A Fallout 4 fan reminded us that fisticuffs isn't just a fun and spectacular way to play, but also a very effective method of completing the game even in survival mode

Melee combat in a post-apocalyptic wasteland already sounds like something for people who've given up on caution. Going up against raiders and super mutants with your bare fists, on survival difficulty, where a single burst of gunfire can end a playthrough, sounds even more reckless. Yet that's exactly how one of the toughest builds in Fallout 4 gets put together.

This is a hand-to-hand tank whose resting endurance sits at 28 and climbs to 30 once fully buffed. Strength ends up in the same neighborhood after the same process. For reference, the normal cap for a stat in the game is ten points, so this build triples that ceiling.

The trick is that bonuses in Fallout 4 stack with almost no limit, and the total comes together from a pile of small sources:

• base 10 endurance, pushed to 11 with the well-known trick of temporarily debuffing a stat right before spending a point on level-up

• bobblehead for endurance (+1)

• Psychobuff and Bufftats chems (+3 each)

• armor with the "Fortifying" mod on the left arm and chest piece (+2)

• shirt and combat boots (+1)

• Solar Powered perk during daytime (+2)

• Well Rested status (+2), Power Cycle 1000 machine (+1), and bourbon (+1)

• food like grilled hermit crab and mirelurk queen steak (+2)

Endurance here isn't just a number for its own sake. On survival mode it controls the chance of catching a disease or infection, and at these levels illness turns into a rare annoyance that a dose of antibiotics clears right up. There's also the health pool to consider, which is deep enough to tank hits face-first without much worry.

Another point in favor of this playstyle is the animations. Throws, leg sweeps, suplexes, and knee finishers to the head all exist in the base game with zero mods, but most of them only play out in third-person view, so a lot of players have simply never seen them. That's why comments like "I didn't know you could pull off a judo throw in this game" keep popping up. Even suicidal super mutants stop being a threat: sprint in and land one hit before the nuke goes off, and if that doesn't finish the job, V.A.T.S. cleans up the rest.

The captain's hat from Far Harbor isn't just for looks either – it boosts movement speed, bringing it up to roughly 140%. Getting the hat means running errands for the folks in the harbor until the doctor asks for a "captain's dance," with the mirelurk queen playing the starring role.