How Is Fallout 76 Doing in 2024

The Fallout TV series launched on Amazon Prime 18 days ago. Audiences and critics have all been generally favorable with the show sitting on a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score as of today.

This has had a noted impact on the Fallout games as well.

I have put a good few hundred hours into every game on that list since I picked up the original 2 games back in 2002. With the exception of Fallout Tactics, I have enjoyed every Fallout game from both before and after Bethesda’s acquisition of the IP.

What is Fallout 76

For anyone who hasn't given Fallot 76 a go, it is Fallout’s attempt at an MMO. The initial release did not go well. Many players were put off by the lack of NPCs and piecing the story together from Holotapes.

The game is free to play once you purchase the base game (which is available on Game Pass and currently free on Prime Gaming) but there is a paid subscription called Fallout 1st which offers some additional benefits such as infinite scrap storage and private worlds.

Personally, I feel the game requires Fallout 1st to fully enjoy and live out my hoarder dreams. That being said many players manage just fine without the paid subscription just like they do without ESO+ in Elder Scrolls Online.

My Experience with Fallout 76

Overall I like the original main story but even I will not argue that adding in non-robot NPC’s finally in the Wastelanders update was sorely needed. Since then there have been a number of free updates with varying success. I have enjoyed all of the story updates, especially the return of the BOS but I still don’t enjoy daily ops.

I initially tried the game on Xbox and played for about 200 hours before moving to PC. This was before the series X release and gameplay was not smooth on the Xbox One. I moved to PC which required me to start again, but again I liked the story so I did not mind (I have completed the story up to dropping the first nuke on 5 characters in total).

I enjoy the gameplay loop overall, there is usually at least 1 event active at all times, but with only 24 people maximum in each server, I sometimes needed to hop around a little to find one where people were dropping nukes to summon bosses such as the Scorchbeast Queen. Eventually, I got comfortable running nuke silos so as long as the server had a good population I was good to go.

I stopped playing just before The Pitt update. I had done everything in the game multiple times, I had a bloodied character with ridiculous high drama get at level 300+ and a Power Armour build character with a Vampires Explosive 50 Cal who was essentially unkillable as long as I had ammo.

This took around 400 hours so I definitely got my monies worth out of the game. I play lots of MMO’s and I don’t expect them to provide infinite content.

How is it in 2024

So like many others, I decided to give Fallout 76 another shot. There have been a few updates and the addition of expeditions to The Pitt and Atlantic City since I last played. I will say overall these additions are good. Expeditions are fun and can be unlocked in about 20 minutes by completing a few quick quests at The Whitesprings.

I seem to recall hearing that there was some sort of fuel mechanic to use the vertibird and start these each day. Thankfully this has been removed so you can launch expeditions as often as you like, either alone or with a group once they are unlocked. That being said the first run each day is the most rewarding so one per day is still the most efficient use of your time.

You can also just travel to the expedition areas and look around without the pressure of any objectives if exploration is your thing. I haven't taken advantage of this feature yet because I have lots to unlock and need the stamps. All other features of the game remain the same but there are now some extra random events and events that trigger at set intervals to add a bit more variety which is always a good thing.

Two of these new events also give reputation with The Crater and Foundation making that grind just a little less tedious on alts (note it’s still tedious just slightly less so).

So it’s all positive?

For a new player, I would say yes. There is more content than ever and more ways to level up and equip your character by doing the content that you enjoy the most. For a player who already has borderline broken equipment, none of the new content provides a challenge. I find myself often equipping less effective equipment when playing alone just to add a little challenge.

It's been a while since I played the main story so to get around this problem I have created a new character. So far I am enjoying playing this character much more than the other 2 mainly because I can die, I can still find upgrades to my equipment so legendary enemies are exciting when I come across them and not essentially just scrip fodder.

If you have not played Fallout 76 and like the series, I definitely recommend giving it a go now. There are a load of new players and returning veterans to help you out. The player base is still overall very friendly and helpful, and the addition of donation boxes where higher-level players can dump useful items for other players to collect is a fantastic addition.

If you have dived back in or tried it out for the first time recently I would love to hear how you are finding it also. Hope to see you in Appalachia.