Fallout 76 Nuclear Winter Preview

By Logan Manfredi on PS4 Pro

Overview
        Nuclear Winter is a new update for Fallout 76 that brings along with it a new and exciting battle royal mode or BR. Unlike the rest of the game, this mode focuses on PVP and has a separate progression system more akin to Call of Duty than Fallout. Nuclear Winter or NW for short revolves around the citizens of Vault 51 and the mystery of what happened to them. One of the more unique things being that this story is told entirely through the new game mode. Before each match, there is about a two-and-a-half-minute period where players can explore and interact with many things inside of vault 51. As players level up, they will unlock access to different parts of the Vault and be able to piece together what exactly happened to its citizens or jam out on what we call the Chuckie Cheese stage.

Gameplay in NW is like that of most Battle Royal games, but with some signature Fallout twists. Focusing more on scavenging and preparation than direct gunplay, it adds a refreshing new take on the genre. Players start with nothing, but with Fallouts massive RPG stock of items that quickly changes. There are countless variations of load outs, all with their own pros and cons to explore. There are not as many cosmetic items available as in the free BR games, but in the first week, there have already been numerous free and paid cosmetic items added to the Atomic shop. Experience is not shared between the game modes, but both caps and experience points can be earned by doing well in NW. When the match ends, there will be a screen displayed that shows everything you did that round and what rewards your performance has earned you. There's no punishment for dying in this game mode so for new players it's great to get the feel of the games core mechanics and see some items that may remain hidden till later in the regular game.

The first five minutes
        Before the round begins, a small bit of planning is needed. Unlike other battle royal games, you don't "drop" onto the map. Instead in Nuclear Winter players pick their spawn point on a map overview before the round starts.

My favorite part of this being that after you choose your spawn area, the game shows you the spawn locations of all 50 other players. Which leads to some intense starting minutes.  At the beginning of a round, you and your teammates will be invisible for approximately 27 secs. (we timed it, patch notes say "some time"). That invisibility will end the second you interact with or pick up an item, and everyone can see you. Our best advice would be to find some sort of armor before engaging in a fight. There are three tiers of armor present in NW wood, scout, and Marine. (Pictures below) Each is stronger than the last. Just having Wood armor puts you at a steep advantage over a player with none. Beyond finding armor, your first step should be determining where you are headed. Wondering aimlessly looking for loot might work in some battle royals, but in NW where movement is more limited getting caught in a firefight without cover is a death sentence. Instead, pick a point on the map be it a small town or outpost and do your best to fortify that location to attack. This is also a great time to kill any NPC's present as they hold valuable loot such as Nuclear launch codes. The crossbow is best for taking out NPC's because it is silent and doesn't reveal your location to enemies. VATS doesn't work on enemy players but is still the ideal way to deal with an NPC. As you get to the mid-game focus on stocking Chems and Stimpacks for the inevitable massive battle at the end of the round.

Wood armor

Scout armor

Marine armor (The Best one)

Mechanics to Watch out for
        Power armor is excellent in Fallout 99% of the time. The one time it's not great is in Nuclear Winter. The problem is that the ratio of armor value to the volume of footsteps is severely disproportionate. For example, if two players with the same gun were the final two but one had power armor, and one had marine armor. The player with power armor would be heard long before he was seen giving the advantage to the player with the Marine armor. Also, in the current state, there is a bug where players in power armor may become stuck in the armor unable to attack or take damage making the player just waste time until they are killed by the storm. My advice is to avoid power armor for now.
        Sniper rifles and scoped weapons have zero bullet drop, rather all guns have a pre-determined range at which they can hit. So, if you're aiming at an enemy and wondering why you're not hitting, it's most likely the range, not your aim. This leads to another mechanic to watch out for which is weapon stats. This is the first time in a Fallout game that we have had true PVP, so the weapons we know and have used for years might not have the same effect as we are used too. For example, the hunting rifle is one of my favorite weapons in all Fallouts, but in NW its range combined with damage output is far less effective than say the Lever rifle or any of the scoped laser weapons. An excellent way to see what weapons to prioritize is to check in your Pip-boy when you have cover. Just like in any Fallout all the weapons stats will be listed there so you can see exactly which items you prefer. 

Click to zoom weapon stats.

Tips and tricks

• Zooming in when deploying will allow for much more precise spawns and even spawning inside buildings.
• ADS (aim down sights) can be used to show hard to spot or not yet rendered enemies. When your cursor is over a target even if obstructed their health and name will be displayed.
• Use the foliage to your advantage. You won't be completely invisible in a bush, buts its much harder to see than out in the open.
• If your opponent is using the bush technique, you can use ADS, and his health bar will display when you aim where he is hiding. 
• Marine Armor > Power armor
• Watch out for cars, they blow up very quickly and are a one-shot KO if you're next to it.
• The time you have to revive a downed teammate is less than 10 seconds. Hopefully, this will get patched soon because it's nearly impossible to do unless you're touching each other. 
• Use those Chems! Chems have zero negative impact in NW.
• Rad X and Buffout are essential for surviving if you get caught in the firestorm and make a massive difference in any fight. 

If you like it
        The Nuclear Winter update has done an excellent job a revitalizing a game that has not had the best beginnings. Along with the battle royal game mode, the patch has fixed several bugs that honestly made me stop playing about six months ago. New items and quests fill the already vast game world, and soon raids will allow for an entirely new type of endgame content. That combined with the developers' plans for free regular updates makes for many more enjoyable hours of Fallout ahead. Adventure mode has tons of lore and is one of the most fun and immersive co-op experiences on this generation of consoles. Nuclear Winter is looking very promising in its first week and offers a much less demanding way to play Fallout 76 that doesn't require any of the time-consuming mechanics such as thirst and hunger. Overall Nuclear Winter has been great for 76, and I would recommend it to any fan of the franchise or anyone who's bored with their current battle royal. 

Here are some bonus pics of our Fallout shenanigans.