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Fallout 76: Skyline Valley Release Date, Map Locations, and Ghoul Gameplay Explained

Skyline Valley launched in Fallout 76 on June 12, 2024, adding Shenandoah, Vault 63, the Lost, new quests, and Storm Goliaths—but not playable ghouls.
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Fallout 76: Skyline Valley launched on June 12, 2024, for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. It expanded Appalachia south into Shenandoah, added Vault 63, the Lost enemy faction, new quests, the Dangerous Pastimes Public Event, Storm Goliath bosses, and new C.A.M.P. locations. It did not add playable ghouls. Player ghoul gameplay arrived later with Ghoul Within on March 18, 2025.

What is the Skyline Valley expansion?

Skyline Valley is Fallout 76’s first major expansion of the Appalachian world map. Its new southern region is based on the woodlands of Shenandoah National Park and extends across the Savage Divide into the Shenandoah region.

The expansion launched alongside Season 17, Pioneer Scouts – Skyline Valley. The launch update was version 1.7.12.10. Bethesda listed download sizes of 27.6 GB on Steam, 40.3 GB on the Microsoft Store, 40.2 GB on Xbox, and 40.03 GB on PlayStation.

Official details are available in Bethesda’s launch announcement, availability announcement, and release notes.

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Skyline Valley release date and platforms

Detail Information
Release date June 12, 2024
Platforms PC, Xbox, and PlayStation
Launch update Version 1.7.12.10
Map area Southern Appalachia and Shenandoah

New Skyline Valley map locations

The expansion’s main questline uses these named locations:

  • Vault 63
  • Skyline Drive (Entrance)
  • Dark Hollow Manor
  • Research Site Saxony
  • Research Site Bavaria
  • Research Site Rhineland
  • Hawksbill Weather Station
  • Vault 63 Meteorology Sector

These are playable quest locations, not merely names from promotional material. Bethesda’s quest documentation covers An Unlikely Invitation, Into Lands Unknown, Gathering Clouds, and The Eye of the Storm.

How to start the Skyline Valley quests

After the Vault-Tec broadcast appears in the Pip-Boy, listen to it to begin An Unlikely Invitation. The opening quest starts in Appalachia, north of Sutton, and leads toward Vault 63.

The main quest sequence is:

  1. An Unlikely Invitation
  2. Into Lands Unknown
  3. The Calm Before
  4. Oldest Trick in the Book
  5. Double-Crossed Wires
  6. Gathering Clouds
  7. The Eye of the Storm

The Eye of the Storm is the final quest in the Skyline Valley chain. Bethesda previously fixed an issue that could leave players stuck while speaking with Alyssa if they had talked to her before reaching level 25; that fix arrived in the September 3, 2024 update.

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The Lost, Dangerous Pastimes, and Storm Goliaths

The Lost

The Lost are Skyline Valley’s new enemy ghoul type. They are electrically supercharged ghouls driven mad by conditions surrounding Vault 63. They are not playable characters and are separate from the later player-ghoul system.

Dangerous Pastimes

Dangerous Pastimes is the region’s Public Event. Players help storm chasers photograph the electrical storm while defending them from the Lost and other electrically charged creatures.

Storm Goliaths

The region boss encounter features the Storm Goliaths, a trio of enormous robotic brains connected to the Skyline Valley storm. The encounter can involve launching a nuclear strike on the region.

Did Skyline Valley add playable ghouls?

No. Skyline Valley added ghoul enemies called the Lost, but it did not allow players to become ghouls. Playable ghouls arrived with Fallout 76: Ghoul Within on March 18, 2025.

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How to become a playable ghoul

A character must be level 50 or higher and must not already be a ghoul.

  1. Open the Pip-Boy.
  2. Listen to the Distress Signal.
  3. Follow the Leap of Faith questline.
  4. Complete the questline to unlock ghoulification.

Bethesda says the quest automatically appears in the log for eligible characters after they log in. See the official guides for becoming a ghoul and Leap of Faith.

Some players have reported being unable to interact with Asher during the quest. Bethesda’s April 7, 2025 hotfix also addressed problems with the Catalyst questline, characters remaining human after completing A Fresh Pair of Genes, and the Rad Specialist perk unequipping other perks. If transformation still fails, Bethesda directs affected players to contact Support.

How ghoul gameplay works

Hunger and thirst

Player ghouls do not use the normal Hunger and Thirst meters. Those systems are replaced by the Feral meter.

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Feral meter effects

The Feral meter drains over time and is refilled by consuming Chems.

Feral level Effects
Above 80% +3 Strength, +3 Endurance, and +30 maximum HP
Above 60% +15 maximum HP
Above 40% -1 Endurance and -5 maximum HP
Above 20% -3 Endurance, -15 maximum HP, and -10 maximum AP
0% +150% melee damage, but -5 Endurance, -99 Charisma, -30 maximum HP, -20 maximum AP, and -300% hip-fire and V.A.T.S. accuracy

Allowing the meter to reach zero can benefit melee damage, but it severely damages ranged accuracy, Charisma, action points, and survivability.

Radiation, Glow, and healing

Radiation does not cause mutations in a player ghoul. Instead, it contributes to Glow, shown as green striping over the health bar. Glow increases maximum health and heals damage.

Following the June 2, 2026 Infestations update, ghouls:

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  • Convert 35% of post-resistance radiation-exposure damage into health, up from 15%.
  • Convert 35% of post-resistance radiation damage into Glow while at full health.
  • Have -50 Radiation Resistance by default.
  • Receive increased environmental Glow from Rad Specialist: +10%, +20%, or +30% across its ranks.

Guides quoting the old 15% radiation-to-health value are outdated. Bethesda’s Infestations release notes contain the current figures.

Ghoul-exclusive Perk Cards

Ghouls can use 30 exclusive Perk Cards: 28 regular cards and two Legendary Perks. They can be obtained through Perk Card Packs or selected during level-up. Perks tied to Hunger, Thirst, and Chem Resistant are locked because those mechanics do not apply to ghouls.

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Faction restrictions and disguises

Ghoulification changes some NPC interactions. Certain factions, including the Brotherhood of Steel, may refuse to interact with a ghoul or become hostile, potentially blocking quest content.

Jaye provides disguises that allow a ghoul to access otherwise restricted content and can remove the disguise when needed.

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How to become human again

Open the Character menu and select Revert to Humanity. Reverting is not a repeatable version of Leap of Faith: the quest cannot be completed again.

After completing the original quest, a character can purchase Ghoul Re-transformation from the Character menu for 1,000 Atoms. The re-transformation option is unavailable to characters in Custom Worlds. Bethesda’s current support instructions are in How do I stop being a Ghoul?.

Bottom line

Skyline Valley is a 2024 map and story expansion centered on Shenandoah, Vault 63, the Lost, the electrical storm, and Storm Goliaths. If you are looking for playable ghoul mechanics, you need the later Ghoul Within update, not Skyline Valley.

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