April 14 not only marks the release date for Fallout 76 on Steam, but it also marks the day in which the Wastelanders update released across all platforms. Those who have been holding off on picking up Fallout 76 because it was exclusive to the Bethesda launcher, because it was a terribly buggy mess for many months, or because of the lack of humans should wait no longer.
Many of those previous concerns seem to be addressed now? It's hard to tell because the Steam user reviews for the game are currently sitting at "Mixed" but a large part of the negative reviews are from people saying that this is how the game should have initially shipped. That may not make much sense to put a thumbs-down with that reason, but I mean... Look, it's a very confusing time right now, even in the Steam user reviews.
Today's Steam release is, as mentioned, coming alongside the long-awaited Wastelanders content drop. This is a free update to everyone that owns the game. It's also apparently the game's largest update to date. It adds in human NPCs into the world of Fallout 76. It includes new quests, new dialogue options that apparently include things like "choices and consequences." That all sounds quite wonderful.
All of that is available to those who are playing the game on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Bethesda Launcher, and Steam.
Those playing the Wastelanders update will find that they can now form alliances with different factions such as the raiders or settlers. There are also now some new creatures to fight using new weapons and armor that have been added.
A brief overview of the new content can be found below. Alternatively, you can check out this article from Bethesda that provides individual links to most of the new content and systems that have just been added to the game today. The launch trailer was already posted here before, but I'm sure posting it again for this can't hurt.
- Allies – Special types of human NPCs that will bring more life to player C.A.M.P.s and offer activities to take part in daily
- Reputation System – Returning from previous Fallout titles is the inclusion of a reputation system, giving each choice you make more weight. The more players do to help a faction by offering information, taking down their enemies, and completing quests, the more their reputation with that faction will increase
- New Events – Wastelanders will add two new events to Fallout 76 in Riding Shotgun and Radiation Rumble. Whether you’re playing caravan protector or fending off onslaughts of irradiated creatures, these new events bring new, unique challenges to Appalachia
- Bug Fixes – Wastelanders will include new content and bug fixes along with a variety of quality-of-life improvements
