Becoming a Fallout ‘Ghoul’: 5 things to know about the new irradiated Fallout 76 player character
From irradiated perks to a deadly dungeon, the latest Fallout 76 updates will have loads for fans of the recent TV show to enjoy — and high-level action for hardcore players to fight through.
If you came away from the Fallout TV show and thought, “hey, that post-apocalyptic future looks like a bit of me!” then, firstly, you might have missed the point, and secondly, boy! You're going to love the next Fallout 76 update.
After a rocky launch in 2018, Fallout 76 — the multiplayer installment in the long-running nuclear-powered role-playing game series — has gone from strength to strength. Buoyed by the phenomenal success of this year’s fantastic Fallout TV adaptation on Amazon Prime, Fallout 76 has now attracted more than 21 million players worldwide, becoming a fully-fledged Fallout experience across a giant, detailed map that you can explore with your friends. On the eve of this, its 56th major update, it’s every bit the ‘proper’ Fallout game.
And it’s about to offer something no other entry in the series has done before.
For the first time ever in a Fallout game, Fallout 76 is going to let players become an irradiated Ghoul — the ageless, skinless victims-come-superheroes of the wasteland that have featured in every installment in the franchise since its 1997 debut. Set to launch in an update scheduled for early 2025, we’ve had the privilege of trying the new playstyle — and fans of the TV show’s noseless cowboy are going to love it.
1. Becoming a Ghoul is tied to a classic Fallout moral quest
Considering Fallout 76 initially didn’t even launch with NPC characters to interact with, the quest that leads to your Ghoulification is a classic slice of Fallout role-playing action, full of humour, action and moral ambiguity. Unlocking at level 50, a distress signal opens up a questline in which a dishevelled, irradiated wanderer of the waste’s only hope for survival might be intentional Ghoulification. The multi-step, map-spanning quest will see you siding with (or against) multiple factions and making life-or-death decisions for some of the characters you meet along the way. Your reward for completion? A cool new skin — or, more accurately, a new, epidermically-challenged, in-game life.
2. Build-a-Ghoul customisation options
What Ghouls lack in skin, they make up for in style. Becoming a Ghoul opens up an all-new character customisation feature, letting you remodel your player character for their new life as an irradiated freak of the wasteland. Whether it’s an emo fringe or some neon eye shadow, the Ghouls can be tweaked just as much as regular Fallout 76 player characters, right down to the texture of their skin. If you revel in making the most cursed-looking custom characters in your RPGs, you’re going to have a field day here.
But not everyone will be into your new look. Certain factions and NPC groups will not look fondly on your new status in the Ghoul community, so be prepared for some areas to shun you once you’ve changed. You can get around this though by equipping new disguises that will let you pass unnoticed by the fully-fleshed inhabitants of Appalachia.
3. All new powers and perks…
If you can make peace with the screams of children every time they catch a glimpse of your face, there are a lot of benefits to being a Ghoul. First and foremost, radiation will bounce off you like water off a plucked and cooked duck’s back. In fact, not only will radiation not harm your character, it’ll actively heal you, and charge an all-new power meter called ‘Glow’ that feeds into some supercharged skills.
Loads of Ghoul-exclusive perk cards are introduced, too. Three of our favourites include “Arms of Steel”, which capitalises on your newfound Ghoul strength to reduce weapon recoil, “Breathe It In” which favourably reduces radiation resistance to boost your healing rate when in the presence of nuclear waste, and “Glowing Gut” which multiplies the benefits of eating irradiated food.
4. But those perks come with a price
Sure, becoming a Ghoul has its bonuses — but you get nothing in this post-apocalyptic world for free. While Ghouls no longer have to worry about thirst and hunger in Fallout 76, they are always running the risk of turning ‘feral’. Just like Walton Goggins’s Ghoul in the Fallout TV show, you’ll have to keep your Ghoul topped up with chems and drugs to keep their descent into wild mindless creatures at bay — which, in the game, manifests as a serious debuff of your skills.
If the Ghoul lifestyle doesn’t suit your playstyle, don’t fret — you can turn back to a human any time you want. Your first reskinning is free — but it’ll cost you in-game currency after that initial test run.
5. The toughest ever Fallout 76 dungeon (and its biggest ever baddie)
Though it’s not exclusive to Ghoul characters, the new update brings with it one of the most challenging Fallout 76 locations yet — the Gleaming Depths. This MMO-style raid lets up to four high-level players team up to explore an abandoned Enclave research station, where scientists studied the effects of the radioactive ultracite ore. Naturally, this included animal testing, and so some really horrible (and horribly strong) mutant hybrids will be standing in your way as you drill down into the rock below the laboratory. Expect encounters with tank-sized robot guards and ‘Mole Miners’, but leave enough ammo for a final face-off against the ‘Ultracite Terror’, a gigantic, cobra-like enemy that holds the record for being the biggest, toughest boss a Fallout game has ever seen. Best of all? This zone is available play through right now.
