Welcome to Inside the Vault!

This week we have some exciting news to share about our next major update which expands our map deep into the wooded heartland of Skyline Valley!

Starting today, Vault Dwellers on Steam will be able to start testing this new update in our Public Test Server (PTS) and providing feedback on their experience in our community Discord [discord.gg](which you should join to stay up-to-date on all Fallout 76 news).

Read on to learn more about what’s currently being tested.


The PTS for the Skyline Valley update will happen in two parts, Part 1 launches this afternoon and will allow you to get acquainted with the new region, participate in a public event, and stake your claim on the land by placing down C.A.M.P.s. Part 2 will release in May and will introduce you to the all-new main questline.

The new public event that you will be testing is called Dangerous Pastimes. In this event, you will help thrill-seeking storm chasers get the best picture of the storm by protecting them from the elements, the Lost, and nearby Charged creatures.

To help you plan around what to test, we’ve prepared a special outline of when events will be happening throughout the PTS period. We invite you to join and provide feedback on these events.

Public Event Testing Schedule (Please Note: These Dates Are Subject to Change)

April 18

• Once PTS is open, the new public event, Dangerous Pastimes, will be running every 20 minutes.

April 27

• Dangerous Pastimes event will be replaced by Fasnacht as we test some changes around the event. Primarily, the changes will be focused on the performance and pacing of the event. Fasnacht will be running at the top of the hour.

April 29

• Dangerous Pastimes replaces Fasnacht.

Along with testing the public events, we want to specifically request that you all nuke the region while playing. Maybe something will happen, maybe nothing. Probably nothing... right?

Keep an eye on our Discord [discord.gg]for updates on when all these events are active and for feedback threads where you can share all of your thoughts and report issues you may run into.


Starting with the Skyline Valley Update, we are beginning a series of combat updates that are aimed to improve your experience. Our goal is for these changes to have positive effects on combat throughout the game. These will be tested during PTS.

To help set expectations, we expect these changes to take effect in a variety of places (Weapons, Creatures, etc.) across multiple patches. Giving you all a lot of time to provide feedback on the adjustments being made to ensure we’re moving in a positive direction.

To start things off, we’re adjusting the following creatures:

• Angler
  
• Cave Cricket
  
• Floaters
  
• Gulper
  
• Mutant Hound
  
• Protectron

We have also improved how we calculate the falloff for weapon damage at range. We expect this to smooth out the falloff damage for weapons that historically lost most of their damage right away. All ranged weapons benefit from this, but it should be most visible with Shotguns and Pipe Guns, as well as when fighting larger creatures such as Deathclaws.


All players who own a copy of Fallout 76 on Steam can participate in our PTS. Please note that progress from the PTS does not carry over into the live game. The Atomic Shop is also disabled during this testing period.

To install the PTS, open your Steam library, and install “Fallout 76 Public Test Server”.

• Trees Around Dark Hollow Manor – When viewing Dark Hollow Manor from a distance, a large section of trees around the manor appears invisible.
  
• The Lost – When a Lost Engineer is decapitated, orange glass remains visible and attached to the body.
  
• **Slumber Mill Hotel River** – Water under the bridge near Slumber Mill Hotel will appear unmoving.
  
• Neurological Warfare – Door Prompt – When attempting to enter boss event area during the waiting period, players will see a pop-up saying “Unlock [Requires Terminal]”. Players will need to wait for the timer to run to 0.
  
• Reward Names (C.A.M.P. Objects, Outfits) - All new C.A.M.P. and Outfit rewards unlockable in Dangerous Pastimes and Neurological Warfare should be considered as temporary names. Final names will appear in the next PTS update.
  
• Reward Functionality – New C.A.M.P. rewards may display issues with destructibility in C.A.M.P.s, tradability with vendors, destructibility on drop, stashing in non-stash containers, and/or being unlocked prematurely in workshops.
  
• Reward Preview in Workshop Menu – Thumbnails of new rewards may appear over zoomed in when viewing them in workshop menu.
  
• Neurological Warfare – Collision on Balcony – When waiting for Neurological Warfare to start in the “Robot Testing Waiting Area”, players can jump through part of ceiling asset on the balcony.
  
• Neurological Warfare – Lighting on Balcony – While waiting for Neurological Warefare to start in the “Robot Testing Waiting Area”, lighting may flicker along the west of the balcony.
  
