'Fallout 76' Factions Explained: Enclave, Brotherhood of Steel and More
The Fallout 76 beta (B.E.T.A. if you're fancy) begins tomorrow night, and there are so, so, so many questions. We've answered some of them, like PvP and Solo Mode, but one of the biggest mysteries revolves around Fallout 76 factions. We know factions will be part of the game, but we don't know exactly what they do or how to join them. Here's a rundown of what Bethesda has told us about factions so far, including the five confirmed factions as well as resources for the community-created factions fans are organizing as we head into launch.
Fallout 76 Factions: Joining Factions and Faction Bonuses
There has been no official guidance from Bethesda on how to join a faction. However, it's clear factions will play a major role in the game. A lot of fans are confused by a lack of NPCs, how can you join a faction without someone to sign you up? However, there are other ways. During my hands-on demo earlier this month, I received a number of instructions via terminal to register as a "Volunteer" and pick up some quests. It seems likely that other factions will organize around terminals too. You register, get quests and claim rewards in one spot. There is also this megathread on Reddit with player-created factions. They exist in name (and Discord) only for the moment, and it's not clear if creating your own faction would confer the same benefits as the ones that exist for the "official" factions.
What are the rewards? Hard to say, but the obvious answer is gear. Why join the Brotherhood of Steel if not to get badass power armor? Why be a Raider if not to get crazy violent weapon mods? The internal cosmetic currency, known as Atoms, can be purchased with microtransactions so clearly Bethesda aims to provide a lot of variety and customization. As we've seen across numerous multiplayer games thus far, players go nuts for skins. Super rare, faction-driven skins would provide a great incentive to follow those stories across the Wasteland.
It's also possible there could be some Perks and assorted buffs for Faction members too. It's possible to share Perks among team members (if your Charisma is high enough), so adding additional buffs for faction members on the same team would stack nicely in the existing system. So what are the Fallout 76 factions? Here's the five confirmed by Bethesda.
