Fallout 76 Burning Springs Update Patch Notes

The Burning Springs update for Fallout 76, launched on December 2, 2025, expands the game’s world beyond Appalachia into a scorched, post-apocalyptic vision of southeastern Ohio. This update introduces a wide stretch of new territory, opening opportunities for exploration, combat, and storytelling in a harsh new environment shaped by fire and decay.

Along with the new region, the patch debuts the Bounty Hunting system, where players track mutated targets in exchange for valuable rewards. Players can also adopt a Radhog as a C.A.M.P. pet, craft accessories for it, and enjoy new customization features in the emote system. The launch also marks the beginning of Season 23, titled Blood X Rust, a Raider-themed season that continues expanding the game’s ongoing live-service content.

Fallout 76 Version 1.7.22.12 Patch Notes (December 2, 2025)

Update Highlights

The Burning Springs update expands Fallout 76 into a new region across the Point Pleasant Bridge, introducing players to a ravaged area of southeastern Ohio. This is the largest map addition since Wastelanders and begins a new multi-part narrative arc.

Players will face The Rust King, ruler of the wastes and centerpiece of the new quest An Audience with the King. Along the way, they’ll encounter new events, explore new activities, and earn themed rewards.

Bounty Hunting debuts as a repeatable activity tied to The Ghoul, now voiced by Walton Goggins from the Fallout television series. Two new public events—Gearin’ Up and Sinkhole Solutions—bring cooperative tasks to the region. Fallout enthusiasts can also obtain Radhog as a C.A.M.P. pet and dive into Season 23: Blood X Rust, a Raider-themed season.

Update Version 1.7.22.12 & Sizes

This release marks the opening of Burning Springs, the first playable section of post-war Ohio. Players can reach the new area by crossing the Point Pleasant Bridge. The new story, new characters, and events lay the foundation for upcoming chapters planned for 2026.

Welcome to Ohio

The new map region centers on Burning Springs, an industrial wasteland ravaged by nuclear fallout and chemical contamination from the old Abraxodyne facility. The landscape is coated in rust-colored dust, toxic water covers the terrain, and storms sweep through the valleys.

The local warlord, The Rust King, has carved a domain out of the wreckage. He rules by strength, forcing survivors to fight or kneel. His influence stretches across every corner of the new zone.

Players begin by following the Ohio Distress Signal, available after level 30, leading them westward to Highway Town—a settlement perched on an overpass that serves as a base of operations. Once unlocked, it allows rapid travel and connections to bounty and quest hubs.

Bounty Hunting

Bounty Hunting introduces a structured activity built around contracts from The Ghoul at the Last Resort saloon in Highway Town. Players select posters from his desk to begin Grunt Hunts, which task them with tracking down mutated enemies bearing special traits.

Each Grunt Hunt generates a random target and zone. Mutations applied to targets also affect nearby enemies, raising combat difficulty. Defeating targets can yield Bounty Posters, which activate Head Hunts, a more challenging, public-event version of the same system.

Only one Head Hunt can run at a time on a server, creating a shared encounter. Participants earn rewards and progress toward unique milestone challenges.

Loot tiers scale over time:

• Grunt Hunt enemies evolve from 1-star Legendary rating to 3-star with repeated completions.
• Head Hunt bosses are always 3-star, flanked by elite 2-star allies.

New items introduced here come with special Legendary Mods, some favoring Ghoul or human characters. Players can track progress via the Challenges menu and collect unique weapons and apparel as rewards.

New Legendary Mods

This update expands the Legendary modifier pool with new trait combinations specific to Bounty Hunting rewards. These mods alter combat behavior and enhance synergy between weapon classes.

A rotating pool ensures variability in loot. Players can expect both defensive and offensive options designed to reinforce individual combat styles. Some of these mods will interact differently depending on whether the player’s character is human or Ghoul.

New Public Events

Gearin’ Up

Participants join The Beastmaster in fortifying her Deathclaw companion with scavenged scrap. Set in the Burning Springs junkyard, this event mixes escort and defense objectives.

• Keep the Deathclaw alive as waves of enemies attack.
• Gather materials to reinforce its armor.
• Use the new Medic’s Legendary Mod to heal friendly NPCs.

Completing the event grants random rewards, including the Stimpike, a unique melee weapon with the Medic’s Mod pre-installed.

Sinkhole Solutions

In this event, instability beneath Burning Springs causes eruptions of fire and gas. Teams must destroy underground nests and plug sinkholes while managing environmental hazards such as collapsing terrain and toxic fumes. Expect ambushes from mutated wildlife, including revised Radscorpion variants.

Additional Content

Fishing Additions: Radiation hasn’t eliminated aquatic life. Scattered pools now host new irradiated fish species, including one fabled “Local Legend” specimen.

Dirty Laundry Side Quest: Hidden Abraxodyne briefcases can be recovered across the new region. Delivering these to Bodhi in Athens unlocks narrative steps that explore his missing daughter’s disappearance. Completing half the collection yields a unique Legendary weapon, while full completion provides a more powerful variant.

The zone also hides environmental audio logs and coded messages tied to corporate secrets, encouraging exploration for lore hunters.

Season 23: Blood X Rust

Season 23 focuses on Raider-themed rewards and cosmetic progression. Players can earn cosmetics, CAMP decorations, and gear showcasing Raider motifs. The scoreboard progresses through daily and weekly challenges, reflecting the gritty tone of the Burning Springs content.

