Fallout Fans Don't Want Karma To Return

Summary

• Nearly ten years ago, Fallout 4 controversially removed the series' iconic karma system.
• But looking back today, fans are glad of its absence and don't want to see it return in Fallout 5.
• Instead, they want to see a more in-depth reputation system like that of New Vegas'.

In 2015, Fallout 4 launched without the iconic karma system from past games in which moral and immoral actions would shape your standing in the wasteland and determine what quests you could do and who you could interact with.

Fans weren't too happy to see such a core part of Fallout's identity ripped away, but nearly ten years later, the tables have turned.

"Do you think the next Fallout game should bring back the karma system?" one Reddit user asked, to which the majority said 'no'.

New Vegas proved that it was redundant next to faction/location reputation.

"Karma is too generic, I'd rather they implement a reputation and bounty system similar to The Elder Scrolls and New Vegas," another fan commented.

"I never liked the karma system," one fan added. "It was a good idea in theory but in practice, it was just annoying. Oh, people are and at me for 'stealing' from some dead legionnaires ---whom I had already killed? We're in the middle of the desert, who's going to notice, much less care? The fu**ing Tunnelers?!"

Fans Want New Vegas' Reputation System To Return In Fallout 5

Karma is a general system by nature since it shapes how everyone sees you individually, regardless of faction. New Vegas, while keeping karma intact, had another layer with reputation.

There are a whole bunch of factions in New Vegas from the NCR to Caesar's Legion to the Strip to the Boomers, and how you interact with each--depending on quest outcomes and your behaviour in their territory--will impact how they view you. You can be a merciless thug for one, idolised by another, a dark hero to some, vilified by everyone else.

Reputation with different factions might give a more nuanced ending.

"I did kinda like the reputation system that was in place in FNV," one fan commented. "At least that way, you knew who you had pi**ed off when they came after you."

"What I'd really like to see is the reputation system make a return," another said. "That was a real stand-out feature for New Vegas."

Whatever ends up happening, Fallout 5 is a long way off, so it'll be a while before we find out more about nitty-gritty details like karma. But perhaps bringing it back isn't the way to go after all.

Fallout

Fallout is a franchise built around a series of RPGs set in a post-nuclear world, in which great vaults have been built to shelter parts of humankind. There are six main games, various spin-offs, tabletop games, and a TV series from Amazon Studios.