Fallout 76 is an action role-playing game that can be played from either a first-person or third-person perspective.[3]: 10 Set in the Appalachian region of West Virginia, the player controls a character who leaves a fallout shelter 25 years after a nuclear war left much of the United States decimated.[4] The game is entirely online, and utilizes dedicated servers.[5][6] While players are able to play the game solo, they are encouraged to complete quests with other players on the server.[7] Additionally, players can trade with each other, and engage in combat.[8] Private servers are only available through the use of the monthly membership Fallout 1st.[9]
Fallout 76 features an open world map that the player can freely explore.[10] The map replicates many real locations from West Virginia, such as the cities of Charleston and Morgantown, as well as landmarks like The Greenbrier resort and New River Gorge Bridge.[11] The game features numerous enemies, including raiders, mutated animals, and ghouls.[11][12] Some enemies come from West Virginia folklore, such as the Mothman and the Flatwoods monster.[11] The player is equipped with a wearable computer called the Pip-Boy.[10] The device serves as a menu, and allows the player to access items they have acquired, view detailed character statistics and active quests, and look at the map.[3]: 8 The player can use the Pip-Boy to fast travel to previously discovered locations, and as a radio to listen to makeshift broadcasts.[3]: 8 There are a variety of weapons in the game, including standard guns, energy-based guns, melee weapons, and explosives.[3]: 131 While in combat, the player can utilize a gameplay mechanic known as V.A.T.S., which automatically targets an enemy and displays a percentage chance of hitting the enemy with an attack.[13] Unlike in previous Fallout games, V.A.T.S. does not pause or slow down time, and instead displays information in real time.[13]
The player accrues experience points by completing quests, killing enemies, and crafting items.[14] Once the player earns a certain amount of experience points, they can level up.[3]: 36 Each level up allows the player to increase one of seven attributes: strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck.[3]: 36 These attributes, known as S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats, govern certain aspects of the player character; for example, the strength stat determines how many items the player can carry, as well as the damage of melee attacks.[3]: 36 Additionally, the number of points the player has for a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat directly correlates to the number of perk cards they can use, which act as permanent beneficial upgrades.[3]: 37 For example, the endurance perk card Rifleman increases the damage of non-automatic rifles.[3]: 50 Perk cards can be reassigned or removed at any point in the game.[3]: 37
An important mechanic in Fallout 76 is the ability to build and defend bases.[10] At the start of the game, the player is given an item called the Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform (C.A.M.P.), which allows the player to convert raw materials into base structures.[10] C.A.M.P. bases can be placed anywhere on the map, and can be moved at anytime.[10] At a C.A.M.P. base, the player can craft weapons, armor, and modifications.[15] Enemies can attack bases, and the player can mitigate their attack by equipping the base with turrets and traps.[15] If the player joins a server that already features another base where their existing base should be, the player's base will be removed, and can be replaced in a different location.[15]
Fallout 76 features an in-game currency called atoms, which can be used to purchase items from a marketplace called the Atomic Shop.[16] Atoms can either be purchased with real-world money through microtransactions or by completing in-game challenges, such as crafting a piece of armor or leveling up.[16] The Atomic Shop sells cosmetic items, such as outfits and short character gestures called emotes.[16][17]
