With Fallout 76‘s upcoming March 2025 update, players are set to experience Appalachia like never before—through the irradiated lens of a ghoul. This long-awaited feature doesn’t just stop at visuals. It introduces intricate mechanics like the Feral Meter and Glow Meter, ghoul-specific perks, and even a cure for ghoulification.
At a hands-on event in ZeniMax’s London offices, we got a taste of the alpha build and sat down with Bill LaCoste, Production Director for Fallout 76, to dive deep into the update’s design philosophy. From managing your Feral Meter to avoid losing yourself, to embracing the Glow Meter and gaining health beyond the normal limits, Bill shared how these systems were crafted to offer players a true “ghoul experience”—complete with new advantages, challenges, and ways to interact with the Wasteland.
With the success of the Fallout Prime series and its iconic portrayal of the Ghoul by Walter Goggins, the timing couldn’t have been better. As Bill put it, “We’re not taking shortcuts with this. This is something we’ve wanted to do forever.” Combine that with combat rebalancing in the Gleaming Depths update and new possibilities for ghoul-specific quests and interactions, and it’s clear: Fallout 76 is delivering more than just content—it’s redefining how players survive, adapt, and thrive in the post-apocalypse.
What inspired the decision to introduce playable ghouls in Fallout 76? Was Walter Goggins’ standout performance as the Ghoul in the Fallout Prime series a factor in bringing this concept to life?
Bill: Players have wanted to play as a Ghoul for a long time. We, as fans of Fallout, have always wanted to do that as well. So when we were designing this and coming up with the idea, it just so happened that— all of a sudden—there’s a TV show coming out, and the Ghoul is going to be featured. It was very convenient timing. It also helped that Walter Goggins is just an amazing actor who really pulled it off, and people were like, ‘We love the Ghoul!’
It’s just really good timing for us. But yeah, this is something we’ve wanted to do forever. Now that we’re finally getting to do it—while riding on the buzz from the TV show—that helps a lot.
What we’re seeing is not only new players coming to Fallout 76, but the biggest surprise has been players who stopped playing back in 2019 coming back and saying, ‘Holy cow, you guys have added a ton of features to this game and made it better.’ That’s been our goal all along: to keep adding content every 12 weeks to bring people back and let them experience Appalachia as we originally envisioned it.
With all the excitement around the TV series, we’ve seen a new surge of players, and we want to keep them coming back. Adding Play as a Ghoul content is yet another step in our roadmap to make sure people keep returning to the game.
The new update introduces 30 ghoul-specific perk cards that can be combined with the existing ones. How do you approach balancing these new cards to ensure a fair and cohesive gameplay experience?
Bill: The update will introduce 28 regular ghoul-specific perk cards and 2 additional legendary ones, making a total of 30 new perks that can be combined with the existing ones. Balancing these out is done in multiple phases. It all starts during the design phase, where we’re thinking about the goal of each perk card. We look at the existing perk cards to see which ones might potentially collide with, or—better yet—create synergy with the new ones. At that point, we decide how ‘strong’ we want each perk to be.
Of course, we’re constantly monitoring everything, but the main phase for balancing these cards happens when this content hits the PTS (Public Test Server). Once multiple players start experimenting with new combinations, we gather data to tweak everything. We’re also listening closely to feedback from our playtesters and the broader community to make adjustments where needed.
That said, there may still be things we won’t discover until the update actually goes live, with millions of players engaging over the first month. We’ll continue to monitor it and see how it all shakes out.
I’m super excited to test it out myself. I play as a bloodied character, and with the ghoul content, I won’t have all the same advantages anymore—I’ll have to adjust for that. I’ll need to figure out what my loadout is going to be and decide how I want to role-play my ghoul.
The great thing is, aside from the ghoul content, we’ve done a lot of combat rebalancing with our Gleaming Depths update. Players will need to figure out the new buffs we’ve given to Endurance perks and potentially discover new playstyles. Single-shot weapons are also getting buffed, so fans of hunting rifles are going to be pleasantly surprised to see their damage output brought more in line with other weapons.
There are so many little underlying changes that are going to improve both ghoul and human gameplay moving forward. I can’t wait to see what players come up with.
With the introduction of a cure for ghoulification, as well as the new Glow Meter and Feral Meter—features previously unseen in other Fallout games—how do these additions influence the lore of the series, especially considering that Fallout 76 serves as a prequel to the entire franchise?
Bill: Players who try out ‘playing as a ghoul’ and ultimately decide it’s not for them—or feel their character doesn’t suit the ghoul role—can opt out of it. This won’t be a simple switch in your Pip-Boy but will instead be handled narratively within the game.
Our approach to ‘playing as a ghoul’ isn’t just about delivering a simple outfit that makes you look like a ghoul while running through the world. That’s not the experience we wanted to give players. Instead, we’ve introduced new mechanics to create a deeper, more immersive ghoul experience. For example, we’ve changed how radiation works so you can now use it to add glow to your character, going beyond the normal 100% hit points into a special ‘glow range.’
We’ve also added the Feral Meter, which players need to manage by using chems to avoid going feral. Combined with the ghoul-specific perks, you’ll have abilities like standing in radiation indefinitely while getting healed by it. These mechanics ensure that what we’re delivering is a truly authentic ghoul experience—we’re not taking shortcuts here.
Going forward, because ghouls are now a staple of the game and a playable state, future content will need to take this into account. This opens up opportunities for ghouls to interact differently with the world. There may be factions, humans, or other groups who look down on ghouls, while others might favor them. For example, you could gain access to certain shops, areas, dialogue, or quests that are only available to ghouls.
The ghoul aspect might expand even further in future games, and it’s definitely going to grow in Fallout 76. We’re really excited to see how players embrace this new way of experiencing the wasteland.
Could you dive a bit deeper into how the Glow Meter and Feral Meter work? How do these mechanics enhance the player’s experience of ‘playing as a ghoul’?
If you become a ghoul, you’ll see two new meters: the Feral Meter and the Glow Meter. The Feral Meter will drain over time, similar to how hunger and thirst mechanics worked in the past—though ghouls no longer require food or water. Some perks will influence the rate at which it drains. One of the legendary perks, for example, allows you to heal and reduce the Feral Meter with your kills.
You’ll also be able to manage the Feral Meter using chems—either reducing its drain or building it back up when needed. However, if the Feral Meter goes too far, you’ll become feral. This state causes you to lose certain abilities while gaining others.
The Glow Meter, on the other hand, is based on the amount of radiation you’ve absorbed. It allows you to push your health beyond the normal 100% threshold. That said, going feral while also taking on significant ‘glow’ can make shooting ineffective, but it significantly enhances your melee capabilities.
I’m really curious to see how players take advantage of this—especially those using Power Fists, Deathclaws, or even Mole Miner Gauntlets. In our new Gleaming Depths content, for example, a ghoul might actually be better off standing in toxic pools to heal while pounding away at the Ultracite Terror. I can’t wait to see the creative strategies players come up with.
Thanks for the interview and success with the upcoming release.
