Fallout 76 was not very well received when it was released in 2018. However, over the years the game has received numerous updates that have addressed many of the game's bugs while also adding in features. This has helped Fallout 76 get closer to the game that Fallout fans were hoping it would be, and the game has largely been able to redeem itself in the eyes of many within its community.
As a result, the game now boasts a healthy player base that has continued to grow as Fallout 76 has added some eye-catching features like player-run shops, the Brotherhood of Steel, and full NPCs. The success of its previous updates has also motivated developer Bethesda to stand behind the game and continue to work on improving it with new features and bug fixes. Recently, Fallout 76 teased a significant new feature that would be coming to the game, and there are some great options that would undoubtedly satisfy many of its players as the next big update or even further in the game's future.
Fallout 76's Significant New Feature Could Be A New Hardcore Mode
The Fallout series is no stranger to hardcore modes. Titles like Fallout: New Vegas feature such difficult hardcore modes that players have to build their entire characters around surviving them. This is because hardcore modes in Fallout titles not only make combat more difficult but also add hunger and thirst to the game. Of course, Fallout 76 already features hunger and thirst, but a hardcore mode could change the game in other significant ways for players who are looking for more of a challenge. This mode would best work if it required players to opt-in to playing on hardcore servers so that every player that they could run into would be having similar experiences.
If Fallout 76's hardcore mode required players to play on a separate server, there is a lot the mode could include. It could universally make enemies more dangerous across the map while also limiting the number of supplies that spawn. It also could allow players to fight one another in PvP without having to accept an invitation. This would dramatically change the experience of playing Fallout 76 as it would make running into a player much more tense and frightening. The hardcore mode could also increase the effects of radiation on players, making it even easier to get one of Fallout 76's mutations. If Bethesda really wanted to make the mode especially difficult, it could also introduce permadeath that would require players to restart if they died even a single time.
Fallout 76's Significant New Feature Could Be Player Vaults
One of the most iconic parts of the Fallout universe is its vaults. Nearly every Fallout game starts with the player embarking out from their vault underground to venture into the terrors of the wasteland. Vaults also offer great opportunities for interesting questlines that see players making their way into vaults and discovering what sort of strange things happened in them over the years since they were closed. The is a ton of variety of vaults in the Fallout universe, and Fallout 76 is a great opportunity for players to get in on the fun themselves.
Being able to make custom vaults in Fallout 76 would be a huge step in allowing players to join together to work on large projects together. Fallout 76 does already have the mechanics for players to build custom bases and camps, so vaults would be a natural extension of that system but would require players to work together to gather enough resources to build a vault's more technical and complex systems. Vaults could also play into more future endgame content like raids for players who are all part of a vault together or could even include a sprawling storyline about players having to set up their vault and deal with troubles from inside and outside the vault. It also would be a great opportunity for players to get more NPCs around them that they can become familiar with over time. There has been numerous crazy camp builds in Fallout 76, and it would be incredible to see what players could come up with for vaults as well.
Fallout 76's Significant New Feature Could Be Player Jobs
Another feature that would feel at home in Fallout 76 would be player jobs similar to those in Red Dead Online. These jobs help motivate players to play the game in different ways, and there is a lot of potential for a similar system in Fallout 76. Jobs like playing as a merchant, a hunter, or a raider would all help players engage with different parts of the game and could also promise unique rewards based on those particular jobs. Of course, Fallout 76 has had some trouble with features like player vending in the past, but adding jobs to the game could really add a lot more for players to do.
The jobs could also lead to players being motivated to interact with one another more to get different resources. An example could be a high-level hunter quest having players hunting down a mutated Deathclaw that drops a unique pelt required for a high-level armor upgrade or crafting recipes. Players who were not a high enough level in the hunter job would then be motivated to trade with players that are for the pelt, helping encourage a more living economy within the game. It could also help diversify builds players would use for Fallout 76's endgame, as there would be a lot more options of what content players want to engage with.
Of course, there is no way of knowing what Bethesda has planned for Fallout 76's future until it arrives. Whatever the developers do will hopefully continue to improve the game in a way that satisfies its community. There are some exciting updates over the horizon, like Fallout 76 players being able to return to The Pitt, so it is definitely an exciting time for the game's community. Hopefully, Bethesda will have some more details to share with fans on what is in store for the game's future sometime soon.
Fallout 76 is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.