‘Fallout 4’ Survival Mode Revamp Enters Beta, Available To Play On Steam

The promised revamp to Fallout 4‘s Survival mode just hit beta on Steam Tuesday, and Bethesda Softworks provided the details of those changes. The goal is to make surviving in a post nuclear apocalypse Boston more realistic and rewarding for those willing to take on the challenge.

The Survival Mode Beta is now available to try out for PC players in Steam. Those interested in trying it out should right click on Fallout 4 in their Steam library and click on “game properties.” Head to the “Betas” tab, and then choose the one for Survival Mode from the drop-down box.

Bethesda Softworks put the revamped Survival Mode together from one of the internal Game Jam sessions. Designers Josh Hamrick and Jon Paul Duvall submitted their ideas, and the decision was made to put together a team to overhaul an experience that was essentially Fallout 4 with just tougher enemies previously.

The designers’ goal is to force Fallout 4 players to make choices they wouldn’t normally make in the game. They did this by taking inspiration from the way Dark Souls is constructed with two or more systems that push against each other.

In the case of Fallout 4 Survival mode, the four major pillars are Strategy, Exploration, Resource Management, and Role Playing. Bethesda has made combat more brutal to make players think more about when to get into battle and when to avoid it. Slowing the game down also encourages players to explore every corner of the world that would be skipped over in a normal playthrough. Meanwhile, re-balancing items prevents players from hoarding items and forces them to consider their armor and weapons more carefully. These feed into make the game world more realistic for the role-playing experience.

The changes Bethesda made to Fallout 4 for Survival mode are numerous, and some of them will come across as unwelcoming. For example, players will only be able to save the game when their character can find a bed and sleep for at least one hour. This makes discovering beds scattered through the world hugely important, especially right before a big encounter.

Fast travel has also been disabled in Survival mode. Players are forced to walk around for the entirety of their playthrough. Bethesda’s idea is to increase the incentive to explore and make better uses of the Workshops in each of the bases.

To make combat a more strategic choice, Bethesda has increased the lethality of attacks from both characters and enemy NPCs. While this makes players more dangerous, it also increases the likelihood they get seriously injured or killed. Players will have to think more about putting themselves in excellent position to deliver a killing shot without taking damage themselves.

Part of what will make players more dangerous is the addition of the Adrenaline perk to Survival mode. Fallout 4 players will increase their Adrenaline rank every five kills, which adds 5 percent bonus damage at each rank with a maximum of 50 bonus damage at rank 10. This wears off when players sleep, however. It can be anywhere from 2 to 10 ranks, depending on the amount of time counting sheep.

Encounters will also be affected by threats no longer being displayed on the compass. This encourages players to use a scope to scout their surroundings and to explore. Locations of interest will only appear at a closer range.

Fallout 4 players will need to take care of their characters in Survival mode too. Going without sleep, food, and water will affect character health and affect S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats, increase fatigue, lower immunity to diseases, and even cause physical damage, eventually.

Fatigue is something particularly to be aware of while playing Survival mode. An increase in fatigue will decrease the amount of Action Points players have. This is shown in red on the AP bar.

#Fallout4’s revamped #SurvivalMode will radically change the way you play. https://t.co/7XuSOUmEk9 pic.twitter.com/4fgCIr956L

— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) March 29, 2016

There’s many more changes as explained by Bethesda.

“Bed Types: The type of bed you’re sleeping in limits the length of time you are able to sleep, thereby limiting how much you can recover. Real beds – which are hard to come by in the world – offer the highest bonuses for sleeping; this rewards you for working out of a home base or even spending the caps for a good night’s sleep.

“Also, finding a sleeping bag in the middle of a dungeon will feel great … finding a dirty mattress will feel even better … finding a real bed will be like winning the lottery. You know all those spots where you can use Workshop mode in the game? It’s time to start building beds.

“Illness & Antibiotics: There are several different Illnesses that can affect you. Your base chance of getting sick increases as your average Wellness decreases. Antibiotics can be crafted, bought or found, and alongside doctors, can heal your current Illnesses. Certain things in the world, such as taking hits by certain creatures or using Chems, may immediately give you an Illness. Also, Stimpaks are no longer the fix-all miracle drug, so make sure you’re prepared!

“Immunodeficiency: Items that cleanse your body of Rads come with the cost of making you tired and temporarily damaging your immunity, leaving you more vulnerable to Illness than usual. By adding a negative effect to RadAway, we are pushing you to only use it when you really need it.

“Slower Healing: In Survival, restorative items, like Stimpaks and food, recover your health at a significantly reduced rate. You’ll need to time your healing precisely if you hope it will last.

“Crippled Limbs: Crippled limbs will no longer auto-heal after combat. They will remain crippled until healed by a Stimpak or slept off. This not only makes combat tougher (and more strategic) but also puts a further tax on Stimpaks.

“Carry Weight: Your total carry weight has been reduced and items like ammo and Stimpaks now have weight. Bullets and shells have a small amount of weight, which varies by caliber, while missiles and mini nukes are quite heavy. Everything you carry now must be carefully chosen, and you’ll have to weigh power over volume when it comes to things like ammo.

“Painful Encumbrance: Exceeding your carry weight reduces your overall Wellness, quickly building Fatigue, and will eventually cripple your legs. You can’t hoard a whole bunch of items, then make the long, slow trip back home – which, to be fair, isn’t that fun. Just set the loot aside and be free.

“Companion Costs: Carry weight for companions has been decreased and they will no longer automatically get back up if downed during combat. Instead, they will return home, if abandoned without being healed. So don’t hog your Stimpaks, and don’t turn your friends into mules!

“Likewise, if you’ve already downloaded Automatron, your new Robot companions will need to be closely monitored. If you forget to use your Robot Repair Kits, they will return home.

“Enemy and Loot Repopulation: Locations you’ve cleared will now repopulate with new enemies and loot at a significantly slower rate. So head out into the world and find new locations!”

[Image via Bethesda]