Key things
- 4-star legendary effects were datamined from the latest Fallout 76 PTS build in late September 2024.
- The leaked data suggests that Bethesda is currently testing eight 4-star armor and ten of their weapon counterparts.
- Some of the leaked features sound ridiculously overpowering and will probably be nervy before they make it to the game, assuming they ever do.
Full list Fallout 76 The 4-star legendary effects have appeared online and were obtained from the latest beta version of the game. Some of the 18 effects detailed in the leak sound so ridiculously over-the-top that it seems likely they'll be nervous before they get to Fallout 76.
4-star legendary effects were originally announced three and a half years ago as part of Fallout 76 Content plan for 2021. The original plan was to have them debut in Invaders from Beyond update. And while they were featured in the experimental version of this patch that was available via the game's Public Test Server (PTS) in 2021, the feature itself was never implemented into the main RPG branch with live services.
4 star legendary effects mined from the latest Fallout 76 PTS build
Bethesda has yet to officially say anything to indicate that they are still working on bringing 4-star legendary effects to the game. But dataminers have recently uncovered some pretty compelling evidence that suggests this is indeed the case. Specifically the latest Fallout 76 The PTS update released at the end of September 2024 contains links to 18 4-star legendary effects. Ten of these are reserved for weapons, while the remaining eight are armor features.
Both groups include some extremely OP stuff. E.g. Bethesda is apparently testing an armor effect called Limit-Breaking, which reduces the cost of critical hits by 10%, up to 50% for an entire set of armor with this trait. Combined with the Critical Savvy perk card, which reduces AP cost by 45% at level 3, the Limit-Breaking effect seems to have the potential to increase critical hits on spam. Fallout 76 to a completely new, never-before-seen level.
Leaked Fallout 76 4 Star Legendary Armor Effects
- Limit-Breaking: each piece of armor worn reduces critical hit cost by -10% (up to 50% per full stack)
- Battle loaders: 15% chance to instantly recharge when hitting enemies (up to 75% chance to full stack)
- Bruisers: melee weapons deal +5% bonus damage (up to +25% at full stack)
- Miasma's: On hit, a poisonous point cloud damages nearby targets for 10s (point dmg increases with each piece equipped)
- Molerat's: HP regenerates slowly in interiors (up to 5 points for a full tank)
- Ranger's: Ranged weapons deal +5% bonus damage (up to +25% at full stack)
- Running: Sprint AP cost reduced by -20% outdoors (up to 100% at full stack)
- Tanky's: – Standing still nullifies ballistic damage by -15% for 10s (20s cooldown) (up to 75% at full stack)
In terms of leaked weapon properties, one 4-star legendary effect that immediately stands out is Conductor's, whose description states that critical hits fully restore both action points and health. This would essentially serve as a god mode, even if used with a build that isn't optimized in any way for spamming critical attacks, such as one that uses Limit-Breaking armor for example. As such, Conductor's seems extremely unlikely to make it into the game without a nerf or three. One way Bethesda could potentially counterbalance the effect would be to give her a small chance to process each critical hit, though even a low recovery rate could seemingly prove to be overpowering.
Leaked Fallout 76 4 Star Legendary Weapon Effects
- Bully's: +50% weak spot damage outside of vats
- Conductor: Crits fully restore AP&HP
- electrician: When overcharged, emit a shockwave that stuns nearby targets for 5s (10s cooldown)
- Encircler's: Increases damage based on the amount of mobs around you
- Fracture: When paralyzing the limbs, they explode, dealing up to 150 Explosive damage to nearby targets
- Pin-pointers: 25% damage when targeting enemy limbs (arms, legs)
- Polished: The higher the condition of the equipped item (+100%), the higher the weapon damage, up to 60%
- Slayer's: +50% damage against legendary and raid fighters
- Stabilizers: improves recoil + stability by 50%
- Viper's / Pyromania's: When a combat target is burning/bleeding, deal +50% bonus damage
Fallout 76 may finally bring its full 2021 content plan in 2024
As is often the case, there are no guarantees that these datamined properties will actually be incorporated into the game. Regardless, the 4-star legendary effects are one of the two remaining features from the 2021 content plan that are still not available to players. Next is a Fallout 76 pet system, which was just announced as finally coming to RPGs during the Tokyo Game Show 2024 Xbox presentation on September 26th. Specifically Fallout 76 Creative director Jon Rush said pets will arrive in late 2024.
