Summary
- Fallout 76 PTS update adds bug fixes, playlist overhauls, and tweaks for future content.
- The Gleaming Depths update introduces new season, endgame raids, and pets for camp locations.
- Perks were updated in Fallout 76 for better performance and scaling with primary stats.
A new update for Fallout 76's Public Test Server (PTS) has just been released, giving people an opportunity to check out bug fixes, playlist overhauls, and various other tweaks that are set to come to the game in the future. Those who are interested in taking a look at any of the planned changes need to hop on a PC, as the Fallout 76 PTS is currently only available to Steam players.
Fallout 76 recently received plenty of fresh content thanks to Milepost Zero, the game's latest major update that dropped on September 3. It introduced Fallout 76's caravan mechanic and marked the beginning of the multiplayer RPG's 18th season, among other things. Developer Bethesda Game Studios has revealed even more upcoming additions to the title via its publicly available test client.
The Fallout 76 PTS now features content from the game's next major update, Gleaming Depths, following a September 27 patch. Highlighted were changes made to Mutated Public Events playlists and the perk system, which was already partly modified in Milepost Zero. Combat-related adjustments include reductions in the radius of white screen flash effects and damage buffs for many of Fallout 76's ranged weapons. Several bugs have been addressed as well, such as the one that caused NPCs to deal higher than expected damage with Laser Rifles. As for quality-of-life improvements, the latest PTS build now sports new accessibility features like text-to-speech generation and screen narration.
Gleaming Depths will provide players with a new season, high-level endgame raids, and pets for Fallout 76's various camp locations when it goes live in December. Bethesda unveiled a trailer for the update that showed off new enemies and locations at QuakeCon 2024. The company also announced enhanced versions of the first two Doom games at the event, which was held in Texas from August 8 to August 11.
Milepost Zero required Fallout 76 players to redownload the game as a result of a repackaging effort that made the title's overall size smaller. In addition to the caravan mechanic and new season, the update added the titular Milepost Zero location and reworked the system for crafting Legendary-tier gear.
Considered by some to be one of the best multiplayer RPGs of all time, Fallout 76 currently has a Mostly Positive Overall rating on Steam based on more than 61,600 reviews. It and other titles in the series managed to reach record-high player numbers in April, the month Amazon's well-received TV adaptation of Fallout started airing.
Fallout 76 PTS September 27 Patch Notes
Mutated Public Events Update
We’re making a change to the Mutated Public Events playlist by adding five public events each with two mutations to the playlist.
These events are:
- Campfire Tales: Volatile and Toxic Blood Mutations
- Free Range: Resilient and Swift-Footed Mutations
- Project Paradise: Active Camouflage and Resilient Mutations
- Beasts of Burden: Freezing Touch and Reflective Mutations
- Safe and Sound: Swift-Focused and Danger Cloud Mutations
During the PTS, these events will be on rotation so that you can provide us feedback on all these events.
Perks Update
During Milepost Zero PTS testing and release, we made some focused changes to Vaccinated, Iron Stomach, Thirst Quencher, and Natural Resistance perks to make these generally underperforming cards more interesting and easier to incorporate into your builds. We did this by removing the extra ranks, lowering the cards cost, and changing the card’s effect to scale with the related primary stat.
In today’s PTS update, we’re continuing this process by modifying more Perk cards with the same design goals in mind. This batch of changes primarily focuses on Endurance cards, but you’ll also see some changes to a few cards in the other stat categories.
Adamantium Skeleton
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- New effect: Limb Damage Reduction effect now scales with END
All Night Long
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- Rank 1 Perk Point cost increased from 1 to 2
- New effect: The positive effects of pre-war alcohol last twice as long
Bloodsucker
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- Moved from CHA to END
- Rank 1 gains the effects of the former Rank 3
- Healing bonus increased from 150% to 200%
- Additional effect: Benefits now also apply to Cannibal
Cannibal
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- Increased the healing received and hunger restored at Rank 1
Cap Collector
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- Now applies to all containers, not just Cap Stashes
- New effect: The amount of Caps found scales with LCK
First Aid
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- New effect: Stimpak healing scales with INT
Four Leaf Clover
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- New effect: Misses in VATS contribute to the Critical Meter based on LCK
Hard Bargain
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- Rank 1 now grants +7 CHA while bartering with NPCs
Junk Shield
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- Now works while in Power Armor
- Additional effect: Now also scales with LCK
Lifegiver
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- New effect: Improves HP gained from END
Lone Wanderer
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- New effect: AP Regen and defense bonus based on CHA
Night Eyes
- Removed requirement for the time of day
Professional Drinker
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 2
Ricochet
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- New effect: Now increases Deflect chance based on LCK. Deflect grants a chance to reflect 100% of the damage of ranged attacks back to the attacker and reduces the damage you take from the attack by 50%. Deflect chance receives a bonus while wearing Heavy Armor or Power Armor (+50% multiplier). While in Power Armor, the amount of damage reflected is doubled (200%).
Bullet Shield
- Moved from STR to END
- Added a 4th rank.
- New effect: 5% chance per rank to Deflect ranged attacks for 6 seconds when firing a heavy weapon.
Serendipity
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- New effect: Now increases Evade Chance while under 30% life, based on LCK. Evade provides a chance to avoid all incoming damage from direct attacks. Evade can happen once every 2 seconds and cannot happen when over encumbered or while in Power Armor.
Evasive
- Ranks reduced from 3 to 1
- New Effect: Now increases Evade Chance based on AGI.
Starched Genes
- Ranks reduced from 2 to 1
- Moved from LCK to END
- Rank 1 now provides the benefits of the former Rank 2
Thru-Hiker
- Moved from AGI to END
The full patch notes for the September 27 Fallout 76 PTS update can be found here.
Fallout 76
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 54 /100 Critics Rec: 9%
WHERE TO PLAY
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4, welcome you to Fallout 76. Twenty-five years after the bombs fell, you and your fellow Vault Dwellers—chosen from the nation’s best and brightest – emerge into post-nuclear America on Reclamation Day, 2102. Play solo or join together as you explore, quest, build, and triumph against the wasteland’s greatest threats. Explore a vast wasteland, devastated by nuclear war, in this open-world multiplayer addition to the Fallout story. Experience the largest, most dynamic world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe. Expand southward to Skyline Valley – a brand-new region of Appalachia. Investigate the cause of the electric storm circling overhead and unveil the mystery around Vault 63 and its dwellers, including a shocking new Ghoul type – The Lost.
