught build by using the Gunslinger Master perk card under Agility. This reverses how Onslaught works into the way we described earlier. When you have this card equipped, you’ll gain an Onslaught stack every second, and you’ll lose one every time you hit an enemy. At the same time, Gunslinger Master increases the max Onslaught stacks you can have for ranged weapons by 10.

By using a Reverse Onslaught build, you’ll be resigning yourself to using only slow-firing weapons like revolvers, shotguns, rifles, and anything else that can maintain your Onslaught stacks. This build path is extremely powerful for stealth and sniper builds, or just any other build that relies on semi-automatic guns.

Gunslinger Master is still useful for melee builds, but you won’t be getting any of the bonus stacks from the perk. Thankfully, there are other options for a good melee build in Fallout 76.

Reverse Onslaught Build Template

The following is a SPECIAL and Perk build template for players who want to experiment with a Reverse Onslaught setup. This contains only the bare minimum perks that you’ll need to maximize your damage using this mechanic:

This setup significantly increases your maximum Onslaught stacks while giving you more sources of bonus damage. It’ll work with both regular aim and VATS playstyles, provided you equip the right perks that complement them.

If you want to go hard on a gun-focused build, we recommend getting either Perception or Agility to 15. You can respec your SPECIAL points at a Punch Card Machine, and you can shuffle your perk cards around at any time.

High Level Reverse Onslaught Build (VATS)

The damage portion of this build is the same as the baseline Reverse Onslaught setup above, but it has been tweaked to account for everything you’ll want for a VATS build, such as better crits and AP regeneration. Some perks, such as the ones under the Endurance line, could still be optimized for better performance, but if you don’t have enough perk cards, these should do just fine for general exploration across the wasteland.

Best Weapons for Reverse Onslaught Builds in Fallout 76

A legendary weapon with the Furious perk is a must-have for any sort of Onslaught build. It makes your Onslaught stacks give more damage while also increasing your max Onslaught stacks even further. As for the rest of your legendary effects, here are some good picks:

• Explosive (2-star): Bullets explode for 20% weapon damage
• Vital (2-star): +50% crit damage
• Swift (3-star): +15% reload speed
• Bully’s (4-star): +25% damage for every crippled limb your target has

Now, for actual weapons, you’ll want something that fires slowly. Fully-automatic weapons will drain your Onslaught stacks, and since Onslaught stacks are gained every second, you’ll want a gun that fires at least that slowly. Some good weapons include:

• Western Revolver
• Hunting Rifle
• Plasma Rifle
• Black Powder Rifle
• Crusader Pistol
• Bow
• Lever Action Rifle
• Gauss Pistol
• Gauss Rifle

Best Armor for Fallout 76 Reverse Onslaught Builds

Anything that’ll keep you alive in the face of overwhelming firepower is good. Generally speaking, the Secret Service Armor is the best set you can use for the vast majority of content you’ll be doing. It’s not hyper-specialized like some other sets, and it’s got great legendary crafting potential. You can get SS Armor by completing the Wastelanders questline and buying plans from Regs at Vault 79.

Some good legendary armor effects include:

• Mutant’s (1-star): +10 Damage Resistance and Energy Resistance while mutated
• Weightless (1-star): -90% armor weight
• Powered (2-star): Increased AP regeneration
• Sentinel’s (3-star): Take reduced damage while standing still

Best Mutations for Reverse Onslaught Builds

You can get Mutations in Fallout 76 by exposing yourself to radiation or using certain consumable items. These are very powerful, and you’ll want to get the right Mutations and stay mutated at all times. For this build, try to get the following:

• Marsupial: Gain bonus carry weight and increased jump height at the cost of INT.
• Eagle Eyes: Gain bonus crit damage and PER at the cost of STR.
• Adrenal Reaction: Gain DMG per kill while on a kill streak.
• Healing Factor: Gain massively increased health regeneration at the cost of reduced chem duration.

Best Legendary Perks for Reverse Onslaught Builds

For this build, we recommend getting Legendary SPECIAL perks to increase your SPECIAL stats. Increase whichever stat you want, though we’d recommend getting more points into Endurance so you can fit in more survivability perks.

As for general quality-of-life perks, we recommend the following:

• Electric Absorption is great if you want to use Power Armor. It will give you a chance to recover Fusion Cell energy every time you take damage.
• Follow Through increases the damage enemies take for a short while after they take Sneak damage.
• Master Infiltrator automatically picks locks and hack terminals.
• Taking One for the Team makes enemies take more damage if they attack you, as long as you’re in a team.