One of the biggest problems for Fallout 76 in recent weeks has been a major item duplication exploit. This problem has allowed some players to duplicate items many hundreds or even thousands of times, causing game-breaking knock-on effects. Not only does this devalue the game’s economy; it has allowed players to vastly increase their damage output by stacking the effects of Bobbleheads. This exploit potentially allows exploiters to one-shot other players, even when they’re in Pacifist Mode.

Thankfully, the Fallout 76 item duplication exploit has seemingly been patched in the game’s latest update. However, while many of those exploiters are receiving bans, plenty of players are still roaming Appalachia with illicit items. As a result, some players have turned to vigilantism and have begun hunting down the remaining offenders.

Fallout 76 Vigilantes Are Hunting Anyone Who Used the Fallout 76 Item Duplication Exploit

Unfortunately, the Fallout 76 item duplication exploit has spawned a large number of ‘dupers’; those who were actively abusing the exploit to amass items. Many of these same players have also been using secondary accounts to pilfer items from the recently-discovered developer room. By transferring them before the accounts receive a ban, they were able to get items they shouldn’t have access to. As a result, dupers like these are ruining other players’ experiences with the game. It seems that some of those players have had enough.

As reported by Polygon, a recent and now-deleted Reddit post offered Fallout 76 players a guide for how to hunt down ‘dupers.’ Another now deleted post reportedly documented a player killing a duper and dumping their duplicated items into a river; the player even sent screen-shots to the duper as a taunt. Of course, people who are actively trying to exploit and break the game deserve very little sympathy. However, it seems that some of these would-be vigilantes have gotten far too gung-ho.

One player recently posted on Reddit about how their base was targeted by a group of apparent vigilantes and destroyed; all because the players were under the mistaken impression that they were dupers with no real evidence. While players may wish to go after others who are intentionally breaking the game, clearly acting as vigilantes is a messy solution which encourages players to go much too far. If players do see somebody with duplicated items, the best thing they can do is to take screen-shot evidence and report it to Bethesda. They shouldn’t go around demanding to see other players’ inventories or attacking without provocation.