While loot is always a coveted reward in Bethesda's Fallout role-playing series, there's an even heavier focus its latest entry, Fallout 76. The upcoming multiplayer spinoff drops players into post-war West Virginia, with high-level armaments a necessity to overcome its top threats. Although grinding through levels will be required, the addition of trading has huge implications for gameplay.
Here we wrap up everything you need to know about Fallout 76's trading systems and how they can benefit you.
Trading in Fallout 76: What you need to know
While rival shared-world shooters like Destiny are strongly averse to player trading, it's a core feature of Fallout 76. It's been a staple of Bethesda's role-playing empire for years and remains a natural fit, too. The system allows players to trade all loot with non-player merchants as well as player-controlled survivors.
Initiating a trade requires a single button press, either with an acquainted team member or a newly-found survivor. Trading can be used to quickly share aid in quests, obtain high-value goods, or even bargain with rare nuke launch codes.
Restrictions are enforced to prevent players from breaking progression systems, including "level caps" that prevent high-level items being used by low-level players. However, in the game's pre-release beta state, there are no limitations on trading with newly-found players. External trading forums have already grown around this, though Bethesda's stance on the practice is currently unclear.
How to trade in Fallout 76
Getting started with Fallout 76 trading is relatively simple, with accessible options to initiate and organize trades. When in the game's open world, follow the steps below to kick off and complete a trading session.
How to start a Fallout 76 trade
After finding a player to trade with, you'll need to initiate the session. To do so, follow these steps:
- Approach the player you want to trade with.
- Press Y to initiate the trade. (If a trade has been requested, press Y to accept.)
How to offer items in Fallout 76 trades
Once trading, players can offer items to players from their inventories. When offering items, a player-determined price can be set in caps. Follow these steps:
- Select an item from your inventory.
- Press A to offer the item.
- Set how many caps to charge. (This starts at zero.)
- Choose OK to offer the item.
How to request items in Fallout 76 trades
See an item that grabs your interest? You can also signal to players you're interested in items using these steps:
- Press RT to open the other player's inventory.
- Select an item from their inventory.
- Press A to request the item, and wait for them to set a Cap value for it.
- Accept the offer if happy with the terms.
Repeat the above steps as desired to complete your trading session. Have any additional trading tips for players? Drop into the comments section with your thoughts. In the meantime, Fallout 76 is now available for preorder on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC for $59.99, with a slated November 14 release.
Matt Brown is a senior editor at Future for Windows Central. Following six years of professional consumer technology and gaming coverage, he’s focused on the world of Xbox and Windows PCs. You can follow him on Twitter @mattjbrown.
