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The Brotherhood of Steel marches into Fallout 76 this December

Laser focused.

The Brotherhood of Steel marches into Fallout 76 in December, Bethesda has announced.

The famous Fallout faction hits the game as part of the Steel Dawn update. You can see them in action in the video below.

Cover image for YouTube videoFallout 76: Steel Dawn - "Recruitment" Teaser

This update adds new NPCs, new locations and new gear to the multiplayer-focused post-apocalyptic role-playing game, Bethesda said.

In Fallout 76, The Brotherhood of Steel is led by Paladin Rahmani. The idea is you update the Brotherhood on what's been going on in Appalachia, and lend them a helping hand. Bethesda said you'll learn more about the Brotherhood's intentions via new quests, with more coming throughout 2021.

Here's the official blurb:

"Steel Dawn is the first chapter in the new Brotherhood of Steel questline, free for Fallout 76 players. Paladin Leila Rahmani and her troops have arrived from California to establish a new Appalachian chapter. Work with or against the other Factions to achieve success. Visit settlements populated with new NPCs and unlock powerful weapons and armor from the Brotherhood arsenal. Join in their mission to rebuild society and aid in securing valuable technology - but only you can determine how it will be used. Coming December 2020."

The Brotherhood of Steel arrive in Fallout 76 just over two years after launch, but players were talking about their inclusion in the game before it even came out.

In October 2018, Eurogamer reported on how Fallout 76 fans were scratching their heads over a "highly unlikely" Brotherhood of Steel retcon. A discussion was sparked by a note that mentions a quest involving the Brotherhood of Steel. The techno-religious paramilitary organisation, famous for its legendary power armour and secretive nature, seemed to have been involved in the world of Fallout 76 for some time, having "warned" inhabitants about an impending threat.

The problem was that according to fans, the Brotherhood of Steel shouldn't have been there at all. The lore of the other Fallout games (including the originals) suggests the first recorded activity from the Brotherhood of Steel was in California in the year 2134. Before this point, it's essentially "implied canon" that the organisation was holed up in its Lost Hills bunker, unwilling to fully venture out into the world until the year 2150.

Fallout 76, meanwhile, takes place in West Virginia in the year 2102. Not only is this earlier than the Brotherhood was supposed to leave its bunker, but it's a damn long distance from Cali.

Bethesda ended up explaining this Brotherhood of Steel retcon just a week after it was brought up by fans, insisting the soldiers who would form the Brotherhood of Steel did indeed reach their Californian Lost Hills bunker in November 2077 - a month after the Great War's end. Once the organisation was formed by Captain Roger Maxson, the Brotherhood "used a functioning satellite to extend their reach across America... all the way to Appalachia".

From Bethesda's explanation, it seems the Brotherhood of Steel was able to make contact with a surviving military branch in West Virginia, and used the satellite connection to establish a separate chapter in Appalachia. Now, they're on their way back.