The latest and largest update for Fallout 76 is now live. Titled Wastelanders, it introduces a wealth of new content including a new main story, NPCs, a dialogue system, events, new weaponry, and more.
The update weights in between 56-70gb depending upon your platform. Here are the highlights:
Wastelanders Update Highlights
- People Are Back!: Whether in search of rumored fortune, or mere survival, people have returned to Appalachia in droves. Get to know them through the new dialogue system.
- New Main Story: Experience the new story that Wastelanders brings to Fallout 76 by completing all-new main quests.
- Meet the Factions: Who will you side with: The Raiders at Crater, or the Settlers at Foundation? Aid them in their endeavors to earn Reputation and unlock new items.
- Recruit an Ally: Certain NPCs can come to live in your C.A.M.P., help defend it, and offer you daily quests. Some also bring story quests and romance opportunities.
- More Events and Dailies: Take on challenging new events, like Riding Shotgun and Radiation Rumble. There are also four new daily quests to explore.
- New Items and Enemies: Hunt down the monstrous Wendigo Colossus or a pack of Floaters, but don’t forget to pack your new Gauss Minigun!
- New and Updated Locations: New arrivals in Appalachia are certainly making their mark on the world. Discover new and updated locations as you quest and explore.
If you’re a veteran and want to know the full details of what’s been changed in Wastelanders, here are the full patch notes.
Welcome to the Year 2103!
It’s been a year since the door to Vault 76 rolled open on Reclamation Day. A lot has changed in Appalachia since you and other Vault Dwellers began rebuilding. There are many new people to meet and things to discover as you continue your adventures.
Here is an overview of the major additions Wastelanders brings to you:
NPCs and Dialogue
A whole host of new people have arrived in Appalachia, seeking their fortunes or just a safe place to live. These NPCs can be found all over the place. Some of them you can talk to and have interactive conversations.
- The mechanics of dialogue are similar to Fallout 3 – you have a variety of choices, S.P.E.C.I.A.L. checks, and options available to you contextually.
- A single player response can have any number of choices available, if there are more choices than fit the display you can scroll down to see them all.
- Additionally, full conversations have been added to many of the original NPCs of Fallout 76—characters like Rose, MODUS, and the Grafton Mayor (and more) can be engaged in dialogue.
Click here to read our article to learn more about dialogue and conversations in Wastelanders.
A New Main Quest
The arrival of new people in Appalachia means there are many new adventures to be had. Wastelanders brings an entirely new story to Fallout 76 that you can uncover and explore as you complete new main quests.
- Just outside of Vault 76, you can dive into the Wastelanders story and meet Lacey and Isela, who will guide you to experience the Wayward quest line.
- At level 20, the full main quest opens in Sutton. It will get you acquainted with the two largest factions in Appalachia – the Raiders and Settlers.
- During the Main Quest you will have to pick which side you work with, but for quite some time you can do quests for both factions until you hit a point of no return.
- The original Fallout 76 main quest is still available, but expect new touches of life. Both with new NPCs and full dialogue with existing NPCs.
- Please Note: To accommodate new quests and story content, some new no-C.A.M.P. zones have been added to locations in the world.
- If your C.A.M.P. was in one of these areas and can no longer be placed, you will be notified on joining a world, and you will be able to move your C.A.M.P. for free.
The Raiders
The Raiders are in part survivors that fled Appalachia, who have now returned to reclaim land they believe is rightfully theirs. They’ve built a base of operations, called Crater, at the Crashed Space Station.
- Initially, if you encounter Raiders in the wild they will be hostile and attack you. Even in Crater, expect a chilly reception—their vendors won’t deal with you, and they’ll bring the opposite of the welcome wagon.
- Eventually, you will learn more about them and can broker a peace with them (and if you want, their friendship in time).
The Settlers
The Settlers are a collection of survivors gathered by some construction workers from the Washington D.C. area. When they heard there was land, they caravanned to Appalachia and repurposed existing structures at Spruce Knob to construct Foundation.
- The Settlers are happy to speak and trade with you right away. Like the Raiders, you can get to know the Settlers better over time and become an ally to them.
