It may go against everything I've ever known about surviving in a Fallout game, but after turning myself into a Ghoul in Fallout 76, I've decided radioactive pools of water are my new best friend.
The new Ghoul character, which is launching today in Fallout 76, has a bunch of helpful features. You can use human perks alongside new ghoul perks, and you don't need any food or water to keep you going. But the best trait is how radiation will slowly heal you and can even turn you into a deadly close combat brawler if you expose yourself to large amounts at once.
Setting off on an adventure as my newly ghoul-ified self, it wasn't long before I found trouble walking around the Wasteland. Luckily for me, a bunch of troublesome blood eagle grunts made camp near a pool of irradiated water. I decided to test out my new skills to see just how helpful radiation can be for a ghoul.
Before long, I had wiped out the entire camp, leaving just one special grunt in power armor with a minigun for me to deal with. Using a shotgun I'd picked up, I began luring the last grunt towards the water. Once I finally got her to the shore, I started swimming around like a fish and occasionally popping out to shoot at her. I may have been riddled with bullet holes, but the irradiated water was healing me fast enough that it wasn't much of an issue.
I used this new aquatic style of fighting any chance I could, running into lakes and drinking out of dirty puddles anytime my health bar got dinked even a little bit. It's not the quickest way of fighting, and definitely cowardly, but it works wonders in the Wasteland.
Becoming a ghoul completely changes the way you look at the Wasteland—areas that were once strict no-goes are now the only places I want to explore. Before I shed my fresh, supple human skin, places like Thunder Mountain Power Plant were too stressful to just waltz into. It's packed with scorched and feral ghouls, not to mention the radiation that is constantly pouring out of the reactor center.
But now, completing the Powering Up event is vastly more manageable than before. Without having to worry about any radiation infection, fighting off the inhabitants while fixing up pipes and dealing with spewing steam, sparking consoles, and damaging machinery is easy. Having access to radiation is now a real life saver and something I can see myself growing quite dependent on.
You're made to face up to the reality of what it's like roaming around as a post-human.
I could go on and on about my irradiated adventures in Fallout 76 after becoming a ghoul, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows. One downside to becoming a ghoul is you have to compromise with power armor. Because the suit can block radiation, it effectively negates all your best ghoul features, such as self-healing and hulking out on enemies.
Without power armor, your character can also carry fewer supplies. There were several moments after I got a bit too carried away, acting like some feral magpie in which I tried to scamper away, only to be told I had too much in my inventory. Without the armor, I was forced to empty my pockets and put down everything I didn't need, including a couple of guns and a lot of trinkets. On the plus side, as you don't need food or water as a ghoul, you don't need to carry those items around anymore.
Another negative of being a ghoul is the prejudice you'll have to face in the Wasteland. During the process of becoming a ghoul, you're made to face up to the reality of what it's like roaming around as a post-human.
Despite your good intentions, people often mistake you for being bloodthirsty and a serious danger, even if you're just trying to pass by. During the mission in which I became a ghoul, I spent a lot of time with Asher, a member of the ghoul community who enlightened me about how sucky it is. Everyone's scared of you—strangers always get up in your business, and you have to live in hiding just in case some zealous killer decides to try and send your community a message.
It was refreshing to see how seriously becoming a ghoul is taken throughout the whole mission. Sure, the scientist who actually performs the procedure is pretty wacky, but the implications of what life will be like are never watered down. The only problem is once you actually turn into a ghoul, things aren't too bad. There are ways to disguise yourself, which I even tested out by walking in a Brotherhood of Steel camp. Spoiler—no one seemed to care, although I didn't push my luck by actually talking to anyone.
But if you do find too many issues with the ghoul life, then there are other missions you can complete to turn back—this isn't a permanent change. With this in mind, I would highly recommend trying out being a ghoul. It's so much fun and will completely change the way you interact with the Wasteland and go about your business in Fallout 76. Plus, it means you can try out my revolutionary aquatic style of fighting.
