How to Build the Best Settlements in Fallout 4

One of the most detailed bits of Fallout 4 is building your settlements, but the game doesn’t give you much of a hand figuring it out. Lucky we’re here for you, eh? Here are some tips and tricks to get you on the way to building a magnificent wasteland metropolis – just, you know, one cobbled together from wood and rusty junk.

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There Are No Mistakes, Only Happy Accidents

This is probably the most important. Don’t be afraid to experiment. It’s tempting to whack in a prefab shack but your build will be less satisfying. Even if you don’t like what you’ve done you can undo it with the push of a button, so play around and make your own unique mark on the Commonwealth.

Navigating the Workshop Menu

We already pointed out that " title="">PC users can use Shift + WASD to get around the workshop menu quickly, and console users can use the D-pad in the same way. It’s a much better technique than using the selection prompts the game gives you, and won’t result in you accidentally trashing or selecting things you’ve already built.

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Become a Local Leader

Local Leader is a perk that you can find under C for Charisma on your S.P.E.C.I.A.L chart. Remember how we taught you to dump all your junk at workstations? Local Leader establishes supply lines between all your settlement workstations, meaning you can access all your building and crafting materials from any of them. The catch is that you need at least 6 points in Charisma to get it, so weigh that against how much you like hauling components back and forth.

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Pick Everything Clean

As soon as you get access to a new settlement open your workshop menu and look around. Anything you find that isn’t useful? Scrap it. You need those parts more than the environment needs decoration. New settlement sites usually have a lot of stuff, and it’s easier than collecting things in the open wasteland, so get busy. Keep an eye out for things like concrete, rubber, and cloth, which are useful but become surprisingly scarce down the line.

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Don’t Be Afraid to Leave Sanctuary

Sanctuary is the first real settlement you get access to and it’s tempting to make that your base, but don’t feel like it has to be your go to. It’s actually not a great build site: the water source is miles from the centre and the houses are annoying to work around. The Starlight Drive In is a good example of a settlement with more space to experiment – it’s right next to the Drumlin Diner, on the main road going South East out of Concord.

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Build a Solid Foundation

It’s a sad truth that post apocalyptic surfaces are pretty bumpy, and trying to build directly on top of them can be a pain. Foundations level the ground out, so you can snap walls directly to them and keep the rest of your structure lined up. Find them in your workshop menu under Structures > Wood > Floors.

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The Best Offense is a Good Defense

As your settlements attract more people they also attract more attackers, so plan ahead. If you know you’re going to be expanding a settlement build in some defenses early on when supplies are plentiful. Turrets give you a high defensive score for relatively few materials, but it’s a good idea to build walls too. If the bad guys get in they can nick your stuff, and that’s really annoying – especially if you left your Power Armour just lying around (don’t leave your Power Armour just lying around).

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Consolidate Your Efforts

Pick a main settlement where you go to generate your food and water resources for crafting, and send all your inactive companions – an HQ, if you will. Concentrate on building up one settlement at a time from there. Don’t spread yourself or your materials too thin. You’re only one Vault Dweller, for Pete’s sake, and some of the shacks in the middle of nowhere are going to have to stay that way for a while.

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The Only Way is Up

Well not the only way, but a pretty fun way. All you need to start a second floor is to snap one floor tile to the top of some stairs and go out from there - and you can put stairs on top of almost anything. Go ahead, try it. Not only can you build impressively precarious structures this way, but they’re easier to defend against attack, too.

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For Whom the Bell Tolls

It may seem weird, but a bell is a useful addition, especially in larger settlements where you have a lot going on. Ringing a bell calls all the inhabitants to it, so you can check who’s assigned to what – and who isn’t pulling their weight.