New Mini-Season System: The April 22, 2025 patch introduced Mini-Seasons, a refresh of the old challenge events. These are small themed progression tracks that run alongside the main season. In fact, Challenge Events have been renamed to “Mini Seasons” and moved into the Seasons menu for easy tracking. Players earn Season Tickets from completing event challenges, which can be spent to unlock Mini-Season rewards. The first ever mini-season, “Appalachian Outlaws,” launched with this update, allowing players to immediately dive into a new reward track. (If you have enough tickets saved up when a Mini-Season begins, you could even unlock all its rewards right away – just be sure to complete the challenges to earn your spent tickets back.) New Seasonal Event – “The Big Bloom”: Spring has sprung in Appalachia with a brand-new seasonal event starting April 29. In The Big Bloom, players assist a quirky NPC named Black-Eyed Susan, a flower-obsessed wastelander with a penchant for explosive solutions, to reclaim her favorite meadow from hostile plant-like creatures called Overgrown. The event culminates in a battle against Susan’s arch-nemesis, “Bee-zlebub” the King Bee, who shows up once you’ve picked enough flowers and blown up enough Overgrown pests. (Just watch out for the landmines scattered from Susan’s last “gardening” attempt!) Successful gardeners will be rewarded with new thematic loot once Bee-zlebub is defeated. Armor & Item Fixes: A number of equipment-related bugs were squashed. Notably, Power Armor no longer removes your ghoul disguise headwear. The Vulcan Ultracite Bracers mod’s Radiation and Poison effects are now correctly tagged as “Unarmed” damage, and a bug with the Nuclear Jetpack for the Civil Engineer Power Armor (Munitions) was fixed so that it no longer wrongly required the Secret Service Jetpack plan. Glowing Bobbleheads will now actually appear from Bobblehead Boxes as intended, and players won’t get spammed with the “Canned Cranberry Relish is now craftable” notification anymore. Also, jetpack controls have been fixed – you should no longer experience odd movement issues while jetpacking around. C.A.M.P. & Workshop Improvements: An important exploit fix: C.A.M.P. objects that require certain consumables (Fusion Cores, chems like Mentats, Stimpaks, Rad-X, etc.) no longer refund those items when you scrap the object. This closes a loophole where players could essentially duplicate valuable consumables. A number of C.A.M.P. decor bugs were addressed as well. The Skulls Firepit will behave like a campfire now, the season reward Urinal can actually be received properly when unlocked, and various display items and structures had their alignment and collision corrected. Even the little things got attention: the Mothman Windchime will animate correctly, the Piggy Bank no longer hovers off surfaces, and the Balloon Animal Bouquet finally has proper collision so you can’t walk through it. Combat Balance Tweaks: Wasteland combat saw some tuning. Notably, the Hunting Rifle’s base damage was buffed significantly – at level 50 it jumped from 100 to 140 base damage. Its Prime Receiver mod no longer gives an extra bonus on top. The patch also fixed an issue with V.A.T.S. – you can no longer target enemy limbs in VATS unless you meet the proper requirements (5 Perception or the Concentrated Fire perk). Explosions from certain perks and effects will now hit where they’re supposed to – the explosions are retargeted to an enemy’s center mass rather than their feet, improving reliability. Enemies & Encounters: Scorchbeasts will no longer spam their sonic blast attack repeatedly. In Daily Ops, Super Mutants and other enemies will once again grant the expected amount of XP. A fix for the new Atlantic City Expedition addressed an issue where Overgrown enemies near City Hall would become invulnerable. Glowing Hunters will now drop Glowing Blood as loot instead of Glowing Blood Packs. Limb Damage & Crippling Overhaul: One of the biggest gameplay adjustments in this patch is a comprehensive rework of limb damage mechanics. Weapon mods that used to give a “20% chance to cripple” now instead boost limb damage by 50% each hit. Most enemies no longer have innate limb-cripple immunity, making limb damage perks more useful. However, bosses now require more focused