Fallout 76 Next-Gen Update Gets Summer Launch for PS5 and Xbox Series

IGN gave Fallout 76 a 7/10 review in 2024 after it originally landed with a 5/10 in 2018. Fallout TV show-themed content that arrived earlier this year had players debating whether a piece of in-game armor was worth its $30 price tag. Finally, you can read the full patch notes for today’s Fallout 76 Infestations update below.

Fallout 76 Infestations Update Patch Notes

Fallout 76: Infestations Release Notes

This is a call to action. Appalachia is under threat and she needs your help. Enemy factions are popping up in locations across the region, evicting former residents and fortifying their locations.

Are you brave enough to venture around and protect the Wasteland?

Update Highlights

• Infestations: Find and clear out Infestations of challenging enemies for 4-Star Rewards
• New Seasonal Fish: Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring. Follow the equinox changes for a chance of catching these new fish.
• Deathclaw C.A.M.P. Pet: Dangerously Adorable and available through the new Deathclaw Bundle on Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam stores.
• Next-Gen Update: A public testing period begins in June with release happening this summer! Read more about this update below.
• Season 25: Appalachia Under Siege: Protect Appalachia while earning new Seasonal rewards along the way!

Update Version 1.7.25.13 & Sizes

• PC (Steam): 10 GB
• PC (Microsoft Store): 28.1 GB
• Xbox: 28.1 GB
• PlayStation: 27.4 GB

Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 Testing Period

We’re excited to announce that during the month of June we will be kicking off public testing of the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5/Pro versions of the game. Available to everyone who owns Fallout 76, you will be able to download the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 test versions from the Xbox and PlayStation Stores.

Once testing is completed, we plan on releasing the update later this summer!

Here is a list of features you can expect when playing on your Xbox Series X|S, PS5 and PS5 Pro:

• Targeted 60 FPS across Xbox Series X|S, PS5 and PS5 Pro.
• Improved draw distances.
• Improved shadows.
• 4K resolution (on compatible displays) on Xbox Series X, Xbox One X, PS5 Pro.
• VRR (on compatible displays) on Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PS5, PS5 Pro.
• PS5 and PS4 Pro will support 1440p while previous generation platforms will continue to support 1080p.

Please stay tuned to our social channels for more information on how you can participate in this testing period.

Now back to the content of today’s update!

Infestation Overview

Infestations are a new form of content that serves as an additional source of 4-Star Legendary items for those brave enough to hunt down and clear out these challenging pockets of enemies.
Meant for experienced Appalachian Dwellers, Infestations must be discovered as you’re exploring the world. Looking at your Paper Map will show the general area that one can be found, but it will be up to you to find its exact location.

If you want to hunt for Infestations, we recommend you create or join an Exploration Public Team because on an active server full of hunters, you might find them difficult to find. Being on a team will increase your chances by giving you the opportunity to Fast Travel directly to a teammate who has found one.

Locations

Infestations can appear across the Toxic Valley, Forest, Ash Heap, Savage Divide, Mire, and Cranberry Bog regions. Multiple Infestations can be active across Appalachia at any given time, but if nobody comes to clear them out, the faction infesting the area will leave and head off to another area.

Enemies

When an infestation takes over a location, the enemies that usually ruled that area are pushed out and overtaken by a new faction. At launch, the Blood Eagles, Cultists, Communists, Mole Miners, Scorched, Super Mutants, and Robots all have the chance of being the new ruling faction in the area.

These new enemies will hit harder and be tougher to take down. There will also be accompanied by an elite-level boss.

Each Infestation boss will have their own unique weapon and be afflicted by a random Mutation to alter the fight even further. If you’re heading out to find an Infestation, make sure you’re well geared and ready for a fight.

More factions may also find their way into infesting Appalachia in the future.

Rewards

When clearing an Infestation, you should expect to get standard loot and a chance of a 3-Star Legendary weapon or armor from the lower-tier faction enemies. Defeating the boss leading the infestation is where the bigger rewards come into play.

Beating the Infestation boss will earn you a guaranteed 4-Star Legendary weapon or armor piece. This update also introduces new 4-Star mods that can only be obtained through clearing Infestations.

