How does S.P.E.C.I.A.L. affect exploring in Fallout Shelter?

Solution 1:

It depends on what you want the explorer to do. Strength lets them kill things faster. Perception helps them find opportunities for caps, XP, and loot. Endurance and level provide more HP, allowing them to survive longer on the same number of stims. Charisma makes it more likely they will resolve situations with strangers in a more positive light (gain more XP or caps, lose fewer HP). Intelligence makes them run away from combat faster, losing less HP. Agility lowers the damage they take in combat. Luck helps them find better loot and more caps.

As far as which to prioritize, Endurance, Luck, and Perception are most likely to get you better gear and more caps, but eventually having an explorer with straight 10s is good. Also note that while dwellers can be trained up to a 10 in each SPECIAL stat, the bonuses from outfits stack and provide benefits beyond a 10. For example, having 11 or more Endurance makes the explorer practically immune to radiation. (There is speculation that the radiation immunity may not have been intended and could be nerfed in a future patch)

Solution 2:

While this thread is quite old and the game itself has been ported to other platform, (PC which I recently started playing on), I've been trying to compile a complete and accurate list as to what the stats actually do. From the in-game help guide, we are told what P, E, A, and L do for exploring and combat.

• S - ???
• P - Slows the arrows down during Crits. (Page 29 Help)
• E - Increases the amount of HP gained when leveling up. (Page 9 Help)
• C - ???
• I - ???
• A - Increases the speed at which you will attack. (Page 29 Help)
• L - Increases how fast you will build up Crit attacks. (Page 29 Help) (L also increases chance of gaining caps while collecting resources in your vault. Page 2 Help)

The game does say in a loading screen tip that all SPECIAL stats are beneficial in combat/wasteland. I just haven't been able to find what exactly the last 3 are for. While this is going to be a long shot, I would greatly appreciate if anyone knows what S,C, and I actually do. I prefer proof and not guessing from what seems logical or how it seems to work based on sending dwellers into the wasteland.