Checking out Fallout 76: Burning Springs - Preview
Fallout 76 has come a long way since its original launch, and while a few players were burnt by that day one offering, many stuck around and now, almost 7 years later, the game is still growing. This December, it will grow once more when Burning Springs arrives, but this is not just your average update, this is something much bigger.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way, yes, The Ghoul is coming to Fallout 76 and will be voiced by actor Walton Goggins, who brings the character to life in Fallout on Prime Video. This is perhaps the most synergistic game update since Defiance had its tv show and game running side by side. Now while that latter game had storylines that took place on the tv show and then played out in the game, here things are a bit different. Now if you are thinking about the timeline, you will need to remember that Fallout 76 is canonically the first events to happen post bomb drops in the Fallout lore. For those keeping score at home, the Fallout series is the furthest away from that, with 3, New Vegas and 4 taking place between. So, this is going to be the first time that the wasteland has really taken notice of The Ghoul, but why is he here? I will answer that in a moment, first I need to answer the where is here?
The here is Ohio which is to the Northwest of West Virginia, with the Capital Wastelands being to the Northeast. With Ohio being a state that is part lush verdant greenery and sprawling farmland, once the bombs dropped that farmland became desert and the lush trees about the place, yeah, they are not around as much. For those Fallout fans, this means that the world of Ohio in Fallout 76 will feel a lot like Fallout New Vegas, more so with all the Deathclaws about the place. Those Deathclaws are one of the three pillars that the team wanted to ensure this new area offered players, the other two being desert and raiders, again cementing that New Vegas vibe. One of the raider groups is lead by a super mutant known as the Rust King and the first time you meet, let’s just say that you have to put a cage on your normal reaction to see a mutant. But while the Rust King controls parts of this new wasteland, there are other raiders who are less interested in joining a group chat and that is where bounties come in.
Bounties are the new addition to the game with this update, and as you might expect, there are some easy ones and some harder ones. You will get your bounties from The Ghoul and at first, because he does not know you, the only ones you can do are grunt hunts. These are perfect for one player to do, though you can bring a fiend if you like. As you do missions for The Ghoul, you will start to earn their respect and then you will unlock Head Hunts, these are more dangerous and will need many players to defeat. As for where you can find The Ghoul, well he operates out of Highway Town, which is as you may have guessed, a town built on an old highway, but you will also encounter there in other locations, but again spoilers.
Now in what we got to see, Head Hunts are going to demand your attention, but they won’t be the only thing as there are two new public events being added, Gearin’ Up and Sinkhole Solutions. That last one will see waves of enemies pop out of the ground, all of which will be a challenge, but there will be some legendary level foes to deal with. But hey at least it is not an arena full of Deathclaws, that is where Gearin’ Up comes in, the Rust King trains up Deathclaws, gives them armour and sends them out to fight. The creatures also roam the wasteland, as we did get to see a number of them pop out of the ground, without any event happening.
Those who are C.A.M.P builders, or fishing fiends will also find new things to do here for those, there are also new flora and fauna to deal with, including the Rad Hog. The entire map, except for Highway Town, can also be blown up so those players seeking to put some boom into Ohio can do that. With a map that is at least biggerer to use the scientific term that Skyline Valley, the exact size was not told to us, there should be a lot for players to do in this new area.
Fallout 76 is out now, but the new Burning Springs update, along with The Ghoul, will arrive on December 17. Yes, that is the same day as the new season of Fallout, so it will be a great day for fans of the series.
