Fallout Shelter: Which Stats are Best for Exploring the Wasteland?

*Editor’s note: This guide is applicable for all versions of the game.*

Fallout Shelter, Bethesda’s free-to-play spin-off of the RPG series Fallout, allows you to become the Overseer of a designated vault. Part of managing the vault is sending dwellers out to explore the wasteland and on quests. Here are the best stats for exploring the wasteland in Fallout Shelter.

Most Important Stats for Exploring the Wasteland in Fallout Shelter

The best way to arm your dwellers, defend your vault from threats, and increase your resources is to explore the wasteland and complete quests.

Just like the main series, Fallout Shelter uses the S.P.E.C.I.A.L stat system. If you haven’t played any of the franchise games before, it breaks down as follows:

• S: Strength
• P: Perception
• E: Endurance
• C: Charisma
• I: Intelligence
• A: Agility
• L: Luck

Each affects different aspects of vault living, from which room to assign a dweller to how fast they attack. They max out at ten, though many will only have two to three points when they arrive at the Vault or become adults.

Just like when you assign a dweller to a room, their stats will determine how well they succeed in the wasteland, or in this case, survive. The longer a dweller stays in the wasteland, the rarer the items they pick up. Focus on sending out dwellers with high levels of the following stats: 

• Strength
• Endurance
• Luck

Here’s a breakdown of why each of these is important to exploration.

Strength

This is the obvious characteristic, but it helps the dwellers level up and spend more time in the wasteland without ending up dead. When sending out the strongest dwellers for exploration, they will return with a huge weapon haul and other resources that help vault defenses.

Endurance

Having a high endurance stat means the dweller takes less damage when hit by an enemy. This translates to more survivability in the wasteland. While you can send your explorers out with 25 Stimpaks, not having to use them as often increases the time they can stay out.

Luck

Luck is less important than Strength and Endurance, but having a high number in this stat means your dweller will have a better chance of finding better items. Even if they don’t survive long enough to bring back a ton of stuff, it’s far more likely that what they do bring back will be higher quality.

Once you have a dweller in mind for exploration, you need to actually send them out of the vault. Drag them out to the wasteland to assign them that task. You’ll get a chance to change their outfit, equip them with the best weapon, and give them a pet if you have one. If you have Stimpaks and RadAway it’s best to assign them some. Confirm the loadout and your dweller will make their way out the door.

Best Stats for Questing in Fallout Shelter

Along with sending dwellers to explore the wasteland, you can embark on quests. These are a bit different since you get to pick different questlines and assign up to three dwellers for the task. To find the available quests, open the sidebar and select the map icon.

Once you’ve chosen a quest, like the Game Show Gauntlet, you get to pick up to three dwellers. When looking over potential candidates, there are three stats you want to pay attention to.

• Strength
• Endurance
• Agility

Like when wandering the wasteland, Strength and Endurance effect survivability. The main difference in important stats is Agility. Questing involves going through a location, fighting with enemies, and searching for loot. Since you’ll be encountering different threats, you want to have high Agility as it dictates how fast your dweller attacks. The higher it is, the more often they’ll attack.

Outfit the dwellers, give the group Stimpaks and RadAways, assign them pets, and then confirm. The trio will set off for the designated time before they reach the quest location. You can spend Nuka-Cola Quantum to instantly get there.

Those are the most important stats when exploring the wasteland in Fallout Shelter. Strength and Endurance are relevant no matter what you’re doing. Luck is great for a single dweller in the wasteland, while Agility is needed for questing. Check out the rest of our Fallout Shelter guides here at GameSkinny for even more tips that will keep your vault running smoothly.