The world of Fallout 76 is dangerous, bleak, and uncertain. So knowing what to do from the get-go is sometimes vital to your character’s long-term survival.
In the first Fallout multiplayer game, everything can feel overwhelming at the start due to the game’s lack of hand-holding. It pretty much throws you into the deep end from the beginning and tells you to go out there and make a name for yourself.
As long as you have healing items, a melee weapon, and a keen eye from the beginning, you should have enough tools to give yourself a good start. Weapons are nice to have for those all-or-nothing situations, but it’s hard to find bullets in the early stages of the game.
But what else should you look out for to stay alive? Well, that’s where we come in.
Note: This beginner’s guide is based on our time with the beta. Some sections could and might change when the actual game is released on Nov. 14.
Take your time in the starting area
Before you venture out of the Fallout shelter, take your time to explore Vault 76 and secure all of the free supplies. When you’re out in the wild, supplies might be limited and harder to come by, so it pays to be prepared.
You can always use one of the many vendors outside of the Fallout shelter to stock up, but you shouldn’t pass up on this great opportunity. Loot every space, do everything that’s asked of you, and you’ll be in a great position to start the game.
Don’t play alone
Fallout 76 is made with multiplayer in mind, so playing with friends and other players is basically essential.
You can have up to four players on a team at one time, which will increase your chances of survival and ward off players looking for a brawl. By coming together, you can watch each other’s backs while scavenging and leveling up, sharing experience along the way.
If you have no choice but to play the game solo, you can potentially team up with random players online. Chances are, however, that they’ll leave the party after a mission or do their own thing.
Hoard everything
Just like with Fallout 4, certain materials like Duct Tape are essential for crafting some of the best guns, armors, and items in the later game.
Something that you might come across at first that seems pretty useless might become the best item you could find, so it helps to just grab and hold onto what you can from the get-go since you never know what will be useful. Otherwise, you might find yourself on a frantic dash back to previously-explored locations in hopes of finding that one item you somewhat remember that you failed to pick up at the start of a quest.
Be conservative with your crafting
When you begin, don’t worry so much about crafting every weapon and armor piece that you can. Most of the time, you can find a good selection of items off of enemies you kill, so you won’t need to create everything.
You want to save all your materials for the later game, when better armor, weapons, and base building tools become available. This also circles back to the previous section, where certain materials and resources might become more essential down the line.
While it might seem like a good idea at first to create that new fancy gun, chances are it’ll become irrelevant a few levels down the line. Of course, be sure to repair stuff if and when possible, however, since you don’t want to be left defenseless in a heated moment. This is one of those situations where crafting is essential over anything else.
Run through most of the early game
Honestly, most of the early quests and events are just fodder—things that you need to do to level up to get to the main meat of the game.
You should, of course, try to do most of the early game quests to level up and get whatever rewards are thrown your way. But you shouldn’t stick in a certain area for too long.
You can then be free to explore as much as you please. Exploring is key to locating objects that you wouldn’t otherwise find, so it’s also fine to take a detour to check out new events and areas that other players might skip in favor of the story.
