We’ve been waiting for the brahmin escort missions ever since Fallout 76’s Milepost Zero update was announced alongside the Skyline Valley update earlier this year, and now, months later, it’s finally out.
A Bump in the Road is a new questline within Milepost Zero that introduces brahmin escort missions. Now you can help the Blue Ridge Caravan Company alongside a withered brahmin and its resources across the Shenandoah Valley while fighting off hordes of ghouls, mole people and, of course, deathclaws, among other monsters.
Alongside the release of A Bump in the Road, we also got a new trailer that shows off just how chaotic these escort missions are going to be. During your average supply run, you’ll likely come up against heavily armed super mutants, as well as mole people who are much less threatening but can still do some decent damage with their claws. Towards the end of the trailer, a particularly angry deathclaw also makes a short guest appearance.
Some enemies will attack you head-on, while others, like raiders, may go for a long-range attack. So it’s your job to be everywhere all at once and keep your eyes peeled for any enemies sneaking up behind you or settled on faraway vantage points.
The action looks like the usual chaotic fun that we’ve come to expect from Fallout 76, but the real joy lies in between the escort missions. There’s more incentive to complete supply runs than just helping out the locals. Specifically, you get to hunker down in the Milepost Zero outpost. This is essentially another C.A.M.P., but the outpost stays active and gives you a new home further into Shenandoah Valley that you can fast travel to.
Previously, lead producer Bill LaCoste told me about how players will be able to customise their outpost: “There’s a lot of opportunity here for people to build something within their outpost. It’s kind of like building your house in Skyrim, there’s that level of detail that you’re going to have there to make it your own place. It’s going to be really neat.” But before seeing this new trailer, I didn’t really have a good idea of what that meant.
After we see all the action of the supply runs, the trailer gives us a better idea of what an outpost could look like. Initially, I thought it would be a humble abode settled in a small cave in which you can store trinkets and traders, but by the looks of things, it’s actually going to have much more potential.
Instead of single-room caves, the outpost resembles derelict tunnels that seem to be quite big. There’s space for dining room tables, a games room, and obviously all your little trinkets. By helping the Blue Ridge Caravan Company complete deliveries, you’ll upgrade this space and also unlock new traders and people to help out around the outpost and with supply missions.
But it’s not all about you—it’s also important to make space for your brahmin. You can gather resources and carve out a nice stable so you can keep several brahmin healthy and happy between escort missions. Honestly, after seeing just how much stuff these poor animals need to carry, I think we can all afford to be a bit nicer to them during their downtime.
