Fallout 76 may have improved with the Wastelanders update, but it still continues to use old tricks. First there was the problem of new NPCs stealing weapons from dead players, and now robots obsessed with communism are interfering with their work.

Last week, a new collectron was introduced, along with many communism-themed goodies that can be purchased in the in-game store. Like all hard-working robots, this collectron is meant to go out and collect things for its owner, such as food, water, weapons, and grenades. However, it is far more interested in stuffing the Collectron station with communist propaganda.

Some players on the subreddit are less than pleased with the fact that the mechanical servants would rather shower them with leaflets than provide fancy weapons. But, frankly, you get what you pay for. You can't buy a robot whose only distinguishing feature is its fondness for Marx and expect to be offended when it is executed.

Other players have sided with the robot, pointing out that people took issue when Bethesda previously added game-enhancing items to the cash store." It is interesting that people are actually disappointed that the items exclusive to the atom store do not give them a significant advantage in the game." One player wrote." Even though there is usually a massive backlash against in-game powers being added to the Atom Shop."

At the launch of Fallout 76, Bethesda told players that the Atomic Shop would only sell cosmetic items, but quickly backtracked and introduced premium repair kits. This decision drew criticism, but Bethesda argued that it did not give players a competitive advantage and was simply a utility item. For this reason, more utility items were subsequently added to the store, including a $7 refrigerator, but were almost always accompanied by player complaints.

I tend to agree that utility items like collectrons should not give away a lot of valuable weapons; Fallout 76 is not a competitive game, but it is a shared experience, and dividing people into haves and have-nots creates envy and frustration It's a shared experience. That said, I can understand why someone who buys a collectron expecting to get new gear might be disappointed to find a pile of communist flyers instead.

While this appears to be working as intended, the new collectron is not without its bugs. It turns out that the turrets are not on the side of communism, but treat the poor robots like the enemy. One player complained, "I bought a communist collectron, but the turrets shoot all the collectrons." This is a bug and will be addressed in the next patch.

Cheers, Kotaku.