Despite its disastrous launch, Fallout 76 had many players at release who saw potential in the game. However, many wanted to see Fallout 76 mature first. Bethesda has now been working on that maturity and has improved many things since the release. Is it enough to bring you back?
What was the problem with Fallout 76? At its release on November 14, 2018, Fallout 76 faced major issues. There were many bugs, the beta did not provide enough testing, and correspondingly, many players found the game unfinished.
Despite numerous negative reviews, many players just withdrew and wanted to give the game another chance “later”. Now is the “later,” and Bethesda has a lot to show that might interest some.
These features have been added to Fallout 76 since release
In its many patches since release, Fallout 76 has received a lot of new content and many old bugs have been fixed. Even though there were difficulties along the way, Fallout 76 now has significantly more and better content.
Player Shops
What are player shops? With update 9, Fallout 76 received one of the features that were promised since early 2019. Player shops are vending machines in players’ C.A.M.P.s where they can fill items and offer them for sale for caps.
Other players can find the shops through a marker on the map and can visit them to buy items. The proceeds go to the seller, minus a small tax.
Pathfinder Quests and Backpacks
What are these quests? With the “Always Upwards!” update, the Pathfinder camp at Lake Grafton became livelier. A whole quest line leads you through the various ranks of the tadpole scouts through a Mr. Handy and rewards you with better items.
What are the backpacks for? Some of the rewards at the highest rank are backpacks. You can use backpacks as long as you are not wearing power armor. They greatly increase your carrying capacity, are customizable with mods and skins, and even serve as a fridge for perishable food.
Seasonal Events
What are these events? In March, Fallout 76 received its first seasonal fest with the Carnival event. In this event, players could escort several bots through the city of Helvetia founded by Swiss settlers and protect them during a parade.
As a reward, various masks were available. The event was well received by most players, and although there were only cosmetics to gain, many played the event repeatedly, including with others. Similar events, like the carnival event to drive away Father Frost, are also planned.
Legendary Merchant
What kind of merchant is this? In one of the later patches, Fallout 76 introduced legendary vending machines as well as a legendary female merchant. Both are there for players to exchange unwanted legendary items for more useful ones.
How does it work? Legendary items are exchanged at the vending machines for exchange tickets. These can be used as currency with the merchant in Berkley Springs to acquire certain legendary items with random attributes.
Dungeons
What dungeons are there? In the first seven months after release, Fallout 76 received two complete dungeons:
- The caves under Harpers Ferry, a secret and now abandoned enclave
- Project Paradise, a secret research facility under Arktos Pharma
Both dungeons offer quests with a story and repeatable activities that allow higher-level players to collaboratively earn better loot.
Alcohol
What kind of feature is this? As one of the first features of the “Wild Appalachia” update, players in Fallout 76 gained the ability to brew alcohol.
To do this, a short quest line must be completed, during which you learn how to make, ferment, or distill alcohol. As a result, you can create various drinks, such as:
- Beer
- Whiskey
- Nukashine, which has strange effects
The ProSnap Deluxe Camera with new Challenges
What kind of camera is this? A seemingly minor update was the introduction of the new ProSnap Deluxe camera. The camera can be acquired after a short quest line and is equipped like a weapon.
The idea behind it is that you can quickly take snapshots in combat without having to switch to photo mode. The camera has its own mods and skins that you can attach.
Along with the camera, new challenges came that sometimes required taking special photos. This pastime has captivated many players, who, according to official figures, have taken almost 6 million photos.
PvP Mode
What kind of mode is this? As one of the first new features, the “Survival” mode was added to Fallout 76. The mode promotes competitive PvP between players and has special rules such as:
- greater loss of items on death
- PvP is always active, no “slap damage”
- leaderboards
- special legendary weapons for this mode
After some issues with griefers ruining the fun for other players, most fans have been more satisfied since the new mode was introduced. Bullies can brawl in PvP while explorers can have their peace in adventure mode.
These things have been improved
In addition to the new features, some of the existing bugs have also been fixed:
- The combat system has been revamped, overly powerful weapons like “Double Shot Explosive” do less damage, and heavy weapons received a buff
- Events have been modified or added, new bosses like the Sheepsquatch are now wreaking havoc
- Many bugs have been fixed so that new players are currently experiencing hardly any problems
- The problem with “item duping” has been addressed, and now there are hardly any players illegally duplicating their items
- The storage containers are now significantly larger than at the beginning and currently provide 800 units of storage space
- “Slap damage” has been removed. Players who do not attack others in adventure mode will not suffer damage from players
- The building system has been revamped
How has this affected the game?
Most innovations and bug fixes have been very well received. Initially, there was still frequent criticism because patches introduced new bugs or reintegrated bugs that had been fixed.
Meanwhile, such things happen less frequently, and especially new features are increasingly well received. Complaints are now rare, and the response in the community is extremely positive.
What is the community like right now?
From the beginning, Fallout 76 had a helpful community that was eager to support new players or help each other. This is still true today, and even during the current free week, the main goal of the “veteran players” is to assist newcomers. One of the highest-rated posts on reddit is titled: “I enjoy helping people in FO76“
The positive atmosphere in the community continues to ripple, so we at MeinMMO can frequently report on great events and ideas:
- A pub created by a MeinMMO reader
- A police squad with its own stations and uniforms
- C.A.M.P.s where novices can obtain essentials
Todd Howard, the head of Bethesda, acknowledged the community at Bethesda’s official press conference at E3 2019:
This game has one of the best online communities we have ever seen. We have created a post-apocalyptic survival game where you can do what you want – and everyone is nice to each other! […] That should give us all hope for humanity when the apocalypse comes.
Todd Howard at E3
What is coming in the future?
In addition to the features already added in the completed “Wild Appalachia” update, Bethesda announced in a roadmap two more major updates: Nuclear Winter and Wasterlanders. New information was presented for both at E3.
These features have been announced
Battle Royale – “Nuclear Winter”: One of the features yet to come is the Battle Royale mode “Nuclear Winter” in the update of the same name. 52 players in 13 teams fight here for first place and their title as Overseer of Vault 51.
There is a progress system that rewards you with experience and caps for the adventure mode as well as cosmetics and special perks for the Battle Royale.
An initial version of the Battle Royale is already playable during the free week from June 10 to June 17 and is being tested and further developed.
Living, human NPCs: One of Bethesda’s biggest announcements was the appearance of human NPCs. These are expected to arrive with the “Wasterlanders” update in Fall 2019.
The NPCs come to Appalachia after it has become known that the residents of Vault 76 have made the land somewhat livable again. Together with the inhabitants, there will be choices, consequences, and presumably factions with conflicts.
Furthermore, there is information that even romances with these NPCs will be possible.
How will the features change Fallout 76? It is hard to foresee how the new features will truly affect Fallout 76. The first reactions to the Battle Royale have been extremely positive, and even those who are averse to BR are enjoying the mode.
On the other hand, the NPCs had long been one of the biggest points of criticism, especially for single-player fans of the Fallout series. Fallout 76 originally only had robots and dead people who only communicated with you through holotapes and terminals.
With the appearance of humans, Bethesda seems to have taken the criticism seriously and is apparently working to really make Fallout 76 a game that appeals to everyone.
What do you say, will you play?
Now it’s your turn. Did you see Fallout 76 at the beginning and then ignore it? Are you eager to take another look and maybe let yourself be captivated again? Does more need to happen, or has Fallout 76 lost all appeal for you?
Join our survey and find out how other fans feel.
Join our survey on Fallout 76By the way, even boss Todd Howard admitted that much did not go well with Fallout 76 and that the criticism was justified:
