Fallout 4 Survival Mode Details Emerge in Last Patch Data

After Bethesda confirmed with a tweet that the info was true, I’m confident in reporting this data-mined descriptions of the various aspects of Fallout 4’s overhauled Survival Mode posted by Reddit user ShaneD53. In some ways, the new Survival Mode seems to match Fallout: New Vegas’ Hardcore Mode: ammo will have weight, crippled limbs won’t heal automatically after a fight, and the player character will need food, water and sleep on a regular basis. 

In many other ways, however, the mode looks more complex and significantly harsher. The biggest departure from anything done before in the series is the lack of manual saves and quicksaves. To save the game in Survival Mode, players will need to find a bed and rest for at least an hour:

Saving
Manual and quicksaving are disabled. To save your game, you’ll need to find a bed and sleep for at least an hour.

The mode will also feature increased damage for both the player character and enemies, which means that combat will be shorter and more lethal than it is on a normal playthrough. An Adrenaline mechanic also ensures players are encouraged to rest as little as possible:

Combat
Combat is more lethal for everyone. You now deal, but also take, more damage. You can increase the damage you deal even further with “Adrenaline” (see below).

…

Adrenaline
Survival automatically grants the Adrenaline perk, which provides a bonus to your damage output. Unlike other perks, the only way to increase your rank of the Adrenaline perk is by getting kills (hostile or otherwise). The higher your Adrenaline rank, the higher the damage bonus. Sleeping for more than an hour, however, will cause your Adrenaline rank to lower. You can check your current Adrenaline rank at any time in the Perks section on the Stat tab in your Pip-Boy.

There are a lot of other changes too, such as a lack of fast travel, significantly harsher overencumbrance maluses, sicknesses, a less useful compass, and respawns for cleared enemy locations.

Overall, it’s worth noting that this information was data-mined and might not be representative of its final state at release. It does, however, point at a significantly involved mode, and one that will probably not be for everyone’s state. Personally, I’d prefer if some of these options were their own toggle. I like several aspects of the outlined mode but, for example, I find the restrictions on saving far too draconian, especially for a game that is as traditionally fragile and prone to crashes as Fallout 4. Hopefully that’s something that will be at least considered for the final release.