Here’s a sneak peek at two of the exclusive Infestation 4-Star Mods:

• Vector (Armor Mod): Increase accuracy in V.A.T.S. from a very long distance by 10% (up to 50%)
• Tarnished (Weapon Mod): The lower the equipped item condition, the greater the weapon damage (up to 120%).

Infestation Frenzy

To celebrate the launch of today’s update, Infestations will appear at a faster than standard rate for the first two weeks. After which, the rate at which Infestations appear will be returned to their intended values.

Don’t get swept up in the frenzy!

Season 25 – Appalachia Under Siege

A new season is upon us! Complete challenges and earn rewards as you create your dream post-nuclear homestead in Season 25: Appalachia Under Siege!

Deathclaw C.A.M.P. Pet

Prepare to welcome a new friend into your C.A.M.P. Our next C.A.M.P. Pet will be a Deathclaw. One of the most dangerous and scariest creatures in Wasteland will now be able to make a home in your C.A.M.P.

The Deathclaw C.A.M.P. Pet is obtainable through the purchase of the Deathclaw Pet Upgrade Bundle or the Deathclaw Pet Deluxe Edition on the Xbox, PlayStation and Steam stores. The bundle also includes 2 idle furniture’s and 2 pet cosmetics for your Deathclaw as well as a C.A.M.P. sign.

New Seasonal Fish – Available June 23

If you need a break from clearing out Infestations, you can try your luck at catching some of our new seasonal fish. Available on the first Tuesday after the summer solstice, these new fish will be joined by their Fall, Winter, and Spring siblings as the year goes on. This fishing update will also come with new challenges and rewards for you to obtain.

These new fish can’t be turned into Fish Bits like the other Appalachian fish because you’ll be using them to craft new seasonal food recipes. We’re not going to cover what the recipes are, what advantages they provide, or the locations for these new fish here. Our hope is that you’ll be able to discover all that on your own.

If you do want a little hint on where to start looking, head over to Fisherman’s Rest and find a note from Captain Raymond.

Perks

• Retribution now works with Defender’s mod.

Weapons

• Updated the following weapons with new Legendary Mods and effects. Existing items will gain new effects, but their Legendary Mods will not change.
• Gutter
• Vampires
• (NEW) Inertial
• (NEW) Ghost’s
• (NEW) Implicit Poison Damage
• V63-HELGA
• (NEW) Penetrates targets.
• Addressed an issue where Scattershot could provide more limb damage than expected.
• Addressed an issue where Tormentor could provide more damage than expected.
• Added energy damage to the Gamma Gun (in addition to the existing Radiation damage).
• Renamed the Light Machine Gun “Standard Muzzle” mod to “No Muzzle”.

Light Machine Guns

We have added and updated mods for this weapon.

The following Light Machine Gun mods are now available via scrap-to-learn, as well as loose mods in quest rewards.

Savage Divide quest rewards

• Light Machine Gun Stub Barrel
• Light Machine Gun Bruising Stock
• Light Machine Gun Stabilized Stock

Cranberry Bog quest rewards:

• Light Machine Gun Long Barrel
• Light Machine Gun Large Magazine
• Light Machine Gun Muzzle Brake

Legendary Mods

• Diver’s
• Changed effect to “Regenerate Health While in Water +3 HP/s”.

Workbench

• The confirmation UI when making items now organizes items and ingredients into groups. Components are still itemized.
• Crafting prompts that ask if you are sure now have a “Don’t ask again” option.

Radiation Resistance

With today’s update, resistance to radiation exposure is much more effective. All your armor, Power Armor, armor mods, Power Armor mods, Legendary Mods, and consumables (many of which have been buffed) will provide more protection against the irradiated elements.

This improvement also affects enemy resistance to incoming radiation damage too. It also paves the way for us to explore reducing radiation immunity on many enemy types and explore more ways for players to deal radiation damage in future updates.

Reaching 1500-2500 Radiation resistance will dramatically reduce the incoming radiation damage from heavier environmental radiation such as Nuke Zones. This is not a hard threshold, so you can pack on as much Radiation resistance as you can muster, and it’ll continue to reduce the effect of environmental radiation.

