Fallout 76 Optimal Mutation Farming Strategy

Fallout 76 has a feature called Mutations. A player will randomly gain mutations (there are 19 of them currently) when exposed to radiation, and randomly lose mutations when the radiation exposure is healed (either by taking Radaway? or using a decontamination shower). In addition, there is a perk called Starched Genes that freezes the player?s mutational state, preventing the gain or loss of mutations.

Mutations have both positive and negative effects, and the negative effects can be partially ameliorated by the use of the Class Freak perk. This means that, depending on your current character build, there are some mutations that are good, some that are bad, and some that are neutral.

Finally, it is possible to buy serums at some vendors that will add a specific mutation. These are quite costly however, so there is a time vs. cost tradeoff (including the cost of grinding the caps needed to buy the serums).

The question then becomes, ?if there are G good mutations, B bad ones, and you are willing to pay for S serums, what is the optimal strategy to acquire ? (G-S) good mutations, 0 bad mutations, and any number of neutral mutations??

Two strategies immediately come to mind?

The ?Broad? strategy: Acquire mutations until you get a bad mutation, then remove mutations until the bad mutation is no longer present. Repeat until you have the required number of good mutations and no bad mutations. This strategy ensures that you never have more than one bad mutation.

The ?Deep? strategy: Acquire mutations until you have the required number of good mutations, then remove mutations until you have no bad mutations. Repeat until you have the required number of good mutations and no bad mutations.

Curious, I wrote a quick python script to do a Monte-Carlo simulation of the two strategies. I?ve posted the results in a Google Sheet. Given any number of good mutations, bad mutations, and allowable serums, it will tell you the average number of mutation/demutation cycles you will have to perform to get the desired results.

TL/DR: The Broad strategy is almost always better, except when there are no bad mutations, in which case they are (as you would expect) equivalent.

The Fastest Way to Farm Mutations

Fallout 76 limits the rate at which you can get mutations, so after each mutation is obtained, you need to log out of the game and back in again (aka ?server-hop?) in order to get another mutation. Since you don?t want to continually suck down Radaway to repair radiation damage, the best places to farm mutations are those that have both radiation sources and a decontamination shower.

While it is possible to build a CAMP with a decontamination shower near a radiation source, there is an existing game location that is just as convenient ? the Emmett Mountain Disposal Site. It has the radiation source, decontamination shower, and as a bonus a power armor spawn, all right at the entrance. The following instructions assume you are using that site.

Broad Mutation Strategy

1. Run in and enter the site. Kill all the Mole Miners in the entry area (hallway, locker room, power room). Equip Ghoulish if you have it (Heals you if you are radded up)
2. Unequip Starched Genes. Say ?Starched Genes Off? aloud to remind yourself of the state. It sounds stupid, but trust me, it?ll help you avoid mistakes.
3. Rad up to 75% or so.
4. If you got no mutation, equip Starched Genes. Say ?Starched Genes On?. Go to the decontamination shower and clean off the rads. Go back to step 2.
5. If the mutation is good or neutral, equip Starched Genes. Say ?Starched Genes On?. Go to the Decontamination shower and clean off the rads. Go forward to step 7.
6. If the mutation was bad, leave Starched Genes unequipped. Say ?Bad Mutation, Starched Genes Still Off?. Go to the decontamination shower, turn it on, and quickly dip into and out of it. Wait a few seconds to see if you lost a mutation. Repeat step 6 until you have lost the bad mutation (you will probably lose several other mutations in the process).
7. Check to see if you have the required number of good mutations (you should have no bad mutations). If so, Mission Accomplished?. Otherwise, server-hop and go to step 1.

Deep Mutation Strategy

1. Run in and enter the site. Kill all the Mole Miners in the entry area (hallway, locker room, power room). Equip Ghoulish if you have it (Heals you if you are radded up)
2. Unequip Starched Genes. Say ?Starched Genes Off? aloud to remind yourself of the state. It sounds stupid, but trust me, it?ll help you avoid mistakes.
3. Rad up to 75% or so.
4. If you got no mutation, equip Starched Genes. Say ?Starched Genes On?. Go to the decontamination shower and clean off the rads. Go back to step 2.
5. If you do not have the required number of good mutations, equip Starched Genes. Say ?Starched Genes On?. Go to the Decontamination shower and clean off the rads. Server-hop and go to step 1.
6. If you have any bad mutations, leave Starched Genes unequipped. Say ?Bad Mutations, Starched Genes Still Off?. Go to the decontamination shower, turn it on, and quickly dip into and out of it. Wait a few seconds to see if you lost a mutation. Repeat step 6 until you have lost the bad mutation (you will probably lose several other mutations in the process).
7. Check to see if you still have the required number of good mutations (you should have no bad mutations). If so, Mission Accomplished?. Otherwise, server-hop and go to step 1.