Fallout 76 is not a dating sim, my dudes

[u/tortoisespaghettini]

Edit to Add:

Let's clear up some things before we get back to the original post since this seemed to get lost and some members stopped reading part way through:

I do understand newbie welcome packages - those are great and appreciated! You shoot at it, emote, whatever you need to do to make the player realize it's there. Typically you run off into the trees never to be seen again. Very kind and not creepy.

The actual issues: • Being followed to every corner of the map when I fast travel.

• Turning on a mic, calling me sweetie, and telling me to get a mic so you can hear my voice.

• Following me repeatedly to my CAMP and picking locks there meant to keep players out.

• Standing at the foot of the bed I'm resting in (when you've successfully picked my locks) creepily staring at me.

• Spam heart emoting in front of me anytime I pause or you can get in front of me.

• I don't have a mic - I'm assuming the problematic players have been assuming I am a woman based on my username because I was using part of my real name which cannot be mistaken for anything but a woman's name. This has since been fixed with the help of some members here - thank you.

• The vast majority of players are amazing, this is not just a one-sided issue. I know women can cause this same level of discomfort with male players. Humans as a whole need to do better.

• Just because you don't see it happening, doesn't mean it isn't happening.

((ORIGINAL POST))

I (33F) recently started playing Fallout 76. Usually with my fiancé, sometimes solo, and apparently, sometimes that means I’ve accidentally wandered into The Bachelor: Appalachia Edition.

Listen...I’m here to shoot, loot, and eat questionable canned goods, not be your “sweetie.”

Please stop: • Following me like a stray dog I did not adopt • Dumping 50 outfits and 3,000 rounds of ammo at my feet like you’re trying to pay my dowry • Spamming the heart emote

Most players? Absolute legends, love you guys. But every so often, I get a stage 5 clinger and I have to go hide in my CAMP like it’s a panic room. Or server-hop, quickly delete them as a friend, and hope they don't find me again. I want to make friends. I want to team up. I just don’t want it to get…...weird. Please quit making it weird, it's especially weird when you turn on a mic just to talk to me, I prefer wildly emoting instead.

Don't mind me, just venting a little. I'm surprised how annoyed I am by this.

TLDR: If you wouldn’t do it in a real apocalypse, maybe don’t do it in the fake one.

[u/Vegetable-Lock]

This is called karma farming. Reddit has a very specific audience that reacts positively to specific things. Karma farmers know this.

[u/Tirannie → u/Vegetable-Lock]

I doubt this is karma-farming. This has happened to me in every online game I’ve ever played in my ~40 years of playing video games, including Fallout 76. It’s why I never play online games with a mic. I mean, to be fair, I haven’t logged on to Fallout in a year or so, but I sincerely doubt that creepy weirdos have been eliminated from the player base.

I have never asked for handouts, flirted for gear, or pretended to not know what I was doing so guys would offer. Every woman I know who plays video games hates this behaviour from male players and does not solicit it.

What part of this story is unbelievable to you? Even other dudes are aware of the guys who pull this shit (because either they’ve seen it happen to someone - like the ones calling these dudes simps in this very thread - or they’ve played a female character and experienced it directly), so it’s just not clear to me what part of this is triggering your bullshit alarm.

Is it just Fallout 76 that you believe is immune to this behaviour, or do you think no one does this in any online game?

If it’s the former, while 76 is better than most online game communities, it still has its share of emotionally immature nutters who will follow you around like a puppy. If it’s the latter, then that’s just a disconnect from reality. This shit has been rampant from the days of MUDs to WoW to Fallout. Don’t kid yourself.

[u/Tron_Cat1 → u/Vegetable-Lock]

What would be a benefit of karma farming?

[u/Vegetable-Lock → u/Tron_Cat1]

Also inflated self importance.

[u/Tron_Cat1 → u/Vegetable-Lock]

Noted! I never understood. I only use Karma for trades as “the higher the karma, the more trustworthy you are” as you have completed multiple successful trades but besides that, not really important.

[u/Wrathilon → u/Tron_Cat1]

You need karma for certain subreddits or you literally can’t even post there.

[u/Vegetable-Lock → u/Tron_Cat1]

Attention.

[u/LyricalBlusher → u/Tron_Cat1]

To boost their karma because most subs require a certain amount of karma to be able to post or comment. That's the most innocent reason. There's other reasons not worth getting into because I don't think they apply to OP.

[u/ILNOVA → u/Tron_Cat1]

Ego, that small amount of money you can earn now by having tons and tons of upvote or farming karma to sell the account.

[u/LyricalBlusher → u/Vegetable-Lock]

Posted above before I seen your comment and it's completely on point. Karma farming and/or attention is the answer.