Start on Reclamation Day
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Fallout 76 begins on Reclamation Day in 2102, twenty-five years after the bombs fell, when you and the other Vault Dwellers emerge into post-nuclear America together.
A shared wasteland, not a solo one
The store calls this an open-world multiplayer addition to the Fallout story and says you can journey alone or with friends in the same Appalachia. The question of who else is on the map is therefore settled before you start: other players are part of the setting rather than something you opt into.
Build a character and a reputation
Character creation runs on the S.P.E.C.I.A.L system, and the store says you forge your own path and reputation across a wasteland described as new and untamed with hundreds of locations. Deciding early what you want to be known for gives an open map some direction.
Six regions, six risk levels
Six distinct West Virginia regions are named, from the forests of Appalachia to the noxious crimson expanses of the Cranberry Bog, and each is said to offer its own risks and rewards. Reading the region before committing to a long trip is the simplest way to avoid a session that ends badly.
Where you put down roots is the next decision, covered in building a C.A.M.P. that works twice. What to aim a session at is covered in turning each season into a goal.