The B.E.T.A (Break-it Early Test Application) for the Xbox One version of Fallout 76 is starting up tomorrow. Before the first test-players get the opportunity to explore the post-apocalyptic Appalachians, Bethesda is sharing some information about who players can expect to meet. The most recent of these reveals involves the Enclave, who are (supposedly) the precursors of the United States federal government. They first appeared as a major player in Fallout 2’s story and also in Fallout 3, the first Fallout game made by Bethesda.
The inclusion of NPC factions isn’t unexpected, but it’s also curious, as Bethesda said the people you’ll see outside the Vault will be other players, not quest-givers with dialog trees like in other Fallout games. It’s certainly a bit of an adjustment from the norm, but Bethesda’s Pete Hines told Game Informer that Fallout 76 will still have quests and a main story initiated by the Vault Overseer:
She left secret instructions for you, and that’s kind of the jumping-on point for what we call the main quest. At the end of it, you launch the nukes. The nukes are a game system, but they are also part of the main story.
With that in mind, it’s interesting to see the presence of factions, which would imply actual NPCs of which the Enclave was the most recently introduced.
In addition, there’s the Free States, a group of doomsday preppers, the Responders, who are made up of various emergency workers, the Raiders, a group of bandits and ne’er-do-wells, and the classic Brotherhood of Steel.
Keep in mind that Fallout 76 takes place in 2102, making this a prequel game to the rest of the franchise. As such, the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel will likely be a good deal different from the versions players know.
The Fallout 76 B.E.T.A schedule is set to release the Xbox One version tomorrow, while the PC and PS4 ones begin October 30. Both versions will have intermittent periods of availability. “On any given day the game might be up for anywhere between four to eight hours,”says Bethesda. “Focusing as many players as we can into these windows is our prime objective.”