Fallout 76‘s 14th season, Fight for Freedom is here, changing the Appalachian wasteland in some welcome ways. It also serves to mark the online action RPG game‘s fifth anniversary, adding in a range of celebratory events. If you’re still roaming the post-apocalyptic landscape you’ll appreciate the quality of life improvements the new Fallout 76 season brings.
Fight for Freedom isn’t as radical as some of Fallout 76’s other updates, such as Wastelanders which added some much-needed human NPCs to the game. Instead, it’s geared towards smoothing over some of the game’s rough spots.
The ‘Fight for Freedom’ element of this Season 14 update is nowhere near as dramatic as it sounds. It adds in Presidential Power Armour skins, an Oval Office rug, a Presidential Desk, and many more items.
There are also other non-Presidential additions that are worth getting your hands on. There’s a new breed of Collectron that, rather than just gathering for scrap, will mine iron and other minerals.
On top of that, Season 14 introduces Grandma Junko, a new ally. In developer Bethesda’s words, she “is on a mission to find her grandchildren… she thinks. While her memory isn’t what it used to be, she can still cook up a good old-fashioned home-cooked meal for you.”
The food she cooks will give your hunger and thirst a buff, though it also makes me feel a little uncomfortable. Sure, I was happy to nuke Megaton in Fallout 3 and I immediately abandoned my Fallout 4 son in favour of running a raider gang. But taking advantage of an elderly woman with dementia? That, apparently, is the thing I take issue with.
Bethesda also has big plans for November, which is when they’re officially celebrating Fallout 76’s anniversary. Or, if you’re feeling cynical, it’s five years of not having Fallout 5.
You’ll be able to participate in special challenges, dressed in your ‘Birthday Suit’ to unlock rewards. That’s almost certainly not what it sounds like but, hey, this is Fallout.
There are a whole host of fixes and tweaks, too. Some areas have had their difficulty dialled back, NPCs will attack your home base less. Legendary creatures will no longer get health regeneration when they mutate, so there’s a slightly lower chance of them eating your face.
You can find the full Fallout 76 Season 14 patch notes here, and if you’ve yet to dive into Fallout 76, or if Season 14 is tempting you back, it’s free to play on PC Game Pass.
If you’ve got your eye on the Starfield release date – Bethesda’s upcoming space opus – here’s our Starfield Neon City guide which has significantly fewer radroaches. And if you’re considering a life of piracy, here’s what you need to know about the Starfield Crimson Fleet – after all, space piracy sounds kind of fun.