Infestations: New 4-Star Mods & All Spawn Locations

skywalka

Published: 12.05.2026 Updated: 30.05.2026

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Insider PTS Article contains Rewards Checklists

12.05.2026 Updated: 30.05.2026

Article contains Rewards Checklists

[Update 29th May 2026] Challenges added

Infestations are a new challenge for high-level players. The enemies are significantly stronger and more resilient than most others in the game. A solid build and efficient tactics are highly beneficial here. Infestations will be released alongside Patch 68 on June 2nd, 2026, coinciding with Season 25: "Appalachia Under Siege." We have already had the opportunity to test it on the PTS (Public Test Server) and prepare you for what to expect.

What are Infestations?

An Infestation is neither an Event nor an Activity in the sense you are used to. It is a dynamic system intended for the endgame and for high-level players.

Infestations occur randomly at one of several designated locations across Appalachia (excluding Skyline Valley and Burning Springs). During an Infestation, standard enemies are replaced by Infested enemies belonging to a specific faction. These enemies present a significantly greater challenge than standard enemies.

Official Description (Help Text):

Infestation

Infestations are limited-time, high-difficulty encounters that can appear without warning as you roam the wilds of Appalachia.

When a hostile faction seizes control of an area, its usual inhabitants are replaced with powerful and dangerous enemies - led by a highly-challenging faction boss that can drop Four-Star Legendary rewards when defeated.

Infestation events will only occur in outdoor locations within Appalachia, making familiar territory feel dangerous and unpredictable.

Active Infestation Zones will be shown on your map to provide an approximate location -  you'll only know the exact location when you walk right into it... as will your team mates. 

Stay sharp out there - in Appalachia, no place stays safe for long.

If you enter a location where an Infestation is nearby, or if a teammate discovers one, that location will appear marked on your map with a green circle. Once the Infestation is actively being engaged, a second circle, this time red, will appear on the map; this marks the area where the Boss enemy, which can be defeated, is located.

According to the definitions in the game data, there is a 5-hour timeout; therefore, if no one has fought and defeated the infestation after 5 hours, it will disappear. Presumably, a new location is then occupied. We do not know exactly whether a timeout actually exists or how often new locations become infested; hopefully, Bethesda will provide us with more information regarding this. These processes are controlled on the servers and are not easily accessible.

Infestations Short Info

• 52 possible locations
• Enemy levels scale from 50 to 200
• All enemies at a location are replaced
• Maximum of 5 simultaneous infestations per world
• New spawn: every 10 minutes (if fewer than 5 active)
• 5-hour timeout for undiscovered infestations, followed by despawn

Enemies

All enemies in Infestations are a lot stronger than usual, also mobs. Here, a distinction is made between three types of opponents:

• Support
• Mob
• Boss
  • Up to 16870 HP

However, none of the enemies are marked as legendary. The enemies do not have stars, which does not mean that you won't receive legendary items. More on this below.

Tip: Always loot all enemies during an infestation!

A location can be infested by one of the following factions:

• Blood Eagles
  • Boss: Blood Eagle Destroyer
• Ghouls
  • Boss: Communist Commissar
• Culists
  • Boss: Cultist Prophet
• Mole Miners
  • Boss: Mole Miner Juggernaut
• Super Mutants
  • Boss: Super Mutant Primus
• Scorched
  • Boss: Scorched Exterminator
• Robots
  • Boss: Assaultron Intimidator
• Holiday Scorched (seasonal)
  • Boss: Festive Scorched Exterminator
• Spooky Scorched (seasonal)
  • Boss: Spooky Scorched Exterminator

Bethesda describes Infestations as endgame content designed for experienced players, featuring challenging enemies intended to encourage exploration of the map, thereby leading to spontaneous encounters with Infestation events.

The current issue with this system, however, is that experienced players tend to prefer jumping directly into the new content to tackle the new challenges immediately. Under the current system, this is not possible, as players must first explore the map to locate Infestations. This article will be updated as soon as any changes are made to this system.

You can find the rewards listed below the map.

Infestation Locations (with Map)

Infestations can occur at the following locations. So, after the update, you can fast-travel there to search for infestations.

Click on the map to zoom

Infestation Rewards

Infestation Support

These enemies are the easiest ones found in an Infestation. Yet, even these enemies can drop legendary items for you:

• 10% chance for a 3* legendary item (Weapon, Armor, Power Armor)
• If Holiday Scorched:
  • Holiday Gifts
• If Spooky Scorched:
  • Spooky Treat Bags

Infestation Mob

The Mob poses a slightly greater challenge than the Support and can also drop legendary rewards:

• 20% chance for a 3* legendary item (Weapon, Armor, Power Armor)
• If Holiday Scorched:
  • Holiday Gifts
• If Spooky Scorched:
  • Spooky Treat Bags

Infestation Boss

The Boss features a health bar that appears at the bottom of your screen as soon as you engage in combat with it. It possesses up to 16,000 HP and offers the best rewards:

