Fallout 76‘s latest update, Milepost Zero, is set to hit the game on 3 September 2024. While it appears smaller in size compared to its epic predecessor, Skyline Valley, Milepost Zero is set to introduce very handy new mechanics that should change up gameplay.
As well as introducing a new season of content, Milepost Zero will feature new quests with the Blue Ridge Caravan Company, and the titular Milepost Zero – a new outpost location that will be populated by new vendors. You will have to earn the services of these vendors by taking on a range of escort and protection missions, but once you have access to the outpost, your world will open up.
As shared by Bill LaCoste, Lead Producer on Fallout 76, there will be four major vendors available at Milepost Zero, all of which can be upgraded to new tiers as you invest supplies:
“There’s a Brahmin Tamer, where you can spend supplies to upgrade your Brahmin. [There’s] also The Decorator, who allows you to change the look and theme of the interior space. [There’s] the Imported Goods Vendor, that allows you to purchase some unique goods that can’t be found anywhere else in Appalachia. [And there’s] the Ammo Merchant, who sells ammo in bulk, but can also unlock a quest for the V63 Laser Carbine and sell you mods for it.”
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Each of these vendors will aid your missions in the Wasteland, providing ample goods and upgrades to help you advance, and to help you keep your newly-acquired Brahmin safe.
Forging a new chapter with Milepost Zero
As a standalone chapter, Milepost Zero will be relatively disconnected from future updates – including those for Gleaming Depths and the incoming playable Ghoul content – but it has been crafted with its future potential in mind. Outposts, like all features of Fallout 76, have been developed “very carefully” with insight from “knowledgeable team members” and “guardians of lore” to “ensure accuracy” as the post-apocalypse rumbles on.
Each new Fallout 76 update begins with ample thought, as the team thinks about the stories it wants to tell in Appalachia, and knowing it has four major updates each year – and that it must listen to player feedback in the process.
“Once we have a good idea of the story, we start to scope out the kinds of features that help us tell that story,” LaCoste told GamesHub of the development process. “What most people don’t know is that the main character of Fallout 76 is really Appalachia itself.”
“Our team is always looking at player feedback, so one way we address those is if some of that feedback lines up well with a particular upcoming feature, we’ll have that team tackle it as part of their development … Our design and gameplay teams are also very up to speed with current player feedback and they will simply ingest those into their normal workflows, too.”
Has the success of Amazon’s Fallout reshaped Fallout 76?
In listening to this feedback, the Fallout 76 development team has also become well-aware of chatter and enthusiasm around Amazon’s Fallout TV series, and how Fallout 76 has become a de facto home for fans of the series looking to dive deeper into this world.
While the team is not currently planning to introduce new tie-in content for this demand, LaCoste has left the door open: “We are much earlier in the timeline than the TV show, [but] while there are no current plans to have direct connections between the two, we’ll never say never because this is a constantly evolving world.”
At the very least, keen enjoyers of the Fallout TV series who are playing Fallout 76 will have something major to look forward to in 2025: the option to play as a Ghoul. According to LaCoste, the rising popularity of the show’s own Ghoul, played by Walton Goggins, and the timing of Fallout 76‘s playable Ghoul announcement, was simply a nice coincidence.
“Funny thing is we’ve been wanting to play as a Ghoul for a long time, so the release and major success of the TV show came at a perfect time!” LaCoste said. “We’re super excited to see how our players use the Ghoul!”
Is now a good time to get into Fallout 76?
With the arrival of quieter chapter Milepost Zero, and plenty of news on the horizon for Gleaming Depths and the playable Ghoul update, LaCoste believes now is the right time for new players to get into Fallout 76.
“You’re coming in at the right time,” LaCoste said of potential new players. “Despite it being almost six years old, we’re just getting started with Fallout 76, and there are so many great features coming online this year and next that are going to blow your mind.”
As an added note, LaCoste was keen to add that Fallout 76 has “the BEST community in all of gaming,” with ample support for new players, and robust systems for those keen to get started even six years on.
In the coming months, we expect plenty of newbie-friendly chapters to unfold in the game, paving the way for larger content updates into 2025.
