Summary

• Fallout 76's intro about rebuilding Appalachia may prove ironic due to hints of ruin in the game's narrative and base-building mechanics.
• The game's setting in 2102, before other Fallout games, suggests Appalachia's doomed progress may be a result of powerful in-game weapons.
• Appalachia's destruction in Fallout 76 aligns with the game's temporary base mechanics, reinforcing the series' theme that war never changes.

series’ catchphrase, “war never changes.”

Though Fallout 76 players might not have known for sure about the fate of Appalachia, there are certainly some hints in the game that would point to the region not being rebuilt for long. Some of this comes from the narrative elements of the game, which allow players to access some pretty horrifying power. However, one of the best indications of ruin within Fallout 76 may be its base-building mechanics. Now, taking a look at Fallout’s timeline seemingly confirms that players’ construction in Appalachia isn’t built to last.

Fallout 76 Takes Place Before All Other Games In Fallout’s Canon

Fallout 76 Is Set In The Year 2102

According to Todd Howard, Fallout 76 was meant to be a prequel to the rest of the series. Of the games released so far, it takes place at the earliest point on the timeline, the year 2102. This is just 25 years after the bombs dropped in 2077 and a full 59 years before the first Fallout game. Every other game in the series takes place in chronological order according to when they were released, except Fallout: Tactics, which takes place between the first two games, despite being released after them.

If Fallout 76 takes place earlier than the other games, one might expect to hear something about a thriving society in Appalachia. The fact that nobody ever brings up the area from Fallout 76 as being well-developed, and it never organized into a known faction in later games, seems to indicate that Appalachia’s progress is doomed to fail. This could be a grim revelation for players who have spent a lot of time working on beautiful new settlements, only to hear that they will canonically get wiped off the map.

Of course, there is one potential reason why Appalachia is never mentioned in other Fallout games, especially the early ones. Just because Fallout 76 exists first in the canon doesn’t mean developers working on earlier entries in the series were planning far enough ahead in the game’s lore to know that a budding civilization in West Virginia ended up failing. While it would be fair to argue that other games in the Fallout series not mentioning Fallout 76 isn’t necessarily proof of Appalachia’s destruction, there is one big indication that the region isn't likely thriving in the series’ current time.

The Fallout TV Show Also Doesn’t Mention Appalachia

Amazon’s Fallout Series Takes Place In The Year 2296

The Fallout TV series isn’t just the most recent installment of the series to be released, but it also takes place at the end of the franchise’s current timeline. This means that Amazon’s Fallout is the only installment of the series that was released after Fallout 76 and the first one that could reasonably be expected to comment on how Appalachia may be doing years after players attempted to rebuild it. However, the results aren’t very promising.

Fallout does subtly reference Fallout 76, through the mention of Reclamation Day. This idea of a day when Vault dwellers would retake the surface world was first introduced in Fallout 76, so it’s clear that the writers of the TV show were aware of the game’s contribution to the series’ lore. That said, no other aspect of Fallout 76 or Appalachia gets mentioned in the Fallout TV series.

It isn’t like the Fallout show ignores locations from the game, either. The Commonwealth is explicitly mentioned by Elder Cleric Quintus, and New Vegas is shown in the last moments of the show. Some characters in the show seem aware of other important Fallout locations, but Appalachia doesn’t seem to be one of them. This may leave some fans wondering what could have happened to the efforts to rebuild the area.

The Destruction Of Appalachia Could Be The Result Of A Powerful In-Game Weapon

Fallout 76 Players Who The Enclave Get Access To Nuclear Weapons

Fallout 76 players who have completed the “I am Become Death” quest or who are participating in certain global events are able to access nuclear missiles. There are three separate sites that players can use to activate nuclear weapons, which can be used to nuke most locations in Appalachia. Any player in the blast zone of the nuke when it drops is immediately killed by the blast.

The existence of these nukes in Appalachia gives players a pretty clear indication of why the area probably didn’t continue to rebuild following the events of Fallout 76. Like most places in the Fallout series, Appalachia was likely a victim of a nuclear attack. With Vault 76 open and its inhabitants roaming about trying to rebuild the area, they probably wouldn’t have survived to attempt a second reclamation day. Although this is a grim fate for bases Fallout 76 players spend time building; it's one that actually fits the game’s mechanics better than a happy ending.

Appalachia’s Destruction May Fit Better With How Fallout 76 Treats Bases

Bases Don’t Stay Put As Well As Fallout Players Would Like

Though Fallout 76 players might be sad to learn their settlement in Appalachia was canonically destroyed, it’s a feeling they are already used to. When players log out of Fallout 76, there is a chance that, when they log back in, their base could be gone. This happens when the area they used to build on one server is occupied on the new server they to.

Although Fallout 76 does return any deleted bases to the player’s CAMP as a blueprint, this doesn’t always end up working. As Eurogamer explains in this YouTube video, trying to put a base on a different plot of land can be very complicated. Even if the new location is geographically similar to where the base was originally built, the game still might not let players put it back down. This forces players to essentially reassemble their base piece-by-piece.

When Fallout 76’s gameplay already has players feeling like their bases are very temporary, it might be less of a shock to learn that this consistent loss of progress is actually canon for the Fallout series. The nuking of Appalachia would also fit thematically with the nuking of Shady Sands from the Fallout TV series, as it would reinforce the idea that an area can only succeed for so long before getting nuked. If true, this would mean Fallout 76 is another reminder to fans of the series that war never changes.

Source: Eurogamer/YouTube