New Details
SPECIAL and Perk Cards
Players able to share Perk Cards in their group but diverse groups of characters with different Perk Cards are encouraged
On your first level-up, you pick a SPECIAL you want to increase and pick a Perk Card within that SPECIAL
Every SPECIAL is a pool of points for the Perk Cards you want to equip
Each Perk Card has a point cost for how powerful that card is
You can level-up Perk Cards for more powerful bonuses
You can pick any Perk Card you meet the requirements for, no randomness
SPECIAL cap is now at 15, not 10
Perk Cards can go up to level 5 in power
Mutation Perks with benefits and drawbacks
Charisma allows your party to share more Perk Cards with each other - encourages people to spend points in Charisma
Perk Card Packs are awarded every two levels and every five levels after level 10; you get a pack of four random Perk Cards
Gum from Perk Card Packs reduces Hunger need
You can swap out your active Perk Cards at any time
One Perk Card per level
Perk Card Packs can also give you Perk Cards you'd otherwise need to be a higher level for
When you hit level 50 you don't get SPECIAL points anymore but you still get to pick Perk Cards
Characters and Mechanics
You wake up in the Vault on Reclamation Day
Improved character customiser
You take your profile picture of your character with Photo Mode
Photo Mode has multiple settings and filters, can be used both inside the Vault and out
Few loading screens in the game, uses photos as loading screen slides
Completely customisable characters, including sex, at any time in the game
Increased Rads gives you greater chance of mutating
Gameplay
No saves
No PvP until level 5
You can ignore and block players to avoid them seeing you on the map
Pacifist flag to prevent you damaging other players
Community Questions
Why can't we play the B.E.T.A. sooner?
Things still need fixing, stress testing, need to get ready for crashing, getting ready to get it fixed ASAP
PvP; how does it work? What's the deal with griefing?
We want this element of danger but without griefing; when you shoot someone it does lower damage, acts as an invitation to combat - full damage when in full, mutual combat - more Caps rewarded on kill if higher level. If you are killed you can get revenge on your killer and get double rewards.
People who kill unwilling combatants become 'wanted' with a bounty - a known murderer. Visible on map to all players. There is no reward for killing unwilling combatants. Bounty comes out of the wanted persons Caps pool. They can't see the bounty hunters who come after them.
What happens when you die?
You only drop Junk items when you die, taking away important resources for crafting/building. There are stashes around the map to keep Junk safe.
If in PvP, you can take other people's Junk items as a reward.
How does respawning work?
You can respawn anywhere; Vault 76 is free to respawn but you can pay Caps to spawn elsewhere
If you're a higher level character with better armor, weapons etc. how do I engage with lower players?
Power curve; weapons are balanced between players bringing them to average level / damage dealt
What happens if I / a place gets nuked? What about my C.A.M.P.?
When you nuke a C.A.M.P. it does destroy structures but you can blueprint your camps and replace it and move it if needed. Easy to repair destroyed structures, players can destroy walls to prevent getting stuck or trapped
How does communication work?
Emote wheel, voice chat for teammates and optional voice chat for other players that is vicinity-based. You can mute other players.
VATS; how does it work if it's online and real-time?
You target the whole body, you can't target body parts without a perk. Perception based, can invest in it to improve it for those that struggle with gunplay
Who is scoring Fallout 76 and what's the music in the game?
Inon Zur. Lots of licensed songs, radio stations confirmed.
What about private servers?
Definitely going to happen, as is modding.
Live game; there is a roadmap, it'll be a very different game a year and years after launch. B.E.T.A. is the first step to those changes