A few weeks ago, Bethesda Game Studios released the Skyline Valley Fallout 76 update on the public test server. Today, the studio is launching the patch (around 27GB on Steam) on live servers.
This is the first expansion to the open world map. Whereas previous new locations, such as Pittsburgh and Atlantic City, brought players elsewhere, Skyline Valley introduces a whole new area to the Appalachian map. More specifically, Bethesda has added the Shenandoah National Park area toward the south, below the Great Divide. Here, Fallout 76 players will find Vault 63, which is inhabited by non-feral ghouls.
The leader of Vault 63 is Hugo Stolz, who the developers described as having a ‘particularly charged personality’. He’s a friendly example of a new ghoul type called the Lost, who tend to be wary of outsiders. Throughout the new storyline, players will have the opportunity to either befriend or betray Stoltz. The new fearsome foe added with Skyline Valley is a trio of supersized robots called Storm Goliaths, developed by Vault 63.
There’s also a hefty chunk of new quest content, twelve new quests to be exact, as much as the previous Steel Dawn and Steel Reign updates combined. There are new factions, new creatures, and new rewards. Lastly, a new public event called Dangerous Pastimes takes place in Skyline Valley. In this event, players take on the role of a storm chaser who needs to power up a big lighting rod to kickstart an electrical light show. The update kicks off Season 17 as well, which is themed around camp rewards.
Bethesda Game Studios also teased the next Fallout 76 update. Called Milepost Zero, it will be released this Fall, expanding Skyline Valley with brand new experiences. For example, the Blue Ridge Caravan Company has established a trade route on Skyline Drive and will need the adventurers’ help to defend their Brahmin caravans. Funnily enough, the Brahmin can be slapped on the back to make them run a bit faster for a while.
Running missions for the Blue Ridge Caravan Company will eventually unlock a caravan outpost for the player character. Bethesda likened this to Skyrim houses in that the outpost can be decorated and host exclusive vendors. The Fall update will also add the Mischief Night Halloween-themed event, but the most exciting new feature might just be playable ghouls, which are coming to Fallout 76 in early 2025, likely on the heel of the excitement for Cooper Howard, the ghoul character played in the TV show by Walton Goggins.
Ghouls can be unlocked at level 50 when a quest will allow them to undergo the mutation process. Ghouls have unique benefits against radiation as well as ‘dozens’ of unique Perk cards to be used in addition to the existing Perks. The flip side is that the character’s new appearance might not sit too well with some of the factions.
Lastly, Bethesda teased that the addition of Ghouls is linked to a new challenging endgame activity that will be detailed later this year. Following the 20 million player milestone, it’s clear that support for Fallout 76 is here to stay.
