Fallout 76: Gone Fission Update

Fallout 76’s “Gone Fission” Update Is Live – Here’s What’s New

Bethesda just launched a huge update for Fallout 76 called Gone Fission, and it’s one of the more feature-packed patches we’ve seen in a while. It brings with it a ton of gameplay changes, balance adjustments, and kicks off Season 21 — which, yes, includes a full-blown fishing system. If that sounds like a weird match for a post-apocalyptic game, well… it works surprisingly well.

This update marks another step in Fallout 76’s journey from a messy launch in 2018 to the much more stable and content-rich game it is now. Back then, the game was riddled with bugs and missing key features, but over the years, Bethesda has steadily turned things around. Frequent updates, community feedback, and solid post-launch support have made all the difference — and Gone Fission is a great example of that.

So what’s actually in this update? Let’s break it all down, starting with the star of the show: fishing.

Did you know that you don’t need to equip your new fishing rod to fish?

Just get close to a body of water and the “Fish” command will appear! #Fallout76 pic.twitter.com/6QaOuPq3Vw
— Fallout (@Fallout) June 3, 2025

🎣 “Casting Off” – The New Fishing Questline

Fishing has officially arrived in Fallout 76, and it’s more than just a side activity — it’s got its own questline, upgrade systems, and daily challenges. The whole thing starts in The Mire, where you’ll find a new location called Fisherman’s Rest.

Here, you’ll meet three new characters:

Captain Raymond Clark, who goes by “The Fisherman”
A mysterious newcomer who’s a bit of an enigma
And Linda-Lee, the Fisherman’s hermit crab companion (yes, really)

Starting the “Casting Off” quest will give you access to the new Fishing Rod. Unlike most gear in the game, you don’t have to manually equip it. If you’re standing near any body of water you can swim in, the “Fish” command will appear automatically. Just interact, and you’re good to go.

You can also modify your Fishing Rod at a Tinker’s Workbench — this is where upgrades and customization come into play.

🎣 How Fishing Works

After completing the questline, you’ll unlock the ability to fish freely across Appalachia. But don’t expect to catch everything right away — the fishing system includes progression, equipment upgrades, and bait types, each of which affects what you can catch.

🎯 Upgrading Your Rod

To improve your rod, you’ll need to complete daily quests and fishing challenges. These can reward you with:

New rod styles
Different bobbers
Better reels

Some fish are basically impossible to catch without certain upgrades, so this system gives fishing a nice sense of progression. The more you engage, the more effective you become.

🪱 Bait Types and What They Do

You won’t catch much without the right bait. There are three main types, and each gives you better odds at landing something rare:

Common Bait
Good for standard fish and common junk items. You can buy this from NPCs at Fisherman’s Rest, and you’ll sometimes get it as a reward from daily quests.
Improved Bait
A step up, this increases your chances of catching uncommon fish. It’s not sold by vendors, but you can trade with players or find it during events or in containers out in the world.
Superb Bait
This is the best bait available and gives you the highest odds of catching rare fish. Right now, it’s only available as a reward from Season 21 content.

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🌧 Weather Also Affects Fishing

Fishing isn’t just about your gear — weather plays a role too. Both natural weather and artificial weather (via C.A.M.P. Weather Control Stations) will impact what fish show up.

Here’s a quick guide:

Clear Weather
Best for catching common fish, available almost anywhere.
Rainy Weather
Increases your chances of finding region-specific fish and Axolotls — a new, collectible amphibian species.
Radstorms / Nuke Weather
These give you a better shot at catching Glowing Fish, which are rarer and tied into crafting.

The idea is to experiment with bait + weather combinations to maximize your odds of finding specific species.

🐟 What To Do With Your Catches

Once you’ve caught something, you’ve got a few options.

