Fallout 76 Summary
Fallout 76 is the post-apocalyptic live-service title from Bethesda Games in the Fallout universe. The world of Fallout takes place in an alternate timeline where China wins the Cold War against the United States. The resulting paranoia and conflict lead to a nuclear apocalypse. Roughly 25 years after the bombs drop, humanity emerges from Vaults —nuclear-protected bunkers where civilization flourishes underground until the surface is safe for dwelling again. As humanity struggles to rebuild in the post-apocalypse, various factions form, and strange creatures stalk the disparate settlements that dot the landscape. While most Fallout titles are single-player games, Fallout 76 is the first online multiplayer title in the series.
Fallout 76 initially garnered negative reception from fans due to the sparse and empty nature of the world. The game has since improved significantly and even has a major expansion coming in 2023. As an always-online live-service title, there are portions of content that require a paid subscription. The title is a follow-up to Bethesda Games’ hugely successful Fallout 4.
Fallout 76 Premise
Similar to other titles in the series, Fallout 76 takes place in the landscape of post-apocalyptic America. Where Fallout 3 puts players in Washington D.C. and Fallout 4 takes place in The Commonwealth (post-apocalyptic Massachusetts), Fallout 76‘s location is Appalachia. Like other titles in the series, gameplay takes place from a first or third-person perspective. The title is the first in the series to pivot to an always-online co-op model. As a result, what is typically a solo experience becomes an opportunity to coordinate with others in the post-apocalypse.
As an always-online live-service title, there are daily activities for players to complete in addition to story-driven missions. Fallout 76 has received several updates since its launch in 2018 and continues to have new seasons and DLC expansions. Despite the co-op gameplay shift, Fallout 76 retains the combat and scavenging the series is known for. Players will face up human and non-human combatants in the irradiated Appalachian wilderness. Solving problems requires more than brute force.
Fallout 76 Main Characters
Due to its live-service MMORPG nature, most of the characters in Fallout 76 outside the player character are controlled by other human players. There are also hundreds of non-player NPCs that can act as quest givers or members of one of the game’s factions. Main characters in Fallout 76 include:
- Player Character: The player character is one of many human-controlled characters in the always-online world of Fallout 76. Many of the denizens of the apocalyptic Appalachian wilderness that players encounter are other player characters. Players customize the name, appearance, and stats of their character before setting off into the world of Fallout 76.
- Vault 76 Overseer: The Vault 76 Overseer (known simply as “The Overseer”) is an older female who guides the player on several story missions that tie into Fallout 76‘s narrative. After initially leaving Vault 76 to the control of her dwellers, she returns to assist with the development of a cure to the Scorched Plague.
- Paige: Paige is the de facto leader of the Settlers faction in Fallout 76. He does not refer to himself as their leader but the Settlers have adopted him as such. He is a middle-aged male that heads up the construction at the Foundation where the Settlers reside.
- Meg: Meg is the leader of the Crater Raiders faction in Fallout 76 and a former member of the Diehards gang. She returns to Appalachia with her Raider group to claim ownership of The Crater — a downed space station.
- Elder Maxson: Roger Maxson is a former member of the U.S. Military and founder of the Brotherhood of Steel. Following the end of the Great War, he serves as the Brotherhood’s first Elder. He views the Brotherhood as protectors of humanity rather than enforcers. He dispatches a platoon to Appalachia to assist the people there.
Games in the Fallout Series
The Fallout series exists as the preeminent post-apocalyptic RPG and has spawned several sequels and spin-offs. After laying dormant for several years, Bethesda Games revived the franchise in 2008 and continue to make Fallout titles after the massive success of 2008’s Fallout 3. Fallout 76 is the latest title in the franchise, although Bethesda confirmed that Fallout 5 is in development. To date, games in the Fallout franchise include:
- Fallout (1997)
- Fallout 2 (1998)
- Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001)
- Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004)
- Fallout 3 (2008)
- Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
- Fallout Shelter (2015)
- Fallout 4 (2015)
- Fallout Pinball (2016)
- Fallout 76 (2018)
Fallout 76 Cheats and Secrets
Unlike Fallout 4, cheats are not available for direct input via Console Commands in Fallout 76. Due to the always-online multiplayer nature of the game, cheats would have a significant impact on the game’s balance. As a result, all cheating methods for this title are unofficial and unsanctioned by Bethesda. Players who use third-party software to cheat may find their accounts suspended or permanently blocked from the game.
