Skyline Valley is coming to Fallout 76 today
Since the launch of Fallout 76 in 2018, Bethesda has continuously released new content updates to keep its players busy – similar to ZeniMax’s The Elder Scrolls Online, which will soon add the Gold Road chapter. Skyline Valley is released as Fallout 76’s 52nd content update, and for the first time, the Appalachia map will be expanded, opening up an entirely new region to the south.
I was lucky enough to check out Skyline Valley during a recent preview, encountering a monstrous hermit crab bus, exploring a haunted mansion, and meeting an awesome group of ghouls led by Hugo Stoltz. During our preview, we were given a lot of freedom to explore Skyline Valley, and as is natural when you give a group of players free reign with high-powered characters, many of us made a beeline for the new public event, Dangerous crossings, let’s see what we can do about it. The event sees you dodging wave after wave of new enemies called the Lost and their large robot companions as you activate a lightning rod. It’s an explosive event, and one that I may have enjoyed several times during my session with the game – zipping your way through dozens of electrically charged gangs is a lot of fun!
With my chaotic side satiated, it was time to see what Skyline Valley’s new story content had to offer. When you land in the new southern region, you’ll immediately notice that the environment is an electrified mess. A huge storm hangs over the area in shades of red, and it all starts with the mysterious Vault 63, which has been a long-standing – and inaccessible – place in Fallout 76 for some time now. With the front door open, we can now see what’s behind those steel barricades – the vampires!
My limited time with the game gave me a chance to check out the first couple of quests from Skyline Valley – which features 12 main missions in all. “The quest content here is almost equal to the size of Steel Dawn and Steel Reign combined,” Fallout 76 creative director Jonathan Rush told us, so there’s a lot to dive into. Within the depths of Vault 63, I met its Overseer, Hugo Stoltz, a friendly member of the Lost’s newly charged Ghoul faction. It’s worth noting that while Stoltz and his allies don’t mind hanging out with you, many of the Lost you meet in Skyline Valley would sooner kill you than enjoy a minute of good conversation. We must work with Stoltz to uncover the mystery behind the Lost, as well as decide whether to help or betray him.
Of course, with the new update we’re also getting Season 17, which is themed around the Pioneer Scouts, so expect to work your way through a battle map packed full of camping flavors that fit perfectly with the Skyline Valley setting . Just looking at some of the goodies on offer this season, we can get our hands on the new Vintage Camper Survival Tent, an outdoor movie projector, new T-45 and T-51 Power Armor paints, a Dissection Kit and more excessively.
Looking ahead to Fallout 76
While our preview of Skyline Valley gave us a chance to see the latest Fallout 76 update, Bethesda also gave us the lowdown on some of the other content coming in the near future. If you haven’t already seen our post, we have a ton of details about the playable Ghouls coming to Fallout 76 in 2025, but before that, some other exciting things are on the way.
Bethesda will drop its Milepost Zero update this fall, which will be “the origin of new experiences in Skyline Valley,” Rush told us. We will help the Blue Ridge Caravan Company to safely take the Brahmin carrying the goods to their destinations. We’ll be able to team up with other players to protect caravans from ambushes – “Fun fact: to make the Brahmin go faster, you can slap him, so he starts running,” Rush said.
In exchange for your help, the Blue Ridge Caravan Company will reward you with a customizable Caravan Outpost that you can make yourself similar to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s shelter system, allowing you to upgrade and decorate the Outpost. Continuing your Blue Ridge journey will unlock special vendors that sell you items unique to them, as well as unlock new decor for your Outpost. You’ll also get Brahmin, and Rush says, “You might be able to milk them. I’m not sure, but I’ll say you can.”
During a Q+A, Rush told us that “with each successful caravan run you can build as a fame where you earn your caravan network, which happens in the south of the map. And so this caravan post begins as very bones bare, and as you make more successful caravan runs, you unlock additional parts to decorate it and unlock special vendors, specialty vendors, from around the world that will only appear in. So the incentive to keep driving the roads of caravan is to unlock all of these and develop all of these – and your friends can come in and control your space.”
Elsewhere this fall, Fallout 76 will also get the seasonal Mischief Night event to celebrate the spooky season.
After getting a chance to scratch the surface of today’s update, I can’t wait to start exploring Skyline Valley and Vault 63. The Lost are certainly an interesting new faction — even if they’re not overly friendly — and I’ll love learning more. much to their strange ways and maybe learn something ready when the playable Ghouls arrive next year. Additionally, Skyline Valley seems to be the perfect place to set up a camping style CAMP, which I have yet to do!
Skyline Valley is playable by all Fallout 76 players of any skill level, so if you haven’t tried the game yet and want to check out the new content, feel free to dive in and take a look around today . Remember that Fallout 76 is available on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, so subscribers can join at any time.
Check out our ever-growing list of upcoming Game Pass games to see all the exciting experiences on the horizon.