Fallout 76 Patch Notes - Update 21 Available Now

Fallout 76’s Update 21 goes live today, its patch notes revealing the addition of the new A Colossal Problem public event and more.

Aside from its expected set of bug fixes, Update 21’s patch notes reveal more about the new Fortifying Atlas community-wide effort that sees players teaming up to build a base for the Brotherhood of Steel.

On PC, players can expect the following file sizes when downloading Fallout 76’s Update 21: Bethesda Launcher (4.7 GB), Microsoft Store (12.5 GB), Steam (2.4 GB).

Fallout 76 Update 21 PTS Patch Notes

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Here are all the changes and additions that player will find upon downloading Fallout 76’s Update 21, as detailed in its full patch notes:

Fortifying ATLAS

Starting today, you can take part in “Fortifying ATLAS,” a two-part community-wide effort to construct a prospective base for the Brotherhood of Steel. If the community successfully turns in enough supplies during the next few weeks, everyone will unlock events and new cosmetic rewards.

• A man named Russell Dorsey believes the Brotherhood of Steel are headed to Appalachia, and that ATLAS Observatory in the Savage Divide will make a perfect makeshift HQ when they arrive.
• Russell is heading up supply gathering efforts. He will ask everyone to help deliver an abundance of raw materials to aid in fortifying ATLAS over the next few weeks.
• If the community delivers enough scrap of each type in time, all players will earn in-game rewards, including new Brotherhood of Steel themed cosmetics, a Purveyor Super Sale, a Double S.C.O.R.E. Daily event, and more!
• Additionally, every time you contribute materials, you will receive “ATLAS Donor's Provisions,” which you can open from your inventory to receive goodies and a chance at rare Plans.
• Fortifying ATLAS will take place in two parts: Project Alpha, starting August 4, and Project Bravo, which starts on August 27.
  • Each Project has its own supply requirements, collection dates, and rewards.
  • Read our recent article catch all the scrap collection dates and rewards.

A Colossal Problem

• Please note: Today’s update brings the new Public Event “A Colossal Problem” to the game. However, we are still making some performance tweaks and doing additional testing before we enable the event. We are planning to make “A Colossal Problem” available with a follow-up update in the next couple of weeks.

“A Colossal Problem” is an instanced multiplayer Public Event that will take place deep in the heart of Monongah Mine in the Savage Divide.

• Once we’ve enabled “A Colossal Problem”, you will be able to meet Maggie Williams in Foundation to learn about Monongah Mine and begin the side quest “Something Sentimental.”
• Unfortunately, the entrance to Monongah Mine has become blocked. You will have to blast your way inside by dropping a Nuke.
• After launching your Nuke, a Public Event Icon will appear on the Map and all players will receive a notification that “A Colossal Problem” has begun.
• If one instance of “A Colossal Problem” fills up, a new one will begin so that more players can start the event.
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• Once inside Monongah Mine, you and your event mates will have a few minutes to prepare.
• This challenging encounter is tuned for characters who are level 50 or higher, and we recommend teaming up with others.
• When the prep time ends, you will drop deeper into the belly of the Mine and begin the battle against a towering legendary Wendigo Colossus and some of its closest friends.
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• If you topple the Colossus before the event timer expires, you will be rewarded with some loot, XP, Caps, Treasury Notes, and a chance at new themed items for your C.A.M.P.
  • Don’t linger too long, because Monongah Mine will surely collapse after your lengthy battle. Find a way out of the Mine in time, and you will escape with your life.

Meat Week Returns!

The Meat Week Seasonal Event is returning to Appalachia this month from August 18 – 24. If you haven’t taken part in the past, Meat Week offers great opportunities to earn some Legendary Scrip, claim some loot, and join the community (along with Grahm, everyone’s favorite Super Mutant) for a delicious Meat Cook. Meat Week happens in two parts, and you can read below to learn the basics:

Primal Cuts

• Grahm only wants to provide top notch fare during his Meat Cook. Join Primal Cuts events in different regions of Appalachia to take down Prime Beasts and gather some Prime Meat.
• Primal Cuts events begin every 15 minutes in three regions of Appalachia at once.
• Each features a different difficulty so that low, mid, and high-level characters can all participate.
• Kill the waves of Prime Beasts before the Primal Cuts timer expires and you will receive a few cuts of Prime Meat as a reward.
• Be sure to turn in your Prime Meat during Grahm's Meat Cook events to claim some Legendary Scrip.
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Grahm’s Meat Cook

• To celebrate Meat Week, Grahm is hosting a Meat Cook for all his favorite humans every hour on the hour near Vault 76 in the Forest.
• Help Grahm complete a variety of activities, like putting out fires, playing music, spinning meat spits, cleaning up after Chally, and more to help ensure his party is a hit.
• The more successful the Meat Cook, the higher your chances at better rewards from the event.
• We’ve also added a few new rewards this year, like plans to craft your own Tenderizer, a new Outfit, and more!
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Design Updates

• Ammo Converter: Following community feedback, we’ve made several improvements to the Ammo Converter.
• We’ve added options to buy and sell 10x and 100x the normal amounts of ammo so that you can exchange larger stacks more quickly.
• Buying and selling has been incorporated directly into the terminal page for each ammo type, which means fewer screens to click through when exchanging your ammo.
• We’ve upped the maximum amount of AmmoPoints you can store from 2,000 to 100,000.
• Legendary Loot: Daily Quests and Events have had their legendary loot rewards updated to include additional items, like The Fixer, Secret Service Armor, and others, so long as you’ve learned the Plans for them.