- Ward will offer a Daily Quest that can help you make a good impression with these new-comers.
Read our article about Wastelanders Factions to learn more about the Settlers and the Raiders.
Gold Bullion and Faction Reputation
Wastelanders features some new exciting weapons, armors, and other items. You can unlock these items via the new Gold Bullion system.
- After completing the Main Quest, you will gain access to Gold Bullion, a new in-game currency.
- Gold Bullion can be gathered by exchanging Treasury Notes at Gold Press Machines, up to a daily limit.
- Treasury Notes can be earned from Wastelanders daily quests and by completing Public Events.
- Gold Bullion can also be purchased directly from a vendor in the Wayward using Caps, up to a weekly limit.
- There are three Gold Bullion Vendors: One at Crater, one at Foundation, and another in a location you’ll unlock during the main story. Each vendor will offer you a different set of new Wastelanders items in exchange for Gold Bullion.
Faction Reputation
- Some of the Wastelanders gear is only available as you become better friends with the Settlers and Raiders through the new Reputation System.
- Gain reputation with these factions by completing story quests for them, making in-game decisions, and by doing their daily quests.
- Items you can get this way include weapons like the Gauss Shotgun or Gauss Minigun, C.A.M.P. items like Farmable Tiles, and even the yummy Appalachia treat—Pepperoni Rolls, among others.
- Read our article about the Wastelanders Reputation System to learn more.
Allies
Another exciting addition to Wastelanders, Allies are NPCs you will encounter in the world who can move into your C.A.M.P., help protect it, and keep you company.
- Allies also provide adventuring opportunities through daily quests they offer.
- Two of the Allies are unique. Both have a mini-quest line, romance opportunities, and offer the chance to really get to know some interesting characters.
- Once you reach level 10, strike out to the Ash Heap or the Mire in order to meet them!
- Learn more by reading our article about Allies in Wastelanders.
Repeatable Events and Daily Quests
Event: Riding Shotgun
- Riding Shotgun is a new event at Big Bend Tunnel East. Take part by speaking with Vinny Costa near the entrance to the Tunnel. He offers the event every so often, so check in with him regularly if you want to help him out.
- Merchants from the Blue Ridge Caravan want to pass through Big Bend Tunnel with their wares, but devious Blood Eagles are lying in wait, hoping to make an easy score.
- Successfully defend the Caravan as the merchants make their way through the Tunnel, and you will be handsomely rewarded.
Public Event: Radiation Rumble
- Radiation Rumble is a challenging new Public Event that will appear on the map at Emmett Mountain Disposal Site.
- A group of Scavengers have set their sights on mining the precious ore found deep within Emmett Mountain Disposal Site, but they’ve been backed into a corner by treacherous glowing creatures.
- Balance your time between defending the Scavengers and venturing out to help them mine ore, and they’ll give you a stake in the profits—but remember wear your Hazmat Suit!
Catch additional details about the new Wastelanders Events in this article.
New Daily Quests
- There are four new daily quests available in Wastelanders: Two from the Raiders at Crater, one from the Settlers at Foundation, and one more that you’ll discover as you play through main story quests.
- The Raider dailies alternate, with one of the two available to you each day.
- All four dailies can be completed to earn Treasury Notes, XP, Caps, and some loot.
- Daily quests from the Raiders and the Settlers will also award you with some reputation for your efforts.
New Enemies
Floaters
- Floaters are returning creatures from previous Fallout games. They come in three variations: Flamer, Freezer, and Chomper.
- They aren’t particularly tough, but when they swarm in with their Super Mutant brethren, they can really change a battle.
Wendigo Colossus
- The elusive Wendigo Colossus is a terrifying monstrosity rumored to only rear its head in areas hit by atomic fire.
- They are seriously tough, and even a hearty adventurer will find it challenging to square off with one alone. If you plan to hunt down a Wendigo Colossus bring friends—lots of them!
Blood Eagles
- Bloodthirsty and cruel, the Blood Eagles are a group of human miscreants fueled by chems, who treat the Wasteland like their personal playground.
