Actually a cool idea: the “Enclave Armed Forces”, EAF for short, have pushed the role-playing game in Fallout 76. As players, they embody one of the factions in the game that is morally questionable. But now they’ve overdone it, monitoring their members, driving other players out of the game and bullying them – just like their role models.
What is this group? The Enclave Armed Forces essentially play the executive branch of the Enclave, one of the factions in Fallout 76 that you meet at the end of the original story campaign. Originally made up of high-ranking politicians, military officials and businessmen, the enclave sees itself as the successor regime to the United States.
The Enclave’s goal, broadly speaking, is to stay in power to rebuild the United States after the war under its own leadership. Due to the isolation during the war, however, they became more and more nationalistic and xenophobic – one of the meaner factions in the Fallout parts.
Role-playing in Fallout 76 actually serves to make the world more alive. For example, there are groups that pose as police stations, cater to newcomers as responders, or, in Fallout humor, form a religion around a gas pipe. A major controversial topic was also implemented humorously:
Fallout 76: The upper class now fights against the foot soldiers without a paid subscription
What is the problem with the EAF? Since 2020, the Enclave Armed Forces have contributed to roleplaying in the world and made it their mission to ensure law and order. That means they look for unfair players on the servers they play on and put a stop to them.
Over the years, players who have either used “illegal” weapons or built so-called “trap camps” have been particularly popular with them. Resourceful inventors build such camps as deadly traps that creatively destroy players when they enter them.
Here, however, the role-playing game went too far over the years. As stated in an open letter from the alleged ex-member Zero, a pseudo-military hierarchy with officers and clear rules is said to have formed within the EAF.
In the video you will learn everything you need to know about Fallout 76 in 2 minutes:
Everything you need to know about Fallout 76 in 2 minutes
Enclave prides itself on expelling players
This happened: Zero writes in his letter that the EAF is said to have imposed the desired control not only on other players in the role-playing game, but also on its own members.
For example, friends lists are said to have been monitored and members have been forced to delete friends who are on the group’s blacklist. It has happened, for example, that some old acquaintances have lost each other or friendships have broken up. Zero says, “It feels like I stabbed them in the back.”
In addition, the social channels of the members are said to have been monitored. Anyone who makes a “wrong” statement should expect disciplinary measures, in line with military drill.
The EAF is also said to have boasted about expelling other players. Holly Green, who embodies a journalist in Fallout 76 and sells her own role-playing newspaper there, shared a message on Twitter. There it says in an alleged communication from the EAF:
At the EAF, we believe in right behavior. […] This means that ANY player behavior deemed toxic or harmful to the rightful enjoyment of Fallout 76 will be taxed by the EAF. In short: you lose your camp and in some cases your account. The EAF expels toxic players from public worlds on a daily basis and is responsible for many account bans.
You don’t do that because it’s a rule, but because the members are leaders who set a good example. As PCGamer reports, Holly Green herself fell out of favor because she once did not report positively enough about the Enclave.
In addition, it had increasingly happened that questionable ideas had become established in the EAF. For example, “white supremacists” were part of the project and homophobic comments were made. The scene had such a problem before:
Fallout 76 players who want to eliminate gays get banned
What happened now? After other RPG groups and many players apparently complained about the Enclave Armed Forces, the group has apparently disbanded. Their official website but also social channels like Twitter and Instagram have disappeared (as of January 15).
However, there has not yet been a message from the management. It is therefore not yet entirely clear what exactly will happen to the EAF. At least for now they don’t seem to be playing any further.
Actually, Fallout 76’s role-playing scene is a lot more enjoyable than what you hear from people like the EAF or similar projects every now and then. One group has set itself the task of creating its own series:
Fallout 76: Gamers Are Making Their Own Crime Series And It’s Looking Great