fire to cripple. Perk Cards were rebalanced accordingly. Perks like Basher, Enforcer, Modern Renegade, One Gun Army, and a new melee perk Bone Shatterer now include significant limb damage bonuses. The Twisted Muscles mutation was updated to give +50% limb damage. The result: regular enemies are easier to cripple, but bosses are more resistant. Quest & Progression Fixes: The patch cleaned up various quest bugs. Ghoul player questlines were fixed to prevent progression blocks. Early-game quests like “Second Helpings” now complete reliably. The “Powerhouse of the Cell” quest marker now persists after logout. Additional fixes included corrected voice lines, accurate terminal text, and improved objective tracking. Miscellaneous Improvements: The Atomic Shop interface now loads faster. The world map’s location selection was improved. Area looting becomes available immediately after enemy death, and looting multiple corpses no longer shuffles ammo to the bottom of the list. Cosmetic fixes included correct glove colors for the Radiation Quack outfit and fixed underarmor clipping. Fort Defiance now counts toward the Cranberry Bog discovery challenge. Photomode now works correctly in ultra-wide 21:9 resolutions. Behind the scenes, Ghoul perks were fixed to behave and display properly. The Wasteland Trading Post: Fallout 76 Trading in 2025 With Appalachia refreshed by the latest update, it’s a great time for Vault Dwellers to turn their eyes toward the player-driven economy. Trading in Fallout 76 has become an integral part of the end-game loop. Whether you’re a casual player looking to swap some surplus legendary weapons, a dedicated trader, or a veteran collector, here’s your roleplay-friendly guide to Fallout 76 trading. Market76 – The Original Marketplace for Wastelanders Market76 is a community-driven trading hub that originated on Reddit and expanded to Discord. Players post “for sale” notices describing gear and barter terms. Trades are done in-game, and the community maintains strict moderation against exploits or real-money transactions. The platform features a karma and reputation system on Discord, as well as a scammer blacklist. Courier services are also available to mediate high-value trades safely. Market76 provides a lore-rich and social environment for barter-focused trading. The Crimson Market – An AI-Powered Trading Post in Appalachia A newer platform, The Crimson Market offers a sleek, AI-powered experience. It allows users to upload item screenshots, which are automatically parsed by image recognition AI. Listings become searchable by stats or effects (e.g., “Bloodied Fixer”), saving time for both sellers and buyers. The Crimson Market also analyzes trading trends based on community data, surfacing in-demand items and fair prices. From a lore perspective, it feels like an automated network run by descendants of the Crimson Caravan Company, scanning caravan inventories and radio chatter for trade trends. Players can list items manually or by image, set a price or trade offer, and be contacted by interested buyers. AI-enhanced search and analytics make the Crimson Market a powerful tool for traders on any platform. Fallout 76 Trading Tips: Best Practices for Safe and Successful Deals Know Your Item Value: Use Discord channels, Reddit, or Crimson Market trends to check pricing. Updates can impact demand, so stay current. Use Trusted Platforms: Stick to known platforms like Market76 or Crimson Market for safer, community-moderated trades. Beware of Scammers: Never drop items first in unknown trades. Use courier services for expensive swaps and always report scammers. Communicate Clearly: Be direct, polite, and transparent about what you want or offer. Good communication builds trading relationships. Leverage AI & Data Tools: Take advantage of Crimson Market’s AI parsing, trend insights, and smart searching to trade more efficiently. Timing & Patience: Watch for spikes in demand after events and updates. Post listings during active hours for better visibility. Trade for Mutual Benefit: Caps are common, but bartering can work just as well. Be flexible and creative with trade terms. Final Thoughts: Trading is one of Fallout 76’s most vibrant community-driven features. Whether you're hawking gear at Market76’s flea market or letting AI handle the heavy lifting on Crimson Market, the updated Wasteland is full of opportunity. With smoother gameplay, more cripple-able enemies, and AI tools at your fingertips, the 2025 economy is booming. Happy trading, Vault dwellers. May your caps be plentiful, your deals fair, and your legendaries roll just right.

