Bethesda has unveiled its Fallout 76 roadmap for 2019. And it's a busy one! It's broken into seasons, with Wild Appalachia (including survival mode) coming in spring, high-level Vault raids and a new game mode called Nuclear Winter coming (somewhat ironically) in the summer, and Wastelanders—which promises a whole new main quest—coming this Fall.
There's a lot to cover, so let's break it down.
Wild Appalachia, beginning March 12
Wild Appalachia is the first major update for Fallout 76, and plans to add new events, quests, items, and a new PvP mode. The updates will be rolling out on a weekly basis.
March 12: Brewing and distilling
You'll be able to "discover the secrets of the forbidden brew Nukashine" and there will be new brewing and distilling systems accessible at your camp.
March 19: Fasnacht Parade
A new limited-time event to earn unique awards in the form of festive masks.
March 26: Survival Mode
This is a new PvP mode, separate from the base game (though you can bring existing characters over to play it). It will have fewer restrictions for PvP, and when attacking another player they will take full damage, even if they don't shoot back. (In the current PvP model, they take only a sliver of damage unless they retaliate against their attacker.)
Defeating other players will result in greater rewards, and in addition to more caps and junk you may receive some of the other player's aid items. Survival mode will also feature a leaderboard so you can see how well you stack up against everyone else. While separate from the main game, Survival Mode will still contain everything in Fallout 76 so you can complete quests and level up in the same fashion.
April 9: Shear Terror and player vending
A new series of quests where players uncover "the encryptid" secrets of Appalachia. Players will be able to place vending machines at their camps to sell items to other players, too. You'll also be able to decorate your camp with items from your stash, so you won't have to stare at empty shelves.
April 16: Camera
An in-game camera will be added as an item. It's not stated, but expect some photo-based challenges to come with it.
May 7: Ever Upwards! and backpacks
Hey, customizable backpacks are being added! Cool. Some new quests will arrive as well, letting you earn ranks in the Pioneer Scouts. Mostly, though, I'm here for the backpacks.
May 23: Legendary vendor
A new vendor known as the Purveyor will arrive in May, so you'll be able to swap or scrap your legendary items and acquire new ones. It sounds like there's some randomness to it: "For every star rating on a legendary item you scrap, increase your chances to get the legendary weapon or armor of your dreams."
Nuclear Winter, Summer 2019
New Game Mode: Nuclear Winter
This mode promises an "entirely new way to play Fallout 76, completely changing the rules of the Wasteland." We don't have any other details yet on that. Could it be a traditional survival mode, with more survival elements, harsher conditions, dangerous weather events, and entirely new systems? I sure hope so.
New Vault Raids
Finally, Vault 96 and Vault 94 will be opening, allowing high-level groups to perform Vault raids. Who or what is inside these Vaults? We don't yet know.
New Feature: Legendary Players
There will also be a new feature called Legendary Players: "An all-new prestige system will allow players above level 50 to become Legendary, resetting their characters with all new more powerful abilities."
Wastelanders, Fall 2019
There aren't many details for the Fall update at all, but it sounds promising for those looking for more story in Fallout 76. "Embark on a tale with true choice and consequences in Wastelanders—our biggest and most ambitious update for 76. Wastelanders will include a new main questline, new factions, new events, new features and even more surprises."
We'll update this post when we have more details about the Fallout 76 2019 roadmap. In the meantime, check out Bethesda's post breaking these coming updates down.