Fallout 76 gets new “Survival” game mode – What’s new?

Fallout 76 had a very rough start, but Bethesda seems to be committed to making the game great again – or at least, the franchise. Maybe.

Players looking for a more dangerous survival mode are going to get what they ordered. Survival mode is coming soon and last week Bethesda said that it’s pretty much a more extreme version of PvP mode, which is currently underappreciated by most players since it doesn’t really pay to go around killing other players.

The game uses a bounty system and highlights your name with a huge “WANTED” sign when you kill someone. This allows other players to kill you without the minimized damage reduction that would otherwise be in place if you attempt to attack pacifist players.

This hardcore version of PvP will make it a lot more difficult to play the game. There are fewer PvP restrictions and it makes the game that much more difficult. But with that, there are more rewards to reap.

Survival is a separate game mode completely isolated from the main game. You’ll have the same quests, events, and story as you would in the standard mode, and you can use an existing character or start anew.

However, if you should play with a previous character, your progress will travel along with you between the two modes. And it’ll write to the other character also. So one character will be affected by two game modes. This change has been requested by the community for quite a while now as no one really uses the PvP system at all.

Survival mode works the same as the main game, but all players except teammates or event group mates are flagged as hostile by default. PvP combat won’t have any player attacking restrictions. You can go around killing anyone at full damage. The game mode is currently in beta and is selectable right next to the Adventure mode.

Level scaling works the same way and new characters will have a chance to fight back. This means low-levels can still shoot you right back even if you’re fully decked-out in Power Armor. Level doesn’t really matter much at all in this game. Gear is what’s critical. Seriously.

Bethesda wants to play around with the game mechanics. There’s no seek revenge option upon getting killed. You can either respawn at your CAMP or Vault 76. They also want to double the Caps you get when you kill someone and may drop their Aid gear or other gear alongside their Junk. This makes it that much more scary in when you venture out. There will also be leaderboards and more content will be added over time.

Fallout 76 has had major content updates over time and they continue to add to the game even after the many bugs, 500 Atom refunds, and the latest “premium” Fallout 76 leather jacket memes.

Fallout 76 Survival beta will roll out in March.