Bethesda Game Studios has released the Gone Fission update for Fallout 76, marking the largest expansion since the return of Wastelanders. Available now on all platforms, the June update offers players a full-fledged fishing system, extensive combat rebalancing, new legendary weapon modifications, and the launch of Season 21: Gone Fission, packed with various rewards. Read on for the main changes in the current patch.

Fallout 76 Season 21: Fishing in Fallout 76 — Now a Reality

With the release of the update, players gain access to a new questline “Casting Off.” To start, head to the new location Fisherman’s Rest in Mire. There, you'll meet a stranger Captain Raymond Clark, an unfamiliar fisherman, and a pet hermit crab Linda-Lee.

By taking on the new quest, you'll receive a fishing rod, allowing you to fish near any body of water. Developers clarified that the fishing rod won't appear in the Pip-Boy menu since it's not an equippable item. You simply need to be near a body of water and look towards it until you see the appropriate prompt.

The fishing rod can be upgraded/modified at the Tinkers Workbench. You'll need to look for parts that can be obtained during fishing challenges and daily tasks. Among the rewards are rod styles, floats, and other elements that will allow you to catch various aquatic creatures.

To catch fish, you'll need to use different bait: regular, improved, or super. All of this affects the type of fish caught. Additionally, various weather conditions will impact the fishing process: clear, rainy, radioactive storm, etc.

Each month, a collectible axolotl will appear in two secret locations, encouraging players to go fishing regularly. From regional species to local legends — the most valuable catch can be placed in special displays in C.A.M.P. to showcase your bounty.

Combat Balance Changes in Fallout 76

Bethesda's goal throughout the year has been clear: to make every weapon viable, every build interesting, and all play styles — from manual aiming to V.A.T.S. — effective and enjoyable in terms of gameplay. The Gone Fission update has meticulously approached weapon balance changes, significantly enhancing many aspects.

Main highlights of the update:

• Significant increase in base damage for a wide range of ranged and melee weapons, including Double-Barrel Shotgun (140 → 204), Laser Gun (44 → 72), and Super Sledge (85 → 107).
• Reduction in AP costs for popular player models like Handmade Rifle (32 → 16) and Combat Rifle (25 → 15), making V.A.T.S.-oriented builds more accessible.
• Improved range for neglected weapons, such as Crossbow and Black Powder Rifle, which now deal more damage at long distances.

Perhaps the biggest buff for a single weapon is the Harpoon Gun, which now has significantly higher base damage (245) and increased ammo capacity (1 → 3), faster reloading, and enhanced modifiers, potentially making this weapon more popular.

The Gone Fission patch also adjusts delays between shots and enhances multipliers for critical and stealth attacks. Weapons have become slower but are now truly dangerous.

Players with automatic builds will see new trade-offs: automatic receivers now more significantly reduce critical and stealth damage, as well as base damage — while increasing other parameters, such as attack speed. Semi-automatic weapons, on the other hand, have received AP cost and recoil adjustments to encourage manual aiming rather than indiscriminate shooting.

Critical and stealth attack multipliers have also been significantly revised. Weapons like the Hunting Rifle, Lever-Action Rifle, and Gauss Rifle now have a multiplier of 3.0x (previously 2.0x), bringing sniper and stealth builds back into meta.

Modifier Overhaul and Bug Fixes

Fans of modifications can rejoice — Bethesda has addressed long-standing inaccuracies:

• Sniper modifiers for Plasma Gun no longer have an extended firing cone.
• Tesla and Plasma Gun automatic modifiers have shed old penalties, becoming more effective.
• Beam Splitter and Flamer modifiers have been significantly reworked for both Plasma Gun and Enclave Plasma Gun.

Additionally, a number of annoying visual bugs with reloading animations have been fixed — especially for Black Powder and Broadsider when using Quad Legendary effects.

Melee Combat Gets Long-Awaited Buff

Players focused on melee combat haven't been left out. Virtually all melee weapons — cutting, blunt, beastly — have received an increase in base damage. Starting from Grognak Axe (85 → 107) to the simple Baton (40 → 47).

However, Auto Axe has been nerfed — damage reduced from 31 to 24, which is apparently part of fixes missed in the previous Gleaming Depths update.

Limb Damage Tasks

Gone are the days when an opponent could be accidentally crippled by a lucky shot. Bethesda has officially replaced the old limb crippling system based on randomness (RNG) with a limb damage model featuring fixed percentage bonuses. This update has rebalanced perks, mutations, and weapons so that they now consistently provide bonuses to limb damage, making combat more predictable and tactical.

While regular enemies will be easier to disable, bosses like Region Bosses will become more challenging, requiring precise and coordinated limb targeting.

Bethesda notes that the new system not only unifies gameplay but also paves the way for deeper and more engaging mechanics in the future — and this is already evident in the removal of immunity to crippling for a large list of enemies.

