Fallout 76 Character Progression, Leveling Detailed; SPECIAL And Perks Return In A New Form
Bethesda doled out several new details on how character progression and abilities function in Fallout 76 during a panel at Quakecon 2018. By nature of it being an online multiplayer survival game, the systems we know from previous Fallout games are changing. Series staples like the SPECIAL system and Perks return, but you'll have to get reacclimatized with them.
SPECIAL encompasses the following stats: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck. When players level up, they're given one point to put into any of those stats. The number of points in these stats affords players the ability to equip Perks that are specific to each of the SPECIAL stats.
Perks are relegated to cards which give players specific abilities, and each perk card has a value that requires a certain number of points in its relevant SPECIAL stat. Think of SPECIAL stats as a pool of resources to attach perk cards to. Perk cards are awarded each time a player levels up. Individual cards can also rank up so they can be boosted in effectiveness.
Fallout 76's Perks, Mutations, And Customization Explained
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SPECIAL points are no longer given past level 50 and each stat is capped at 15. However, perk cards are still awarded after level 50. To mix things up a bit, perk card packs (containing random perks) are given every two levels up to level 10, and every five levels afterward. This is to encourage experimentation with abilities players may not have considered otherwise. Card packs also come with a stick of gum (containing a joke), which alleviates hunger, which is a nice touch.
Perk cards can be swapped out at anytime, which allows for experimentation with different character builds or adapting to certain situations. For example, the Lone Wanderer perk gives players additional experience points when playing solo, but can be swapped out for another perk since it'd be a waste when joining a group.
The Charisma stat was specifically addressed since it was mainly used to NPC interactions in previous Fallout games (note that Fallout 76 has no NPCs, and all real players). Charisma will allow players to share perks and stat boosts with their squad when grouped up, and will certainly be key for forming an effective squad.
There are hundreds of perks, too. Capping SPECIAL stats limits how powerful players get, which is especially important in an online game, but the expansive perk system leaves room for creativity in builds.
No word was given on whether or not there will be microtransactions or a monetization element when it comes to the perk card system.
Bethesda is coming up with a clever way to deal with bad online manners that's quite punishing; read about how Fallout 76 handles griefing.
Fallout 76 launches for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on November 14, and a pre-release beta is scheduled for sometime in October. Bethesda stated that the Fallout 76 beta will be available on Xbox One first, followed by other platforms. The beta and full game will be distributed directly to consumers by Bethesda instead of using Valve's Steam platform.