Eat it
Just like other food items, fish restore hunger and health. Bigger fish restore more.
Break it down
Catching a fish teaches you how to turn it into Fish Bits using a Cooking Station. These can be used in recipes or eaten directly (though that’s not the most efficient use).
Cook it
After completing the fishing questline, you’ll unlock the Grilled Fish recipe. This meal reduces the time it takes to hook a fish for 20 minutes — super useful if you plan on fishing a lot.
Unlock more recipes
As you complete fishing dailies, you’ll get access to additional fish-based meals like Fish and Tatos or Fish Chowder, which offer various buffs.
Feed Linda-Lee
Yep — if you feed Fish Bits to the hermit crab, she’ll hand over a random Legendary item in return. Why? Who knows. Just go with it.

🌍 Time to Explore – Regional Fish, Axolotls, and Legends

With fishing now live, there’s a surprising amount of aquatic life to discover across the map. Bethesda didn’t just throw in a few fish models and call it a day — they added layers of discovery and collection to make the system feel worth engaging with.

🐠 Region-Specific Fish

Common fish can be found in pretty much any swimmable area. But certain fish only appear in specific regions of Appalachia — and some only bite under the right weather conditions or with the right bait. This gives a bit of a “catch ‘em all” feel to the whole thing.

✨ Glowing Variants

Some fish have glowing versions, typically caught during Radstorms or in nuked zones. These are rarer and often tied into more advanced crafting and food recipes.

🦎 Axolotls

One of the most fun additions: Axolotls. These little creatures are being added gradually — one per month — and each can be caught in specific zones. There are 12 in total, and Bethesda will be dropping monthly hints about their locations through social channels. Catching them feels more like a scavenger hunt than regular fishing.

🐟 Local Legends

These are the true trophies — the rarest fish in the Wasteland. Bethesda’s keeping details under wraps, but if you’re someone who loves collecting and showing off, these legendary catches are for you. You’ll be able to display them at your C.A.M.P., thanks to new buildable showcase items.

Read: Plants vs. Zombies 3 May Include Fan-Made Fusion Mechanic, But Fans Are Divided

🏠 Showing Off Your Catch – New C.A.M.P. Items

Fishing rewards aren’t just about food and crafting — there are a few cool decorative options too.

By completing fishing dailies and challenges, you can unlock various C.A.M.P. items to show off what you’ve caught. One of the highlights is a curved display case made specifically for fish — perfect for your Axolotls or Local Legends.

These displays add a bit of personality to your base and give collectors something tangible to work toward.

🗺 Season 21: Gone Fission

With the update also comes the launch of Season 21, fully themed around fishing and aquatic survival.

As with previous seasons, you’ll be progressing along a Scoreboard, unlocking themed rewards like:

Unique outfits
Fishing gear skins
C.A.M.P. decorations
Currency bundles
Emotes and more

A nice bonus this time: Season Tickets from the past three seasons that you didn’t spend will now convert into Gold Bullion. When you log in after updating, you’ll get a prompt asking if you want to transfer that currency into your character’s inventory.

If you’re out of room, you can decline the transfer for now, clear some space, and the prompt will appear again next time you log in.

🔫 Combat Rebalance – The Big Picture

Aside from fishing and seasonal content, this patch is one of Bethesda’s biggest steps in rebalancing combat mechanics across the game.

This effort started during the Skyline Valley update and has been rolling out in phases. The goals were pretty clear:

Make combat more engaging and less repetitive.
Ensure more weapons are viable — not just the same 2 or 3 dominating the meta.
Improve manual aiming without making V.A.T.S. obsolete.
Let more players contribute meaningfully to group content.
Reduce “tag the mob” playstyles in team fights.

So far, the changes have worked. There’s more build diversity, fewer frustrating damage spikes in early-game zones, and a noticeable shift in what players are using.

This update brings even more adjustments — and lays the foundation for what’s coming next.

🔧 Weapon Tweaks – Buffs, Reworks, and Rebalancing

Here’s where the real number crunching starts. Bethesda adjusted a long list of weapons — across ranged, melee, and heavy categories — to rebalance how they perform in both solo and team play.

