The developers of Fallout 76 have taken quite a few steps to ensure Fallout fans don't have their roleplaying experience ruined by unwanted player-versus-player combat encounters. Between limiting how PvP battles can start in the first place, enacting a bounty system among players, and even offering a Pacifist Mode in Fallout 76's settings, there should be ample opportunity to avoid getting into PVP action with the Fallout 76 community in-game. Unfortunately, there are some players who have managed to find a workaround, using nukes in place of guns to start fights with players who should theoretically be opted out of PvP combat entirely.
When Fallout 76 released in 2018, it was met with a fair amount of criticism from longtime Fallout fans. Traditionally, the series has been largely composed of single-player RPGs. The shift to massively multiplayer survival and PvP combat wasn't appreciated by many. Add to that the game's copious microtransactions, a lack of gameplay staples from the Fallout series as a whole, and a host of bugs and undelivered promises, and Fallout 76's launch quickly became one of the most notorious in recent years, leading to reactions ranging from review bombs to class action lawsuits. Although the game has improved significantly over the last three years, it still isn't entirely free of problems, and both the in-game community and a multitude of exploits are often cited when players criticize Fallout 76.
One of these exploits centers around the existence of the Pacifist Mode in Fallout 76. In general, the game already takes a relatively careful approach when it comes to PvP, only allowing players to engage in combat with one another when the second party shoots back at the first. Of course, there's still room for error when it comes to this mechanic. One player may accidentally shoot at another, and if that player then returns fire it could start a battle entirely on accident. To that end, the game introduces a Pacifist Mode in Fallout 76's settings. This prevents accidental confrontations altogether by disabling the ability entirely. However, just because Pacifist players can't be shot in Fallout 76 doesn't mean they can avoid PvP damage entirely, and some have managed to find an ingenious workaround to achieve just that.
Fallout 76 Pacifist Mode: Players Aren't Immune To Radiation Poisoning
In Fallout 76, radiation poisoning counts as an environmental hazard, unlike melee or bullet damage from weapons. Pacifist Mode players in Fallout 76 can be damaged by the radioactive world of the Fallout universe just like a PvP player. Unfortunately, this also means that player-made environmental hazards can deal damage towards pacifists as well. In theory, someone could launch a nuke near a pacifist's location, leveling their camp or trapping them in an area covered with so much radiation that it's all but impossible to avoid. Even smaller Fallout 76 nuclear weapons like grenades or mines work the same. Although the blast won't hit a player with Pacifist Mode enabled in Fallout 76, the resulting fallout will, and certain items or perks can significantly increase the effect it has on player health.
This exploit seems to be just another one of Fallout 76's ongoing problems when it comes to nukes in general. Shortly after launch players were already finding ways to cheat to obtain nukes and crashing servers with triple nuke launches. Although Bethesda has significantly cracked down on community behavior since Fallout 76's launch, including banning hackers and players who use exploits, there are still some incidents that slip through the cracks. The ability to nuke pacifists is just another example of this. It's hard to determine a black-and-white answer to whether utilizing radiation poisoning to bypass Fallout 76's Pacifist Mode limitations is against the game's guidelines, but it almost certainly goes against the spirit of the feature and puts a damper on the experience of players just looking to enjoy the Fallout universe and story without fighting against other players.