Quests and Events

• An Ounce of Prevention: We’ve simplified the “Collect Blood Samples: 0/3” to only require a single Blood Sample from a Feral Ghoul.
• This quest step frequently caused some confusion for new players and had a bug that could sometimes block
progression. This change should make An Ounce of Prevention a smoother experience for everyone.</li>
• Signal Strength: At the National Isolated Radio Array, we’ve removed the wave of difficult robot enemies that spawn and reduced the overall difficulty of enemies in the area.
• Signal Strength could be difficult for new characters due high-level enemies at the Radio Array. We’ve dropped the difficulty so that this part of the quest is easier to complete for lower level characters.
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Bug Fixes

General

• Please note: With today’s update, we’ve found that the Forager Ally is not currently providing Daily Quests to players who have this Ally in their C.A.M.P.s. We did not have enough time to address this prior to releasing the patch, and we are working to address this issue as soon as possible.

Art and Animation

• Animations: Fixed multiple animation issues affecting the Screaming Eagle skin for the Handmade Rifle.
• Animations: The Clean Sweep Photomode Pose no longer causes the character’s shoulder to stretch backwards unnaturally.
• Art: Made adjustments to Backpacks so that they no longer appear to sink into characters’ backs while equipped.
• Art: Adjusted the front sight on the Appalachian Thunder Pipe skin for the Gatling Gun so that it’s more in-line with the crosshairs when aiming down the sights in first-person view.
• Art: Adjusted the Extra Large Magazine Mod for the Appalachian Thunder Pipe Skin to limit the amount that it obstructs the view when aiming down the sights in first-person.
• Art: In the Wastelander Photomode Frame, Vault Boy now has a rifle over his shoulder instead of a Laser Musket.

C.A.M.P. and Workshops

• Ammo Converter: Now correctly disappears when destroyed in a Workshop or C.A.M.P. until the player repairs it.
• Backwoods Bungalow: Players can no longer walk through the Bungalow’s glass walls.
• Build: When attempting to build a freestanding object, it will no longer flicker rapidly between two snap locations.
• Build: The preview for the Framed Captain Cosmos Gameboard now correctly faces the player when attempting to build it.
• Chicken Coop: Sound effects no longer continue to play after the Chicken Coop is destroyed.
• Collectron Station: The Fasnacht Collectron now correctly disappears after scrapping or storing its Station.
• Exploit: Addressed an exploit allowing players to stack multiple traps.
• Exploit: Fixed an exploit related to scrapping Assaultron Helmets.
• Fireplace Secret Door: No longer leaves behind visual effects when destroyed.
• Foundations: Fixed an issue where foundation pieces could be built in invalid circumstances.
• Lights: Objects with lights now correctly light up immediately after being repaired.
• Rustic Watermill: The generator version of the Rustic Watermill now correctly requires the player to know the Medium Generator Recipe before it can be built.
• Scrapping: Fixed an issue that caused crafting to use Junk items from the player’s Inventory and Stash before using their available Scrap. Crafting, building, and repairing now utilize the player’s Scrap and Junk in the following order of priority:
• Scrap in the player’s Inventory
• Scrap in the Stash
• Scrap in the Fallout 1st Scrapbox
• Junk in the player’s Inventory will be auto-scrapped
• Junk in the Stash will be auto-scrapped
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• Walls: Fixed an issue where doorway walls could be hard to place under roofs and upper floors. (152436)
• Walls: Fixed and issue where slanted walls could not be snapped to roofs.
• Walls: Fixed an issue that could allow walls to be snapped to overhanging roofs and upper floors, which could be used to create floating walls.

Challenges

• General: Implemented an additional fix to address remaining edge cases where Daily and Weekly Challenges could complete themselves automatically.
• Nuclear Winter: Fixed an issue in which previous limited-time Nuclear Winter Challenges were available and could be still completed past their end-dates.

Combat

• Exploit: Fixed an exploit resulting from reviving another player under certain circumstances.
• Exploit: Fixed an exploit allowing Bows to fire much faster than intended.

Enemies

• Wendigo Colossus: Opening the Pip-Boy just before being Feared by the Wendigo Colossus no longer causes the controls to temporarily lock up.

