Fallout 76 is a game that’s inspired a lot of controversy immediately after its launch, and Bethesda have stepped in to detail the upcoming patches that will hopefully fix the game’s major problems. Today’s patch is relatively minor — it doesn’t solve any of the most pressing issues of the game, but it does provide some Band-Aid fixes that should make those problems less painful until the Dec. 11 follow-up patch and beyond.
These are the five most important things to take away from today’s patch notes, and how they’ll affect your play in Appalachia.
CAMP stash storage increased; stored item fixes
Maximum CAMP stash storage is up from 400 pounds to 600 pounds, which is a 50-percent upgrade. It’s also not the final increase, but a way to test its stability on servers. Once it’s determined that the world is unchanged by this change, we can expect further upgrades. For now, an extra 200 pounds of breathing room should help residents with their ability to prep for crafting and save some nice armor.
Another change to CAMPs is that locations now move standalone items into the build menu’s stored tab. Previously, players would need to fiddle with their CAMPs to make sure everything had foundations under it, or they’d be at risk of losing their water purifiers or farms. Now, everything should store properly, even without a foundation.
High-level creatures re-balance
High-level creatures now give less XP per kill, but bosses now give 2-4 items per boss (scaling on the difficulty and level). This is overall a good thing; leveling isn’t particularly difficult in Fallout 76, but bosses were dropping disappointing loot, up to and including the end-game Scorchbeast Queen. Now, you’re guaranteed to get some good stuff, and at the very least, if you can’t use it yourself you can share it with your party.
Automatic weapons buff
All automatic weapon damage has been increased by approximately 20%. This is one of those changes that isn’t a big, dramatic shift that really draws attention, but it is a nice quality of life fix. Melee and snipers were cleaning up a little too well in the wasteland, and now automatic weapons should be more of a viable pick.
No more power armor prisons
This is one of those fixes that seems quite small, but is actually pretty big — players can no longer get trapped in their power armor. Power armor is one of the most useful tools in the game and enables players to move faster, avoid falling damage, take less damage, and dish out more hurt. Now, you can actually use the stuff without risking being unable to exit, a problem that required fiddling, restarts, and a great deal of patience.
AFK Timer
If you are inactive for 10 minutes, you get booted. This is nice for those of us who have to get up and leave our computers without warning; if you go AFK in Fallout 76 and come back after quite some time, you’ll often find your character parched, starving, and drained. Now, the AFK timer will make sure that your vitals don’t dip too low in your absence.
This is just the first big set of balance changes in Fallout 76’s history. Bethesda announced today that there will be weekly patches, with the Dec. 11 patch making major changes to CAMPs. The following patch on Dec. 18 has yet to have its details announced. In 2019, Bethesda will host in-game events on a weekly basis, with more details to come as to what that will mean or what rewards it offers.