After diving deeper into the lore of Fallout 76 with the Skyline Valley expansion, which introduced a new area with an esoteric style and a previously hidden society of Ghouls, the upcoming Gleaming Depths update aims to deliver the perfect content for fans of challenging gameplay, where pure skill and player ability will make all the difference. For the occasion, we flew to London and joined development team members Jon Rush and Bill LaCoste for an extended presentation of the new raids coming with the twenty-first update of the game.
A Forge of New Ideas and Rewards
Thanks to a foreword by Bill LaCoste, we uncovered the creative origins behind this new expansion. Let’s go back to last January: while the world awaited the release of the Fallout TV series by Amazon Prime, starring Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins, which would bring the brand back into the mainstream spotlight, one of the usual game jam brainstorming sessions was taking place at Bethesda Austin to create new ideas and concepts to integrate into the game. Among them was the concept for a new type of MMORPG-style raid, designed not only to provide an adequate challenge for seasoned players who have already surpassed the endgame content of Fallout 76, but also to offer a series of rare and valuable rewards for those who can survive the trials hidden deep within the Ash Heap region of Appalachia. In particular, players will find a wide selection of achievements to display within their CAMP, new colour schemes, and last but not least, new types of legendary 4-star armour and the Volcanic Power Armour.
The latter is characterized by numerous fragments of “ultracite”, a radioactive mineral found in the Fallout 76 world, that seem to have fused with the armour as if they had come to life. A small taste of the unique artistic direction of this new update.
Fallout 76 Gleaming Depths: Welcome to Hell!
It’s no coincidence that the announcement of Gleaming Depths coincided with the last QuakeCon 2024, an event catering to an audience fond of hardcore FPS titles from Id Software like Quake and Doom, presenting it specifically as an experience for this type of player. Once the main quest is accepted, a group of 4 daring Vault dwellers can begin their descent into this massive crater formed in the Ash Heap, characterized by an overwhelming abundance of ultracite. According to information shared during the presentation—and already accessible to members of the PTS (Public Test Server) since last month—the raid path of the Gleaming Depths will be divided into 4 phases featuring interconnected and twisted biomes, which will gradually transform the surrounding environment and bring the Fallout world into a Sci-Fi-Fantasy aesthetic that is still unexplored for the series. A Dantean pilgrimage that will reach its peaks in various encounters with the “zone guardians.”
Starting with the gigantic EN06, a virtually unbeatable robotic unit equipped with an “ultra-genetic” defence system, requiring a unique strategy to disable, making the combat a mix between a puzzle and a friction battle filled with fireworks and explosions to avoid premature game overs and loss of all progress. Descending further down, players will encounter terrifying realities and increasingly complex and challenging enemies such as the Stalker, an advanced form of Mole Miners more aligned with the survival-horror genre that cannot be confronted with conventional measures. This enemy will block the players’ path multiple times and will be one of the hardest obstacles to overcome before they can delve deeper and enter the true lore treasures hidden underground, such as the chamber of the Enclave Epsilon Squad, the site of a fierce battle against this secret unit of the well-known faction, apparently dredging up specific elements from the series’ distant past. However, it is precisely after all this, once players reach the depths of this radioactive hell, that they will face the Ultracite Terror, a nuclear beast of titanic proportions, which introduces for the first time in the brand’s history scenarios and combat mechanics more akin to the Sieges of Monster Hunter World than anything else. The arena for this battle is set within a cave illuminated by a sea of radioactive magma on an unstable surface that will gradually tighten, favouring well-thought-out positioning.
The Little Things That Make a Difference
Not only exclusive content for Gleaming Depths: the next update for Fallout 76 will introduce a series of new features even for players who have not yet reached these high levels of experience or who prefer to engage in other activities. Starting with technical revisions, Fallout 76 will receive a full graphical overhaul, improving texture rendering and generally enhancing the aesthetic component.
As for new features on the way, players will finally be able to have a pet in their CAMP, a feature announced back in 2020 that, after some stumbles and delays, will finally see the light with Gleaming Depths, allowing players to interact with and care for a pet within their portable homes. There will also be additional weapon rebalancing to keep pace with the new challenges on the horizon.
Fallout 76 Gleaming Depths offers a true revolution for raids, providing ultra-dedicated players with a higher level of challenge and a risk/reward ratio that will tantalize Vault Dwellers hungry for rare treasures and lore secrets. After revealing the backstory of Appalachian society, Fallout 76 is ready to unveil its darker side: the forbidden depths where the faint-hearted will be overwhelmed by the countless monstrous or mechanical obstacles crafted by Bethesda. It remains to be seen whether the upcoming content will be just the beginning of a series of future raids and updates of the same calibre or a mere consolation for those who currently have no motivation to return to the fray. To find out, we can only wait for the expansion’s arrival next December.