It’s been a few weeks since we’ve checked in on Bethesda’s Fallout 76 but, like many of the past updates, this is sure to not sit well with its base. Bethesda is adding repair kits to the game, and they can be purchased with Atoms through the real-world money shop. These Fallout 76 repair kits appear to go directly against Bethesda’s pre-release promises for the game.
Bethesda released a new blog post about updates coming to Fallout 76 in the future today. The new content will come after the April 9 patch, but exact dates were not given. Chief among the Fallout 76 additions are new repair kits. Fallout 76, like Fallout 3 and New Vegas, has equipment conditions that require players to upkeep their gear.
Currently, players have to spend time at workbenches fixing gear, but the new Fallout 76 repair kits will change that. Items will be able to be repaired at any time using the kits. There are basic and improved kits, the first repairing an item to 100% and the second buffing to 150%. Basic repair kits will be purchasable with Atoms in the Atomic Shop, while improved repair kits will be rewards from certain in-game objectives.
The ability to buy basic repair kits in the Atomic Shop has ruffled some feathers in the Fallout 76 community. A post on the game’s subreddit has received over 2,000 upvotes since being posted earlier today. Prior to Fallout 76‘s release Bethesda published information regarding the Atomic Shop and said that it “doesn’t offer anything with a competitive advantage, and more so, it aims to bring joy not just to you, but the other dwellers around you.”
Adding a purchasable repair kit could be the beginning of Bethesda adding more non-cosmetic items to the Atomic Shop, and a lot of fans are calling the company out over it. To be clear, the repair kits aren’t a terrible idea and Atoms can be earned through in-game events. But Bethesda is going against its own word, and the game’s community is worried about what happens in the future.
The company does seem aware that it’s a change it wants feedback on, but it looks like much of the community would rather the Atomic Shop stay cosmetic-only.
