Fallout 76 Update: PS4, Xbox One server maintenance news and early patch notes for July 16 (Pic: Bethesda)
Fallout 76 is getting ready to drop another sizeable update on the players of Appalachia later today.
A whole assortment of new features are being introduced with the release of Patch 11 for the game.
This is coming, as mentioned, July 16th and as you might imagine, this also means Bethesda will be taking the game offline in preparation.
Servers will be going offline for extended maintenance across all three of the games platforms: PS4, Xbox One and PC.
On Monday evening, Bethesda confirmed this through the officila Bethesda Help twitter account, which told fans:
"#Fallout76 will undergo maintenance across all platforms on July 16th at 10:00am EDT."
For those in the UK this means downtime will begin at 3pm BST in the afternoon, although it's not clear yet how long downtime could last.
We're inclined to think it could be a good few hours based on past incidents of server maintenance for the game.
And with Bethesda launching a substantial patch to the MMO, it's likely to be a little longer than usual.
When it comes to the new content, we already have a fairly decent idea of what's going to be added to the game thanks to some previous plans from the team posting on their official website.
For now though, you won't find any official patch notes because it's already been stated that these won't be released until during the Fallout 76 maintenance period.
As always though, Bethesda politely asked fans to share their thoughts on the new patch and let them know what else they'd like to see happen in future updates.
As we mentioned though, there's already a lot of info about what's changing thanks to the preview they supplied in a blog post.
We've detailed everything just below if you want a reminder.
However, to keep it brief the big additions seem to be a lot around balancing the game for new players who might have recently jumped into the game.
For instance, adjustments so that characters under level 25 pay fewer caps when fast traveling. Or making it easier for those under level 15 by having higher disease resistance.
There's also some nice quality of life changes that'll please long time players, like fixing power armour bugs and adjusting the “Scrap All Junk” option in Workbenches.
So there's something for everyone. As we mentioned though, keep reading and you can get a better look at the preview for Patch 11 and obviously stay tuned later today for the official patch notes when they drop.
PATCH 11 PREVIEW
FOOD AND SPOILAGE
Its no secret that the Wasteland can be a harsh environment that leaves even the heartiest explorers feeling parched and peckish. Were making a pair of changes that will help you more easily get to the food and drinks youve scrounged together before their expiration dates pass. After the update, raw food items and fluxes will last 50% longer before spoiling. Additionally, your food and drinks will no longer lose condition after you fast travel.
A SMOOTHER PATH FOR NEW CHARACTERS
Lots of new Dwellers have been leaving Vault 76 for the first time over the past few weeks and, in Patch 11, were looking to make a few adjustments to help new and low-level characters have more gradual introductions to some of the games mechanics and challenges. For example, characters under level 25 will pay fewer caps when fast traveling, those under level 15 will have higher disease resistance, and were replacing a number of early-game Challenge rewards with items and other supplies that will give these Dwellers a better chance at survival.
Were also looking to reduce creature difficulty in a few sub-regions within the Ash Heap, the Savage Divide, and Toxic Valley so that Dwellers who are stepping out of the Forest for the first time have fewer encounters with higher-level enemies. Well have more details to share in the full patch notes, but these are a few of the larger changes were planning to make to help new characters better adapt to life in the Wasteland.
