Burning Springs Update in December: Map Expansion Ohio, The Ghoul, 3 new Events, new Enemies etc.
Burning Springs is the largest free update for Fallout 76 since 2020. Launching in early December (more details info about the release will be published during Fallout Day Stream on 23rd Oct 2025), it introduces the neighboring region of Ohio, accessible via the rebuilt Silver Bridge at Point Pleasant. Here players will experience a new war-formed area featuring a desert, deathclaws and raiders. which was strongly inspired by Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas. Ohio has rarely been referenced in Fallout lore, giving the developers a blank slate to establish new stories. The update adds more than 20 new locations, making the map expansion comparable in size to regions like Skyline Valley or Savage Divide.
The Burning Springs update launches alongside the new Season 2 of the Fallout series on Prime Video. And, in addition to the desert landscape, it also shares other similarities.
Map Expansion to Ohio
Atmospheric improvements include dynamic weather effects, such as sandstorms in Ohio that can alter visibility and influence ongoing events. These are complemented by a new musical score created specifically for the region.
Nuclear strikes also play a role: while Highway Town cannot be targeted, detonating a nuke elsewhere in Ohio produces unique results, with new flora and irradiated variants appearing and enemies like radhogs reacting in distinctive ways.
More than 20 new locations
A major addition is Highway Town, which serves as a social hub through the Last Resort, where players can accept bounty missions, form teams, and organize hunts together. The hub has been compared to Fallout 4’s Diamond City, though this time in a multiplayer context. However, Highway Town is not entirely safe, as hostile characters still roam the area, preserving the wasteland’s dangerous tone.
New Enemies: RAD-Hogs and Rust Faction
Burning Springs introduces new enemies. Among them are the RAD-Hogs, which display a notable reaction when exposed to nuclear strikes, adding unpredictability to the wasteland. The RAD-Hogs can even be tamed as pet for your CAMP, if you dare.
In addition, the hostile Rust Faction ,lead by the Rust King, emerges as a new threat in Ohio. Players will also encounter armored Deathclaws as part of this faction, reinforcing the dangers that define the expansion’s new region.
The Ghoul from the Fallout Show
You all know the ghoul from the Fallout series, played by Walton Goggins. This ghoul now also finds its way into Fallout 76 with Burning Springs. In the Fallout series, the ghoul is a bounty hunter, and that is precisely his central role in this update. He offers you a job to help him with his bounty hunts. You'll meet him for the assignments at the Last Resort in Ohio. The ghoul was even voiced by Walton Goggins himself.
New bounty hunting system
At the heart of the expansion is the new bounty hunting system. It features two tiers: Grunt Hunts, smaller contracts manageable solo or with one other player, and Headhunts, large-scale public events. Headhunts are particularly challenging but offer unique rewards, XP, and caps. Only one headhunt can be active per server at a time, while grunt hunts are unlimited. With a wide variety of enemy gangs—raiders, musicians, clowns, or even “grannies”—each mission feels distinct.
New Questline
The expansion also introduces a new questline filled with new characters and dialogue. You'll explore the new desert region of Ohio, get to know many new places, and even have to deal with the "Rust King," the leader of the "Rust Raiders."
2 new Public Events
Event: Sinkhole Solutions
The “Sinkhole Solutions” event takes place around Highway Town, which has come under attack from vicious insects. A nest has been tracked in the old lake, and your mission is to activate the Stomper and wipe them out. The main challenge here is to detroy the nests and fight radscorpions while a sandstorm rages around the players.
Event: Gearin` Up
The Gearin' Up event takes place at Jackson's Junkyard in the Ohio Desert. Here you'll meet the Beastmaster. She'll tell you that the Rust King's deathclaws come from this place. There they're raised and trained for combat in the wasteland or in the arena. Your task is to equip a deathclaw with armor and prepare it for a fight while being attacked by raiders. To do this, you'll collect materials for the armor. Once enough scrap metal has been collected, the deathclaw receives its armor and can face off against a larger deathclaw. The goal is to protect it.
New Rewards
Players can also look forward to a broad range of rewards, including new weapons, armors, outfits, and mods. Some headhunt rewards are tailored specifically to ghoul characters, marking the first time ghouls are explicitly supported in gameplay. The developers plan to expand this further in future updates.
Even the Ghoul revolver from the show will be available as a reward!
Accessible for New Players
Although Burning Springs introduces challenging events and dangerous enemies, the expansion has been designed so that new players can access it right from the start. Fresh out of the vault, newcomers will receive directions toward Ohio and can begin exploring immediately.
The developers advise taking it slow: for example, visiting Point Pleasant, crossing the Mothman Bridge, and getting immersed in the story before jumping into tougher content like headhunts. The smaller Grunt Hunts are particularly suited for beginners, offering a gentle introduction to the bounty hunting system.
Update on Fishing
The fishing system is being expanded with new species, local legends, additional fishing spots, and seasonal fish. Following the motto “Anywhere you can swim, you can fish,” the system remains flexible and engaging.
News from Milepost Zero & Windy
Existing content is also evolving. Milepost Zero will be retired, with the character Windy relocating to Highway Town. Skyline Valley remains part of the game and is expected to receive more content in future updates. The developers have plans mapped out for years ahead, aiming to deliver both accessible content for newcomers and challenging features for veteran players.
Yes, you read that right. Skyline Valley has apparently become too dangerous for the caravans and has been relocated to Highway Town in Ohio.
Bill LaCoste said when asked about Milepost Zero and Skyline Valley:
“So we are going to be shutting down Milepost Zero.
We are moving Windy over to Highway Town, so you'll be able to gather a lot of the stuff there.
But yeah, that's pretty much it. I believe the number of raiders and the volatility around Skyline Valley has caused Milepost Zero to rethink their commitment to making caravans around the Skyline Valley area.”
Jon Rush added:
“Skyline Valley has become too hostile, even for the Blue Ridge Caravan Company.”
We will probably find out exactly what this means for the caravans and supplies at the PTS.
Drifter? Raid?
We already found some details about a new boss enemy called the "Drifter" via datamining in the previous PTS version. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any mention of that yet. Nor of a new raid or nuke boss. Let's see what new features the next PTS brings. Perhaps this kind of endgame content won't arrive until early 2026. We'll see.
Next PTS will be available on 2nd Oct 2025
Just as expected, the next PTS (Public Test Server) on Steam (PC) will be released immediately after the embargo on information about the Burning Springs Update. In the Q&A session, John Rush said that the Burning Springs PTS is scheduled to open on October 2nd, 2025. There will surely be plenty to discover there again.
Get ready for Burning Springs
With all these additions, Burning Springs stands out as one of the largest and most ambitious updates for Fallout 76. Its mix of narrative, repeatable events, new systems, and atmospheric details ensures that every playstyle—from explorer to builder to long-time veteran—will find something to enjoy.
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