“Late in 2060, the U.S. military deployed their unmanned Cargobots all over Appalachia. They proved ideal for providing reconnaissance and delivering supplies in even the most hostile conditions.”— Fallout 76 loading screen
A cargobot is an automated, airborne cargo-delivery drone that transports government aid drops. They were developed by the United States Armed Forces in 2060 for reconnaissance and delivering supplies in hostile conditions.[1] The National Catastrophe Relief Auxiliary set up an automated system using cargobots that would allow NCRA personnel to reliably distribute emergency relief supplies in the event of a disaster.[2] In the late 2060s, the military deployed cargobots all over Appalachia,[3] and by 2104 this system continues to function across the whole region.
Cargobots can be summoned by loading a US government supply requisition holotape into a relay tower's emergency broadcast terminal. After they have completed their distribution, cargobots head slightly northwest of Point Pleasant, exiting Appalachia over the Ohio River, where they hover in circuits.
Characteristics
Cargobots are large, hovering, multi-limbed robots whose main chassis are slightly larger in size than a sentry bot. They utilize four adjustable booster engines to navigate the air and maintain altitude. Cargobots have three smaller "grabber" arms[4] mounted to their undercarriage that can be used to grasp payloads using five points of articulation. Each arm is covered with several protective plates and ends with a set of forklift-like prongs. The topmost part of the "head" contains the flight control system[4] and has two eyes, each with 15-bladed iris diaphragms similar to that of a Mister Handy.
Gameplay attributes
Cargobots are completely unarmed. As a cargobot's primary function is to deliver government aid drops, it will fly to a suitable drop location near the relay tower where it was summoned, release the government aid drop, and then depart the area.
Cargobots also play a vital role in the late-game activation of the nuclear missile silos hidden around Appalachia. Cargobots, when tracked during the Hide and Seek and Destroy repeatable quest, will spawn into the world transporting an airdrop that contains loot and a nuclear keycard. However, the cargobots can be shot down by anyone, including those who do not have the quest active. This nuclear keycard is necessary to attempt a launch at any of the three nuclear missile silos. To access this cargo, the player character must destroy the robot. When attacked, the bot will become "hostile" but unable to attack the player character.
However, the Strategic Air Command cargobots carrying the nuclear keycards will always be defended by up to three Strategic Air Command vertibots that will shoot anyone that fires on the cargobot or themselves until the target is dead, or the vertibots are destroyed. The cargobot will remain in (relative) proximity to the player character and high up in the air. The cargobot however, is extremely fast, performing erratic evasive maneuvers. Players must shoot out its thrusters in order to slow it down. Crippling a single engine significantly lessens its speed. If fully crippled, the bot will hover in place though moving extremely slowly over time. Once defeated, the airdrop that the cargobot drops will have a single nuclear keycard inside. This airdrop will remain where it landed for five minutes before it self-destructs, with an audio cue being triggered when the lock on the airdrop is successfully picked.
During the event quest Collision Course at the Morgantown Airport, several waves of Scorched will have to be dealt with before a cargobot arrives to drop off an airdrop for player characters. The loot inside is random, but multiple airdrops can be sometimes found together at the location due to some having not disappeared yet, allowing additional loot for collection.
Variants
Cargobot
The standard cargobot, painted with worn dark green paint and spotted with patches of rust.
name
form id
image
Cargobot
00073DE7 EncVertibot01Template
Recon cargobot
An unused cargobot variant equipped with added antennas and radar dishes, painted a shiny coat of black. It was to appear as part of the A Real Blastevent quest.
name
form id
image
Recon cargobot
002E80E7 EncVertibotRecon
Dispersal bot
A cargobot variant emblazoned with the Arktos Pharma logo, painted in the company's turquoise and white color scheme. The wreckage of one can still be found at Arktos Pharma.
name
form id
image
Dispersal bot
0002D432 EncVertibotArktosPharma
Notes
After cargobots drop their payload anywhere on the map, they seem to travel to Point Pleasant and orbit a spot across the river, just north of North Road Bridge. At times, fifteen or more can be seen there.
Cargobots under the influence of the Flatwoods monster will fly directly to it and place their supply drop very close to it. This is the only circumstance in which a generic cargobot will lower itself to the ground before dropping its cargo.
Player C.A.M.P. defenses and allies (if placed) will attack the cargobot and its escorts on sight if they pass close by.
↑Fallout 76 loading screens: "Late in 2060, the U.S. military deployed their unmanned Cargobots all over Appalachia. They proved ideal for providing reconnaissance and delivering supplies in even the most hostile conditions."
.jpg "FO76 Collision Course (cargobot).jpg (2.55 MB)")