• Neurological Warfare – Event Image – Placeholder loading screen is present when players join event from map.
  
• Dangerous Pastimes – Rewards Information - Dangerous Pastimes event has no potential rewards listed in the event information tooltip.
  
• Camp Liberty – Graphical Issues – Players may be able to see enemies and environmental assets appearing in and out inconsistently when looking inside the main camp building. This has been reported when viewing from the north or eastern sides.

Fallout 76 has one of the most welcoming communities in gaming, with an enormous, shared wealth of tips, tricks, and support on how to survive this more dangerous version of Appalachia. If you haven’t stepped back out of Vault 76 in a while or if you are venturing out for the first time, we have a handful of advice from the pros – the development team and players that started out like you! Consider this a sort of... Wasteland Survival Guide: Appalachia Edition.

It can be intimidating coming out of the Vault at level 1 and seeing a level 500 in gigantic power armor stomping your way only to stop right in front of you and drop a bag at your feet. Your first instinct may be to flee. But don’t fret! This is just the Wastelander way. Many of the veteran Fallout 76 players remember what it was like their first time coming into the dangerous Appalachia and they just want to lend you a helping hand. These drops tend to be welcome bags full of useful resources and items to get you started on your adventure. Don’t forget to say “hi” with a friendly emote wave!

• OH, you seen that level 500 in kick ass power armor coming up to you? Don't worry, he's actually trying to give you a whole bunch of cool stuff. Helping low levels is just what we do around Appalachia.
  
• Those higher-level players chasing you down like a madman? They probably have weapons, armor, plans, stimpaks, purified water and all things needed to get you started and survive a molerat attack! Give ‘em a chance and say hi!
  
• Join the Public Team - it'll get you more XP and no one cares if you do.
  
• Join casual teams! There's no expectation that you'll adventure together and, as a bonus you, gain more XP AND can fast travel to your teammate's C.A.M.P.s!

You may be surprised to find out that there is a benefit to being a pack rat. While it’s important to monitor your encumbrance to make sure you don’t go over, (don’t want to run out of AP trying to outrun that Scorchbeast!) you are encouraged to pick up and Scrap as many items as you can. Items that may look like a pile of junk often have important components that will benefit you in making your weapons, armor and C.A.M.P. the best they can be. There are also several Perk cards to help you with those skills, so don’t dismiss that desk fan in that abandoned office you just walked by.

• Grab literally everything early game. Most things can be broken down for materials and/or recipes, so it’s worth getting as many components as you can. Before placing your materials in your Stash, remember to hit up any crafting station and utilize the “Scrap All Junk” feature.
  
• Leave no containers unlooted! That extra bobby pin may come in handy down the line.
  
• Finding a spot with a junk pile early on for your C.A.M.P. can be super beneficial. I can't tell you how many times early on I ran out of adhesive or screws for some to luckily be in the junk extractor!

Vault 76 didn’t exactly prepare you for “roughing it.” Luckily with a C.A.M.P. you can create your own safe space just about anywhere you want. Consider your C.A.M.P. your own momentary reprieve. You can customize it almost any way you want if you have the time and resources. Your C.A.M.P. offers you a free Fast Travel point, a place to store your extra items and scraps, a comfy place to rest your head (assuming you set yourself up with a bed of course!) or somewhere cool to invite your friends over to hang. Some players even moonlight their C.A.M.P. s as shops, so make sure you stop by and say "Hi” to other players to see what their C.A.M.P.s are up to.

• Camp McClintock is a good place to set up a first C.A.M.P., it’s good to farm for stuff early on and the Mister Gutsys keep it pretty safe.
  
• Check C.A.M.P. vendors, a lot of people sell plans super cheap. If the prices are super high, most likely you can find someone else selling the same plan for way less.
  
• For newer players, check the donation boxes! Higher level players will often leave useful items, weapons and armor in them! The ones outside of Vault 76 and Whitespring Station are particular hotspots.
  
• Use player C.A.M.P.s as fast-travel markers to save yourself long journeys on foot.
  
• Building a farm in your C.A.M.P. is a convenient source of caps (and adhesive via corn, and mutfruit, and ‘tatos). You can also use water purifiers to farm caps.
  
