Fallout 76 - Introducing the Perk System

A good deal of new information about Bethesda's upcoming multiplayer take on Fallout, Fallout 76, was revealed at this year's QuakeCon, ahead of the game's November 14, 2018 release. To start things off, here's an official trailer that offers a stylized preview of the game's perk and mutation systems:

And then, we can check out a couple of articles that summarize all the things revealed at the convention. First, there's Eurogamer with a brief overview of the game's PvP mechanics, a look at the randomized perk system, VATS, and more. An excerpt:

Initially you earn perk packs every two character levels, but as you progress further you earn perk packs every five levels. There are hundreds of cards apparently, and the point of the perk packs is to broaden your pool enabling you to experiment more, as you can swap perks at any time as well as share them with your group, so you can tailor your build for different situations - and you're encouraged to.

VATS will be in Fallout 76 and works in real-time. You won't be able to target individual body parts initially but you will via a perk. VATS will be based on your Perception ability so it won't feel powerful until you invest in it.

Fallout 76 will have the kind of deep character creation system you've seen in other single-player Fallout games so you can tinker with the way you look for absolutely ages. You will also be able to completely change how you look at any time while playing the game - gender and all.

Fallout 76 has mutations which can significantly - and hilariously - change your character, possibly temporarily (there was a lot of information being thrown out very quickly so excuse my confusion). The example project leader Jeff Gardiner gave was getting Bird Bone when he had a lot of rads and so was susceptible to mutations. Bird Bone suddenly made him over-encumbered but also gave him the ability to jump very high.

And then, there's PC Gamer with a more detailed look at Fallout 76's PvP. Check it out:

We got some interesting new details from the Fallout 76 panel at Quakecon today, as Todd Howard explained more about how the PvP system will work. "We want this element of danger, and it sounds weird to say, without griefing," Howard said.

Initially, damage scales down against another player who hasn't picked a fight with you. "When you shoot somebody you do a little bit of damage," Howard explained. "You don't do full damage. It's like slapping somebody in a bar. You want to fight?"

"So you do little bits of damage," he continued. "If you engage then you're doing full damage. And there's a cap reward based on the player's level. So if they player is really high level you're gonna get more caps than if they're low level. After one of them dies you can seek revenge which doubles the incentive."