- Even more frightening are their numbers. Bands of Blood Eagles have sprung up throughout Appalachia, so keep your weapons close and be ready to defend yourself.
Cult of the Mothman
- No one is quite sure what these mysterious cultists are up to, but they’ve recently begun inhabiting a few existing locations in Appalachia.
- Stay on your guard if you encounter these cultists in the wild. You can be sure that they won’t let you or anyone else get in the way of their. . . rituals.
Explore New and Updated Locations
- We’ve created a number of new locations that you will discover, such as the Watoga Underground, The Deep, The Wayward, new Blood Eagle and Mothman Cultist camps, and more.
- Additionally, with the return of people to Appalachia, many have already left their mark on the world. They’ve transformed many existing locations, like the Crashed Space Station, Spruce Knob, and WV Lumber Co., among others, to better suit their needs.
Art and Graphics
- Day/Night Cycle: Daytime has been lengthened from 8 to 13 game hours, so that you have more sunshine while you quest, craft, and explore. Dusk, dawn, and nighttime have been shortened accordingly.
- Lighting: We’ve made significant improvements to all aspects of our lighting and rendering systems to bring additional realism and contrast to the game world.
General Updates
- Vault 94: As mentioned in a previous announcement, Vault 94 and its Missions have been shut down along with the release of Wastelanders.
- Many of the item rewards that you could earn by completing Missions, including Strangler Heart Power Armor Plans, are now available through the Gold Bullion system.
- Nuclear Winter: The Storm now automatically constricts based on the number of players who begin a Nuclear Winter Match. This should help players get to the fun of a match more quickly and spend less time in matchmaking queues.
- This change was originally implemented in Update 16, but was reverted after community feedback that the automatic constriction was happening too often. We’ve since made improvements in this area and have brought this change back with the Wastelanders update.
Quality-of-Life Improvements
Quest U.I. Updates
Quests have received significant user interface improvements in today’s update. Here is a summary of the adjustments we’ve made:
- All of your quest markers will now appear on the map.
- Inactive quests show up as black map markers, and quests you’re actively tracking will display the yellow markers you’re already familiar with.
- Main quests display square markers, while side, misc., and daily quests show diamond-shaped markers.
- Clicking a quest marker on the map will display a pop-up showing more details and a description of that quest.
- There are three new options on this pop-up that you can select to mark the quest as active, make it your only active quest, or show the quest in your Pip-Boy.
- When viewing a quest in your Pip-Boy, you can now choose to show that quest’s location on the map.
- New options are available that you can toggle to customize what types of quests are marked as active when you start them. Find these in the Game Settings Menu
- You can find some more details about these changes in this article on Fallout.com.
Additional Quality-of-Life Improvements
- Legendary Enemies: A notification now appears and sound effects play when a legendary creature regenerates to full health during combat.
- Nuke Zones: Spawning into an active Nuke Zone when you join a world is no fun! From now on, if there’s an active Nuke Zone at your login location, you will receive a prompt offering you the option to leave the current world and search for another.
- You will be protected from Radiation for a short period of time while you make your decision to stay or leave.
- This protection will end early if you move, attack, or take damage.
- Press and Hold: When viewing many types of pre-placed items in the world, you can now press and hold your interact button to quickly make use of those items without entering your Pip-Boy.
- For Example: You can press and hold the interact button to quickly equip and favorite weapons you find, consume an aid item, or learn a plan or recipe.
- If you’d prefer, you can still press the interact button without holding it down to add that item to your inventory.
- Public Events: The descriptions of Public Events on the map now include a suggested player level.
- Radio Host: A new arrival named Julia has taken to the airwaves to host Appalachia Radio. Tune in to catch her quips in between tracks.
- Search Perks: The functionality of “Search” Perks, like Scrounger and Pharma Farma, is now automatic. You no longer need to press a button to manually search containers for bonus supplies. You will get a friendly Vault Boy notification when your Perk has kicked in.
Bug Fixes
The Wastelanders update brings close to 1,000 fixes for bugs that were previously affecting the base game, including many that were reported to us by the Fallout 76 community. Since that list is so lengthy, we’ve highlighted a selection of fixes that we thought you might want to know about or may find interesting as you prepare to head back into Appalachia.
