Steel Dawn

Steel Dawn (formerly known as Fractured Steel) is the sixth major update for Fallout 76, following One Wasteland For All. It features the return of the Brotherhood of Steel to Appalachia, and is the first chapter in a two-part Brotherhood storyline.

Steel Dawn was originally set to be released on December 1, 2020, though Bethesda Game Studios decided to release it a week early, on November 24, following an unintended patch that released it for Xbox players. As such, the team decided to roll out the update for all players as a holiday surprise.

Plot
The Brotherhood of Steel's First Expeditionary Force, led by Paladin Leila Rahmani, finally arrives in Appalachia after just over three months trekking across the country on foot. Sent by High Elder Roger Maxson, the First Expeditionary Force seeks to re-establish the Brotherhood's presence in Appalachia, and to provide assistance to the people living there. As the Vault Dwellers assist or deter the Brotherhood in their goals, the realities of the returning faction, and how it will interact with others, will become much more apparent.

Development
Plans were first made for Steel Dawn's story in 2019, and the story went through several iterations. As part of their "writers' room" set-up for creating stories, the design team at Bethesda Game Studios Austin wrote many intricate backstories and attributes to be reflected by the characters in Steel Dawn.

Features

 * Shelters - Instanced C.A.M.P. interiors with separate build budgets and fewer building restrictions
 * Season 3 Scoreboard: The Scribe of Avalon (releases December 15)
 * Replacement of hunger and thirst debuffs with tiered buffs
 * Backpack Flair

Creatures

 * Scorched
 * Scorched Enclave scientist
 * Scorched Enclave officer
 * Scorched Enclave chief

Robots and computers

 * Robobrain
 * Atlas security

Allies

 * Solomon Hardy
 * Yasmin Chowdhury

Factions

 * Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force
 * Appalachian Brotherhood of Steel
 * New (Appalachian) Brotherhooda
 * Enclave Research Division
 * Blood Eagles
 * Treehouse Villagersb
 * a The formal name for the post-rebellion Brotherhood has not yet been defined and should not be treated as definitive.
 * b The formal name for the residents of Treehouse Village has not yet been defined and should not be treated as definitive.

Locations

 * Fort Atlas
 * ATLAS substructure
 * Enclave research facility
 * Dagger's throne room
 * Makeshift vault
 * Orwell Orchards bomb shelter
 * Putnam residence
 * Shelters Claim Center
 * The Crater war room
 * The Foundation supply room

Armor and clothing

 * Brotherhood recon armor
 * Cave diving suit
 * Communist commander outfit
 * Swamp camo hazmat suit
 * Jaguar pant suit
 * Tulip sky blue pant suit
 * X-01 scorched paint

Weapons

 * Hellstorm missile launcher
 * Crusader pistol
 * Plasma cutter
 * Quad launcher
 * Unique
 * The Fact Finder (.44 pistol)
 * The Farmhand (Super sledge)
 * Mind Over Matter (Plasma gun)
 * Oathbreaker (War glaive)

Consumables
Enabled:
 * Headhunter's headcheese
 * Mirelurk broil
 * Radstag redemption

Keys and passwords

 * BOS weapons key
 * Dagger's key
 * Throne room key
 * Holding cell keycard
 * Kerwood back tunnel key
 * Reuben's safe key
 * Scribe Valdez's terminal password
 * Seecrut passwurd "12345"
 * Walton footlocker key