Rather than list every stat change line-by-line, here’s a summary of what changed:

🔹 Harpoon Gun – Full Overhaul

Base damage increased significantly.
Ammo capacity boosted (from 1 to 3 shots).
Reload speed improved.
Sneak and Crit multipliers bumped up.
Mod performance rebalanced.

It’s no longer just a novelty weapon — it’s genuinely useful now.

🔹 Ranged Weapons – More Damage, Lower AP Costs

Weapons like the Alien Disintegrator, Handmade Rifle, Combat Rifle, and Submachine Gun had their base damage increased.
AP costs were reduced for many guns, making them more effective in V.A.T.S.
Several weapons also had their critical hit and sneak attack multipliers improved.

This means stealth builds and crit-focused playstyles have more flexibility.

🔹 Shotguns & Pistols – Less Drop-Off at Range

Previously, these weapons lost almost all effectiveness at medium-long range. That’s been rebalanced — weapons like the Double-Barrel Shotgun, Combat Shotgun, and Pipe Revolver now keep more of their damage over distance.

🔹 Melee Weapons – Across-the-Board Buffs

A huge list of melee weapons got flat damage increases, making them more competitive. This includes common types like:

Combat Knife
Fire Axe
Sledgehammer
Power Fist
Deathclaw Gauntlet
Guitar Sword

Basically, if it’s a melee weapon, it probably got a buff.

🔧 Weapon Mod Changes – More Than Just Numbers

Beyond base damage and AP adjustments, a lot of work went into rebalancing weapon mods, especially for energy weapons like Plasma Guns and the Gatling Plasma. These changes aim to make different mod options feel more useful instead of just having one “right answer.”

Plasma Gun Mods

Sniper mods no longer increase cone of fire.
Standard and Bruising grips had their AP cost penalties removed.
Flamer mods now reduce AP cost by 10%, making them more V.A.T.S.-friendly.

Gatling Plasma – Beam Splitter Adjustments

Fire rate reduction increased to 35%.
Damage bonus boosted from 20% → 35%.
Increased cone of fire and recoil.
Reduced range.
Ammo capacity cut in half, and AP cost increased.

Basically, it hits harder but requires more precise play and more resources to use effectively.

Tesla and Plasma Mod Fixes

Tesla’s Automatic Barrel no longer reduces energy damage.
Plasma and Enclave Plasma Guns with Splitter mods now:
- Have a 35% fire rate reduction.
- Deal 35% more damage.
- Consume ammo faster (ammo cap cut by 50%).
- Have less recoil and a tighter cone of fire.

Other Fixes

Some receiver mods had unintended bonuses or penalties — those have been removed or corrected. For example, the Western Revolver had hidden damage stacking that’s now cleaned up.
Quad mods that triggered extra reload animations for weapons like the Dragon or Black Powder Rifle were fixed.

Also Read: Bungie in Turmoil: Stolen Art, Alpha Test Woes, and Marathon’s Uncertain Future

🦴 Limb Damage Overhaul – More Predictable Combat

One of the more behind-the-scenes systems that got reworked is how limb damage and crippling works. Previously, some perks and weapons had a chance to cripple a target. Now, they apply increased limb damage, which is way more consistent and scales properly.

What’s Different Now:

Instead of “maybe” crippling an enemy, you now just do X% more limb damage.
Tough enemies and bosses are no longer immune to being crippled, but they’ll require focused fire and high damage to do it.
This rework makes limb-focused builds much more reliable and sets the stage for new enemy mechanics in the future.

Perks That Got Updated:

Enforcer (for shotguns)
Modern Renegade (for small guns)
One Gun Army (for heavy weapons)
Bone Shatterer (for melee)
Tormentor (now under PER, not LCK, and reworked)

Mutations:

Twisted Muscles now gives +50% limb damage (or 62% with Strange in Numbers).

