Summary
TheFallout 76ghoul update is now available on the Public Test Server build of the game, having rolled out in late December 2024. Apart from the ability to play as a ghoul, this release brings a newFallout 76event, some combat balancing tweaks, and changes to the way Perks are managed, among other novelties.
Bethesdaannounced the ability to turn one’sFallout 76character into a ghoulback in June 2024. The decision to implement this feature was made by popular request, the developer said. The ghoul update is currently on course to launch near the end of Q1 2025.
Ahead of this release, Bethesda rolled out a beta version of the ghoul update to theFallout 76Public Test Server. The highlight of this patch is Leap of Faith, a new questline that allows players to transform into ghouls. Based on what Bethesda has shared in the past, Leap of Faith will only unlock at character level 50, so anyone who hasn’t yet started a PTS playthrough—which uses its own save—will plausibly need a few days to unlock this storyline. Alternatively, it’s possible to power-level to 50 by server-hopping in search of something like Radiation Rumble events, and only completing them under the effects of XP-boosting items like Lunchboxes, Leader Bobbleheads, and Cranberry Relishes.
Leap of Faith will take players to a new section of the Savage Divide, a region slicing through the center ofFallout 76’s map of Appalachiafrom north to south. The storyline will introduce players to several new characters who will aid in their transformation into a ghoul. Becoming a ghoul will replace the hunger and thirst meters with a new Feral mechanic, which will require players to continuously maintain their sanity by consuming Chems. Slipping into insanity does have some benefits, as characters will become stronger, more resilient, or both at certain stages of feralness.
While human characters inFallout 76need to constantly manage their radiation levels, ghouls will naturally be able to embrace rads and increase their maximum health while doing so. This mechanic will be tracked by the so-called Glow meter, depicted as a green-striped pattern attached to one’s health bar. Bethesda previously confirmed that playing as a ghoul will create opportunities for unique NPC interactions and quest decisions, but such novelties won’t be retroactively implemented into existing content.Fallout 76will also let players revert to human form—a feature that, while not exactly lore-friendly, encourages gameplay experimentation.
Based on thelatestFallout 76content roadmapshared back in November 2024, the ghoul update is planned to roll out with the start of Season 20. This puts it on course for a March 2025 release. Specifically, the new season is expected to drop circa March 6, the date of the game’s first March 2024 event, which will debut yet another Scrip Surplus and Double Mutations promo.
Fallout 76 PTS Update Patch Notes (July 27, 2025)
Ghoulification
For the first time in Fallout history, YOU will be able to play as a Ghoul. Starting the new questline “Leap of Faith” will take you into a new section of the Savage Divide. There you will meet characters who will aid in your transformation. Unlocking the new Ghoul-specific abilities Glow and Feral as well as the new Ghoul exclusive Perks.
Ghoulities (Abilities)
Feral
Becoming a Ghoul sheds the need to sate your hunger and thirst. Instead, you battle against a gnawing desire to slip back into your base nature. Abandoning all sanity you might have had.
The new Feral meter drains overtime and can only be filled back up by consuming Chems. You may not want to keep that meter 100% filled though. Your Feral status provides different bonuses and penalties depending on how full the meter is.
Glow
As you might expect when living life as a Ghoul, radiation doesn’t have the same effect on you as it does on the smooth-skinned. You’re immune to diseases and cannot be mutated by nearby radiation. As a Ghoul, radiation makes you Glow!
This new Glow system increases your maximum health (and heals damage you’ve taken) based on the amount of radiation that you’ve accumulated. Your Glow can be tracked by the green-striped pattern on your HP bar.
Consuming tainted foods, drinks, and exploring irradiated environments all contribute to your Glow. If you hear that Pip-Boy ticking, the radiation is hitting. While you’re in Power Armor, your radiation intake can be seen on the “Rads” dial next to your health.
Outside of the max health increase Glow provides, it also contributes to Perks like the Science Monster and Jaguar Speed Perks mentioned below!