Items

• Backpacks: Fixed an issue that prevented players from scrapping newly crafted Backpacks.
• Bows: The Blood Eagle Bow skin can now also be applied to Compound Bows.
• Chinese Stealth Suit: The Helmet for the Chinese Stealth Suit no longer incorrectly states that it protects against waterborne diseases.
• Energy Weapons: Addressed an issue that could prevent energy weapons, like the Tesla Rifle and Flamer, from damaging enemies under certain circumstances.
• Jetpacks: Fixed an issue allowing an Atomic Shop Power Armor Jet Pack skin to be applied by players who did not own it.
• Jetpacks: The Captain Cosmos Jetpack now correctly appears in the list of mods for T-65 Power Armor.
• Lunchboxes: Using more than 4 Lunchboxes now correctly refreshes the duration of the 100% XP buff.
• Power Armor: The T-65 Power Armor Headlamp no longer shines in the wrong direction after switching between first- and third-person view.
• Secret Service Armor: Added plans to craft Pocketed and Deep Pocketed mods for Secret Service Armor limbs. They can be purchased for 250 and 500 Gold Bullion respectively from Regs in Vault 79.
• Secret Service Armor: The Ghillie Suit skin no longer obstructs the player’s view in first-person.
• Mods: Fixed an issue where the Bow, Assault Rifle, and Brotherhood Recon Rifle did not have “Default Appearance” equipped on pickup.
• Vault-Tec Supply Packages: Now correctly have a weight of 0.1 pounds.

Mutations

• Herbivore & Carnivore: Fixed a number of food benefits that were not being doubled correctly by the Herbivore and Carnivore Mutations.

NPCs

• General: Fixed rare case where NPCs could pick up items a player had dropped in a loot bag.
• Pathing: Fixed pathing issues affecting multiple NPCs in Foundation.
• Scavenger Traders: Will no longer be repeatedly downed due to radiation damage when near an active Nuke Zone.
• Smiley: Smiley now resets correctly every Monday, allowing players to purchase Bullion from him every week.
• If you are inside the Wayward when Smiley resets, you must exit and re-enter the Wayward for his stock of Bullion to "update."
• Ward: We’ve instructed Ward to stay put in his trailer, so you should no longer spot him roaming Foundation.

Performance and Stability

• Performance: Fixed an issue that could cause client performance issues when attempting to stack many C.A.M.P. objects in a small space.
• Client Stability: Attempting to replace a Fence in Modify mode no longer sometimes crashes the game client.
• Server Stability: Addressed an issue that could result in a server crash when loading an exterior cell.
• Server Stability: Fixed an issue that could cause a server crash when loading a Workshop.
• Server Stability: Fixed a server crash related to pathing.
• Server Stability: Addressed a server crash related to equipped inventory items.
• Server Stability: Addressed multiple issues that could result in a server crash during Nuclear Winter matches.

Perks

• Adrenaline: Now applies its damage bonuses correctly after enemy kills.
• Robotics Expert: No longer prevents players from trading with Vendor bots.

Quests and Events

• Ally: Crash Landing: Logging out and back in after retrieving the Flight Recorder Data no longer prevents the quest from progressing.
• Ally: Thicker than Water: Logging out during Beckett’s final quest no longer creates a duplicate Watoga Underground Key.
• Daily: Heart of the Enemy: Can no longer be repeated immediately after completion.

• Strange Bedfellows: The “Complete Signal Strength” objective’s description is no longer cut off in the Pip-Boy.
• Vital Equipment: Fixed an issue that could prevent Vital Equipment from progressing if the player killed the Raider Thief before talking to Ward.
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User Interface

• Loading Screens: The S.C.O.R.E. meter and rank-up reward fanfares no longer remain visible during loading screens.
• Localization: The Legendary Run gameboard’s rules sheet is now correctly translated in non-English versions of the game.
• Main Menu: On PC, pressing TAB after opening the Main Menu from the Map now correctly returns the player to the Map view.
• Main Menu: Pressing “Play” before the Main Menu finishes loading no longer places the player directly into Adventure Mode or displays a “Failed to find your selected character” error message.
• Map: Fixed an issue causing Workshop Icons on the Map to display normal location icons and have incorrect functionality when selected.
• Notifications: Players will no longer be spammed by dehydration notifications after becoming dehydrated while viewing The Legendary Run game board.
• Notifications: The notification that appears when completing the repeatable “Gain XP 0/10,000” Weekly Challenge now correctly states the name of the Challenge.
• Pip-Boy: The Collections tab in the Pip-Boy now correctly displays the player’s current counts of Caps, Gold Bullion, Tadpole Badges, etc. when first logging into a world.
• Social: Fixed an issue that could cause the friends list to appear blank after removing a friend.
• Teams: Addressed an issue causing teams to automatically disband after a Nuclear Winter match.
• The Legendary Run: Selecting Rank 100 on the game board now correctly displays preview images for all of rewards in The Legendary Run Bundle.

World

• Cranberry Bog: Fixed a location near the Ranger District Office where the player could sink below the terrain.
• Nuke Silos: Fixed a location in the Reactor Room where players could get out of world and skip portions of the Nuke Silo.
• Pathing: Fixed multiple locations in the world where players could become stuck in or near clutter and other objects.

With Fallout 76's Update 21 and its patch notes now covered, check out everything added in Update 20 which included Fallout 76's first-ever Season.

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