Fallout 76's next big patch makes some welcome improvements to the game

An upcoming Fallout 76 patch will make some welcome improvements to the game, including helping new players ease into the wasteland.

Patch 11, due out mid-July, will change the game so low-level characters have more gradual introductions to some of the MMO's mechanics and challenges, Bethesda said in a blog post.

Characters under level 25 will pay fewer caps when fast-traveling, for example. Characters under level 15 will have higher disease resistance. Bethesda also plans to replace a number of early-game challenge rewards with items that'll give newcomers "a better chance at survival".

The developer said it's looking to nerf the difficulty of some creatures in a few sub-regions within the Ash Heap, the Savage Divide and Toxic Valley, the idea being players have fewer encounters with higher-level enemies when they first leave the relative safety of the forest. The upshot of all this is new players should have an easier time of it out in the wasteland, which is certainly a good thing.

Elsewhere, patch 11 makes raw food items and fluxes last 50 per cent longer before spoiling. The patch also means food and drinks no longer lose condition after you fast travel.

And here's another welcome change: patch 11 improves item descriptions. Legendary items will display all their current attributes rather than just the first whenever you view them in trade, vending or container menus. And - finally! - when you view crafting recipes or mods in the inspect, trade, vending or container menus, you'll now see the description for the item they create.

Here's how it looks:

Other welcome quality of life improvements include the ability to activate Stealth Boys while wearing Power Armor, a new Enable Power Armor HUD option to the settings that lets you toggle between the Power Armor HUD or the standard HUD while wearing Power Armor, and - again, finally! - post-patch bulk junk items in your inventory will be safe from the Scrap All Junk option - a change requested by fans ever since Fallout 76 came out. However, bulk junk will continue to be automatically scrapped as needed while you are crafting or repairing.

Fallout 76 suffered a disastrous launch (it was a hard avoid from me in Eurogamer's Fallout 76 review), but Bethesda has stuck with the game, issuing a raft of updates that have definitely improved matters.

Fallout 76's journey along the road to redemption continues.