Weapons and Mods That Now Deal Extra Limb Damage:

Weapons like The Dragon, Black Powder Rifle, and Bone Hammer.
Mods for gear like the Baseball Bat (all Rocket types), Bear Arm, Pipe Wrench, Sheepsquatch Staff, and many more.

🧬 Legendary Mod Updates – Better Bonuses, Cleaner Effects

Several Legendary effects were either rebalanced or improved in this patch. These changes aim to make some of the lesser-used effects more appealing while toning up old favorites.

Notable Changes:

Bloodied: Max damage bonus increased from 95% → 130%.
Two Shot: Damage bonus increased from 25% → 75%.
Juggernaut’s: Now scales based on your flat HP, maxing at +100% damage with 1000 HP.
Mutants: Damage bonus cap raised from 25% → 50%.
Junkie’s: Cap raised from 50% → 100%.
Gourmand: Cap raised from 24% → 40%.
Stalker’s: Now boosts sneak attack damage by 100%.
Nocturnal:
- Weapon: +50% damage while cloaked.
- Armor: +4 PER and AGI while cloaked.
Bully’s: Changed to give +25% damage per crippled limb on the target.
V.A.T.S. Optimized: Bonus increased from 25% → 35%.
Instigating: Now gives +50% damage to targets above 60% health.

These changes open up new build possibilities and refresh some effects that were previously ignored.

🧠 Perk Card Changes – Simplified and Smarter

Bethesda took the opportunity to do a serious cleanup of the Perk card system. A lot of underused or overly complicated perks have been trimmed, renamed, or reduced to a single powerful rank.

General Improvements:

You no longer need crafting-related Perks like Science or Home Defense just to build or repair items — if you know the plan, you can make it.
Perk cards sort alphabetically during level-up screens.
Perks that don’t apply to your character (like Ghoul-only or Human-only) won’t show up when you can’t use them.

Renamed and Reworked Cards:

Here are just a few examples of renamed perks that now have a tighter focus:

Rifleman → Down Ranger
Commando → Center Masochist
Shotgunner → Easy Target
Science → Split into Science!, Cryologist, and Pyro-Technical

Rank Adjustments:

Many perks were reduced to 1 or 2 ranks instead of 3 or more.
Point costs were rebalanced to match power level.
Some perks (like Dodgy and Chem Fiend) had ranks removed but got significant tweaks.

This makes perk management much easier and reduces the need for constant respecs when switching builds.

Also Read: Fallout 4: Where to Find the Endurance Bobblehead & All Bobblehead Locations

Fallout 76: Gone Fission Update – Full Patch Notes & What’s New in Season 21

🧩 Perk Rebalancing – More Changes, Less Clutter

Beyond the renamed cards and rank tweaks, a bunch of perks were either reworked or had their point costs adjusted. Some perks had their effects clarified, others were merged or slimmed down to be more straightforward.

Here are some key highlights:

📦 Crafting Perks:

Armorer and Power Smith are now single-rank perks.
Home Defense is no longer required to build traps — same goes for Fireproof and flamethrower traps.

🥤 Hunger & Thirst Management:

Slow Metabolizer and Dromedary now only have 2 ranks. Rank 3 was removed.
Hydro Fix and Munchy Resistance updated to make chems restore thirst/hunger more clearly.

💉 Chem Perks:

Chem Fiend now lasts 100% longer, costs 2 points, and only has 1 rank.
Travel Agent allows fast travel while overencumbered — a big quality-of-life boost.

🧍‍♂️ Mobility & Defense:

Dodgy reworked: It now costs AP instead of having a cooldown, and higher damage means higher AP cost. If you don’t have enough AP, the evade won’t trigger.
Adrenaline reduced to 1 rank but still scales with kills (+10% damage per kill for 30s).
Moving Target and Goat Legs had ranks removed for simplicity.

