STRENGTH

[15 POINTS]

Every point of Strength adds +4 Damage Resist (Max 80). (No Power Armor)

Take 45% less damage from your opponents' melee attacks

Your melee weapons ignore 75% of your target's armor

Your melee weapons weigh 60% less, and you can swing them 30% faster

Your one-handed melee weapons now do +10% damage

Your one-handed melee weapons now do +10% damage

Your one-handed melee weapons now do +10% damage

Strength is the most important attribute in this build. It increases your Melee Damage, Carry Weight, and unlocks access to the most important Perks. You should have it maxed out at level 50

PERCEPTION

[4 POINTS]

You now gain +40 Energy Resistance

Perception's effect in this build is negligible. We have decided to spend four points here to get the extra Energy Resistance you might be missing when not using a Power Armor

ENDURANCE

[14 POINTS]

Gain 50 Damage and Energy Resistance while not wearing Power Armor

Eating human, Ghoul, Super Mutant, Scorched, or Mole Miner corpses restores even more Health and hunger

Your limb damage is completely eliminated

Immediately gain +60 Fire Resistance

Endurance is the second most important SPECIAL in this build. It is heavily related to your defenses and chances to survive in the wasteland. On top of high Damage Reduction bonuses, it grants access to several useful Perks 

CHARISMA

[6 POINTS]

When adventuring alone, take 20% less damage and gain 30% AP regen

Stimpaks and RadAway will now work much more quickly

Charisma allows you to use the Lone Wanderer Perk which grants very high Damage Reduction bonus for Solo players

INTELLIGENCE

[3 POINTS]

You can repair any weapon to 200% of its normal maximum condition

Intelligence is related to crafting mainly, but except for reparing your weapons and armors from time to time, it shouldn't be your primary activity in Fallout 76 when playing a Gladiator-type character

AGILITY

[7 POINTS]

Action Points regenerate 45% faster

Avoid 30% of incoming damage at the cost of 30 Action Points per hit

Sprinting consumes 40% fewer Action Points

Agility is related to Action Points and its regeneration rate. Dodge grants high defensive utility, but depending on your playstyle it may consume too much Action Points. You may as well spend the points elsewhere

LUCK

[6 POINTS]

Gain an 18% chance to reflect back some of the enemies' ranged damage (excluding PvP combat)

While below 30% health, gain a 45% chance to avoid damage

Luck helps you stay alive without a Power Armor by providing really solid defensive Perks

ARMOR: This build is not designed to use a Power Armor. You should pick gear with the highest available Ballistic Damage and Radiation Resistance. Combat Armor, Heavy Combat Armor or Marine Armor are some of the good examples. Sentinel's Legendary Power can grant up to a total of 75% damage reduction while standing still and not moving, which is the best pick for this build

WEAPON: Black Diamond (exceptional Ski Sword) is one of the best choices for this build. You may also seek out for Vampiric and Furious, high-level Combat Knife, Hatchet, Cultist Blade or Revolutionary Sword - which are all very solid choices

CHEMS: Med-X (DMG Resist +25) and Psycho (DMG Resist +25, Damage increased by 15%) are the best Chems for this build. There are also other Chems that increases your Damage Resistance or Melee Damage, but they grant additional redundant stats which makes consuming them ineffective. In general, Chems should be used only when fighting Scorchbeasts or their Queen, and when any additional DPS may be necessary

There are some extremely powerful Mutations for Melee characters. If you decide to take this path, you should remember to use the Starched Genes Perk, otherwise, you may lose the beneficial status after using Rad-aways

1. Twisted Muscles - which increase your Melee Damage and grant higher chance to cripple limbs at the cost of reduced Weapon Accuracy
2. Scaly skin - which increases your Damage and Radiation Resistance, but lowers maximum AP by 25
3. Grounded - which grants 100 additional Energy Resistance, but reduces your Energy Damage by 20%