Items with Radiation Resistance

• Nuka-Orange: Radiation Exposure Resistance +25 -> +50.
• RadShield: Radiation Exposure Resistance +300 -> +600.
• RadShield can no-longer be repeatedly consumed to stack the effect.
• Glowing Blood Pack can no-longer be repeatedly consumed to stack the effect.
• Irradiated Blood Pack can no-longer be repeatedly consumed to stack the effect.
• Rad-X: Radiation Exposure Resistance +600 -> +300.
• Dev Note: This will still be stronger than its previous effect due to the aforementioned Radiation Exposure Resistance change.
• Rad-X: Diluted: Radiation Exposure Resistance +250 -> +125.
• Dev Note: This will still be stronger than its previous effect due to the aforementioned Radiation Exposure Resistance change.
• Soot Flower Herb Paste Radiation Exposure Resistance 20 -> 25.
• Glowing Fungus Soup: Radiation Exposure Resistance 20 -> 25.
• Steeped Strangler Pod Tea: Radiation Exposure Resistance 20 -> 25.
• Steeped Strangler Bloom Tea: Radiation Exposure Resistance 20 -> 25.
• Mirelurk Cake With Bloodleaf Aioli: Radiation Exposure Resistance +25 -> +50.
• Bloatfly Loaf: Radiation Exposure Resistance +25 -> +50.
• Tesla Science 6: +15 -> +100.

Player Ghoul

• Player Ghouls now convert 35% (up from 15%) of post-resist Radiation Exposure damage to health (before converting to Glow when at full health).
• Unified how Player Ghouls gain Glow from sources of Radiation damage. 35% of post-resist Radiation damage is converted to Glow when at full health.
• Rad Specialist Perk: +5/10/15% more environmental Glow -> +10/20/30% more environmental Glow
• Player Ghouls now have -50 Radiation resist by default (similar behavior to the Breathe It In Perk)
• Dev Note: This gives Player Ghouls a higher threshold before they need to be concerned about radiation resistance on armor preventing them from healing/gaining glow from radiation.
• Fixed cases where the Glowing One and Rad Reaver Perks weren’t providing as much Glow as intended.
• Fixed a case where the Glowing legendary weapon mod provided less Glow than intended.
• Doubled the radius of the Glowing One Perk.
• Reduced the Glow granted by the Glowing One Perk from 6/12 -> 4/8
• Dev Note: The increased radius listed above should make the effect much more available and result in much more overall Healing/Glow income, so we’ve reduced the magnitude a bit to reduce the risk of this effect being too powerful.
• Addressed an issue where Glowing Blood Packs added Radiation Resist to Player Ghouls.
• Adjusted Irradiated Blood Packs to no-longer apply Radiation Resist to Player Ghouls.
• Irradiated Blood Packs are now affected by the Bloodsucker perk (regular Blood Packs and Glowing Blood Packs were already affected).

Weapons with Radiation Damage

• Adjusted the Gamma Gun to deal Radiation and Energy damage.

Environmental Radiation

• Increased the magnitude of these effects (4 -> 5): Water in parts of Atlantic City, Radstorms, etc.
• Increased the magnitude of these effects (7 -> 10): Most areas with irradiated water, Dyer Chemical, Power Plants, The Pitt, Scorched Statues, various Radiation Barrels, ambient radiation in Eviction Notice, etc.
• Increased the magnitude of these effects (11 -> 20): Car Explosion, Pitcher Plant, various Toxic Vents/etc.
• Increased the magnitude of these effects (21 -> 35): Vault 94 G.E.C.K. Wing, Water in parts of Vault 94, parts of Project Paradise, Fissure Sites, Gauley Mine, Power Plants, the trenches in The Pitt Heart of the Swamp, many locations with deep water, Blackwater Mine, Flooded Trainyard, Glassed Caverns, Black Mountain Ordnance Works, Irradiated Thistle, Bomb Berry, Undetonated Bomb C.A.M.P. item, Chemistry Set C.A.M.P. item, etc.
• Increased the magnitude of these effects (35) -> 45): Radstorm Radiation in The Pitt, waste water in Power Plants, etc.
• Increased the magnitude of these effects (40) -> 75): Parts of Project Paradise, Atlantic City, the Foundry Smelter C.A.M.P. item, a couple of spots near Nuka-World on Tour, West Tek, Ash Heap, Federal Disposal Field HZ-21, various locations with barrels of radioactive waste, etc.
• Increased the magnitude of Radiation effects in Seismic Activity (7 -> 10, 11 -> 20, and 21 -> 35, depending on how far along the event has progressed).
• Increased the magnitude of Nuclear Fallout Radiation (outside of burning springs): 40 -> 75.
• Increased the magnitude of Nuclear Fallout Radiation in Burning Springs: 40 -> 45.

