Vault 76

Vaults & Shelters · Source: Fallout Wiki, IGN, GameRant, Reddit Fallout Lore Community

Vault 76, located in the Forest region of Appalachia, West Virginia, was constructed between February 2065 and October 2069. It was designated as one of seventeen 'control vaults' by Vault-Tec, intended to function as advertised without the hidden social experiments common to most other vaults. Its primary purpose was to house a select group of 500 (though some sources suggest 88) of America's best and brightest citizens, including Vault-Tec students, with the explicit mission to emerge and begin the process of recolonizing and rebuilding the United States twenty-five years after the Great War.

The vault was initially scheduled to open in 2097, two decades after the Great War. However, its actual opening, known as 'Reclamation Day,' occurred on October 23, 2102, marking exactly 25 years since the nuclear devastation. Upon exiting, the Vault Dwellers were equipped with Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform (C.A.M.P.) devices to aid in establishing new settlements, though they were only lightly provisioned and unarmed. The Overseer of Vault 76 was also given a secret, critical directive by Vault-Tec: to locate and secure three operational nuclear missile silos scattered across Appalachia, ensuring that only Vault-Tec retained control over these strategic assets.

The inhabitants of Vault 76 were expected to face a world transformed by nuclear war, radiation, and new threats like the Scorched Plague. Their journey into Appalachia marked the earliest chronological setting for a Fallout game, preceding other titles by nearly 60 years. The lore surrounding Vault 76 emphasizes themes of rebuilding, exploration, and confronting the immediate aftermath of the Great War, setting the stage for the events of Fallout 76.

Tags: Appalachia, Reclamation Day, Control Vault, Vault-Tec Experiment, Post-War, West Virginia, Rebuilding