Fallout 76being a multiplayer game in an otherwise exclusively single-player franchise naturally means that it varies from past games in the franchise in several ways. One such difference betweenFallout 76and its predecessors is the potency of certain buildcrafting tools, likeFallout 76’s perk cards, as well as minor, temporary buffs via consumable items. With pastFalloutgames often being criticized for letting players achieve omnipotent builds that trivialize the game’s RPG elements, the limitsFallout 76places on players' builds are arguably necessary for the sake of a balanced multiplayer experience, despite being initially considered a downgrade.
A prime example of howFallout 76limits players' builds is the potency of buffs from Vault-Tec bobbleheads. InFallout 3andFallout 4, bobblehead consumables provide permanent buffs to players, incentivizing players to collect every bobblehead in the game to upgrade their builds. InFallout 76, bobbleheads aren’t permanent and only one bobblehead buff can be utilized at once. However, despite being much less potent,Fallout 76’s bobbleheads have a few unique advantages over bobbleheads from previousFalloutgames, ultimately making them a happy middle-ground.
Fallout 76’s Bobbleheads Have Become a New Trading Currency
One of the biggest advantages ofFallout 76’s version of bobbleheads is that they respawn often, they can be purchased from select vendors and even earned as a reward for completing certain activities, allowing players to stock up on bobbleheads and use them as a trading currency. Similar to pastFalloutgames,Caps are the main currency inFallout 76. However, unlike past games,Fallout 76imposes a maximum limit of 40,000 Caps for all players, making additional currencies a necessity.
Outside of Caps,Fallout 76players generally use leader bobbleheads, skill magazines, berry mentats, and bobby pins, among other collectible items, as trading currencies. As long as players have the inventory and stash space to collect them, using other collectibles as a currency allows players to make exchanges that potentially exceed the value of 40,000 Caps, which is often necessary when trading for some ofthe rarest items inFallout 76, such as rare apparel items or God-roll legendary weapons.
When trading for highly valuable items, players should consider enlisting the services of acourier inFallout 76, who will act as a third-party mediator to prevent trading scams.
In general,Fallout 76’s version of bobblehead buffs are much weaker than those from pastFalloutgames because the buffs are only temporary, and players can only use one at a time. While this is admittedly a downgrade compared to howFallout 3andFallout 4let players permanently stack every bobblehead buff together, this is a necessary step toward combating the overpowered builds inFalloutgames that often undermine the RPG elements.
Equipping the Curator Luck Perk Card inFallout 76will extend the duration of bobbleheads and magazine buffs from 30 minutes to 60 minutes.
Instead of having a one-size-fits-all build inFallout 76, players are encouraged to make separate builds that specialize in a limited variety of weapons and SPECIAL skills. Otherwise, players will generally have to sacrifice parts of theirbuilds inFallout 76to achieve a well-rounded endgame build.
Ultimately, while the potency of their buffs may not be as powerful as those in pastFalloutgames,Fallout 76’s bobbleheads still have some redeeming qualities that arguably make up for this. Especially considering that balancing is a much more delicate matter in online multiplayer games,Fallout 76’s bobbleheads are a happy middle-ground that has turned into a valuable currency despite not being as powerful as buildcrafting tools.
Fallout 76
WHERE TO PLAY
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4, welcome you to Fallout 76. Twenty-five years after the bombs fell, you and your fellow Vault Dwellers—chosen from the nation’s best and brightest – emerge into post-nuclear America on Reclamation Day, 2102. Play solo or join together as you explore, quest, build, and triumph against the wasteland’s greatest threats. Explore a vast wasteland, devastated by nuclear war, in this open-world multiplayer addition to the Fallout story. Experience the largest, most dynamic world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe. Expand southward to Skyline Valley – a brand-new region of Appalachia. Investigate the cause of the electric storm circling overhead and unveil the mystery around Vault 63 and its dwellers, including a shocking new Ghoul type – The Lost.