Enemies

• Unified how Feral Ghouls and Glowing Ones heal from incoming Radiation damage – they now absorb 25% of post-resistance Radiation damage.
• Removed Radiation Healing from Feral Lost – these were only meant to be immune to radiation.
• Increased Bloodbug Spit radiation damage.
• Increased Tick Spit radiation damage.
• Increased Radtoad Spit radiation damage.
• Increased the radiation damage from Irene The Irradiated’s version of the Unstable Isotope mutation. Changed the effect slightly to avoid excessive radiation damage if the effect occurs too frequently.
• Increased the radiation damage dealt by most glowing enemies.

Non-PA Radiation Resistances

• Reduced the radiation resist on most non-PA armor (by 45-65%)
• Note: With the changes to radiation in this update, each individual point of Rad Resist is much stronger than before. This left the radiation damage mitigation power of non-PA armor in a very strong state, even more so when used in combination with the increased usefulness of armor mods and items. This change still leaves non-PA armor radiation damage resistance at a higher level than it was before The Backwoods update while bringing it inline with our intended goals.

Miscellaneous Changes

• Addressed some inconsistencies with the HUD radiation indicator that may have caused it to display incorrect values from time to time.

Additional Notes

Activities and Public Events

• Brahmin should now ignore Cattle Rustlers during Free Range but defend themselves against other enemies.
• Campfire Tales: Area to reveal quest markers has been increased during “Gather items left by the missing camper” objective.
• Horde Activities will no longer trigger in game (originally intended to release with the Backwoods Update)
• Public Event flyouts will now properly be shown as quests on the map when you’ve joined them.
• Updated the map help menu entry for Activity and Public Event icons.
• Updated text flyout upon entering an event or activity.
• Expanded the radius of the Project Beanstalk activity so that all fast-traveling and respawning players will always remain active in the event.

Armor (and Clothing)

• Fixed an issue with the Grim Reaper Masks so the mask appears correctly with other outfits.
• Sturdy Metal Left Leg can now be scrapped to learn armor mods.

C.A.M.P., Workshop, and Shelters

• Fixed an issue where repair bot could continue their repairs after being scrapped.
• Fixed an issue which could cause player turrets to become invisible in rare cases.
• Fixed the C.A.M.P. Red Elm trees so they do not glow at night.
• Fixing an issue where several Survival Tents could be destroyed.
• Lockpicked C.A.M.P. objects can now be relocked at the same lock level without the player having to manually unlock, or scrap that object.
• Removed V.A.T.S. hit chance penalties from the Sandstorm Weather Station.
• The C.A.M.P. Artillery Turret now fires projectiles when the Artillery Smoke Grenade is thrown within the correct Range bounds.
• The Liberated and Red Rocket Collectrons should now be able to collect resources from any player-owned collectron list.
• Updated Ammo-Matic ammo drop rates to be lower.
• When purchasing an item through a player vendor, the max quantity purchasable now properly uses the value the item is offered at.
• C.A.M.P. Pets clothing now can be scrapped.
• The Appalachian Generator now has the same number of placements as other medium generators.
• Fixed an issue that prevented the Dinghy from being placed in Pioneer Scout Shelter.
• Fixed an issue that allowed players to craft a Rusted Brazier if their teammate owned it even though they did not.
• The logs in the Rusted Brazier are no longer on fire when the brazier is unlit.
• The Curing Shed can no longer be found in both Workshop categories and is now found in the Producers section.
• C.A.M.P. items automatically stored load will now be unloaded into the proper camp.
• Removed extra entry of V63 Security Baton Blueprint from workshop.

Challenges

• “Start Head Hunts” challenges now correctly notify upon completion.
• Prickeye Salad and Pickled Prickeye now count towards “Eat A Plant-based Meal” challenge.
• Radhog Burnt Ends now counts toward progress on the “Cook a Meal that uses Prickeye” challenge.