C.A.M.P. and Workshops
- Auto-Scrapping: The following items no longer scrap automatically when using the Scrap All Junk button, since they are ingredients in crafting recipes.
- Bleached Dogwood
- Bloatfly Gland
- Bloodbug Proboscis
- Cooking Oil
- Digested Goo
- Mole Rat Teeth
- Mr. Handy Fuel
- Radscorpion Stinger
- Stingwing Barb
- Tick Blood Sac
- Billboards: Reduced the C.A.M.P. budget cost of many Neon Billboards by 50%.
- Lights: The Mid-Century Disc Lamp now correctly illuminates downward.
- Scrapping: The Tinker’s Workbench now generates components when scrapped.
- Scrapping: Urban and Forest Scout Armor pieces now generate components when scrapped.
- Turrets: Addressed an issue that could prevent Turrets from firing at enemies in close range.
Combat
- V.A.T.S.: Entering V.A.T.S. while firing an automatic weapon no longer causes the weapon to stop firing.
- V.A.T.S.: Frag Mines can now be destroyed by shots fired in V.A.T.S.
Items
- Auto Grenade Launcher: The Heavy Barrel mod no longer incorrectly states that it increases damage.
- Baseball Grenade: Now requires 2 Cork to craft in addition to its other components, and no longer requires a Baseball.
- Baseballs now automatically scrap when using the Scrap All Junk button.
- Baseball Grenade: Damage increased to bring Baseball Grenades in line with other types of Grenades.
- Bolt-Action Weapons: Players no longer get stuck aiming down sights after pressing the button to aim down sights while chambering a round in a bolt-action weapon.
- Buffout: Fixed an issue causing Bufftats to count toward Buffout and Mentats-related Challenges.
- Cultist Blade: Damage increased so that the Cultist Blade is now slightly stronger than the Machete at every level.
- Disease Cure: Can now be sold to Vendors for Caps.
- Eyebot Helmet: Crafting an Eyebot Helmet now requires a Military Circuit Board instead of an Assaultron Circuit Board.
- Fusion Core: Fixed an issue that could deplete a Fusion Core in the player’s inventory when exiting Power Armor.
- Gatling Laser: Reloading a Gatling Laser early no longer causes multiple Fusion Cores to be loaded, which could prevent the player from firing other weapons.
- Gatling Weapons: Firing a Gatling Laser or Gatling Plasma with a fully charged Fusion Core no longer empties the magazine after just a few shots, or prevents the magazine from being topped off when reloading.
- Handmade Rifle: The Stinging Magazine mod no longer holds more ammo than intended, and now has an ammo capacity of 25.
- Harpoon Gun: Legendary Harpoon Guns can no longer incorrectly spawn with the Explosive attribute.
- Legendary Armor: Solar and Thorn Armors can now correctly spawn with the Unyielding legendary attribute.
- Legendary Weapons: The +250 Damage Resistance While Reloading legendary attribute no longer causes a legendary weapon’s primary attribute to stop functioning.
- Magazines: Tumblers Today Issue #2 now correctly grants the player the ability to find extra Bobby Pins in Bobby Pin Boxes, and the effect’s description has been updated to match.
- Meat Hook: Now only benefits from unarmed Perks, and is no longer incorrectly affected by one-handed melee Perks.
- Molotov Cocktail: Now requires 2 Glass to craft in addition to its other components, and no longer requires a Beer Bottle.
- Beer Bottles now automatically scrap when using the Scrap All Junk button.
- Plasma Grenade: Explosion visual effects now more closely match the Plasma Grenade’s explosion radius.
- Psychotats: Fixed an issue causing Psychotats to count toward Buffout-related Challenges.
- Rad-X Diluted: The description no longer states that it suppresses Mutations.
- Salvaged Assaultron Head: Fixed an issue causing the Salvaged Assaultron Head to deal the same amount of damage at every charge level.
- Scout Armor: The Forest Scout Armor Mask can now be worn with other types of headwear.
