Step one: lose the nose.
Becoming a ghoul is probably one of the best decisions you can make in Fallout 76 right now, and lucky for you—it doesn’t take too much effort to make the jump. All you have to do is be kind enough to answer a cry for help.
A few weeks ago, I got to test out what it would be like to roam the Wastelands as a ghoul in Fallout 76. But before I could enjoy all the fantastic perks like powering up from irradiated pools of water and hulking out on unfortunate raiders that crossed my path, I had to complete one mission first.
It all starts with a distress call—some poor sod who goes by Leamon Price called about getting jumped by what he thought was a group of bandits, and now he’s not feeling too good. I met him in the hospital wing of White Springs only to find out he had radiation poisoning and watched as he realised there was no way to stop the transformation that would come next.
But I couldn’t just sit by and watch him suffer. Being the upstanding citizen that I am, I offered to help him find a mysterious radiation specialist that’s said to be found around Hillside Cavern. It also helps that by aiding Price, I would finally be able to claim ghoulhood.
Once I made the long, arduous journey across the map (I fast-traveled), I began to look for this incredible scientist whom I had heard so much about. I’m something of a tracker myself, so I found her and her bodyguard in no time.
At the entrance to Hillside Carvern, doctor Parthenia stood alongside the grumpy guard Asher, both of whom were ghouls. Despite Asher’s protests, I used my incredible charm to persuade Parthenia to help Price become a proper ghoul and stop him from suffering or going feral. She was happy to assist but, in return, asked for some irradiated ore for her experiments.
I would’ve happily gone to Emmett Mountain by myself to get the goods. But Asher considered me a flight risk, so he insisted on tagging along if only to put a bullet in the back of my head if I tried to run away or tell anyone about their secret ghoul hideout.
With the help of an inhaler and lying next to a nuclear warhead, I lost my nose.
The rest of the mission was mostly full of me trying to be as nice as possible to Asher in a botched attempt to get him to like me, but no matter how many times I agreed with him, offered my condolences, or even saved his life he didn’t want to budge. You can’t win them all.
Other than trying to make new friends, the mission is the best chance to try out some new ghoul abilities and see what it’s like firsthand for a ghoul venturing into the Wasteland. There were a lot of serious conversations about being an outcast and how you’ll inevitably be treated differently if you decide to change into a ghoul, all of which is done to try and signpost to players that the change will affect your time in Fallout 76 somehow. Although as long as you pay a visit to Jaye Vo, the hairstylist, and master of disguises at the ghoul camp, you’ll easily slip past any unfriendly Wastelanders.
By the time Asher and I got the ore back to Parthenia, poor old Price was almost gone. After the doctor helped Price into his new body, it was my turn to ask if the same could be done for me. Surprisingly, Parthenia didn’t put up much of a fight as, apparently, her goal is to increase the ghoul population as much as she can. So, with the help of an inhaler and lying next to a nuclear warhead, I lost my nose and most of my skin in no time.
The whole process of becoming a ghoul is a lot of fun—the characters are loveably quirky, the mission is straightforward and informative, and the end prize is well worth all the effort. All in all, it took me just under 30 minutes to become a ghoul. So, if you have a spare moment over the weekend, you should definitely check it out for yourself—as long as your Fallout 76 character is over level 50.
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