Fallout 76’s C.A.M.P. Revamp isn’t just for builders. It also drops a sweeping set of combat balancing changes that touch aim feel, V.A.T.S., explosions, damage numbers, perks, and even enemy health. Here’s the newsy, readable rundown—no stat-dump required.
Manual aim feels better across the board
Bethesda tightened gunplay outside of V.A.T.S.: smaller cones of fire, lower recoil, and more shots before recoil peaks. Crouching and ADS reduce spread further, and camera shake is toned down. Spin-up weapons (Minigun, Gatling Laser) settle faster after firing. Medium/long scopes now offer extra zoom levels—tap the V.A.T.S. button to cycle. Expect pistols to stay accurate on the move, while single-shot rifles dominate at long range if you plant your feet.
V.A.T.S. is more consistent—and more transparent
The V.A.T.S. hit-chance formula was rewritten. It now starts at a theoretical 95% and subtracts penalties for distance, visibility, body-part difficulty, weapon range, cone of fire, recoil, and fire rate. Perception matters more, especially past half a weapon’s range, where chances fall steadily to zero. You can’t target parts “through” enemies anymore, and large targets (like the Scorchbeast Queen) calculate distance from their outer edges, improving odds when you’re close.
Explosions: smarter damage, less bowling-pin physics
Many player explosions now lose less damage at the edge of the blast. Impact force was reduced so grenades don’t yeet corpses into orbit, and several explosive types got size tweaks. Net effect: explosions feel punchier but less chaotic.
Big weapon buffs and clearer roles
A host of weapons received base damage increases—from classic small arms to heavy hitters and melee. Highlights include Assault Rifle, Baseball Bat, Gauss Shotgun (fully charged), and plenty of knives, swords, and hammers now applying Bleed as a proper damage-over-time effect. Weapon ranges were rebalanced to separate classes (shotguns reach further than before), and AP costs, sneak multipliers, and critical multipliers were tuned to make stealth and crit builds more rewarding.
Mod passes and LMG ammo flexibility
Over 1,000 weapon mods were standardized for clearer trade-offs. Stub barrels aid close-quarters movement; longer barrels win at range but kick harder; suppressors now add a 50% sneak-attack bonus. Prime receivers deliver +35% damage and +20% range—at higher AP and recoil costs. Light Machine Guns can now craft 5.56, .308, or .45 receivers to tailor damage, fire rate, and ammo economy.
Thrown items, Gauss ammo, and perks
Thrown weapons scale with player level up to 50 and many weigh less. 2mm EC ammo is more available, easing Gauss builds; partially charged Gauss shots scale their explosion damage. Several accuracy perks saw cone-of-fire reductions toned down, aligning with the new aim model.
Enemies adjusted to match higher player damage
Because median player damage climbed, Bethesda raised health/resistances for select enemy families (from Super Mutants to late-game bosses) and refined some behaviors and immunities, especially for robots and Deathclaws.
For the full breakdown of every weapon tweak, perk adjustment, and explosion rework, be sure to check out the Fallout 76: C.A.M.P. Revamp Combat Release Notes page. And if you missed it, we’ve also covered the builder-focused side of the patch—read our Fallout 76: C.A.M.P. Revamp Update Guide to see how relaxed build rules, Workshop 2.0, and item locking are changing settlement life in Appalachia.