Fallout 76 players have plenty to sink their teeth into this spring. Bethesda Game Studios rolled out significant Fallout 76 updates in March and April 2025, bringing new ways to play, fresh in-game events, and numerous gameplay improvements. From the long-awaited ability to play as a Ghoul to the debut of “Mini-Seasons” and a spring event teeming with monstrous flora, the latest Fallout 76 patch notes detail a host of changes that are both exciting and impactful. In this comprehensive roundup, we’ll break down the most relevant, interesting, and helpful news for Fallout 76 as of April 24, 2025 – including official patch notes highlights, seasonal events, gameplay tweaks, new content like weapons and armor, plus community highlights such as popular builds and player reactions. Ghoulification Arrives in Appalachia (Season 20: Glow of the Ghoul) One of the biggest recent additions is the Ghoul Within update, which launched on March 18, 2025 alongside Season 20: “Glow of the Ghoul.” This update allows Wastelanders to leave their humanity behind and play as a Ghoul – a first for the Fallout series. To begin, players undertake a new questline called “Leap of Faith” in a previously inaccessible area of the Savage Divide, where they undergo Ghoulification. Upon completing this irradiated rite of passage, your character is permanently transformed into a ghoul (though you can revert back to human at any time via the character menu if you change your mind). Becoming a ghoul isn’t just a cosmetic change – it fundamentally alters gameplay. Ghouls gain two unique innate abilities: “Feral” and “Glow.” The Feral mechanic introduces a new meter that replaces hunger/thirst; it depletes over time unless you consume Chems, and depending on how full it is, your ghoul gets different buffs or debuffs. Meanwhile, Glow means radiation now heals you and boosts your maximum HP instead of harming you – the more rads you soak up, the more you “glow” with extra health, which is tracked as a green strip on your HP bar. In short, playing as a ghoul makes radiation your friend and starvation a thing of the past, but comes with a trade-off: some human factions (notably the Brotherhood of Steel) will refuse to interact with ghoul players unless you’re disguised. Thankfully, the quest introduces an NPC ally who provides a ghoul disguise for those situations, allowing you to experience all story content even as an undead Appalachian. To support this new “lifestyle,” the Ghoul Within update added 30 ghoul-exclusive Perk Cards (28 standard perks and 2 legendary perks) that open up “ghoultastic” build possibilities. These perks, nicknamed “Gherks,” include abilities like Bone Shatterer (melee attacks have a high chance to cripple limbs) and Jaguar Speed (run faster when fully irradiated). Ghoul players can equip these new cards in addition to normal human perks, enabling powerful hybrid builds. With these changes, Fallout 76 builds centered around being a ghoul – for example, high-radiation melee brawlers or chem-fueled berserkers – have become a hot topic in the community. Season 20’s scoreboard, titled “Glow of the Ghoul,” ties into this theme as well. Running from March to June 2025, this season offers ghoul-themed rewards on the progression board – from glowing camp decor to gruesome outfits – as players earn S.C.O.R.E. to rank up. New Mini-Season & Spring Events Bloom in April The April 22, 2025 update introduced an entirely new concept to the game: Mini-Seasons, which replace the old limited-time challenge events system. The idea is to make these special events more visible and rewarding. A Mini-Season is essentially a small additional scoreboard that runs for a short period, sitting alongside the main Season in the menu. Instead of the old convoluted method of tracking event challenges, players can now easily find the latest Mini-Season on the Seasons menu and see its rewards track. Progression in Mini-Seasons is done via Season Tickets: completing event challenges earns tickets, which