Fallout 76 was a disaster. Not only was it plagued my multiple scandals throughout its release, but it was widely panned for its lack of any NPCs. What was originally advertised as a perk – “each of those characters is a real person” – was drastically different from anything that anyone wanted out of a Fallout game.
The Wastelanders update is a massive rejuvenation of Fallout 76. Like all the updates so far to the game, its free, and it is by far the largest update yet. The fact that the update is free to anyone who has bought the game is a big step toward fixing the game. No one wants to pay for something that should have been in the game at launch.
Wastelanders brings back NPCs to the Appalachia Wasteland. While many appear as generic settlers that have set up in the various farms across West Virginia or generic raider enemies that occupy the formerly abandoned raider camps in the Savage Divide, unique characters appear across the wasteland. Among the unique locations are two large settlements, one for each of the main factions. In addition, unique NPCs have taken up residence all across Appalachia, even forming new minor factions like the Cult of the Mothman.
There’s also a whole lot of new content. Wastelanders introduces new quests involving the two main factions, the settler city of Foundation set up at Spruce Knob deep in the Savage Divide and the raider settlement of Crater built out of a crashed space station. These factions act more like factions in previous games, with a reputation system that tracks how much each faction likes players based on how much they have helped or harmed them. In addition, there’s a main quest involving the residents of the new local watering hole The Wayward, a mysterious treasure hunter, and a mysterious Vault with a valuable prize inside.
Fallout 76 is not a single-player Fallout game and it never will be. The multiplayer medium prevents a lot of the choice-based roleplay that Fallout is known for. Still, implementing mechanical elements from other Fallout games goes a long way in improving the game. It isn’t perfect; being a Bethesda game, there are still a lot of bugs to iron out in Fallout 76. New elements of the game could be added in the future as well – it’s baffling that there’s no way to join the Mothman cultists, considering how popular the Mothman is among Fallout 76 fans. Still, this update is a good step in the right direction. Hopefully it is a sign of more things to come.
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