Bethesda released a series of Q&A tabs on bethesda.net regarding Fallout 76 sometime in late 2018. The Q&A tabs explain a variety of things in a simplistic way, one of which focuses on Atoms (premium currency) and how they can only be used to purchase cosmetic items. However, as of April 4th, 2019, fans of the post-apocalyptic FPS online game have banded together to stress how Bethesda broke a promise regarding Atoms and the Atomic Shop with the now infamous Repair Kit.

Before getting into fans lambasting Bethesda across the company’s official website, and its Twitter account, it’s best to look at why fans are upset in the first place.

Over on bethesda.net, specifically the FAQ page, the company explicitly states Atoms are used to buy “cosmetic customization items” for your character. In other words, no gameplay affecting items should be in the Atomic Shop.

As seen above, the old image explaining the Atom system has been superseded by the following information:

“Repair Kits are new utility items that will help you spend more time looting and shooting, and less time toiling away at a workbench fixing your gear. We’ve received lots of requests for Repair Kits, and we’re excited to add them in the weeks following Patch 8.”

The post on the “new utility items” continues:

“These will come in two forms: Basic Repair Kits and Improved Repair Kits. Repair Kits cannot be dropped, sold to vendors, or traded with other players.”

In other words, once a player acquires a Repair Kit that person can then use it to fix things with a caveat of not being able to drop it, sell it to vendors, or trade it with other players:

“Basic Repair Kits are single-use consumables that immediately restore one of the items in your inventory to 100% condition. So long as you have a Repair Kit in your inventory, you can use it to fix up a piece of gear anytime, anywhere, and without spending any of your own crafting materials.”

Now here comes the kicker:

“Basic Repair Kits will be unlockable in the Atomic Shop using Atoms you’ve purchased or those you’ve earned for free by completing in-game challenges.”

The Basic Repair Kit’s sibling, the Improved Repair Kit, can be found out and about the Wasteland, but you can only get it from Queen Scorch Beast and other rare events:

“Improved Repair Kits are rare items that we plan to award to you for free as you take on various types of in-game content. As an example, you will receive them as loot when you take down the Scorchbeast Queen.”

Obviously fans of the game were not at all pleased with Bethesda walking back their initial statements about only supplying cosmetic items in the cash shop. But what really angered fans is Bethesda’s tone-deaf response that comes off as sounding like a late April Fool’s joke:

“We read tons of feedback and suggestions from the Fallout 76 community, and Repair Kits were a popular request that we wanted to get into players’ hands. We also felt we could try out something new with these, both in-game and in the Atomic Shop. As we look to the future, we’re exploring ways we can bring other community-driven ideas to the game as well, such as refrigerators for C.A.M.P.s, ammo and food converters, and even the ability to send scrap to your stash without having to head home. Repair Kits are our first attempt at a utility item like this, and we plan to make adjustments based on your feedback, so we hope you’ll share your thoughts with us when they go live later this month.”

As one would expect after reading that late April Fool’s-like post, folks took to their social media accounts to relay the below responses:

https://twitter.com/TheRealD1g1Tal/status/1113837926876577793

This post says the new repair kits are going into the store so they ain't sticking to that promise

— Sim Lewis (@140dot15) April 4, 2019

what about that promise hmmm oh you know the one that said the atom shop would be cosmetic only see this is why we can’t fucking trust you. you’ll lie to us at a moments notice.

— Carbonite Dreamer (@CarboniteDream1) April 4, 2019

https://twitter.com/AObenshain98/status/1113836514801266688

What happened to Pete Hines saying: “Atoms are used in our shop to buy cosmetics things. So you know, new outfits or skins or things like that.” Repair Kits sound awesome, but they’re not cosmetic items. They give a gameplay advantage. And I would rather have them be craftable.

— Dracony (@Dracony225) April 4, 2019

Whether you think the whole Repair Kit thing is pay-to-win or not, there is no denying that Bethesda broke a promise made that is clearly on the bethesda.net FAQ page and repeatedly re-iterated by Pete Hines that Fallout 76 Atomic Store would only sell cosmetic items ONLY.

Anyway, Fallout 76 is out now across PC via the Bethesda launcher (will hit Steam later this year), PS4, and Xbox One.