Bethesda's Fallout 76 continues to remain a controversial topic within the Fallout community, even more so after the company introduced Fallout 1st, a premium subscription service for the game that locks the ability to create private worlds behind a pay wall. And as if the $13 a month or $100 a year price wasn't outrageous enough for fans to complain about, the features that subscribers of the service received weren't even working properly. Now, it seems that Fallout 1st subscribers are getting targeted by non-subscribers in Fallout 76.
According to a thread on the Fallout 76 Reddit page, players who are not subscribers of the premium service are ganging up on those who are and are griefing them. Griefing, which is a form of cyber-bullying, involves players purposely harassing others by any means necessary. Whether it's purposely shooting them, getting in the way, or doing anything else to ruin the fun, griefing can be found in nearly every video game that has online multiplayer.
Unfortunately, it is very easy to find Fallout 1st subscribers. As part of their subscription, players receive an exclusive Ranger Armor Outfit, a Survival Tent, an Icons & Emotes Pack, and a special icon next to their name. Whether they choose to wear the outfit, set up the tent, or perform an emote from the Icons & Emotes Pack, the action will let others know that that player is a subscriber. Even if they choose to not do any of those things, the icon next to their name will give them away, thus attracting griefers.
The solution to the problem may seem obvious, albeit simple and temporary - log out and come back later or switch servers. However, the problem itself presents a much bigger issue in the form of class warfare. Though this doesn't necessarily mean Fallout 76 will start having anti-Fallout 1st hate groups or escalate into something extremely serious, the current state of the game does show that players are not happy with Bethesda's decision, and are using that to express their anger and frustration towards Fallout 1st subscribers.
This isn't the first controversy regarding Fallout 76, however. Back when the game released in 2018, it was full of performance issues and gameplay bugs, which Bethesda attempted to fix. Later on, micro-transactions were added into the game, and everyone voiced their frustration due to the unreasonably high prices. Now, with the free Wastelanders update getting delayed until 2020 and the current state of the game taking a turn for the worse, Fallout 76's future remains uncertain.
Source: Twitter