Back in October 2018, Bethsoft’s Pete Hines verbally pounded on the desk stating that Fallout 76’s in-game store wouldn’t feature pay-to-win items. That insistence might be changing slightly in a future update with the advent of purchasable Repair Kits.
The new item comes in two varieties: Basic, which repairs a single item completely without using materials to do so, and Improved, which does the same thing except it restores an item to 150%, granting it more durability than usual. The Improved Repair Kit can be earned for free as a reward for completing in-game content such as taking down a Scorchbeast Queen, while the Basic Repair Kit is a cash-shop item.
According to the post that announces these items, Repair Kits are something that was asked for by the Fallout 76 community and the team saw an opportunity to “try out something new with (them), both in-game and in the Atomic Shop.” These items are due to arrive to the game in the coming weeks, along with further updates that will open up the first dungeon and a functional camera. The post also confirms that player vending features will arrive in Patch 9.
The Reddit playerbase is pretty cranky over the move, creating multiple posts like this one and even causing the mods to step in with a statement. While there’s argument over whether the armor repair kits are truly pay-to-win, there’s agreement that they’re more than mere cosmetics, and they certainly shift the terms of what’s considered acceptable in Fallout’s cash shop.
