Let’s talk about what’s fresh in 2015’s mobile game of the year

There’s no question that Fallout has been a certified hit since Interplay launched the first game back in 1997. Fans have seen a steady stream of new games, updates, DLC, RPGs, wargames, board games, Magic the Gathering decks, and even a one-shot comic. To the universal joy and trepidation of every fan on the internet, a Fallout show was announced back in 2020. Now, nearly four years later, it’s out, and we can report that it’s awesome. Amazon even announced a second season. But what you might have missed is that Bethesda has quietly added an update to its 2015 mobile hit Fallout Shelter, and since we’ve explored the new update, here’s what you can expect.

What to expect from Fallout Shelter’s update

Five Vault dwellers and a very good boy

Bethesda dropped the news on its website last week, and we’re here to unpack the update for you. You can expect six new characters and the addition of current good-boy-of-the-month CX404. For a limited time (you have until May 7), Bethesda is also giving everyone who plays a free Vault 33 jumpsuit (+3 Perception, +2 Luck). Oh, and these new characters and items are only available on the mobile version of the game; Steam players are out of luck.

Fallout Shelter mobile players will be able to obtain Lucy, The Ghoul, Maximus, Ma June, the Snake Oil Salesman, and Snip Snip. To get your new special Vault dwellers and their equipment, you’ll have to complete some quests. Veteran players will be able to breeze through this, but newer players might need a little bit of guidance to get started.

How to get your new vault dwellers

To start, you’re going to need to play Fallout Shelter for a couple of days to get the lay of the land, understand how the game works, and build up your population to 18. This part will likely take you more than a day but you should be able to manage it by pairing up a few of your vault dwellers in the Living room (just 100 Nuka-Cola caps) to fortify your numbers. And don’t forget to stay on top of your resources.

Unlock quests

Once you have 18 people living under your roof, you’ll unlock the Overseer’s office (it’ll cost you 1,000 caps), which unlocks the quest functionality. But, before you embark on your first quest, I recommend you take on a few exploration expeditions. Sending a vault dweller out to explore the irradiated wastes will uncover weapons and outfits that will help you when you start taking on the quests. It will also give your vault dweller a massive boost to their level. Raising your level is important because you need your dweller’s level to be at least 10 before you can start the quest to unlock Lucy in the “A Pier into the Future” quest.

Once you have three vault dwellers raised to level 10, and you’ve obtained weapons and armor for each of them, you’re ready to venture out of the vault. Quests impose a time limit before they start, but you can use some Nuka-Cola Quantum (top-right corner) to significantly speed up the process.

Time to kill some radscorpions

Whereas Fallout Shelter is basically a city-management game, the quest portion of it focuses on exploration and combat. You’ll be sent out into another habitation similar to your vault with rooms and elevators filled with loot and radioactive mobs. You’ll get Lucy about halfway through exploring the building, but I encourage you to go into every room and kill every enemy to maximize your loot.

Congratulations, you got Lucy! Completing one quest will unlock the quest for the next character from the show, and you’ll sometimes need to use the character you unlocked from the previous quest to complete the following one. For example, the second quest, “Ghoul in Black”, requires one of the participants to be wearing Lucy’s Vault Suit. There are eight quests in the new questline.

New context to the show

Lucy
Maximus
The Ghoul
Ma June
Snake Oil Salesman

Strength
4
7
5
5
4

Perception

Endurance
6
6
7
5
5

Charisma
5
5
7
7
8

Intelligence
6
4
4
6
8

Agility
5
7
7
4
4

Luck
7
5
4
6
6

One of the neat things about this update is it gives us a peek into the stats of these characters (if you play Fallout, you know stats are important). Lucy is lucky, Maximus is strong (and kind of dumb), The Ghoul is quick, Ma June is perceptive, and the Snake Oil Salesman has charisma.

Fallout Shelter has never been a slouch as far as money is concerned. It grossed $100 million four years after it launched. That, and the fact that it was pulling in around $20,000 per day before the TV show released, is probably why Bethesda never pulled the plug on the game, even after nearly 10 years. But now that the Fallout show is a huge hit for Amazon, its daily revenue has jumped to over $80,000. If you want to do your part to fund Fallout 5, you can pick up Fallout Shelter for free on the Play Store, and jump in now to get your free outfit before it disappears. And if you enjoy Fallout’s gameplay, make sure check out this guide to the best simulation games on the Play Store to keep your gaming going.