The Fallout 76 Beta is just a few days away from starting on the Xbox One, with the PC and PS4 Betas following one week after. As the launch date grows nearer, Bethesda has been teasing fans with some of the new upcoming Fallout 76 factions. Although the game won’t feature any human NPCs, there are still factions of one sort or another. It’s unknown if players will be able to join any, but they will exist in the game’s canon and likely be the source of many quests. The latest faction to be unveiled by Bethesda is a wholly new one; The Free States.
Fallout 76 Factions: The Free States
Thus far, Bethesda has confirmed that the Brotherhood of Steel will appear in Fallout 76 (though again, not as living human NPCs). There will also be a new faction called the Responders, who may appear through robots and recordings. The Free States has more in common with the latter in that they were survivors of the nuclear destruction. While the Responders were made up of emergency personnel, the Free States were people who had seen the war coming and made their own preparations.
“On October 23, 2077,” explains Bethesda; “the world was plunged into nuclear war. But what if you expected the worst? And planned for it? In Appalachia, a group of doomsday preppers did exactly that. Organised as the Free States, they holed up in their bunkers. And survived. At least, for a while…”
On October 23, 2077, the world was plunged into nuclear war. But what if you expected the worst? And planned for it? In Appalachia, a group of doomsday preppers did exactly that. Organized as the Free States, they holed up in their bunkers. And survived. At least, for a while… pic.twitter.com/a85PAvAVCQ
— Fallout (@Fallout) October 20, 2018
Factions like the Responders and the Free States feel a little different to previous factions in Fallout; likely due to the dramatic shift in timeline. Fallout typically takes place over a century after the nuclear war, meaning that survivor factions have had lots of time to morph into other sorts of groups. Both of these new factions feel much more connected and reactive to the events of the war. From the way Bethesda has written their brief bio, it sounds as though the Free States may no longer exist. Instead of meeting living NPCs, players will more likely be able to find and explore their doomsday shelters, and learn about the faction via notes and audio recordings.