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For players who have been waiting to return toFallout 76or those who have yet to experience the game for the first time,Fallout 76has surprisingly come a long way from the state of the game at launch. Not to mention, ongoing support for the development ofFallout 76is still going strong with more to come down the road in 2024 and beyond.
By now,Fallout 76has received 17 major content updates, all of which are free for players who own the game. Between several patches andcontent updates forFallout 76, 2023 in particular was another good year forFallout 76fans, mixing up the endgame with new content, adding multiple new enemies, updating the loot pools for returning seasonal events, and even introducing a never-before-seen region into the franchise.
Highlights from Fallout 76’s Mutation Invasion Update
Arguably the best thing to come out of the Mutation Invasion update are the Mutated Public Events. For a whole week at a time,Public Events inFallout 76at the top of every hour will now feature enemies affected by some of the Daily Ops Mutations. This includes Mutations such as enemies being invisible, enemies only being killable by melee weapons, enemies dropping poison clouds on death, and more. Not only are these Mutated Public Events more difficult, but they also grant players additional rewards on top of the standard rewards from these Public Events.
Aside from the Mutated Public events, this update also added a lot more variety to the Daily Ops playlist itself, particularly, the new Reflective Skin Mutation that makes enemies periodically reflect damage at their attackers. Other changes to Daily Ops from this update include the addition ofFallout 76’s Aliensand multiple existing locations being added to the Daily Ops playlist rotation.
Highlights From Fallout 76’s Once in a Blue Moon Update
TheOnce in a Blue Moon update forFallout 76added a variety of new content as well as a massive overhaul to the 2022 Pitt Expeditions, and these changes would carry on into the Atlantic City Expeditions added later in 2023. From now on, there is no longer a limit on the number of Expeditions that players can launch in a single day, nor are there any prerequisites required to start an Expedition anymore. The cost of items from the Stamps vendor has also been reduced by this point, which was a major controversy in the community surrounding the release of the Pitt Expeditions.
Beyond these well-received changes to Expeditions, the Once in a Blue Moon update also notably featured new quests and Public Events that focus on the Blue Ridge Caravan faction, as well as two newCryptid enemies inFallout 76, the Blue Devil and the Ogua. These new cryptids can be found in the featured Public Events added in this update, and they can also be found as random encounters throughout the wasteland.
Highlights from Fallout 76’s Atlantic City Part One Update
This update was originally revealed to be one massive update, but leading up to its release it was split into two parts, with part one releasing in December, and part two coming sometime during the summer of 2024. True to its name, this update introduced the Atlantic City area of New Jersey. By the second Atlantic City update, players will be able to free-roam this new area and complete new quests there, but for now, players can only explore it during the Most Sensational Game and Tax Evasion Expeditions.
The East Coast region is somewhere that the Fallout franchise games have never explored before now, so this area naturally introduces several new threats, as well as unique storytelling opportunities. Some of these new threats include the Overgrown varieties of enemies, as well as the famous Jersey Devil cryptid, alongside the threesurvivor factions from Atlantic City.
While the main buzz of the first Atlantic City update is the new region, this update also reinvented parts of the new player experience, including changes to map locations aroundFallout 76’s Appalachian wasteland. Regarding the changes catered to new players, there is now an option to begin the game at level 20, which comes with the choice of a curated perk build and weapons loadout. This feature is also available for existing players upon starting a new character.
Additionally, this update overhauled multiple existing locations and also added new locations toFallout 76. Most of thesenew locations added inFallout 76’s first Atlantic City updateare designed to introduce new players to different factions. At the same time, certain existing locations are also undergoing a redesign in anticipation of new content coming in future updates.
Highlights From General Fallout 76 Patches and Updates Throughout 2023
Outside of the major content updates forFallout 76, various other changes from minor patches in 2023 have drastically shaped the game as well. The main highlights here are the new changes to legendary enemies and the introduction of the donation boxes inFallout 76. Additionally, the rewards pools for variousSeasonal Events inFallout 76recently got new rewards, with the remaining Events getting updated rewards soon.
