Summary
- Fallout 76's upcoming update will introduce fishing, balancing changes, and Season 21 with limited-time rewards.
- The fishing feature will allow players to catch rare fish, earn rewards, and trade fish for legendary items.
- Balancing changes include buffs to Legendary mods, Perk Cards, shotgun and rifle builds, and melee weapons.
Not long after Fallout 76’s Ghoul Within update introduced the Fallout franchise’s first-ever playable Ghoul character, another new update for the game is fast approaching. Set to release sometime in June, Fallout 76’s next major update will notably introduce fishing alongside several more balancing changes that are anticipated to shake up the endgame meta. This new update for Fallout 76 is also expected to release alongside the start of Season 21, offering a new SCORE rewards track of limited-time items for players to earn.
Ultimately, fishing is something that all players can enjoy in Fallout 76, even players who transform into a Ghoul and no longer need to worry about hunger and thirst. Aside from fishing, players can also look forward to significant changes for off-meta Legendary mods alongside a variety of changes to existing Perk Cards, and buffs for rifle and shotgun builds coming in this update. Between what’s been officially revealed already, what’s been available on Fallout 76’s Public Test Server, and recent leaks, players should know what to expect from Fallout 76’s fishing update and Season 21.
The Cardinal Sins of Fallout 76 Explained
Players who venture into Fallout 76’s wasteland should avoid committing these cardinal sins for the benefit of themselves and the greater community.
Fallout 76: Season 21 Start Date and Upcoming Seasonal Events
So far, there’s still no release date set for Fallout 76’s fishing update and Season 21, but the Season 20 Community Calendar mentions that this update and new Season will release sometime in June. Although there’s no exact date, Fallout 76’s major updates typically release on Tuesdays at noon EST.
| Event: | Date: |
| Caps-A-Plenty | June 5–9 |
| Mutated Public Events | June 10–17 |
| Scrip Surplus and Double Mutations | June 12–16 |
| Double SCORE, Legendary Sale, and Double Mutations | June 20–24 |
| Treasure Hunter | June 26–30 |
While the update and the new Season’s start date are still unclear, the Season 20 Community Calendar also includes a few of the events that players can expect throughout July. This notably includes the long-awaited return of Mutated Public Events, as well as several shorter, weekend events.
Fallout 76’s New Fishing Feature is a Cozy Way to Collect Food and Rare Loot
A new location is being added to the Mire region, Fisherman’s Rest, where players can meet new NPCs and get introduced to the new fishing feature in Fallout 76. Players will be able to purchase from the vendors here and return to complete daily quests for a chance to receive craftable upgrades to their fishing rod, among other rewards. There will also be new character challenges related to fishing that offer unique rewards. After obtaining a fishing rod from the introductory Casting Off fishing questline, players will be able to fish in almost any body of water throughout Appalachia.
Players can unlock the Casting Off questline to begin fishing in Fallout 76 by reading a sign posted outside Vault 76 or by exploring the Mire region.
Among the variety of fish that players can catch, there are more rare creatures that can only be caught in specific regions throughout Fallout 76’s wasteland and during specific weather conditions. For the fish that require specific weather conditions, players can build weather stations in their CAMP to simulate this weather. There are also 12 super-rare Axolotls to catch, one of which will be available every month, and rarest of all, the mysterious “Local Legends.”
For players who may have transformed into a Ghoul in Fallout 76 and might be wondering if fishing is worth it since Ghouls don’t need to eat or drink, fishing is more than a new source of food buffs. More specifically, players can also use fish to exchange with one of the new NPCs at Fisherman’s Rest for a random legendary reward. Otherwise, fish can also be displayed as a collector’s item in players’ CAMPs or traded with other players.
The Case For and Against Fallout 76 Bringing Back Scoreboards
Despite the controversy, there are fair arguments both ways for whether Seasons should permanently replace Scoreboards in Fallout 76.
Fallout 76’s Upcoming Balancing Changes Will Shake Up the Meta
Yet again, there are major balancing changes coming to Fallout 76 that will affect various Perk Cards, Legendary mods, shotgun builds, and rifle builds. Overall, these balancing changes are considered buffs.
- Several off-meta Legendary mods are having their effects increased, or being entirely reworked to provide more alternatives for endgame viable builds.
- Some Perk Cards are being moved to another SPECIAL attribute.
- Various Perk Cards are having their ranks reduced, but their lower ranks will now provide improved effects.
- Perk Cards will no longer be required for crafting specific CAMP items, weapons, and weapon mods. These Perk Cards are being removed and/or having their effects reworked, and players will only need to have learned the crafting plan to craft these items now.
- Various shotguns and rifles (both automatic and semi-automatic) will benefit from increased base damage, lowered VATS AP cost, increased critical damage multipliers, and increased sneak damage multipliers.
- Various melee weapons will benefit from increased base damage.
Given the variety of balancing changes coming in this update, players will want to take a moment to respec their character’s Perk Cards before exploring this update, especially since some Perk Cards are having their cost changed or are moving to a new SPECIAL attribute. Otherwise, with all the buffs coming for shotguns and rifles, this will be a good time for players to try out a new endgame build in Fallout 76, since these changes could give heavy weapon meta builds some competition.
What To Expect From Fallout 76 in 2025
While 2024 will be a hard year to compete with, 2025 is already shaping up to be another major year for Fallout 76 based on the franchise’s momentum.
Fallout 76’s Season 21 Leaks Reveal the New SCORE Rewards Theme
While the theme for the Season 21 SCORE rewards has yet to be officially announced, a credible leaker has already revealed this ahead of time. According to datamines from Nuka Knights, the theme of Fallout 76’s Season 21 SCORE rewards track will be fishing, offering a wide variety of new CAMP items and decorations for players to build. Among these items, there will allegedly be new CAMP structures that can be built over water, which could open up a whole new layer of creativity for Fallout 76’s base-building mechanics going forward.
Fallout 76’s Season SCORE rewards tracks offer exclusive rewards for players who have an active Fallout 1st Subscription or have purchased the current Season Pass.