Fallout 76 Wastelanders won't override the base game's story

Bethesda gave us a proper look at Fallout 76 Wastelanders last week, introducing us to post-apocalyptic Virginia's chatty new NPCs, including a ghoul voiced by Jay and Silent Bob's Jason Mewes, and now you can watch the demo footage without the developer commentary. Check it out above.

During the demo, a bunch of community questions were answered, but there were plenty that the developers didn't have a chance to comment on. Bethesda's now posted a Q&A to cover what was missed, along with a recap of the demo presentation.

Wastelanders is set a year after everyone left the vault, which is why the wasteland has changed a bit and new people have started to show up. There's a new main quest, while the original has been revamped. Bethesda confirms that the new storyline won't override the old one, however.

"We’ve worked to weave the new Wastelanders story into what’s already there in the base game," it says. "New characters will still be able to complete all base game content in addition to the new quests. Also, some of what you accomplished in the base game story will have a role to play in Wastelanders."

Other players will also still be able to join you as you play through the story, and while they won't get to actively participate in your conversations, they can choose to listen to the chat.

While the impression from the demo is that the wasteland has become a bit more civilised, that doesn't mean that the threat of nukes hasn't persisted. You can still launch nukes in Wastelanders, but now people are actually prepared. Raiders and settlers will slip into a fashionable hazmat suit when they need to protect themselves from radiation.

Last year, Bethesda mentioned plans to do a balance pass for Wastelanders' launch, but that's now been pushed back. It wants to make all regions of the map "engaging for characters of all levels" in a later update, which is also where the balancing will take place. There's no date for that yet.

Other future plans include introducing multi-factor authentication and the promise of more content updates through the year. Bethesda's also released the new community calendar, below, so you can see what you'll be able to get up to before Wastelanders launches on April 7.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.