In a new blog post, Bethesda has detailed upcoming changes and content coming to Fallout 76 following update 8. Update 8 launches for Fallout 76 on April 9 will include the Lying Lowe questline, item renaming, vendor faction updates, and turret balance changes.

Beyond this update, Bethesda has detailed other content coming during Wild Appalachia.

One new item coming soon to Fallout 76 might raise eyebrows among players and fans; paid Repair Kits. This seemingly goes against Bethesda’s promise that the in-game currency — Atoms — that players can purchase for real money won’t be able to be used on items that give gameplay advantages.

Fallout 76 Repair Kit

According to Bethesda;

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.

Two different types of Repair Kits will be added to Fallout 76; Basic and Improved. Basic Repair Kits are one-time use items that will restore one item in a player’s inventory to 100% condition. Players who hold a Basic Repair Kit will be able to repair their gear at any time without spending crafting materials.

To use a Repair Kit, players simply inspect the damaged item, choose the new Repair Kit option and voila.

Players can also use Repair Kits at C.A.M.P. and at any Workshop in the game. Improved Repair Kits will boost the condition of an object to 150%, making it last even longer than normal. Improved Repair Kits are rare items and can be earned for in-game activities like defeating a Scorchbeast Queen.

The controversial thing about the Fallout 76 Repair Kit is that in addition to being able to earn both types in-game, players will be able to purchase Basic Repair Kits from the Atomic Shop. Bethesda’s statement on this reads;

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.

Before launch, Pete Hines said “Atoms are things that we use and hand out as you play the game. Quite honestly we throw them at you all the time.

“You get them as little rewards leaving the Vault or the first time you kill a creature or the first time you pick fruits or vegetables from somewhere. It’s a little challenge reward. Atoms are used in our shop to buy cosmetics things. So you know, new outfits or skins or things like that.”

In an interview with Metro, Hines also said;

We have microtransactions in Fallout 76. But, they’re only cosmetic

Repair Kits certainly don’t fit under the umbrella of a cosmetic and so when they’re released, players will be able to spend real-world money on an item that gives an advantage. There are additional concerns regarding the addition of paid Repair Kits too as following their implementation Bethesda could adjust the degradation rate of objects in an attempt to force players to repair things more often.

Should this happen, players could be more inclined to spend the money rather than use crafting materials. Especially if the rate at which items need to be repaired becomes burdensome. Of course, there is no evidence to suggest this will happen, but it has potential.

We’ll be closely watching Fallout 76 in the coming weeks to see what becomes of the paid Repair Kits.