While I did side with the Institute during my first play-through of Fallout 4, the Brotherhood of Steel has always been my favourite faction in the Fallout universe. Not because I follow their ideals, but more because of the giant suits of power armour and excessive heavy weaponry. You have to admit, a giant armoured soldier unleashing a torrent of rounds from their minigun is a pretty impressive sight to behold.

The Steel Reign update takes us back to Fort Atlas, and after the event of Steel Dawn, tensions or as high as ever between Paladin Rahmani and Knight Shin. Numerous reports of settlers going missing and an increase in coordinated Supermutant attacks has everyone on edge, and it’s up to the Vault Dwellers to put an end to it. As with the previous updates for Fallout 76, every choice you make affects the story you experience.

Will you betray the Brotherhood and side with Rahmani, or will you follow the Brotherhood’s doctrine to the letter and stand by Shin? Either way, there were some very unexpected encounters as I traversed the Appalachian countryside completing the new line of quests that would help close my Brotherhood story.

Along with giving us some closure, the Steel Reign update brings some craftable goodies for us to add to our C.A.M.P, further cementing the Brotherhood of Steel into our Fallout 76 experience. While this might not be anything particularly new, players can also start crafting their own Legendary items, including Power Armour. That’s right, using your hard-earned materials, you can now upgrade your favourite weapon or piece of armour with a potential three stars.

The only real drawback here is that the Legendary effect is completely random, and adding this to your item can be quite expensive. Legendary modules can be purchased from Purveyor Murmrgh for a low 50 Scrip, while the Legendary core can be obtained by taking part in Daily Ops, and you’ll need an ample supply of both if you’re going to start throwing the perks onto your equipment.

While many of the characters we come across are borrowed from the previous updates, Steel Reign re-introduces wandering vendors, similar to Cricket in Fallout 4. Minerva wanders between Foundation, The Crater, and Fort Atlas, allowing you to trade your gold bullion for rare plans and recipes – a much easier way to spend this currency, as I can’t remember where the government agents were for the life of me.

We are also introduced to the Hellcat Company, a group of military-like mercenaries who share a shocking resemblance to the Gunners from Fallout 4, and they have some really attractive Power Armour at their disposal. If only there was some way to get our hands on it. *wink wink*

While Steel Dawn did feel as though it abruptly ended, Steel Reign draws you back in and completes the story. It had some surprising twists as it answered some questions that sat in the back of my mind, and it’s left me wanting more. I know I say it each update, but Fallout 76 is getting so much better as time goes on.

I love that it is constantly evolving after such a tragic release, and I commend the team at Bethesda for delivering amazing updates that keep the game interesting. If you were one of the ones who gave up on Fallout 76, I urge you to come back and give it another shot. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Written by: Mathew Lindner