Although Fallout 76 is arguably in a better spot than it’s ever been in as of 2025, the game has had its fair share of controversies throughout the long journey since it was first released. One of the latest controversial changes to Fallout 76 that has divided the community has been the recent transition from Scoreboards to Seasons.
When Fallout 76’s Atlantic City America’s Playground update released, Scoreboards were permanently changed to Seasons. Overall, the new Seasons format of Fallout 76’s battle pass generally offers much more flexibility in rewards, but it isn’t without its downsides. For better or worse, though, there are arguments both ways for whether Seasons should stay, or if Fallout 76 should bring back Scoreboards.
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Despite originally not having any human NPCs, by now there are several secret and rare NPCs for players to encounter in Fallout 76.
The Argument for Fallout 76 to Bring Back Scoreboards
- Scoreboards generally offered more unique rewards, while also requiring less grind compared to Seasons
- The Scoreboard art received from completing a given Scoreboard was considered a collector’s item for CAMP builders
- The new Tickets currency for Seasons contributes to the existing problem of Fallout 76 having too many endgame currencies
Although it’s not necessarily inherent to the Seasons format, part of what made the transition from Scoreboards to Seasons such a controversial change to Fallout 76 is that Seasons have generally offered fewer rewards, yet required more effort to complete, compared to Scoreboards. Whereas players typically get a reward for every rank in a Scoreboard, not every rank in a Season offers a reward. Most notably, ranks 100-150 of the recent Seasons rewards tracks in Fallout 76 have lacked a reward. Also, unlike how all of the unique rewards from a Scoreboard could be collected by reaching rank 100, players often need to reach around rank 130 of a given Season to collect all unique rewards.
Another common criticism of the new Seasons is that it has become a tradition among longtime Fallout 76 fans to collect the Scoreboard art for finishing each Scoreboard. While Seasons also offer an exclusive decoration that can be displayed in players' CAMPs, the new framed Season art decorations are distinct from the collectible Scoreboards.
The Argument for Fallout 76’s Seasons to Permanently Replace Scoreboards
- New Tickets currency allows players to choose which rewards they collect
- Season Passes allow players to claim rewards exclusive to Fallout 1st subscribers, without an active subscription
Arguably, the biggest advantage of the new Seasons format is that it allows players to have more control over which rewards they want to collect. It's no longer necessary to stuff one's inventory with consumable items that go unused, so players can save their Tickets and spend them on items of their choosing.
Season Tickets in Fallout 76 expire at the end of every Season.
This freedom of choosing which rewards to collect from the Seasons is especially useful for the repeatable rewards after reaching rank 150. In Scoreboards, every rank past 100 would offer a new reward for players, but this reward was one of many items that were on a fixed rotation. So, for players who wanted to farm a specific item, like premium Atoms currency in Fallout 76, this required players to progress through several levels of unwanted items before their desired reward would cycle through again. Whereas, with Seasons, players who want to farm specific items like this can freely do so by spending their Tickets on any of the infinitely redeemable rewards from the final page of the Season.
Another beneficial change brought on by Seasons is that players can purchase a one-time Season Pass, which allows players to claim the rewards from a given Season that are otherwise exclusive to Fallout 1st members. Although a premium Fallout 1st subscription comes with additional benefits beyond the exclusive Season rewards, the Season Pass allows players to claim limited-time rewards at a discount, compared to subscribing to Fallout 1st for the entire duration of a Season.
Fallout 76
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 54 /100 Critics Rec: 9%
