According to a leak, Fallout 4's forthcoming Survival mode is set to put Sole Survivors to the test, as it disables players' manual saves in the game, and more.

For those Fallout 4 players who consider the base model of Bethesda's post-apocalyptic RPG to be a piece of Fancy Lads Snack Cake, the studio's recent DLC announcement teased that the title's re-hauled Survival mode will be more difficult than previous entries in the series in order to satiate the needs of hardcore fans. Now, a rather lengthy post from Redditor Shane D53 involving a leaked overview of the feature from in-game files — which, as of writing, have all officially been confirmed by Bethesda — proves that Fallout 4's Survival mode will be almost impossible, with each gameplay change being harder than the last.

Much like the Obsidian Entertainment-developed Fallout: New Vegas' Hardcore mode update, or its fan-made DUST mod, the most recent installment in the retro-futuristic franchise will make the game's Boston Commonwealth Wasteland a lot more realistic with its upcoming Survival mode. With that in mind, once players use the component to increase Fallout 4's difficulty, they will not only encounter more powerful enemies, but they will also need to take into account almost every aspect of what an average human being would need so as to keep on living, such as a normal amount of rest, a steady intake of water, as well as proper medical attention.

Although Shane D53's veritable almanac on Fallout 4's Survival mode was initially pulled by Reddit's mods, the fine folks over at GamesRadar were thankfully quick enough to jot it down before its removal and re-uploading. So, as seen below, with these alterations apparently being what Bethesda has in store for the title's update, then fans who take part by enabling survival from the game's difficulty options will need to be ready for a rough go of it, as it looks to be a punishing affair. Per the Redditor's description, the Survival mode brings about these changes:

Saving

Manual and quicksaving are disabled. To save your game, you'll need to find a bed and sleep for at least an hour.

Combat

Combat is more lethal for everyone. You now deal, but also take, more damage. You can increase the damage you deal even further with "Adrenaline" (see below).

Fast Travel

Fast Travel is disabled. If you wish to be somewhere, you'll have to physically travel there.

Weighted Ammo

Bullets and shells now all have a small amount of weight, which varies by caliber. Heavier items such as fusion cores, rockets, and mini-nukes can really drag you down.

Compass

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled, as enemies will no longer appear on your compass. As well, the distance at which locations of interest will appear has been significantly shortened.

Adrenaline

Survival automatically grants the Adrenaline perk, which provides a bonus to your damage output. Unlike other perks, the only way to increase your rank of the Adrenaline perk is by getting kills (hostile or otherwise). The higher your Adrenaline rank, the higher the damage bonus. Sleeping for more than an hour, however, will cause your Adrenaline rank to lower. You can check your current Adrenaline rank at any time in the Perks section on the Stat tab in your Pip-Boy.

Wellness

You'll find it difficult to survive without taking proper care of yourself. You must stay hydrated, fed, and rested to remain combat-ready. Going for extended periods of time without food, water, or sleep will begin to adversely affect your health, hurting your SPECIAL stats, adding to your Fatigue (see "Fatigue" below), lowering your immunity (see "Sickness" below), and eventually even dealing physical damage to you.

Fatigue

Fatigue works like radiation but affects your Action Points (AP) rather than your Hit Points (HP). The more Fatigue you've built up, the less AP you'll have for other actions. The amount of Fatigue you've accumulated is displayed in red on your AP bar.

Sickness

A comprised immune system and a few questionable decisions can end up getting you killed. Eating uncooked meat, drinking unpurified water, taking damage from disease-ridden sources, such as ghouls and bugs, or using harmful Chems all put your body at increased risk for various ill effects. When you are afflicted with an illness, a message will appear onscreen. You can view specifics about your current illnesses by navigating to the Status section on your Pip-Boy's Data tab and pressing [RShoulder] to view your active effects.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics, which can be crafted at Chem Stations or purchased from doctors, heal the various effects of sickness.

Bed Types

The type of bed you're sleeping in determines the length of time you are able to stay asleep. A sleeping bag will save your game and may help save your life when you're desperate, but it will never allow for a full night's rest and the benefits that come with it.

Crippled Limbs

Crippled limbs will no longer auto-heal after combat and will remain crippled until healed by a Stimpak.

Carry Weight

Exceeding your carry weight reduces your Endurance and Agility stats and periodically damages your legs and health. Think of your back!

Companions

Companions will no longer automatically get back up if downed during combat and will return home if abandoned without being healed.

Enemy and Loot Repopulation

Locations you've cleared will now repopulate enemies and loot at a significantly slower rate.

While the release date for Fallout 4's Survival mode has yet to be announced, it's possible that since the last patch for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One was applied to the title earlier this month, it will be included in March's update. However, Bethesda also made fans aware that it will finally be providing official mod support in April for PCs, so the Survival mode could come then. But now that the studio has verified Shane D53's find, fans ought to expect the feature to come sooner rather than later.

As Fallout 4 die-hards prepare for the Survival mode, and return to the Wasteland more battle-ready than ever, it's important to note that Bethesda will also be bringing fresh expansion packs as well with Season Pass content. Taking into account all of the gameplay that Fallout 4 will soon be offering, there's really no better time than now for fans who don't own the title go ahead and pick up a copy.

What do you think about all of the changes being put forth in Fallout 4's Survival mode? Do you believe it's too difficult, or not hard enough? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Fallout 4 is out now and is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Reddit (via GamesRadar)