Gameplay

• Fixed an issue where Robots in Daily Ops weren’t immune to poison damage.
• EyeBots will now correctly shoot or self-explode when hostile EyeBots target players.
• Fixed a bug where locked containers could be freely accessed by a public team member.
• Fixed an issue where certain damage bonuses would be much stronger than intended.
• Fixed an issue where multi-projectile attacks (Shotguns, etc.) could kill other players much faster than expected.
• Dev Note: This only affects damage dealt by a player when attacking another player.
• Fixed an issue where Protectrons can spawn as non-aggressive during AWOL Armaments.
• Fixed issue where certain allies could become Scorched after fighting Scorched enemies.
• From Ashes to Fire: Fixed an issue that caused players’ audio to be muffled while a teammate talked to Danilo in The Pitt.
• Garb of Mysteries, Eye of Ra, Voice of Set, and Blade of Bastet are now droppable.
• Locked Safes no longer contain invalid Legendary Items.
• Military-Grade Circuit Board no longer auto scraps with scrap all function.
• Normal Scorchbeasts now have a rare chance to drop Ultracite PA Mod Plans.
• Players level 5 and greater, are once again able to gain Mutations via Rads.
• Replaced the Loot Containers found in Burning Springs to not use the one that has Fortney’s Furnace Key.
• Solved an issue where Rage armor bonuses were applying without the armor equipped.
• The “Nearby Corpses” button should now be enabled without having to sometimes look away and back.
• Updated placement of Lucky Strike mounds in Nuka-World On Tour.

Perks

The Grenadier perk’s expanded radius bonus will now affect the damage radius for explosive ammo.

Weapons

• Fixed an issue where the Cryo Frame mod for the crossbow was dealing less cryo damage than expected.
• Addressing an issue where Plasma Weapons were not having the intended effect on a Critical Hit.
• Broadsider’s now progress selling a Ballistic Weapon NPC challenge.
• Fixed an issue where the Resolve Breaker’s projectiles could be destroyed prematurely, damaging the user.
• Fixed an issue where the Resolve Breaker’s projectiles could be targeted in V.A.T.S.
• Explosions caused by the Explosive V63 Carbine now has a blue VFX.
• Fixed an issue where the “Communist Threat Paint” was modifying The Fixer’s name in a manner inconsistent with its other paints.
• The Spitfire paint can now be added on the Ripper.

Legendary Mods

• Dissipating Armor mods now recover Rads at a constant rate (this is a significant increase to the recovery rate in some cases).

UI

• Fixed an issue causing the Pip-Boy Menu Armor Tab to show incorrect damage resistances on the Vault Boy limbs.
• Improved the responsiveness of button hints in Pip-Boy (especially targeting the Radio Page).
• Fixed an issue where Legendary Mod names could appear incorrectly when scrapping.
• Pip-Boy button hints reflect the Move Camp cost as well as whether the player has level-up rewards waiting.
• Pip-Boy dial no longer incorrectly animates when not changing tabs.
• Pip-Boy hand animations have been updated to press the associated button when leaving the Radio page.
• Spamming buttons on the Main Menu will no longer break the world select screen.
• Switching profiles on the Xbox after selecting your character will no longer keep the HUD invisible.
• The arrows are now clickable on the Pick-a-Perk screen.
• The correct model should display now for the Elementalist Mod Box (2-star mod box).
• The Move Camp button hint will be greyed out (disabled) when a camp could not be placed.
• Fixed an issue that caused players to get stuck if they opened the map immediately after opening the Pip-Boy.
• Public Team Leader Backer has been realigned with the Player Title.
• Garb of Mysteries now properly displays its stealth bonus in the item’s description.
• Items with multiple legendary effects show the full effects in inspect windows.