Several perks now scale with clear levels of bonuses to limb damage. Main examples:

• Bashers now provide up to +75% limb damage when bashing.
• Enforcer adds a chance to Stagger for shotguns and a limb damage bonus up to +75%.
• Modern Renegade, One Gun Army, and Bone Shatterer scale similarly depending on the weapon type.
• The Tormentor perk, previously in the Luck branch, has now been moved to Perception, simplified to one level (+20% damage for each crippled limb of the enemy), and the cost increased to 2 points.

Mutation and Weapon Changes

The Twisted Muscles mutation can now increase limb damage by up to +62% if Strange in Numbers is activated.

Several "legacy" weapon types — including Black Powder Rifle, Bone Hammer, and The Dragon — now have a fixed +50% limb damage, abandoning the random crippling mechanic.

Similarly, dozens of melee weapon modifications — especially for baseball bats, sledges, golf clubs, and exotic items like the Sheepsquatch Club — now consistently provide +50% limb damage.

Removal of Enemy Immunity

One of the most iconic changes in the update is the removal of crippling immunity from a wide range of enemies. They can now be disabled. The list includes:

• Grimm Bot, Dr. Blackburn, and all variations of Sheepsquatch
• High-level cryptids like Blue Devil, Ogua, and Jersey Devil
• Enemy factions in Daily Ops: Cultists, Fanatics, Aliens, Robots, Scorched, Super Mutants, etc.

Perk Balancing in Fallout 76

As part of the extensive update, many multi-level perks have been reduced to single-level cards, retaining effects and removing redundancy. Cards like Armorer, Science! (formerly Science), Cryologist, and Dodgy have been reimagined to instantly provide key bonuses — albeit at a higher point cost. Bethesda's intent is clear: reduce routine, improve build flexibility, and encourage experimentation.

Notable changes include:

• Chem-oriented Perks, like Chem Fiend, Hydro Fix, and Munchy Resistance, have been streamlined, reducing the number of levels and rebalancing effects.
• Dodging mechanics (such as Dodgy and Moving Target) now work based on AP rather than cooldown timers, rewarding tactical AP management.
• Weapon archetypes have received thematic renaming and targeted restructuring:

— Rifleman has been transformed into Down Ranger.

— Commando has become Center Masochist.

— Shotgunner is now called Easy Target.

Crafting Unchained, Traps Without Training

Previously perk-locked traps like Flamethrower and Workshop defense no longer require corresponding perks (Fireproof and Home Defense, respectively), removing another barrier in base building in the Wasteland.

Minor but Meaningful Improvements

Loading screen hints for perks have been updated to help players quickly orient themselves to the new meta. A new help section has been added, explaining the "Kill Streak" mechanic, which pairs well with damage-boosting perks like Adrenaline (now a single-level card with an updated post-kill effect timer).

Modifier Changes: Buffs and New Opportunities

The main feature of the update is a complete overhaul of legendary effects: several mods have received entirely new mechanics. Now, Stalker's increases sneak attack damage by an incredible 100%, and Nocturnal gains new bonuses when cloaked for both weapons and armor. The newcomer Conductor’s turns Crits into zones of HP and AP recovery for the entire team — instantly +10 HP/AP and another 100 over 5 seconds for all allies within 100 feet.

Classic effects have also received serious boosts:

• Bloodied now maxes out at +130% damage (previously 95%).
• The Two Shot bonus has increased from 25% to 75%, radically changing weapon effectiveness.
• Juggernaut’s now scales directly from HP, up to +100% damage at 1000 HP.
• Junkies now maxes out at +100%, and Mutants and Gourmand have also received limit increases.

Among less obvious but important changes — V.A.T.S. Optimized now provides a 35% bonus, Bully’s gives a bonus for each damaged limb of the target, and Pin Pointer’s now ensures +20% damage to weak spots. This ambitious redesign clearly aims to diversify endgame builds.

Gameplay Enhancements, Workbenches, and Mutations — with New Improvements

Bethesda has finally moved Gauss Minigun, Plasma Caster, and Tesla Cannon to the Heavy Guns category, allowing for more logical modification and repair of these weapons. Additionally, Fusion Cores are now found at the Tinker Bench, and gear can be repaired to 100% if you have the appropriate perks.

Among the quiet but significant changes — Fast Travel cost has been reduced by 25%, and Quick Heal priority can now be customized — a feature players have been requesting for years.

And Mutations haven't been left out. Adrenal Reaction now gives +5% damage for each kill, or 6.25% with Stranger in Numbers, adding a new dynamic of power buildup.

C.A.M.P., Interface, and Cosmetic Updates

From invisible walls to missing sounds and stubborn Collectrons — this update clears a long list of visual and C.A.M.P. bugs. Key highlights:

• Correct sound for Nuka-Cola Rockets
• Return of Speech-to-Text/Text-to-Speech functions
• Fixes for broken Power Armor disguises and clipping costumes
• Updates to Feral Meter, Jet Pack crafting, and holiday cosmetics

Bethesda has also tidied up the UI: fixed thumbnail errors, vendor glitches, Perk card visuals, and even the return of jokes in Perk Bubblegum Packs.