Fallout 76 Unveils New Ghoul-Themed Update

Fallout 76 Season 20 introduces a Ghoul transformation, letting players embrace the irradiated wasteland as one of the walking dead. Explore new ghoul-exclusive abilities, perks, and a character boost to level 50 in this latest update.

Fallout 76 Season 20 Is Live Now

Unleash the Ghoul Within

With the recent update, Fallout 76 players can now wander through Appalachia as a Ghoul. On March 18, Bethesda announced that Season 20, called "The Ghoul Within," is officially live. This update introduces new ghoul-themed features, gameplay mechanics, and cosmetic items to customize your C.A.M.P.

In Season 20, Ghoulification is now possible by completing the "Leap of Faith" questline. This journey leads you to a previously unexplored region of the Savage Divide, where new characters assist in your transformation. As a Ghoul, you’ll unlock unique abilities—Glow and Feral—and gain access to 30 exclusive Ghoul perks.

The Feral ability replaces hunger and thirst stats. It provides various bonuses depending on your Feral meter level. But beware: letting the meter drop to 0% brings drastic changes. At 0%, you gain +150% Melee Damage, but suffer -5 Endurance, -99 Charisma, -30 Max HP, -20 Max AP, and -300% Hip-fire and V.A.T.S. Accuracy.

Meanwhile, the Glow ability lets you absorb radiation, granting immunity to diseases and mutations. It also causes your character to glow visibly. Glow increases your maximum health, restores lost HP, and enhances Ghoul-specific perks—or "Gherks," as Bethesda calls them.

Ghoul players can choose from 28 standard perks and 2 new legendary perks. Note that perks related to hunger, thirst, or chem resistance are unavailable to Ghouls, as they no longer benefit from those effects.

A Day In The Life of A Ghoul

Becoming a Ghoul makes navigating irradiated zones easier, thanks to Gherks and special abilities. However, factions like the Brotherhood of Steel may turn hostile toward Ghoul players, potentially locking you out of certain quests.

Fortunately, a new NPC named Jaye offers disguises that let Ghoul players access blocked content. If the Ghoul life isn’t for you, you can revert to human via the Character Screen. But be careful—this is permanent. Players can’t replay the "Leap of Faith" quest. To become a Ghoul again, use the Ghoul Retransformation option on the Character Screen for 1000 Atoms.

Level 50 Character Boost & Season 20 Patch Notes

New and seasoned players alike can jump into high-level action with the new Level 50 Character Boost. Available for 1500 Atoms as part of Season 20, this boost equips your character with perks and gear to dive straight into multiplayer content like Daily Ops and Public Events, plus parts of the main story.

The update also includes bug fixes and balance adjustments, covering accessibility, combat, weapon damage, and more. Bethesda also teased the next update, "The Big Bloom," scheduled for April 29 as part of their seasonal roadmap.

Fallout 76 launched in November 2018 and faced a rocky start due to bugs and performance issues. Thanks to ongoing updates like Season 20, the game now holds a "Mostly Positive" rating on Steam, with 76% of recent reviews being positive. Fallout 76 is playable on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.