It’s been two years since I first ventured into the Appalachian wilderness after leaving Vault 76 in Bethesda’s newest installment in the Fallout series. Those two years were full of adventure, fights, grinding and exploration. Was it worth it? Is Fallout 76 better than Fallout 4? Let’s find out.

Those of you who follow this blog reguarly may remember my first article about Fallout 76, in which I shared my opinions after three months of playing. I was pretty unexperienced in terms of what Fallout 76 had to offer back then, but I already knew that the overall vibe of the game was positive. Has it changed over those two years? Well, both yes and no.

What changed, is my opinion on the end game. Back in March 2022 when I wrote the first article about Fallout 76, I did not experience the actual end game, since I was far from finishing the main quest line. I remember, though, that many players complained in various places (Reddit, Twitter, etc.) about the lack of actual end game and the inability to replay the main quest line once it is concluded. I finished the main quest, culminating in lauching my first nuke, sometime last Summer. I had originally planned to not touch the nukes until I reach level 1000. However, I found myself getting more and more intrigued about the whole process, and since I have accumulated few hundreds nuclear keycards (consummable items required to lauch a nuke), I gave it a shot once I reached level 700.

I had read quite a few guides and articles about launching a nuke in Fallout 76 even before I tried it myself, so I knew what to expect. To be completely honest, I expected it to be more difficult than it actually was. Do not get me wrong, it still is a rather long ordeal, taking approximately 40-ish minutes (if done a proper way; there are numerous glitches that people use to finish the launch in under 10 minutes, but I prefer to play without using glitches). But because I have been using endgame equipment for months now, the challenges of a nuclear silo were not that difficult. The main issue during the first walkthrough the silo was finding the correct locations where to perform some tasks (especially, repairing the mainframe proved to be diffuclt, as I erroneously assumed I needed to repair the mainframe I had previously destroyed to deactivate the defense systems). Luckily, after an hour or so I finally managed to launch my first nuke and trigger the Scorched Earth event.

Ever since, I have launched nukes several times, from different silos in Appalachia (there are three silos: Alpha, Bravo and Charlie, although their internal layout is identical). It turned out to be a refreshing activity, in comparison to all “regular” quests and public events that I know thoroughly. I managed to stay under 40 minutes when fighting my way through the silo. At one point, however, I tried to change tactics and used Chinese Stealth Armour instead, to avoid confrontation whenever possible. It further reduced the time needed to complete the silo by additional 10 minutes or so.

The quests leading to the launch of the first nuke were interesting and diverse. They allowed me to travel through the entire Appalachia and visit locations I haven’t seen in a while. One thing that I skipped, though, was decyphering the launch code. I read a tutorial online and decided that it does not sound like fun. I used codes found at NukaCrypt instead.

Once I finished the main quest line I have entered the actual end game, since there are only few remaining quests, mostly related to previously published expansions, that I need to finish. Despite this fact, I do not feel like there is no end game. The end game itself is whatever one chooses it to be: finishing all side quests, rolling legendary weapons to find a perfect 3-star legendary, roleplaying as a Responder, Fire Breather, member of the Enclave, etc. Fallout 76 is so diverse anyone can find a way of enjoying the game once there are no more quests to do.

Regarding the things that stayed the same for me, those are mainly the standard issues with time gating. Although developers have increased daily limit for scrips (a type of virtual currency obtained for traiding in legenday items one does not want) and every now and then there are events when certain limits are doubled, Fallout 76 remains the game of patience. The upper limit of caps (money) in game remains at 40 000, and one can earn only 1400 each day by selling unwanted goods to an NPC vendor. If that is not enough one can always try to sell items to other players, although it is not guaranteed that anyone will purchase those items. Besides that, one can get small amounts of money by looting bodies or completing quests. But if you want to get rich fast, try some other games.

I must admit that I am no longer bothered by daily limits to the extend I used to during my first months of playing Fallout 76. That is mostly due to already using the best armour, weapons and equipment in the game. I have no incentives to earn more money or roll another legendary weapon, because the weapons that I have are already the best for my build. That’s why in the end game the limits are not as important as during the main playthrough, when one wants to level up fast.

While Fallout 76 is in mature state, it does not mean that the game is left on its own. Every couple of months there is a new season, and with each season there are new cosmetic items, skins and decorations introduced. However, what is more important, developers are regularly adding some small quality of life improvements. It is heartening to see that players’ opinions are heard and taken into account, and that the developers want Fallout 76 to be more user friendly. The newest update, from the beginning of December, brings two new expeditions to the game, together with new enemies and monsters. Unfortunately, it is visible that some of them are only reskinned mobs that were already in the game (they even share some sounds, which should not be the case). Nevertheless, it brings a bit of fresh air into the game.

Overall Fallout 76 is a good game, and while it is not for everyone, I found it pleasant and enjoyable. I like to roam Appalachia mountains and look for adventures in the wilderness and ruins dotting the landscape. After two years I can safely admit that it was a good decision to give this title a shot. I am sure there are many hours of great time awaiting me in Fallout 76.