Bethesda’s apocalyptic worlds are known for throwing interesting roadblocks in players’ way. In the Fallout series, for example, they’ve taken it up a notch with a hacking feature that lets players dig into systems and unlock terminals filled with info.
But when it comes to Fallout 76’s terminals, there’s a catch: not everyone knows how the hacking or decoding mechanics work or what those funky symbols on the terminal screens mean. That’s where this guide comes in. Here are the basics of terminal hacking in Fallout 76 for beginner Appalachia survivors.
Fallout 76 Terminal Hacks, Explained
In Fallout 76, ‘terminal hacking’ is a lockpicking mechanic for obtaining blueprints, notes, and Power Armor plans. Terminals are categorized into three levels of lock complexity: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. The difficulty of the hack increases as the terminal level goes up, with Level 1 being the easiest and Level 3 being the most challenging.
To hack a terminal, players will need to pick the correct code word from a list of random terms. Each hacking session gives players four attempts before locking them out for a few seconds.
The Quickest Way to Hack Any Terminal
Hacking terminals in Fallout 76 is a guessing game. But although there’s no way to guess the password with 100% accuracy on the first try, it’s possible to increase the odds. Players can narrow down the options by clicking on connected [] {} <> () symbols, which remove dud words.
Fallout 76 hackers can also use the Likeness Score to unlock terminals faster. The Likeness Score shows how many letters of a wrong password are in the correct position. For instance, if the wrong code was “TEXT” and the Likeness Score was 2, the correct answer might be “TEA” or “TAXES.”
Terminal Hacking Perk Cards in Fallout 76
Since Fallout 76 terminals have three difficulty levels, players will need to equip Hacker perk cards to access them. A Hacker perk card reduces the lock-out time after four wrong attempts and, when stacked, lets players unlock high-level terminals.
Unlike most perk cards in Fallout 76, the Hacker card cannot be upgraded. So, players will need to acquire Expert Hacker and Master Hacker cards separately.
Players don’t need to equip Hacker cards all the time. They can swap these perks with other cards when there’s a terminal around, and remove them when hacking is done.
Best Locations for Easy Terminal Hacks (Code Cruncher Trophy/Achievement)
The ideal locations for low-level terminal hacks are Camp McClintock, Landview Lighthouse, Mama Dolce’s, and the Wade Airport. In these POIs, players will find Level 0 terminals that require no Hacker card and can be easily hacked.
Players who want to unlock the Code Cruncher trophy or achievement must unlock at least 50 terminals. To do this, they can server-hop and revisit McClintock, Landview Lighthouse, Mama Dolce’s, and the Wade Airport to hack easy terminals in these locations.
Fallout 76 is available now for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.
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