10 Things You Need To Know About Fallout 4’s Next DLC, Far Harbor

Harpoon guns. New monsters. More armour. Difficult choices. Fallout 4’s biggest DLC promises a little bit of everything, and it makes the DLC sound very sweet.

Following Far Harbor’s release today, Bethesda gives us a quick walkthrough of some of the things players can expect in the DLC:

Some things worth noting/included in the DLC:

• Bethesda claims this is the biggest landmass they have ever created for a DLC. The island takes some cues from the Glowing Sea, which is to say, it’s very irradiated.
• The central conflict is between the townspeople of Far Harbor, the Children of Atom and the Synths.
• Bethesda wanted to expand the “New England feel” of Fallout 4, hence the Maine setting and characters that make a living by fishing.
• New weapons include fish hooks, harpoon guns and hunting rifles. There is also a new type of combat armour, which Bethesda says is the “best armour you can get”, Power Armour aside.
• There are new creatures based on salamanders, anglers and new types of Mirelurks (ugh).
• Fallout 4 continues to explore the synths, and the many crises they face.
• The DLC digs into the Children of Atom, and what brings people to that cult.
• Different endings, depending on what faction (!) you choose.
• Fog is a big thing in the DLC. Monsters can use it to attack you, and the people living in Far Harbor have to keep it at bay to stay safe.
• Settlements are back, and your standing with factions will determine what lands you can take.

But most of all, I’m excited at the prospect that the new DLC gives you options OTHER than murder. It genuinely sounds like Bethesda has heard fan complaints about Fallout 4. Here’s lead designer William Shen on what Bethesda is going for with the DLC and its factions:

Everyone has a sympathetic side, and a side that’s not-so-sympathetic, and you have to decide where you’re going to land. We wanted to include a ton of different options. Is it possible to go through with no one dying? Can you just decide to destroy everyone? Can you bring certain people to justice and drag out certain truths? Is it worth exposing this person if it means all these other people are going to be hurt? We give you a lot of tools and information that affects all groups, and then you have the ability to decide what you’re going to do with it.”

You may find yourself going down one path, and changing your mind once you have more information. There are very few hard-stop decisions, unless you choose to start killing folks. (Death is a pretty final choice, after all.) But even within the huge decision moments, there are lots of ways to handle a situation — some more peaceful than others.

This is what people wanted from Fallout 4 all along. Better late than never!

You can read more about Far Harbor, including the exact times at which the $US24.99 ($34, Steam) / $29.95 (Xbox One, PS4) DLC drops on different platforms, here. In Australia and New Zealand, it dropped at 12:01am AEST today.