In the latest plight befalling Bethesda's first online foray, Fallout 76 hackers have cleared out a number of players' inventories. What a lovely holiday surprise. A number of users on the game's subreddit have complained that their accounts' inventories have been left bereft of all their items. A moderator responded by warning players to stay off of public servers for the time being.
"Your caps, scrip, access to various locations and stash box/scrap box items are safe," wrote the moderator, u/TonyQuark. "Your weapons and armor, and any other inventory items are not safe."
Bethesda posted an official response earlier this week, noting that while only a small number of players may have been affected, they are taking the issue "very seriously." The post also states that Bethesda cannot replace lost items but are deciding how to compensate affected players in some way. Previous similar issues have typically resulted in players receiving atoms, the game's premium currency.
The exploit is only affecting PC players and requires the hacker to be in a server. But, even though the perpetrator must be within a certain render distance of their target, there is currently no way to know who is performing the hack, so players are simply advised to keep off of public servers. Unfortunately, only subscribers to the premium Fallout 1st service may create private servers, so the only way for regular players to stay completely safe at the moment is to either play on a premium friend's server or not play at all.
This is just the first in a long line of issues plaguing the first multiplayer Fallout game. From the game's unveiling at E3 2018, the Fallout community hasn't exactly been timid about voicing possible concerns with the title, and a rocky launch (and arguably equally rocky life) have not helped to clean Bethesda's bug-riddled image.
Hopefully, your inventory isn't rendered a wasteland by nefarious hackers this festive season.
