How to get nuclear material in Fallout 76

Good clean energy (Image via Bethesda)
Good clean energy (Image via Bethesda)

Fallout 76 may not have had the strongest launch, but the ongoing online response to Bethesda's beloved action RPG series is quite favorable. Though the core gameplay loop involves shooting and looting, the game's crafting element is how players improve and grow.

One can find a ton of uses for nuclear materials across the post-nuclear Appalachia of the game. It's hard to come by, but, like many pieces, it can be crafted in a roundabout way. Players might have to do a lot of crafting to acquire essentials, but nuclear waste has its uses.


Making nuclear material in Fallout 76

There are two primary ways to acquire nuclear material in Fallout 76, one much easier than the other. Players can get the necessary materials from existing items, mine them, or take them from the bodies of specific enemies.

With that being said, several items throughout the game only exist to be broken down into parts. Many of these will yield nuclear material once they've been dismantled. The items that will give off nuclear material are as follows:

  • Biometric Scanners
  • Blast Radius Board Games
  • High-Powered Magnets
  • Ichor Sacs
  • Ignition Cores
  • Mini Nuke Beryllium Caps
  • Mini Nuke Detonator Shells
  • Mini Nuke Hemisphere Cores
  • Nuclear Waste (it’s an actual canister)
  • Radioactive Glands
  • Radscorpion Stingers
  • Vault-Tec Alarm Clocks
  • Volatile Material Boxes
  • Wakemaster Alarm Clocks

All of these items are classified as junk, and players can either sell some of them for a nominal amount of caps or break them down. Each will drop one unit of nuclear material after being broken down at a workbench.

Any source of nuclear waste will eventually provide nuclear material through crafting. Players can mine uranium ore, craft five units with five units of acid, and come away with nuclear waste.

Coupled with that, behemoths, enemies in plasma goo, or any glowing enemy are likely to drop nuclear waste. Players can farm glowing enemies at any nuclear explosion site and come away with plenty of nuclear waste to craft into nuclear material.


What can players do with nuclear mterial in Fallout 76?

Nuclear material is a rare crafting element that goes into a variety of Fallout 76 recipes. Although their biggest use is in optics, players have many reasons to hunt it down.

Nuclear materials can be used to craft nukes and mini-nukes, making them easy parts of massive explosives. This extends to nuke mines and other forms of deadly bombs.

With that being said, tesla rifles, Gatling Plasma, Gamma guns and plenty of other esoteric weapons will require a healthy helping of nuclear material. Almost every form of power armor requires a fair amount of this resource, including the infamous mecha suit.

In summation, if players want to stomp around with power and authority, they'll need a plentiful bounty of nuclear materials. Fallout 76 enthusiasts need to regularly seek out glowing enemies and radioactive ore to craft what they need. Nuclear materials are among the most useful items in the game, and it's easy enough to get if one is observant.

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