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.