are then spent to unlock the Mini-Season rewards. The very first Mini-Season, “Appalachian Outlaws,” went live with the April update. This heist-themed mini-season runs from April 22 to May 6, 2025. As the name implies, its aesthetic is all about outlaws, crime and capers in the wasteland. Upon the mini-season’s start, players can claim a free “Money Bags Backpack” skin from the Seasons menu – this bag is your key to the event. Equipping the Money Bags Backpack enables the associated challenges, which involve things like stealing (looting) and cracking safes across Appalachia to earn Season Tickets. Those tickets in turn unlock rewards that fit the outlaw theme, such as a Wanted poster, a detective bulletin board, a fancy new outfit, and even a decorative piggy bank for your C.A.M.P. A new limited-time seasonal event is kicking off: “The Big Bloom.” This public event will run from April 29 to May 13, 2025, ushering in the spring with a deadly gardening twist. Players will meet a new quest-giver NPC named Black-Eyed Susan, an eccentric horticulturalist with a penchant for explosives. Susan’s favorite meadow has been overrun by mutant plant creatures called “Overgrown”. When the Big Bloom event is active, survivors will be tasked with venturing into this overgrown field to collect special flowers and eliminate waves of the plant-like beasts. After gathering enough flowers and thinning out the overgrowth, players trigger the wrath of Susan’s self-proclaimed arch-nemesis: Bee-Zlebub, the King Bee. Taking down Bee-Zlebub with your team will complete the event and grant you a bouquet of rewards. Patch Notes – Key Gameplay Changes and Fixes The April 22, 2025 patch (Update Version 1.7.19.19) delivered a hefty set of gameplay changes, balance tweaks, and bug fixes alongside the new content. Here are some of the most notable highlights: Limb Damage & Crippling Overhaul: Most enemies are no longer outright immune to having their limbs crippled, making it a more viable combat tactic. Weapon mods now boost limb damage by 50%, and several Perk Cards have been rebalanced to emphasize limb damage. Weapon Balance Updates: The classic Hunting Rifle’s base damage was increased from 100 to 140 at level 50. Several bugs and skin issues were also fixed. Armor and Power Armor Fixes: Power Armor no longer removes the ghoul disguise headwear. Several bugs affecting armor sets and mods were corrected. C.A.M.P. and Workshop Improvements: Items requiring rare consumables no longer return those items when scrapped. Dozens of placement and animation bugs were fixed. Enemy & Encounter Adjustments: Boss enemies like the Scorchbeast Queen will no longer spam abilities. Super Mutant XP is fixed, and various loot bugs were addressed. Quest and World Bug Fixes: Quests like “Leap of Faith” and “Wayward Souls” had progression bugs fixed. Several UI and interaction glitches were resolved. User Interface & Miscellaneous: Area-looting and map interaction quality-of-life updates, ultrawide display fixes, and improved perk behavior. Community Reactions and Popular Builds The Fallout 76 community has been buzzing about these updates. Players are already theory-crafting new “ghoul builds” that maximize the benefits of the Feral and Glow mechanics. Tanky melee ghoul builds that stay just below 100% Feral for constant buffs are popular, as are irradiated juggernauts who thrive in nuke zones. New ghoul perk cards offer abilities like damage boosts while irradiated or limb-crushing melee effects. Traditional builds are also seeing a resurgence. Sniper builds are now more viable thanks to the Hunting Rifle buff. Shotgun builds benefit from updated crippling perks. Heavy gunners gain more team utility through reliable limb crippling. Even old-school bloodied builds are getting creative hybrids with ghoul perks. On the community front, social media and forums are filled with screenshots of ghoulified characters, guides for Big Bloom, and teamwork strategies for Mini-Seasons. Players are sharing tips, coordinating runs, and enjoying the new layers of gameplay and progression. All told, Fallout 76 in April 2025 is thriving with new content and improvements. Whether you're embracing a new ghoul persona, grinding Mini-Seasons, or perfecting a powerful new build, Appalachia is full of life this spring.