The time is nearly upon us, vault dwellers. On October 30, the Fallout 76 BETA begins, according to the recently updated FAQ. At least, so long as you’ve pre-ordered the game from the Bethesda storefront.
Officially, the BETA (short for “Break-It Early Test Application”) begins a week earlier on the Xbox One. Betrayed feelings aside, PC users will still be able to take in the sprawling wastes of a post-apocalyptic Virginia for two weeks before the game’s launch.
And you can take it all in, I should add. The beta contains the entirety of Fallout 76. No invisible walls, electric fences, or rabid wolves stand in your way of conquering the desolate landscape. Naturally, with the entire game at your disposal, one might expect the beta size to be a tad girthy.
Interestingly enough, the entire download only comes in at around 45 gigabytes, which is comparable to that of Fallout 4. It may still be a demanding download to some, especially since Bethesda confirms you can’t pre-load the game.
Check out the game’s intro video below. It features Ron Perlman, who once more tells us that “War, war never changes…”
You Keep What You Kill (Mostly)
To reiterate, the Fallout 76 beta is the full game. According to Bethesda, progress is expected to make the conversion to the official launch in November. Items, experience, and more will still be yours to keep when you re-log into the actual game.
Not everything is up for grabs, however. Bethesda confirmed that even though you keep your progress, you can’t earn achievements during the beta. This probably means that you won’t be able to collect your weight in Atoms.
A new form of currency, Atoms are awarded by completing challenges and earning the aforementioned achievements. They can then be traded for in-game cosmetics for your wasteland warrior. You can also purchase Atoms with real money, because of course you can.
Break It ‘Til You Buy It
The FAQ makes it clear that the Fallout 76 beta isn’t going to run all day and night — that silly acronym doesn’t say “break-it” for the giggles. The company emphasizes in its FAQ that the beta will go in and out of service for stress tests during the weeks leading up to launch.
On any given day the game might be up for anywhere between four to eight hours. Focusing as many players as we can into these windows is our prime objective. Then we’ll fix what we need to fix and do it again and again from the start of B.E.T.A. until a few days before launch. We’ll give you as much heads up as possible because we need you to log in during these times and play the game.
This is a Bethesda game we’re talking about; there will be bugs aplenty (hell, even after the launch). I wholeheartedly believe that I — or any of the poor bastards on my team — will fall through the map or glitch into a tree at least once during the beta, and I might be a tad generous, here.
Someone here is going to cosplay as Groot at any second.
The BETA begins October 30 and lasts until a few days before the game’s official launch. Fallout 76 will release on November 14, 2018. For more on the beta, check out the official FAQ.
