Non-Accomplishments

The hot gaming news this week has been the release of the highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077.  Being that I'm a big Witcher fan, you would think that I would be one of those ravenous gamers who are currently gobbling up the glorious world of Cyberpunk, but I'm not.  I have stuck to my plan of waiting awhile for the bugs and kinks to be worked out (and, according to many of the review headlines--I didn't read any actual reviews) there's quite a bit that needs to be fixed.  So, for the time being, I'm going to content myself with listlessly wandering around in Fallout 76.

My CAMP (and dumpster armor)

What have I accomplished since my last update about playing Fallout 76?  Is my character decked out in uber-power armor and wielding legendary weapons?  Hahahahaha....nope.  I would describe the current look of my character as dumpster-diver chic--mismatched armor of varying levels and makes topped off with my favorite Civil War Era top hat.  Since I've opted for a stealthy, sniping/surprise attack build, I've chosen weapons suited to that playstyle--a sniper rifle for long distance attacks and a suppressed pipe pistol (I know....a crappy, pipe pistol).  My weapon choices have also been shaped by the amount of ammo I've managed to pick up--I accumulated a very large amount of .38 ammo and varying amounts of other ammo.  I'm trying to burn through the .38 ammo with my pipe pistol (largely since you can't sell ammo to vendors) to simply get it out of my inventory.

I'm largely spending my time in Fallout 76 trying to pursue the main and side missions and also, just wandering around and discovering new locations.  I've spent some time working on a long quest chain tied to a random item I looted from a dead woman in a weird dress.  The quest prompts you to check out this big manor house while wearing a mysterious, veil.  Once you've fought your way through a horde of Scorched, you make the discovery that the mansion belonged to a famous actress who played a comic book character.  Even better, she was using her mansion to secretly train orphans from the war and turn them into a force of post-apocalyptic crime fighters who roamed the land trying to aid the many people who were simply trying to survive after the bombs dropped.  The basement of the mansion functions as a large, lair-like area where you check-in, get missions, and can move up in rank using a computer system.  Part of the quest chain involves trying to reconstruct all the various items that make up the weapons and tools of the character--a sword, a stealth device, and a gun.  In order to do this, you have to head to specific locations to try to find specific objects that can then be turned into the full garb of the hero by a handy device called a fabricator that is part of the secret base.

Photomode has some fun frames to help capture Appalachia.

When I'm not following a quest line, I'm just exploring.  The map is scattered with tons of locations and a big part of the gameplay in Fallout has always hinged on finding places and then scavenging.  I've managed to accumulate an impressive amount of stuff--so much that I had to do some soul searching and clean out my inventory.  Past games have trained me to hoard (especially health items) and that's not much of an option in 76.   One of the irritating aspects of the loot system is that ammo cannot be sold to NPC vendors; it can, however, be sold to other players through CAMP vending machines.  I've had to figure out the best way to deal with the large amounts of varying ammo that I have built up--mostly, I'm just dropping it for some other lucky player to pick up.

One area that I want to work on more is my CAMP.  I've found a really nice location (close to a train station so I can run to the NPC vendor and sell stuff) but would like to spruce up the overall aesthetic of my building.  I found a plan for barn walls and converted my ramshackle, wooden structure into a slightly less, ramshackle wooden structure.  I also completed a quest to build a shelter but don't think I have enough concrete to make it a reality.  I'm going to work on visiting some other CAMPS to look for some cheaply priced plans for my own CAMP.

Next week....pics of my super, cute CAMP and swaggy armor (*hahahaha, that's unrealistic).