There are however plenty of exploits that make clever use and manipulation of the game’s baked-in RPG mechanics. The Fallout series is known for allowing players to creatively “break” the game. Fallout 76 does indeed feature some clever exploits that make use of in-game systems to provide an advantage.
Additionally, the PC version of Fallout 76 can be manipulated using mods. While none of these mods are game-breaking or would qualify as cheats, they can significantly improve the game. Some of the more popular and useful mods include:
- Better Inventory (modify your inventory menu)
- Improved Health Bars (change how your health bar looks to make it easier to understand)
- Lockpick Bar 76 (make lockpicking easier with an on-screen guide)
- Text Chat (add a text chat feature to the game)
- Optimum ReShade (change the colour palette in the game to look more apocalyptic)
- Recipes and Plans Glow (make these items glow green for better visibility)
Get Caps Quickly
As many Fallout players likely know, Bottle Caps are the only valuable currency in the post-apocalypse. Fallout 76 presents itself as a more survival-leaning Fallout title. This means these caps can be hard to come by and are constantly used for supplies. Still, there are some clever ways players can make use of Fallout 76‘s systems to quickly fill their coffers.
Loot Everything in Appalachia
First and foremost, the easiest way to earn caps is to loot them from the world map. Explore every building you come across, loot every corpse, and find former human settlements. Former settlements will often have bottle cap stashes nearby that are easy to loot for a predetermined amount of caps. Other than these methods, it goes without saying to sell everything you don’t need to a vendor. While these are the easiest methods for earning caps, they’re not the most effective.
Run Quests as Much as Possible
By far, the fastest way to earn caps in Fallout 76 is by completing quests. Aside from the campaign quests, Group Events regularly occur across the map and spawn frequently. These Group Events regularly award large sums of caps as well as XP. Additionally, the main campaign quests are tailored to make the player a high-powered wastelander, complete with a vast sum of wealth in caps. Just like the Group Events, completing quests will reward large amounts of both caps and XP.
Level Up Quickly (XP Grind)
Unlike the number of caps they award, quests in Fallout 76 can be a bit stingy with XP rewards. However, even though it may seem difficult to quickly level up, there are some exploits that exist to quickly grind XP. Several locations throughout Appalachia give players the opportunity to take advantage of respawning enemies for items, caps, and XP and these locations can be endlessly farmed. Additionally, repeatedly clearing the same areas of enemies over and over again raises chances of encountering legendary foes, which drop powerful loot alongside tons of XP.
Best XP Farming Location – Lewisburg Super Mutant Nest
To the right of the Uncanny Caverns is Lewisburg, shown on the map in the photo above. Lewisburg is home to a veritable nest of Super Mutants, all carrying valuable gear and respawning at fast rates. Playing solo or co-op, players can come to this location and eradicate all of the Super Mutants in one go while earning tons of valuable loot and XP.
To aid in farming this location, there’s a train station nearby that houses a Merchantbot where you can sell all your loot from the Super Mutants and resupply. Fighting Super Mutants can present a significant challenge and drain resources, but visiting the Merchantbot serves two purposes. First, you can sell any acquired loot and immediately resupply anything lost. Second, by the time you visit the train station and head back, the Super Mutants will have respawned.
For an additional boost to the efficiency of this farming method, consider setting up a camp nearby in a safe location to have access to both a bed and a stash box. This will allow you to access any Power Armors and Fusion Cores without having them eat up your inventory. This makes taking out Super Mutants much easier with some Power Armor on hand.
Fallout 76 Cheat FAQs
Can you get unlimited caps in Fallout 76?
As an always-online title that receives regular patches and updates, some glitches can be exploited for free items and caps. That said, these glitches are also regularly subject to the game’s patches and are only temporarily available.
How do you cheat in Fallout 76?
Cheating in Fallout 76 requires the downloading of a third-party unofficial cheating software and also subjects you to being banned from the game. It is possible to download CheatEngine and enable the cheat files in game, but Fallout 76‘s anti-cheat scans will catch players who have these files active.
Do cheaters in Fallout 76 get banned?
Short answer — yes. Bethesda Games regularly scans for cheaters in waves and will issue profile bans to anyone caught using cheating software or applications. This is done to ensure the proper balancing of the game.