- Shovel: Now correctly benefits from two-handed melee Perks.
- Strangler Heart Power Armor: Acid attacks from players wearing Strangler Heart Power Armor no longer cause performance issues or crashes.
- This fix resulted in multiple adjustments for Strangler Heart acid attacks and damage. You can learn about those changes in-depth by reading this article.
- Strangler Heart Power Armor: Power Armor Chassis with Strangler Heart pieces equipped can no longer be dropped.
- Tesla Rifle: Is now correctly categorized as an Energy Weapon in Workbenches, rather than a Heavy Weapon.
- The Action Hero: The Gold .50 Cal Paint from the Atomic Shop can now be applied to The Action Hero.
- Ultracite Fusion Core: Can no longer incorrectly be used as Fusion Cores for Power Armor.
- Ultracite Plasma Cartridge: Increased the amount of ammo created when crafting Ultracite Plasma Cartridges from 60 to 120 to better match other types of Ultracite ammo.
Mutations
- Carnivore: Now correctly doubles the benefits of consuming pre-packaged meats, like Cram and Salisbury Steak.
- Herd Mentality: Fixed an issue that prevented players with Herd Mentality from sharing Perks despite having enough points in Charisma.
Perks
- Butcher’s Bounty: Can now correctly trigger when searching dead Hermit Crabs.
- Crack Shot: Description corrected to state that the Perk’s benefits apply while aiming down sights, rather than “while sighted.”
- Long Shot: Description corrected to state that the Perk’s benefits apply while aiming down sights, rather than “while sighted.”
- Luck of the Draw: Can now correctly trigger when firing the Gatling Plasma, Gatling Laser, and automatic weapons.
- Luck of the Draw: Fixed an issue that prevented fanfare from appearing on-screen when Luck of the Draw Rank 2 triggered.
- Perk Sharing: Now only considers a character’s base Charisma. Bonus Charisma provided by Chems, gear, Perks, and other effects no longer incorrectly count towards Perk sharing.
Quests and Events
- Always Vigilant: The quest timer has been reduced from 30 to 15 minutes, and a 2-minute timer has been added to repair Rover.
- Cop a Squatter: No longer restarts every time the player logs in if they have already completed it that day.
- Ecological Balance: Amy’s Note now remains in the player’s inventory after completing the quest.
- Miscellaneous: Fixed an issue preventing the “Clear the Flooded Trainyard” misc. quest from appearing to players at the Flooded Trainyard in Cranberry Bog if someone had already completed the quest in that World.
- Miscellaneous: The “Kill a Wendigo while wearing a clown costume” misc. quest, it will no longer reappear to a player every time they log in if they have already completed it.
User Interface
- Compass: Location markers in the Compass now more consistently match their orientations in the game world.
- Notifications: Fanfare and the list of rewards earned now correctly appear on the screen after completing a Daily Quest.
- Notifications: The number of Caps earned now correctly appears on the screen after completing a quest or event.
- Pip-Boy: Fixed a visual issue causing some Legendary Weapons to occasionally display incorrect attributes in their Pip-Boy descriptions after logging out and back in.
- Revive: Diluted and Super Stimpaks can now be used to revive downed players.
- Settings: The World Radios volume slider in the Audio settings menu now correctly affects Jukebox audio.
- Social: Large friend lists have been optimized. Players should no longer experience in-game hitching as a result of having a very large friends list.
- Social: Entering an invalid or nonexistent name into the Social Menu no longer prevents the player from interacting with other in-game menus.
- Sorting: Scrapping an item no longer causes the player’s inventory list to re-sort.
- Vending and Trade: Players can now sell items for up to 30,000 Caps through their Vending Machines or direct trade.
- Workbenches: Pressing the exit confirmation button when leaving a Workbench no longer causes the player immediately re-enter the Workbench.
Our Take
Fallout 76 has had a rough life to date yet even with a poor launch and notable issues, there’s still a dedicated playerbase that supports the game. In that vein, it’s great to see Bethesda continue to evolve the title and work on resolving issues while adding meaningful content. Will you be jumping back in to give this another go?