Quest

• Fixed an issue where only one instance of the Lucky Strike quest could be active on a server at a time.
• Code Blue: Fixed issue where the quest would be tracked in Pip-Boy after player relog even if player had previously untracked it.
• Cold Case: Obsolete Grafton Dam Keys no longer spawn in Otis Pike’s body.
• Retirement Plan: Fixed and issue with a dialogue choice erroneously awarding extra raider reputation that could become exploitable.
• Fun and Games: Objective tracker should no longer point to the exit of Grafton Steel Underground during “Find Ra-Ra” stage.
• Fun and Games: Ra-Ra and Gail will no longer imply Ra-Ra dislikes the Player if their relationship is high.
• Leap of Faith: Fixed issue where Feral Ghouls would respawn and ignore Madeline Keene in the Emett Mountain Disposal Site if player left the world in the middle of the quest.
• Mother of Invention: Corrected mismatch between dialogue and subtitles.
• Mutual Aid, Code Blue, Recipe for Success: Fixed issue with the quests being re-added to the tracked quest list upon player relog.
• Mutual Aid: Quest objective should no longer briefly revert to previous state after donating the requested items.
• Out of the Blue: Blue Ridge Mountain notes should now appear in the player’s inventory after being looted.
• Out of the Blue: Fixed issue where Paladin Rahmani would not enter Joana’s office if the player relogged and re-entered the Blue Ridge Office from the second floor.
• Out of the Blue: Objective marker will no longer appear above the player’s head if they acquired the Harpers Ferry Tunnel’s password clues before being directed to do so.
• Play Music on the Rooftops: Quest now recognizes that a Player in Power Armor was unable to play the musical instruments.
• Removed blank page from a note in General’s Steakhouse.
• Second Helpings: Optional objective will no longer reappear after cooking a Ribeye Steak.
• Secrets Revealed: Player can no longer exit conversation before telling Meg of Johnny’s fate.
• Target Rich Environment: Objective text for range targets is now displayed on the paper map.
• Trade Secrets: Added extra measures to prevent an edge case where players still received quest information when looting an Eyebot after the quest was finished. Won’t impact already affected players.
• Treasure Unknown: Flitcher Farm Holotape is now properly labeled as a quest item and cannot be dropped.
• Vital Equipment: Fixed issue with Raider Thief not turning hostile during combat if the Player had high reputation with the Crater Raiders.
• Wasted on Nukashine: Objective markers for the Brewing Station and the Flash-Fermenter no longer behave erratically.
• Wayward Souls: Fixed infrequent error where Batter wouldn’t be aiming his weapon at Duchess when the player first entered the Wayward.
• Wayward Souls: Fixed issue where the player was able to trigger the wrong conversation with Duchess after choosing the Charisma dialogue option with Batter.
• Wayward Souls: Fixed issue where the player was able to trigger the wrong conversation with Duchess after choosing the Charisma dialogue option with Batter.
• Added the ability to ‘Reject’ certain Daily quests previously missing the functionality.
• Updated toggling inconsistency in the Refuge Daily: Recipe for Success to remain consistent upon relog.
• Fixed an issue where Dr. Blackburn would not always turn to face the player during dialogue for “A Satisfied Conscience”.

Miscellaneous

• Fixed a case where increasing player max health wasn’t resulting in proportionally hardier limbs.
• Added setting to allow locked materials to be used for crafting and repairs. Updated crafting error message if insufficient crafting materials could be met by unlocking materials.
• Fixed typos in the Best Builds help menu.
• Fixed a typo in the “Epic – Complete an Event or Activity in the Savage Divide Region”.
• Highway Town: Fixed an issue that could cause strange lighting on the roof of Highway Town.
• Improved Pumpkin Pie Inspect window.
• On Windows and Xbox, 76 now supports seamless hot swapping of audio playback when the default audio device changes.
• Lvl 50 boost now has three Luck points, and all three are utilized.
• Season Flyout aligns with the SCORE Challenge Completed Flyout.
• Season Ticket amount updates instantly upon Reward claiming.
• Season background image scrolls properly when you claim a reward.
• Fixed an issue which could rain to appear inside the Overseers house in Sutton.
• Added a new setting to allow the player to use locked items for crafting or repairs.
• If the player is unable to craft/repair and item due to a required material being locked, a new error message is added in the crafting “requires” window (not sure about the repair preview).
• Locked materials that cause crafting failure will display the lock icon. Also previously locked items were not counted in the “requires” window and were greyed out, now they are no longer greyed out since it would now have a lock icon.
• Fixed a crash when trying to transform into a Ghoul via the Character menu.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).