Vault 96

Vault 96 is a Vault-Tec vault in the Savage Divide region of Appalachia in 2102. It is located to the south of Spruce Knob and R&G Station, at the end of a gravel road designated 103.

The vault was slated to be part of vault raids in the Nuclear Winter update. However, the quests associated with Vault 96 have not been released. Because Vault 94 closed with the release of Wastelanders, Vault 96's future and release schedule are unclear.

Background
Constructed around 2074, and completed in August 2077, Vault 96 advertised itself as "An Ark for the Atomic Age." Vault 96 was one of the world's largest cryogenic storage facilities, with approximately ten thousand animals preserved within it. Vault 96's mission was to monitor post-War surface conditions, the damage caused genetically to local fauna, and reintroduce species to restore ecological balance.

Layout
Vault 63, 94 and 96 are associated with vault raids, a team quest where there is an emergency in the Vault that must be fixed. Player characters are notified through an emergency radio beacon. These are instanced dungeons, where groups of up to four can enter and attempt to complete the raid for the chance at unique rewards.

The vault's exterior consists of a raised platform featuring a helipad, which is accessible from the ground using a staircase. A blue freight elevator adjacent to the staircase is inoperable, and the carriage has stalled between ground level and the platform. Four derelict vehicles are scattered around the area beneath the platform. Atop the platform lie various construction materials and pieces of machinery, along with a small booth containing only a pair of black-rim glasses and some junk items. There is no means of communicating with the vault's residents or opening it from the outside.

Judging by the localization files, there are two types of events planned for inclusion:
 * One where the player characters must save the frozen embryos by repairing the failing generator responsible for maintaining the power to the cryonic sections.
 * Another one where the player characters must wipe out the mutants that invaded the vault and are threatening the de-iced core fauna since the vault will sterilize the interior should active mutations persist.

Residents

 * Erik DeMarcos - Overseer, Chief software developer
 * Jeanette Higgins - Chief robotics technician
 * Hans Memling - Chief engineer
 * Nina Valaya - Chief researcher
 * Molly Cooper - Chief biologist

Appearances
Vault 96 appears only in Fallout 76.

Cut content
Originally, the mission and story of Vault 96 was quite different, as noted in the below summary. However, with the Fallout 76 update The Legendary Run, Vault 96's story changed significantly. What follows is a summary of Vault 96 content as it was before The Legendary Run.

Constructed by Vault-Tec as a genetic ark intended for ecosystem restoration, Vault 96 was supposed to attempt to force nature back into equilibrium after a catastrophic event. This was based around two key components: An almost inexhaustible number of frozen embryos ready to be artificially gestated to full maturity and automated keeper robots to protect them when they leave the vault. Embryos constituted a carefully chosen, fully complete ecosystem referred to as "core fauna." The vault had enough material for 112 releases until the system stabilized itself or the outside world turned out to be simply uninhabitable. Releases were timed to coincide with vault exoduses. In ideal conditions, the corporation planned for 5 full ecosystem releases before a human vault opened, to provide a more habitable region to re-develop. Vault 96 was designed to run on a skeleton crew of just six highly trained people: Randall Evola (overseer), Ryan Harvey (cryogenics), Nina Valaya (biology), Jeanette Higgins (robotics), and Orrin Cantwell with Jasper Fry (maintenance).

Although established with good intentions in mind, robotic surveys performed outside the vault quickly demonstrated that the world outside was a lot more hostile than expected. Rampant mutations were quickly turning the new world into a place where the old systems stored in Vault 96 were no longer viable. However, the team continued on schedule, attempting to release the wildlife as per their mission. Strong genetic and physical differences made their chances for success tenuous - but it was still better than just abandoning the vault.

The pattern continued until the underlying flaws in the vault's design and infrastructure revealed themselves: Generator 1 started experiencing intermittent failures, leading to the vault door failing and letting in mutated creatures from the outside (as they were a relatively near match for the animals contained within). Although robotic security managed to fend the mutated creatures off, the situation steadily deteriorated due to a limited supply of spare parts and equipment. The team ultimately had nothing to repair Generator 1 with.

The staff of the vault managed to perform five manual releases before the automated ecosystem release system took over. All of the systems switched to automatic mode when the skeleton crew became real skeletons, together with the failing Generator 1.

Notable loot

 * Vault 96 databank
 * Vault 96 ID card
 * Vault 96 decontamination procedure
 * Vault 96 decryption code