Once again, bottle caps are the de facto currency in Fallout 76. It's an odd custom, but one that the nuclear wasteland just can't bring itself to separate from. Bottle caps are here to stay, and you're going to want a lot of them if you want to survive in West Virginia.
What are bottle caps in Fallout 76?
In the early days of the Fallout universe, it was believed that bottle caps were a valuable form of currency. Used to preserve water in bottles and hard to produce, these became coveted items of the wasteland. It makes sense that Fallout 76 still strongly relies on bottle caps as a currency, as the game takes place much earlier than any Fallout game to date.
Bottle caps are used for all sorts of things in the Fallout 76 universe. They're most commonly used for trading, but there are also machines in the world that dispense items for these metal chips. They can be used to buy food, water, weapons, materials, and more from traders too.
You'll also need to pay with bottle caps to fast travel, which can quickly become an key expense for those short on time. It'll be important, then, to gather lots of them.
How to get more bottle caps in Fallout 76
Thankfully, there are a multitude of ways to earn bottle caps in Fallout 76. Take these tips to maximize your income and start amassing your fortune.
Complete lots of quests
As in most Fallout games, the most common (and, often times, the easiest) way to earn bottle caps is by doing quests, which is something you were likely going to do, anyway. Most quests will earn you a decent amount of bottle caps alongside a bit of XP.
As such, try and do every single quest you come across. We know some aren't particularly fond of side quests, but passing them up is like flushing $100 down the toilet. And you'd never flush $100 down the toilet. Right?
Trade valuables and unneeded goods to vendors
You'll come across tons of items on your travels throughout the wastelands. Some will be used as intended, and some will seem quite useless. But instead of leaving unwanted goods in the dirt, take it to a vendor instead. You can sell most things in the game for bottle caps.
Every little bit counts, so take as much as you can carry without burdening yourself, stopping at vendors between your missions. The vendor closest to Vault 76 is eastward toward the Morgantown Train Station or in Flatwoods village. Remember, one man's trash is always another's treasure!
Trade with players too
Economies in previous Fallout games are purely driven by NPC interactions, but because Fallout 76 is the first online game in the series, you'll have another avenue to earn bottle caps: trading with humans. It's the same concept as trading to a vendor, only not as predictable, because players can dictate goods and prices.
Things will be a bit volatile at first and might not be the most efficient method of making bottle caps starting out. But as time moves on, keep an eye out for important resources and commodities in Fallout 76, taking opportunities to farm items to meet the demand of the populace.
Loot your enemies
Enemies in Fallout 76 may have bottle caps on their persons, and if you kill them, all those caps are yours! So unless you have a really good reason and you're capable and able, take on that extra fight or two to increase your stash.
Save and earn more with Perk Cards
Perk Cards in Fallout 76 give you gameplay bonuses. If you can find them, they offer significant advantages in almost all facets of survival. That includes increasing the number of bottle caps you can earn and save.
- Fortune Finder: This one plays an audible sound when you're in range of a Caps Stash. The audio is directional to help lead you to it.
- Travel Agent: You get a 30% discount on fast traveling. It's not a perk that helps you earn caps faster, but savings will keep you from depleting your current stash faster.
- Cap Collector: This perk gives you a chance to find more bottle caps when opening a cap stash. You can improve this perk card up to level 3 for greater chances.
- Hard Bargain: Vendors will sell you goods for cheaper and buy your goods for more caps. This perk can be increased up to level 3, as well.
You'll also get a Perk Pack every two levels up to level 10, and then once every 5 levels after that. Each Perk Pack comes with an assortment of different perk cards. And don't worry about being locked into specific ones as they can be swapped at your leisure.
Collect bounties
Fallout 76 has a bounty system. It's a way to keep players from griefing others too much. Hostile actions will place a bounty on players' heads, and killing them will net you a nice sum of bottle caps. If you're feeling confident in your combat skills then you can track these bounties down to line your pockets.
Keep grinding!
There's no current 'get rich quick' scheme in Fallout 76, so you're at the mercy of RNG, random encounters, and guaranteed bottle caps from quests. As such, the only way you're going to get bottle caps is to keep playing, so try and maximize your time and efficiency in each of your sessions.
One last thing: should some sort of glitch to earn more bottle caps arises, we urge you not to use it. It's not just that we think it's ethically sketchy, but Bethesda may decide to bust cheaters in the future as is common in online games of these sorts. An honest day's work begets an honest dollar, so do the right thing.
In the meantime, for those yet to pick up Fallout 76, the game is available now starting at $59.99.
