Summary
The weirdestFallout 76creature might have a lot to say about unearthed series lore.Fallout 76is full of monsters, most of which represent mutated versions of real Appalachian wildlife. Others are based on local legends, likeFallout 76’s take on Mothmanor the Flatwoods Monster. They might have extra limbs, a green hue, or seemingly supernatural powers, but for the most part, it’s easy to guess where the inspiration came from.
But there are some creatures whose origins aren’t exactly clear, andFallout 76isn’t eager to explain them. They may just seem to be consequences of widespread radiation (or a developer’s overactive imagination), but even then, there had to have been some pre-War starting point for these bizarre life forms. As it turns out, there’s a perfectly good explanation forFallout 76’s weirdest creature - it just requires a look back at some of the series' oldest and most arcane lore.
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Where Do Fallout 76’s Floaters Come From?
How Floaters Connect To The Rest Of The Fallout Series
Fallout 76’s Floaters seem to come out of nowhere: they’re bulbous-headed creatures who come in a variety of colors, each one matching up with a type of elemental damage. They pop out of the ground seemingly at random, floating toward the player and striking them with incredible speed and damage. Once their HP bars are depleted, they explode, spreading gunk that deals damage over time to anyone who steps on it. They follow Super Mutants around like hunting dogs, striking their prey on command and without wavering. But in all ofFallout 76, it’s not clear what exactly they are.
For answers, players need only look back to the first twoFalloutgames.Floaters existed inFalloutandFallout 2, and worked in much the same capacity: they would follow roving Super Mutant bands and aid them in battle. In a Reddit Q&A,Eric “Ferret” Baudoin,Fallout 76’s lead quest designer, clarified that they are the same Floaters across all three games. They may have looked significantly different, and didn’t deal elemental damage, but that can be chalked up to regional variation - or maybe evolution.
Hidden files suggest Floaters were also due to appear alongside Super Mutants inFallout 3andNew Vegas, but were ultimately cut from the final games.
This comment makes it clear thatFloaters are the result of experimentation with the Forced Evolutionary Virus(FEV), the same mutagen used to create Super Mutants (albeit a different strain). PerFalloutlore, FEV is easily manipulated to effect a desired biological mutation in its host. Different variations of FEV account for the different colors and abilities of Super Mutants throughout the Wasteland. They’ve been employed by various individuals and factionsthroughout theFalloutseries timelineto raise armies, improve the human immune system, or even just to see what would happen.
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West Tek In Appalachia
But there’s one small problem. EveryFalloutgamemakes it incredibly clear where its Super Mutants came from. InFallout 76, it was an experiment by West Tek, the developers of FEV, that saw the virus intentionally allowed to contaminate the water supply in the town of Huntersville. Those who were exposed to it as a result became the first Super Mutants in the region. In the originalFallout, the first Super Mutants were created by West Tek, but their population was expanded after The Master used a different strand to raise his army. Butit’s never clear where exactly the Floaters that accompany them come from.
Given their aquatic features (tentacle-like limbs, mandible-like jaws, fish-like spines),the Appalachian Floaters could conceivably have been spawned from the contaminated Huntersville water supply. If it ran off into groundwater, or nearby bodies of freshwater, local ponds, lakes, and rivers, the wildlife there would inevitably be exposed to FEV as well.
From there, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to imagine bottom feeders rapidly evolving into the mucky, big-eyed Floaters that plague the post-apocalyptic Wasteland, shedding their gills and developing the ability to survive above the surface. The name “Floaters” would even make more sense: imagine their floating heads as mutated swim bladders, allowing them to control their buoyancy in air much as fish do in water. Sensing kin in the similarly infected Super Mutants, Floaters may have been naturally drawn to them as companions.
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But what about the West Coast Floaters? The Super Mutants there were created selectively, so there’s little chance of accidental runoff creating Floaters. Their use of the same name suggests thatThe Master may have been aware of West Tek’s experiments in Appalachia, seen how the Floaters there aided the Super Mutants, and resolved to recreate the results. It’s not hard to square a presence, or at least a knowledge, of West Tek’s Appalachian branch with known lore about The Master. Little is known about him before he fell into a vat of FEV, so anything’s possible.
But whatever the similarities between Floaters and their willingness to help Super Mutants suggest, it’s impossible to say.Fallout 76is constantly getting new content, but an upcoming expansion making the leap to Floater-focused content seems highly unlikely. For now, the true nature of Floaters will probably remain one ofFallout 76’s greatest mysteries.
Source:Eric “Ferret” Baudoin/Reddit
Fallout 76
Released in 2018, Fallout 76 is Bethesda’s first foray into a massively multiplayer online world centered around Fallout. In this release, players find themselves in Appalachia, where they must do what they can to survive and rebuild the world around them. Players are free to meet other players and embark on quests across the wasteland.
