Summary
OneFallout 76player has recently witnessed an astonishing view of a nuclear bomb detonation that is equal parts amazing and imposing. They later opted to share their experience online, impressing many otherFallout 76fans.
Although nukes are the whole reason theFalloutuniverse is in the post-apocalyptic state that it’s in, the series never really shied away from letting players use them. Bethesda’s live-service RPG continued that long-standing tradition, as launching nukes has been a big part of theFallout 76endgamesince its controversial 2018 debut.
Fallout 76 Impresses Fan With ‘Oppenheimer Moment’
While inherently destructive, these detonations can also be mesmerizing. Reddit user HemingwayBells21121 can attest to that fact, having recently found themselves struggling to look away from an “Oppenheimer moment” of a nuke going off near the headquarters ofFallout 76’s Foundation faction. They got there just in time to witness the bomb physically hitting the ground before creating a massive mushroom cloud that dispersed into the air. Despite playing since before the Wastelanders update dropped in spring 2020, the player said that this was the first time that they had actually seen such a moment of impact, as they’d usually just witness the aftermath.
But the game itself actually incentivizes players to get up close to a nuclear bomb detonation at least once. Namely, one of the manyFallout 76achievementsis Ground Zero, which is awarded for dying to a nuke. The way this trophy worked from day one required players to effectively headbutt a nuke, as just being at ground zero is not enough to trigger it. According to Valve’s data, only 3.7% of Steam users have unlocked this achievement as of mid-2024, five and a half years since the RPG’s release.
HemingwayBells21121’s footage impressed thousands of fans, who voted to send it to the front page of the series' largest subreddit in late May. The bomb itself appears to have been aimed at the Whitespring Resort, which was once one of themost popular nuke targets in all ofFallout 76. That was primarily because nuking it triggered infinite Glowing Ghoul spawns, thus being an excellent way to farm XP and rare crafting materials such as Hardened and Glowing Mass.
Bethesda eventually removed these infinite spawns, leading to a decrease in nukes targeted at the Whitespring Resort. These days, players are mostly nuking areas to trigger special events in places like Fissure Site Prime and the Monongah Mine. The upcoming Skyline Valley update will introduce another such nuke-dependent activity once it hits the stable channel in June 2024.
Fallout 76
WHERE TO PLAY
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4, welcome you to Fallout 76. Twenty-five years after the bombs fell, you and your fellow Vault Dwellers—chosen from the nation’s best and brightest – emerge into post-nuclear America on Reclamation Day, 2102. Play solo or join together as you explore, quest, build, and triumph against the wasteland’s greatest threats. Explore a vast wasteland, devastated by nuclear war, in this open-world multiplayer addition to the Fallout story. Experience the largest, most dynamic world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe. Expand southward to Skyline Valley – a brand-new region of Appalachia. Investigate the cause of the electric storm circling overhead and unveil the mystery around Vault 63 and its dwellers, including a shocking new Ghoul type – The Lost.
