The Best Starting Build in Fallout 4 Survival Mode

Now I know there are lots of build out there that tells you that it's the "best build for fallout 4 survival mode" but trust me, there's only one effective build when it comes to playing Fallout 4 in survival mode.

The build I'm talking about is the Sneak/Stealth Build. And yes from the world itself, you gonna take advantage of getting low and slow every time.

Now let's talk about the perks first.

Main Perks

#1 Mister Sandman

#2 Sneak

#3 Gunslinger

#4 Gunslinger

Yes these perks are all in Agility which is why at the very beginning, I advice you to get your agility to level 7 as much as possible.

Now let's discuss why I have chosen these perks. First of all, you should prioritize leveling Sneak. It's a no-brainer why you need to get Sneak for this build. Now the second perk you should try to level up is Ninja. When paired with Sneak, Ninja could be really deadly. Take note that enemies in survival mode are really tough and you can't just go guns blazing all the time as you'll waste lots of ammo just killing a bunch of enemies or, you can end up dying often. The key to surviving the first stages of survival mode is moving low and slow and getting the enemies killed before they can even spot you. Try to move quietly and slowly. Your goal at the early stages of survival mode is to level up as fast as you can, and you can't do that if you ended up dying over and over again.

The next perk that you should prioritize leveling is the Gunslinger perk which basically increases your damage when you're using any pistol as a gun. Now I know some of you will disagree with because if you do so, you will be limited on just using pistols. Well, you'll not be limited exactly as you got the choice to use any guns you want but the thing is, a pistol at early stages of survival mode is your best friend. Take note that ammo is really scarce in survival mode and at early stages, wasting .45, .50, fusion cell or any kinds of ammo other than .38 and 10mm will cost you. The key here is to conserve those ammos and just use the .38 or 10mm rounds. And if you think that pistols sucks, then you are really clueless son and need help. In fact, one of the most powerful gun IMO in the game is a pistol and you'll meet him later in this post.

After that, consider taking the Mister Sandman perk which gives you additional damage when you have a silenced weapon. So I know that you are wondering where do I get a silenced pistol at early stages of survival mode. At the really early stage of survival mode, you won't find anything like that, unless you get lucky with one legendary enemy you encounter. But I bet they'll drop any legendary pistol with suppressor attached. What I did is I stick with the first 10mm pistol I got from vault 111 and just max out all its modifications. And yes, for you to do this, you need to get the "Gun Nut" perk. Don't worry as it's really helpful to invest on this perk even at low level.

Now for a demo on how effective this build is, watch below my video where I first encountered a glowing one and some legendary ghouls and how I've managed to kill them using the sneak build.

Note: At this video, I'm using a costumed pipe sniper not a 10mm pistol with suppressor. I discovered and perfected this sneak build right after this encounter.

Now once you leveled up high Sneak/Ninja/Mister Sandman/Gunslinger/Gun Nut and you have a max out 10mm pistol with suppressor, head over to Diamond City and just outside Nick Valentine's office, you will hear to settlers talking about the Railroad. And then, you'll get the quest called "Freedom Trails". Now I finish this quest and then get the next Railroad questline called "Tradecraft". In this quest, you will tag along with Deacon to recover a railroad tech and also in this quest, you'll get this thing of beauty:

The Deliverer! One of the most powerful weapon in Fallout 4! Don't let its size fool you as this weapon packs a lot of punch specially when your character is using the sneak/stealth build. In fact, I can say that the Deliverer is one of the weapon best fitted with the sneak/stealth build. I mean, the improved VATS hit chance and less action point cost is really amazing.

Now I know you can't tell how great this weapon can be without witnessing its power. That is why I've added a video on this post showcasing how powerful this weapon can be. Now the video was taken when I was level 60+ and I know that's really far out from low level but the thing is, knowing that this weapon can kill a Chameleon Deathclaw in three shots, just imagine what it can do to low level enemies. Take note that all the perks I have mentioned above are still the perks I used in this build (Yes, even at level 60+, I'm still sneakin. LOL).

Supplemental Perks & some bonus tips

Now I admit that sneak build is not really perfect for survival mode even at early stages. Sometimes, you will experience gun fights even if you think you are really cautious. So the best advice I can give to you is get some supplemental perks for this build like the "Lone Wanderer" perk. Now, I have discussed how awesome this build can be when paired with dogmeat and you can check out my post on that here later. Also, you can add some endurance perks to this build if you think that you are too much of a glass cannon. The Toughness perk, and as well as the Life Giver perk will definitely come in handy to get you that extra survival when you are in a gun fight.

However if you think that you need some extra damage from this build, then hesitate to get Bloody Mess for that extra damage and gorey finish.

Bonus tip: Try to get Action Boy/Girl perk also as it will really come in handy with this build specially when you already have the Deliverer. The faster your action points regenerates, the faster you can use your VATS to kill enemies. In that way, you'll not end up aiming or missing shots, and wasting those precious ammos.

When it comes to armors, well I think it's pretty obvious: Try to get the best armor as much as possible. In my case, I stick with my vault suit, road leather and army fatigues for a really long time. Well, not because I'm a dummy but because survival mode will let you encounter tons of legendary enemies which in my case, had dropped tons of useful armor pieces like this one:

Now I don't know if this armor drops at the exact same spot but I have acquired this when I first helped Sully Mathis and encountered a legendary Mirelurk. This armor piece had saved my life many times and in fact at level 70, I still have this equipped.

So basically what I'm telling here is DON'T EQUIPPED A FULL SET ARMOR like the Mechanist Armor as you will missed out on these types of armors. It's better to equipped a vault suit with legendary armor pieces on top of it, than have the mechanist armor that gives only gives you damage more damage protection against robots. And based from my experience, even with a power armor equipped, you still get beaten up by enemies in survival mode. That's how hard it is to survive in survival mode if you just go head on against enemies.

So there you have it. I hope you guys will find these tips really helpful in your survival adventure in Fallout 4. Until next time! Happy gaming!