• 100% chance for a 4* legendary item (Weapon, Armor, Power Armor)
  • Chance to get one of 5 new 4-star legendary mods on a weapon or armor. See list.
• Mystery Bobblehead Box
• Mystery Magazine Package
• Treasure Maps by Region
• Scrap Kit
• Treasury Note
• Legendary Module
• Legendary Scrip
• Grenades & Mines
• Contextual Ammo
• Mutation Serum (no if learned condition)
• 1x Chems Rare (Berry Mentats, Orange Mentats, Bufftats, Calmex, Psychotats, Psychobuff, Overdrive, Fury, Grape Mentats, X-Cell, Day Tripper, Daddy-O)
  or Chems Basic (Buffout, Med-X, Mentats, Psycho)
• 1-3 Stimpak: Super
• Rad Away
• Rad-x
• Junk:
  • (25% Chance) 1-3 Ballistic Fiber Scrap or Black Titanium Scrap or Nuclear Waste or Ultracite Scrap
  • (37,5% Chance) Antiseptic, Asbestos, Circuitry, Fiberglas Optics, Gold, Oil or Silver
  • (28,13% Chance) Acid, Adhesive, Aluminum, Copper, Fiberglass, Gears, Glass, Screws or Springs
  • (9,37% Chance) Bone Shards, Caramic, Cloth, Coal, Concret, Crystal, Ferilizer, Lead, Leather, Plastic, Rubber, Steel or Wood
• If Robot:
  • Fusion Cells
  • Components: Fuse, Vacuum Tube, Power Relay Coil, Enhanced Targeting Card, Military-Grade Circuit Board or Biometric Scanner
  • Junk: Aluminum, Copper, Gears, Screws, Spings, Steel or Oil
• If Holiday Scorched:
  • Holiday Gifts
  • Double Gifts possible, if enabled
• If Spooky Scorched:
  • Spooky Treat Bags

Legendary 4 Stars Mods (Boss only)

Crafting costs: 120 legendary modules per mod plus ingredients from the list.

Hauler's

Increases Carrying Capacity by 30.

5 Cloth

Increases Carrying Capacity by 30.

Raging

Upon being hit, deal +3% Damage for 10 seconds.

1 Buffout

Upon being hit, deal +3% Damage for 10 seconds.

Satiated

[Human] Kills Restore Hunger and Thrist
[Ghoul] Kills Restore Feral

5 Salt

[Human] Kills Restore Hunger and Thrist
[Ghoul] Kills Restore Feral

Tarnished

Damage Increases (up to +120%) as Weapon Durability Decreases.

5 Fiberglass

Damage Increases (up to +120%) as Weapon Durability Decreases.

Vector

Gain 10% Bonus V.A.T.S. Accuracy Against Distant Targets

1 Magnifying Glass

Gain 10% Bonus V.A.T.S. Accuracy Against Distant Targets

Aegis

Fortifies Physical & Energy Resists by +50 and Poison, Cryo & Fire Resists by +20 for Wearer & Teammates Within a 50ft Radius

5 Circuitry

Fortifies Physical & Energy Resists by +50 and Poison, Cryo & Fire Resists by +20 for Wearer & Teammates Within a 50ft Radius

Battle-Loader's

15% Chance to Instantly Reload When Bashing Enemies (up to 75% Chance on Full Stack)

1 Talons Serum

15% Chance to Instantly Reload When Bashing Enemies (up to 75% Chance on Full Stack)

Polished

The Greater the Equipped Item Condition (+100%), the Greater the Weapon Damage (up to +60%)

1 Improved Repair Kit

The Greater the Equipped Item Condition (+100%), the Greater the Weapon Damage (up to +60%)

Propelling

Movement & Sprint Speed Increased by +5% (up to +25% on Full Stack)

15 Vault Steel Scrap

Movement & Sprint Speed Increased by +5% (up to +25% on Full Stack)

Radioactive-Powered

Gain +2 AP Regeneration at the Cost of RADS (up to +10 AP on Full Stack)

5 Pure Cobalt Flux

Gain +2 AP Regeneration at the Cost of RADS (up to +10 AP on Full Stack)

Stabilizer's

Improves Weapon Recoil & Stability by 50%

25 Rubber

Improves Weapon Recoil & Stability by 50%

New Challenges

New Daily-Challenges

New Weekly-Challenges

Impression

The current issue with this feature is simply finding an Infestation.

On the PTS, both I and most other testers frequently struggled to locate an Infestation. This could be related to the activation intervals, or there may be other factors preventing these Infestation sites from becoming active. For now, we can only hope that a solid solution is found to address this. Of course, this article will be updated should any changes occur.

However, once you *do* find an Infestation, the heightened challenge proves to be quite enjoyable. You have to adapt your approach to a powerful adversary in a way that differs significantly from how you handle standard enemies in Appalachia. The task at hand is to devise a suitable tactic for doing so. With a stealth build, it is entirely feasible to launch concealed attacks from advantageous positions—such as from rooftops. Offensively, you need to be able to absorb just as much damage as you would in a raid—though I am sure the community will come up with some excellent strategies and builds to handle that as well.

I am eager to see what the community makes of this feature once it hits the live servers—hopefully free of any "teething problems".

Addendum (30th May 2026): Unfortunately, the latest version of the PTS features significantly weaker Infestation enemies compared to the initial stages and the course of the testing period. Consequently, the challenge is no longer particularly high, and it is likely that Infestations on the live servers will consistently be resolved very quickly.

Ideas for Improvements:

• An indicator for active infestations (on the map or in World Activity),
  so that players know whether it is worth searching at all.
• Displaying an infestation as soon as the player is in the general vicinity,
  e.g., if the player is in the Ash Heap, any infestation within the Ash Heap is displayed.