The Brotherhood of Steel is finally arriving in Appalachia with Fallout 76's latest major update, "Steel Dawn." This launch, alongside some fairly significant crafting additions, signals the latest major change in the lifespan of Bethesda Softworks' troubled pseudo-MMO.
Fallout 76 has been improving slowly and steadily. Recent updates saw the arrival of settlers, as well as "One Wasteland For All," a massive rebalancing effort that made it easier to group up with friends of varying levels. With "Steel Dawn," Fallout 76 is getting back on track with their previously announced roadmap, but are these changes that are bound to keep fans coming back for more?
FOR THE BROTHERHOOD
The Brotherhood has had a troublesome history in the Fallout franchise. While they are usually available to be an ally to the player character in some fashion, their methodology can vary from game to game depending on which faction you're dealing with.
Most players are likely familiar with Fallout 3's eastern chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel, who was essentially exiled for wanting to protect and ally with the people of the Capital Wasteland. On the flip side would be the earlier iterations. Best known perhaps for their original Fallout appearance, their depictions range from preserving Old World technology to outright xenophobia, only showing an interest in eliminating threats to the remaining humans.
For Fallout 76, there's a bit of a hybrid going on. The Brotherhood here is known and recognized by Appalachia's people, but they're still early days. They exemplify the best of other Brotherhood of Steel factions -- a goal to preserve the technology of the Old World so as to better the survivors, but they are also exploring the notion of better integrating with survivors, both good and evil.
From the moment you set foot in the former ATLAS Observatory (now rechristened Fort Atlas), it's instantly familiar. Brotherhood Knights and Scribes are wandering about, with one poor soul at the front tasked with greeting everyone to avoid the irascible Knight Shin. Naturally, Shin is your priority - and who you'll need to speak with first to join the Brotherhood. Throughout your time with the Brotherhood, you'll find familiar archetypes and a much friendlier Brotherhood of Steel than you're used to, a welcome change from the more militant Brotherhood spearheaded by Arthur Maxson in Fallout 4.
A NEW HOME
"Steel Dawn" also sees some significant changes made to the C.A.M.P. system thanks to C.A.M.P. Shelters. The Shelters are functionally free-standing doors that act as load zones to a unique, instanced area that anyone can enter.
The Shelters help to alleviate at least one of Fallout 76's major flaws -- build budget. You could only build so many objects in your C.A.M.P., and it didn't amount to much. Since the Shelters are instanced, you can build inside them without eating up the overall build budget. This would allow you to build your entire base inside a shelter or build a small base leading up to a Shelter entrance if you so desired.
There are three Shelters available. The first variant, Vault Utility Room, will unlock free for players after completing a short quest and consists of a basic hatch built into the ground, leading to a few rooms. The second option, Vault Atrium, is a more standard steel door -- this one will only be available to paid Fallout 1st members initially before being added to the Atomic Shop at a later day. A final variant, the massive Vault Atrium, will only be available via the Atomic Shop. Each Shelter has a unique style and layout, making it that much more disappointing that they're hidden behind the Atomic Shop paywall for most users.
We were able to transfer our base into the Shelter mostly, but there are some caveats. Sure, we could build all of our crafting, bed and cosmetic supplies, but the Shelters are all based on Vaults -- meaning there's no dirt. No dirt means you'll still have to rely on the dangerous outside world to plant your farm for the game's essential survival mechanic. There's also a lot of personality lost by building your base inside the Shelters; after all, you can only really place items in the shelter, as opposed to the more free reign C.A.M.P. building mechanic.
RETURN TO THE MOUNTAINS?
All this begs the question -- is it time to return to Fallout 76? The game suffered a rocky launch and an even rockier run to date. While Bethesda are committed (at least, for now) to maintaining the game's relevance, the fact of the matter is the player base continues to wane, and paywalls like Fallout 1st and the Atomic Shop only add to the game's negative appearance.
Still, we found "Steel Dawn" enjoyable. The Shelter helps a lot with base building, although it still doesn't remedy the game's ongoing issue with criminally low player storage. The addition of the Brotherhood of Steel also adds a lot of depth to the game; they're an iconic aspect of Fallout and something that 76 was sorely missing. "Steel Dawn" will also be adding a number of weapons into the mix -- we particularly loved The Fact Finder, a Legendary .44 pistol we received from that featured an explosive two-shot effect. There's also a new rocket launcher, the Hellstorm Missile Launcher, a devastating new heavy gun that can launch 4-6 missiles in each volley.
"Steel Dawn" is a perfect starting point for new players, and for returning players, the Brotherhood may be enticing enough to draw you in. It remains to be seen if "Steel Dawn" and the several other recent expansions can breathe new life into the ailing Fallout 76, but Bethesda is definitely continuing to move in the right direction.
Developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, Fallout 76 is available now. "Steel Dawn" will be available for release sometime in December.