Event challenges encourage participation in Bounty Hunts, public events, and exploration of the new region.

Closing Milepost Zero

With the Blue Ridge Caravan storyline concluded, related rewards are now distributed through vendors in Ohio:

These relocations allow new players access to Milepost Zero equipment without completing older narrative stages.

New C.A.M.P. Pet – Radhog

The Radhog joins the companion roster as a new tamable pet. This mutated boar species offers customization options such as armor plating and coloration variants. Radhogs behave similarly to existing pets but feature improved responsiveness to commands.

Players can unlock the Radhog through the Burning Springs questline or by completing Bounty Hunt milestones.

New Seasonal Weapon – Dom Pedro

The Dom Pedro appears as a unique melee weapon tied to Season 23 rewards. It emphasizes Raider design with modified blades and spiked reinforcement. The weapon benefits from heavy melee perks and can roll new Blood X Rust-themed Legendary Mods.

Emote Wheel

Players can now assign up to twelve emotes through a redesigned radial menu. The interface allows quicker swapping and fewer navigation steps. A filter option sorts emotes by category: Social, Combat, Seasonal, or Favorites.

Gleaming Depths

Environmental and lighting updates applied across caves, subways, and flooded interiors enhance immersion. New dynamic reflections and debris effects highlight Burning Springs’ contaminated geology. Radiation readings and luminescent fungi now emit subtle light sources, adding variety to previously dark areas.

Combat

Combat systems received tuning to align with the new events and Legendary mechanics:

• Mutated enemies show faster reaction times.
• AI pathfinding for group combat improved in narrow zones like sinkholes or tunnels.
• Explosive radius calculations have been adjusted to reduce unintended friendly fire.
• New Legendary effects emphasize melee risk–reward dynamics.

C.A.M.P.

C.A.M.P. building expands with new Ohio-themed pieces, including rusted industrial walls, scrapped highway supports, and barrel lamps. Customization improvements include:

• Blueprint organization tabs.
• Snap alignment precision increased by 15%.
• Rotating structural pieces can now magnetize to uneven terrain.

Season 23 décor features raider-style salvage furniture and signage pulled from Burning Springs’ environments.

Events

Besides the two main public events, previous limited-time events now appear through rotating schedules. Event difficulty dynamically adjusts according to the player count in proximity. Deployment costs for event entry are reduced in outdoor regions.

Rewards now include random Legendary Mods introduced in this update, expanding utility beyond Bounty Hunts.

Gameplay

General gameplay refinements include smoother map transitions and improved environmental performance in weather-heavy areas.

• Players respawn closer to recent activity points after defeat.
• Resource nodes yield more consistent quantities.
• Radiation levels vary dynamically according to region weather.
• Detection physics rebalanced to make stealth builds more viable against mutants.

Perks

Several perk cards have been adjusted for balance:

• Tenderizer now grants reduced bonus damage but lasts longer.
• Stabilized functions consistently with heavy melee weapons.
• New perk: Rustbound Resolve – offers temporary poison resistance following direct melee hits.
• V.A.T.S. accuracy scaling adjusted in high-level zones to reflect target mutation difficulty.

Miscellaneous

• Audio mixing updated for the Ohio region to feature wind storms and industrial echoes.
• Ambient dialogue from survivors dynamically changes based on season progress.
• Radio stations rotate between Ohio-specific transmissions and message cues for events.
• Weather frequency improvements lessen prolonged sandstorm cycling.

Quests

Main questline missions now guide players through five narrative chapters centered around The Rust King’s domain. Quest design emphasizes open exploration with optional dialogue paths.

• Quest tracking will display regional waypoints by sub-objective.
• The Ghoul’s story thread acts as a companion storyline, connecting Bounty Hunting to main progression.
• Secondary tasks such as Dirty Laundry and local legend hunts tie into lore continuity.

Weapons

Weapon balance updates accompany the introduction of new Legendary traits:

The patch also adds craftable variants of gear previously exclusive to older seasons, accessible via Highway Town vendors.

Workshops

Workshops located near Burning Springs now include higher-tier resource spots for aluminum, oil, and nuclear material. Ownership benefits scale better for solo and multiplayer sessions.

Enemies attacking owned workshops will feature mutations similar to Bounty targets, linking the mechanic to world events.

Defense structures now allow for automatic targeting updates when enemies mutate mid-battle.

UI

The user interface receives layout improvements:

• Mission objectives now distinguish between mainline and optional.
• A new Activities section consolidates Bounty Hunts, Public Events, and Challenges.
• Load screen tips highlight Burning Springs’ mechanics, such as mutations and gas vent hazards.

A minimalist font set optimizes visibility on smaller displays.

Known Issues

• Occasional texture popping may occur during high-speed travel through sandstorms.
• Players may sink into terrain near Sinkhole Solutions event areas; relogging resolves the issue.
• Weapon skins from certain legacy bundles may not display properly on Burning Springs gear.
• Pet pathfinding for Radhogs in complex C.A.M.P. designs remains under review.

This update redefines Fallout 76’s scope, adding new land, systems, and challenges that integrate with its broader live-service model. The patch establishes the next phase of content development leading into future expansions set beyond Ohio.