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Fallout 76 test server opens up hideout hunts and wider pet bonuses

OFFICIAL Written by GPN · Nov 1, 2026, 7:56 PM ET · Fallout 76 · Gaming

Bethesda has invited Fallout 76 players onto the Public Test Server to try out Hideouts, a new challenge built around tracking down enemy encampments across Appalachia. The studio is clear that this is an early test: Hideouts are currently planned to release in spring 2027, and not everything seen on the test server is guaranteed to reach the finished update.

In the test build, players pick up leads that point them toward Hideouts and act as the key to getting inside. There are four difficulty tiers, each tied to a different kind of lead. Basic leads come from daily quests, activities, grunt hunts and containers and safes in the world, and are aimed at a team of level 20 characters. Challenging leads can be crafted from three basic leads plus caps, or earned through head hunts, seasonal public events, infestations and public events, and are aimed at teams at levels 75 to 100. Lethal leads are crafted from three challenging leads plus caps and are aimed at teams at level 175 and above, while Marked leads, the toughest tier, are crafted from lethal leads, caps and Drifter Intel and are aimed at late-game players with strong builds and coordination.

Two Hideout locations are included in this test: the Forever Farm in Burning Springs and Vault 63's Immortality Sector in Skyline Valley. Bethesda describes them as non-linear spaces where players choose their own approach, with environmental and enemy mutations keeping runs varied. Depending on the run, players may face the Lost, mutated super mutants, robots, Rust Raiders or Mothman cultists, and the factions are intended to match their home region. Players can also wander into either location outside of a Hideout attempt to learn the layout.

Once a Hideout is underway, bonus objectives can earn the team a Fallen Deputy's Pack with bonus loot. The objectives include finding a Fallen Deputy's Badge in one of four hidden containers before defeating the gang leader, and defeating that leader within a time limit that starts once players move past the preparation area. For this testing period, Bethesda notes that the Drifter will not appear in Hideouts and that rewards earned are temporary, without the unique rewards planned for the full release.

The test also revisits World Pets, with a change that lets a passive buff earned with one species be used while a different pet is travelling with the player. For example, unlocking the Fun-Festation 1 passive by levelling a Deathclaw would allow that buff to stay active while a cat, dog or Radhog is accompanying the player. Unlocked buffs are chosen from the Pets page in the Pip-Boy, where players can pick two buffs to have active and change them at any time.

A test-server update dated October 26 adds further pet refinements, including faster progression through the early pet levels, pet damage and health statistics shown in the Pip-Boy, and automatic equipping of the first two buffs a player unlocks. The same update fixes several pet issues, such as pets healing correctly with all medic weapons, custom pet names resetting on relogging, and pets failing to grant their gift. Bethesda also notes that the return to Skyline Valley, including bounty hunting with Marshal Canton at the Trading Post, is part of the winter 2026 plans being tested alongside World Pets.

Players who own Fallout 76 on Steam can join the test server by installing Fallout 76 Public Test Server from their Steam library. Console test builds need review and approval from Xbox and PlayStation first, so Bethesda says the console test server will generally arrive a little later than the PC version.

Facts gathered from

• Bethesda News

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