tl;dr: Despite its flaws, I’ve been having lots of fun playing Fallout 76.
I’d been having trouble recently venturing into, and setting up C.A.M.P. in, high level areas to complete quests that I was not the appropriate level for, and was getting frustrated. A few days ago, I decided to Fast Travel back to Vault 76 and explore that area more completely, having quickly left to follow quest lines, previously. I rediscovered the joy of exploration (and decimating low level Ghouls and Scorchers) and remembered that I had Power Armor.
At some point, I randomly finished one of Rosie the robot’s quests (from The Top of the World), and it check-pointed, asking me to return and speak to her. I decided to forgo Fast Travel and make my way there on foot, exploring as I went. As I made my way east, just south of Vault-tec University, some gunfire made me pause before crossing a bridge. A band of Super Mutants underneath a bridge were getting into a scuffle with what appeared to be a non-aggressive Super Mutant traveling merchant named Grahm. I quietly snuck over the bridge while they were distracted, but as I continued up the road, I couldn’t help but take a few stealthy pot-shots at a Super Mutant Overload with my sniper rifle. Too late, I heard the unmistakable wing flapping of a Scorchbeast, whom zeroed in on my position immediately, raining down fire and plasma blasts, cutting my health in half. I was out in the open, so I panic ran in the direction of my objective, hoping to find cover. I bumped into two ghouls sunning themselves in the middle of a field and hoped they might catch the Scorchbeast’s attention as I ran past, towards a large house. I’d hoped to find some sort of large structure requiring a loading screen that might allow some respite, but this house was wide open to the world. Also, it was full of about 19 Scorched ghouls. I entered the foyer and hid in a far corner away from the door as the Scorchbeast continued to circle above and attack anything that dared poke its head out. Meanwhile, all the other Scorched in the place surrounded me. Soon, a semi-circle of bodies piled up in my corner. I sat silently, waiting for the Scorchbeasts aggro to subside, while a butler bot toddled around the foyer, blinking at me.
My HUD slowly changed from [DANGER] to [ HIDDEN ] again, but after exploring the rest of the house (which turned out to be a hideout for a group of cannibals) for a few minutes, the Scorchbeast refused to leave, continuously circling the house. I decided to try and sneak out the back door when it was circling towards the front. As the wing flapping faded, I made my move and cleared the small garden and rock wall surrounding the property. The flapping continued to fade and I was relieved, but my HUD turned from [HIDDEN] to [CAUTION] and the chase was on again. I ran down the road towards the base of the cliffs that begin the trek up to Rosie’s domicile on Top of the World. A group of Super Mutants came down the cliffs to greet me and, as they descended upon me, got blasted with fire. I crawled for the safety of the cliffs, but it was no use, I died as I lived, curled up in a ball with my Ushanka Beer Hat on.
“At least I’m free of the Scorchbeast,” I thought as I respawned at a nearby ski cabin and made my way back to my loot that I had dropped upon death. But no, the Scorchbeast remained, and was just finishing off the remainder of the Super Mutants. My loot lay on the ground beneath it as it began its circular search pattern. I waited forever for it to slowly inch its search pattern far enough away for me to run in, grab my loot and run for higher ground. I made it. Whew. What a fun ordeal. As I neared the top of the cliffs, I noticed some large rock platforms jutting out into open air. I wondered if I could place my C.A.M.P. right on the edge of one and make a cliff-side manor. After some mild fiddling around getting my pre-made, square box, house to rest on the edge of the cliff, I knocked out the back wall and made a nice looking porch with a BBQ and a staircase to the roof, where I could sit and survey my domain:
(The Scorchbeast continued to circle the area just below the nuclear cooling towers. I waved.)
The next day, I restarted the game, eager to get to Rosie’s and continue my quest. The game spawned me near my back porch, about 3 feet away from it, in open air. I fell to my death.
