‘Fallout 76’: Tips for Surviving the Nuclear Wasteland
The time has come fellow vault dwellers! Vault 76 is now open and the Overseer has a big task for us — head into Appalachia and re-colonize! Sound like fun? Unfortunately, leaving the vault isn’t as liberating as it seems. There’s a big ol’ hostile wasteland waiting for us, crawling with irradiated nasties.
For more on Fallout 76, check out everything we know and our hands on review.
Tips and tricks for surviving in Fallout 76
Yes, the world outside is frightful and the radiation is not so delightful. In order to survive, here are a few tips newcomers to Fallout 76 should consider that will help ease the transition from pampered vault dweller to expert wasteland survivalist.
Team up
While there aren’t nonplayable characters in Fallout 76, there are real people you can interact with. How you choose to interact with those people is ultimately up to you, but if you want to expedite base building, spend less on fast travel, and increase your chances of survival, you should play with some friends.
Save on Fast Travel
Speaking of fast travel, with a map four times the size of Fallout 4, you’re more than likely going to be using this convenient feature in Fallout 76. Opening the map, clicking on a friend, a friend’s C.A.M.P., or a friend of a friend’s C.A.M.P. and fast traveling costs nothing. Anywhere else though, expect to dish out some caps to do it. The farther you are from your destination, the more you’ll spend, and caps are pretty hard to come by in Fallout 76.
Pick up all the loot
You may have noticed that you can pick up practically everything in Fallout 76. My tip to you is, don’t be picky. Loot everything! Just make sure to stop at a workbench or crafting station and break it all down. Every resource you find in Appalachia can be broken down and used later for weapons, armor and more importantly building a nice, big base.
Use Stash Boxes Often
While you’re filling your knapsack with everything from coffee makers to pitchforks, take some time to stop by a stash box and dump your junk! Don’t wait until you’re encumbered because then you’ll have to drop some of those precious resources you’ve collected or cross your fingers and hope you don’t get ambushed as you slowly make your way to the nearest stash box. In Fallout 76, encumbered players can’t fast travel so keep that in mind.
Use melee weapons for backup
You’re going to find a lot of weapons scattered throughout the wasteland and you may find yourself using guns a lot. That’s great because they’re really useful for combat but they also require ammo, a resource that is susceptible to running out at any time. It’s a great idea to always carry a melee weapon (or three) in the case you’re shooting blanks or worse, your gun breaks. Unless, of course, you enjoy the thrill of having fist fights with molerats and radroaches then, by all means, get your kicks in where you can.
Repair your weapons, cook your food, and boil your water
The degradation system is back in Fallout 76 which means weapons and armor conditions will deteriorate with use, and food can spoil. Pay attention to the condition of your weapons, armor, and food using the status indicator next to the item in your Pip-Boy. Collect copper and aluminum to repair weapons, plenty of which you can find in various houseware items, tools, and duplicate weapons.
If you come across a water source, don’t drink straight from it. Instead, collect at least two servings of dirty water and boil it at a cooking station first. All you need is some wood and a cooking station, and you’re good to go. You’ll still get slight rads from drinking boiled water but it’s a lot better than what happens if you don’t. Always cook raw food items as soon as possible. This will keep you from acquiring any diseases and will slow down spoilage.
Build an actual bed
And we mean an actual bed. Not a rogue mattress on the ground or sleeping bag. Not to say those won’t help in your very early wasteland days but beds help prevent contracting of diseases, regenerates HP, and can give you a Well Rested perk that adds a 5% bonus to the XP you earn.
Avoid public events and claiming public workshops
If you’re just getting started on your adventure into the nuclear wasteland, you might want to avoid public events and claiming public workshops. This is because these can trigger waves of enemies along with other tasks that can quickly result in your death if you’re not prepared. Playing with a group or tackling these tasks with other survivors is recommended but if you’re fresh from the fault or playing Fallout 76 solo, just be aware of what you might be signing up for.
Use the Overseers Camp
You’ll become familiar with the Overseer’s Camp relatively early in Fallout 76 and this will act as your hub for the beginning portion of the game. Don’t feel pressured to start building a C.A.M.P. too early since you’ll need a lot of resources to do so, and it will cost you some caps to move (just like fast travel, the farther you move it, the more it will cost).
Use the Overseer’s camp to your advantage by leveling up, refining your arsenal, equipping some good Perk cards, and collecting as many resources as you can before venturing out into the map and looking for a place to set up your base.
Play instruments
You may have noticed a few instruments laying around during your travels. Playing them for at least 30 seconds will give you an interesting perk called Well-Tuned which regenerates your AP 25% faster for the next hour.
More tips and guides will be added as we play more of Fallout 76.
