War never changes, but Fallout 76 sure has. The online game that launched to a negative reception with no NPCs but plenty of bugs has mutated in new directions since its 2018 debut. Now it’s finding new life thanks to the wildly popular Fallout TV series that debuted a couple of weeks ago.

In truth, it never died, though it has stayed in decidedly niche territory for the past six years. Developer Bethesda Game Studios has released regular updates fixing (many of) the bugs, adding new ways to play, softening the game’s rough edges, and yes, introducing Fallout 3- or Fallout 4-like, character-driven quest lines with fully voiced NPCs—something many players felt was missing in the early days.

It’s still not for everybody, but for a select few of us who’ve stuck with it, there’s nothing else quite like it.

Like many older online games, it eventually settled into a situation where most of the players were high-level veterans on the PC and PlayStation platforms. (Microsoft’s Game Pass kept a steady trickle of new players coming in on the Xbox.) That’s all changed now, though; thanks to the TV series, the low-level newbies now outnumber the vets. There’s a wide range of players on every server, and the community’s reputation for being unusually welcoming has held strong amid the influx.

If you’re looking to give it a shot, here’s what you need to know.

• A weirdly welcoming wasteland
• How to tell if this unusual game is for you
• Some tips for the post-apocalypse
  • Join a casual party as soon as you log in
  • Don’t waste stimpaks early on
  • Check the donation boxes at train stations
  • Do the main quest, get better backpacks
  • You’ll need a lot of wood—you’ll find it in Helvetia
  • There’s food that boosts your XP, and it’s easy to get
  • The Uranium Fever public event is your ticket to power and riches
  • Travel to the Whitespring Resort
  • Radiation is powerful in ways you might not expect
  • Behold the strength of the bloodied build

If it’s for you, it’s for you

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