Gherks (Perks)
One benefit of living life as a Ghoul is that you’ll have access to a new suite of Perk cards that you can use in addition to the normal human cards . There are 28 Perks to choose from and 2 new Legendary perks for Ghouls.
The new Perk cards can be attained through Perk card packs or by selecting your level-up Perk. These cards will open new build opportunities and enhance the way you play.
Do note that Perk cards that revolve around Hunger, Thirst, and the Chem Resistant perk will be locked as Ghouls don’t require the benefits that those cards provide.
Let’s look at one Perk from each S.P.E.C.I.A.L. category (all Perk descriptions are at their max value):
A Ghoul’s Day Out
With all these new benefits that help you explore the wasteland; we would forgive you for thinking that life as a Ghoul was easy. No matter how well dressed you are, there are still some factions (like the Brotherhood of Steel) who won’t want to interact with you.
Playing as a Ghoul will make some factions hostile to you which will lock you out of quest lines. Luckily wearing disguises made by Jaye, a new NPC you’ll meet along the new questline, will allow you to interact with any blocked content that you may find when living life as a Ghoul.
There are a few trade-offs though:
Don’t worry. If after a short while you find out that being a Ghoul isn’t for you, you may switch back to being human through your Character Screen. Just know, this is a one-way ticket back. You won’t be able to complete the questline to become a Ghoul again.
The Big Bloom
Spring is coming and we wanted to introduce a new themed event to match.
Introducing Black-Eyed Susan, a new friendly NPC who is sure to remind you of a grandmother. She loves flowers, floral arrangements, and totally doesn’t have a secret backstory so stop asking. Susan needs help with her latest project and luckily for her there are a bunch of Vault Dwellers who are ready and willing to help.
Black-Eyed Susan’s favorite meadow has been overtaken by strange, plant-like beasts called Overgrown making the area too dangerous for her to pick flowers. So, she needs you to head into the meadow, pick some flowers, and defeat those monsters.
Do watch out for the mines though. They’re the remnants of a previous attempt to keep those beasts out of her meadow.
Perks Catalog
The Perks Catalog is a new way of viewing and organizing your Perk card collection. It’s filterable, sortable, has 2 different views, and even lets you tag specific cards for search. Check it out by opening your loadout and pressing the “All Perks” button on the left-hand side of your screen (LT on controller, M on mouse & keyboard). Let us know what you think!
Combat Balancing
Many pistols have been modified to incorporate the damage that they’d deal via perks (pre-update Gunslinger and Guerrilla) into their base damage, since those perks no-longer offer a pistol-specific increase to damage. In addition, some pistols have received a further increase to their base damage.
Weapon Damage Changes
The base damage values listed here represent the weapon at its max level (45 or 50). Lower levels have been adjusted proportionally.
Weapon VATS Critical Damage Multiplier Changes
These are the base VATS critical damage multipliers for each weapon. Mods, perks, and other buffs can further increase these values.
Weapon Sneak Damage Multiplier Changes
These are the base VATS critical damage multipliers for each weapon. Mods and perks can further increase these values.
How To Participate in the Fallout 76 PTS
All players who own a copy of Fallout 76 on Steam can participate in our PTS. Please note that progress from the PTS does not carry over into the live game. The Atomic Shop is also disabled during this testing period.
To install the PTS, open your Steam library, and install “Fallout 76 Public Test Server”.
Fallout 76
WHERE TO PLAY
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4, welcome you to Fallout 76. Twenty-five years after the bombs fell, you and your fellow Vault Dwellers—chosen from the nation’s best and brightest – emerge into post-nuclear America on Reclamation Day, 2102. Play solo or join together as you explore, quest, build, and triumph against the wasteland’s greatest threats. Explore a vast wasteland, devastated by nuclear war, in this open-world multiplayer addition to the Fallout story. Experience the largest, most dynamic world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe. Expand southward to Skyline Valley – a brand-new region of Appalachia. Investigate the cause of the electric storm circling overhead and unveil the mystery around Vault 63 and its dwellers, including a shocking new Ghoul type – The Lost.