🎯 Build-Specific Adjustments:

Many damage perks were refocused for better synergy with specific playstyles:

Scoped weapons now get more from perks like Scoped-Up and Smart Shot.
Shotgun Champ now scales damage per projectile.
Center Masochist adds damage when targeting the torso.
Easy Target boosts damage to crippled enemies.

⚙️ Gameplay & Accessibility Settings

Bethesda added a few thoughtful tweaks aimed at making the game smoother, especially for long-time players:

Quick Heal Priority Setting – You can now set which items get used first when you use a quick-heal command.
Fast Travel Costs – Now 25% cheaper overall.
Speech-to-Text and Text-to-Speech – These accessibility features are back and working properly.

These small changes add up to make everyday gameplay faster and more convenient.

🏠 C.A.M.P. & Workshop Fixes – Builders Rejoice

This update came with a long list of C.A.M.P. improvements, especially around visuals, item placement, and interaction consistency.

Notable Fixes & Changes:

Multiple build previews (like Apothecary Signs or Potted Plants) now match their actual appearance once placed.
Objects like the Toxic Tinctures Chemistry Station now let you place other items on top of them.
Collectron bots (FETCH, Junkyard Dog, Red Rocket) now remember their correct settings, including newer resource types.
Fixes for item collision, broken sound effects, and build limits for unique structures like Fred’s Trailer and Fort Fortress Doors.
Explosions from turrets can no longer damage another player’s items unless PvP is enabled — no more accidental griefing.

For C.A.M.P. decorators and builders, these quality-of-life improvements help eliminate some long-standing frustrations.

🧪 Miscellaneous Fixes – Visuals, Audio, Quests, and More

This patch did a deep clean of random issues, with dozens of small (but important) fixes across different systems. Here’s a sampling of what got fixed:

UI & Visuals:

Fixed UI alignment bugs in menus like Armor Workbench and Help Tips.
Pip-Boy stats now display modifiers (like explosive damage) more clearly.
Zoomed-in thumbnails and overlapping text in workbenches are now cleaned up.
Perk Bubblegum Packs now have updated flavor text and jokes.

Quest & World Fixes:

Fixed issues with Wayward Souls, where you could get stuck talking to Pennington.
Audio bugs during loading screens, music triggers, and voice lines have been corrected.
Ghoul player appearances, including tattoos and wounds, now display correctly on load-in.

Weapon & Item Functionality:

V63 Laser Carbine is now properly repairable at workbenches.
Several weapon skins (e.g., Lucky Piece Paint, Nuka-Dark Paint) now update names correctly.
Visual effects on weapons like the Gauss Shotgun now display properly.
Explosive mods now show their damage added to the base damage in the Pip-Boy.

Daily Ops & Season Challenges:

Double Mutated Daily Ops now correctly reward Legendary Modules.
Fuel tanks now count toward fuel-related daily/weekly challenges.
Nukashine icon is now restored and usable.

Vendor, Loot & Resource Fixes:

Toxic Water removed from vendor inventories (wasn’t supposed to be purchasable).
Scrap kits no longer move certain mod boxes to your stash unintentionally.
Seasonings now spawn again at places like the Brown House (cook away).

🧵 A Huge Step Forward

This patch isn’t just about adding fishing — though that’s a big win in itself. The Gone Fission update takes a hard look at the core systems of Fallout 76 and improves nearly every aspect of gameplay:

More build variety thanks to perk and weapon rebalancing.
A full new activity that feels integrated and rewarding.
Tons of bug fixes and smoother C.A.M.P. building.
A new seasonal track with strong thematic rewards.

Whether you’re here for the Legendary loot, the combat refresh, or just to catch Axolotls with your crab friend, there’s something in this update for everyone.

Also Read: Fallout 1 & 2 Source Code Was Never Lost — Interplay Co-Founder Confirms

Fallout 76: Gone Fission Update – Full Patch Notes & What’s New in Season 21

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