• Check your "Notes" section for Plans! Plans can be found in the world, bought from vendors or rewarded for Events/Quests.

In post-Nuclear Appalachia, it’s best practice not to trust the locals and wildlife. Not every creature you meet will want to maim you, but why risk it? How you play, and what weapons you arm yourself with are up to you, but it’s a good idea to make sure you have something quick and easy to attack with, should you need to fend off some raiders or radroaches. As you play, you’ll find the style that works best for you whether you want to go the Slugger route with a focus on melee or represent the heavy artillery with miniguns and rocket launchers.

• Always carry a backup melee weapon when you're a lower level player - it's Murphy's Law that your gun will run out of ammo or break at the worst moment.
  
• Holding the reload button will holster your weapon, allowing you to move faster.
  
• You can tap the reload button with a fully loaded weapon to cause the ammo/grenade count to reappear before fading back out again.
  
• Always check your ammo for missiles/mini nukes - they weigh a ton and will over encumber you fast. And fusion cores! (Their weight can add up.)

Customizing a character’s playstyle is one of the best parts of the game, though it could be a bit tricky for someone experiencing it for the first time. Once you’ve decided on your looks and features, you’ll want to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes and the Perk cards that give you the skills to go with them. Perk cards are very diverse and wide ranging from level to level to help you by increasing the damage you deal to enemies, weight reduction, enhancing the benefits of aid or resources, unlocking the ability to craft new weapons, armor or C.A.M.P. items. The list goes on! So, take your time to figure out what suits you best. Later, when you’re feeling up to it, you can even create a special Loadout to change the type of build you play. Perk card selections are very personal, but there are a few that are universally loved.

• Traveling Pharmacy is a good Perk for weight. Stimpaks weigh a bunch, especially the super ones.
  
• Thru-Hiker under Agility can save a ton of weight from water/alcohol/food.
  
• Unless you have literally nothing better to use, do not equip lockpicking/hacking cards as part of your regular build. Swap them out as and when you need them. This is the beauty of the perk cards system, learn to love it.
  
• Don't sell Perk cards that you don't want right away. You won't be able to use the coins for a while, and you can switch your build up on the fly. Give yourself options.
  
• Concentrated Fire is the Perk card that lets you use the V.A.T.S. you know from the SP games. Otherwise you cannot target individual body parts.
  
• A useful thing to have would be the Super Duper Perk card. Whenever you craft something, there is a 10%/20%/30% chance of getting double the results--Really helps if you're crafting weapons for attachments or creating ammo/consumables.

One of the best ways to get XP and get right into the action is to try your hand at any number of Public Events Fallout 76 has to offer. If you see a lot of dots on your map, that’s usually a good indication that there’s an activity in progress. In addition to XP, Events can also net you some pretty sweet items to help you through your regular journeys. Players of all levels are always keen to have a helping hand when tackling some of the more formidable opponents and tasks Appalachia has to offer. If you’re apprehensive, you can also take a peek at the Event information to see what the recommended level is to tackle the task.

• Join a group and go to events. Even if you die a lot, you will soak up exp, and stems and useful gear.
  
• If you see a lot of players at a public event on the map, don't be afraid to join because you're lower level. The more, the merrier!
  
• If you're at a public event and it has a countdown timer on it, don't start it when you're by yourself, unless you can complete it by yourself.
  
• If you're at the end of an event and you see a bunch of dropped loot, don't be afraid to take it. They didn't want it.
  
• Joining an event will fast travel you to the area for free!

At the end of the day, it’s all up to you how you play, and the things you want to do. Appalachia has a lot to offer so play at your own pace.

• Ranger towers are scattered throughout the map. Climbing to the top of one of these towers allows you to “Survey” the area, which adds points to your map that you can explore. It’s also just a pretty view.
  
• If there is a punch bowl in someone's C.A.M.P., drink from it immediately and without question.
  
• You can get XP shooting the balloons during the Fasnacht Event.
  
• There is a perfectly preserved pie on the roof of West Tek.
  
• Don’t dismiss the “Quickboy” option. It makes the regular Pip-Boy display in front of you as a floating window in a similar manner to the power armor Pip-Boy display.
  
• Hunting animals for meat to cook is one of the more convenient sources of healing, if you're low on stimpaks.