Fallout 4 Settlement Guide - Possible spoilers, A guide to finding, creating, and building settlements in Fallout 4 Options

[hazmick]

Thought I'd pop this thread here for those who want to talk about settlement building (i.e me). I'll talk about each individual settlement that can be discovered, cleared, and inhabited.

If you plan on building settlements then you need to be mindful of the necessary perks and SPECIAL stats. A character with 6 Charisma and 6 Science will have access to all the perks they need.

Most settlements need to be cleared of hostiles before you can build there. Once cleared, you can access the crafting workbench and get started.

Each settlement has 8 main things that you need to keep an eye on:

People - the number of people currently living there. Building a recruitment beacon will bring in new settlers. You can also invite some NPC's to move in, and move settlers between settlements. The maximum number of residents is 10 + [Your character's charisma].

Food - Planting crops and assigning a settler to tend them will give you food. Each settler needs 1 food to be happy, and each settler can produce 6 food while farming. Most plants give you 0.5 food each, but Mutfruit plants give you 1 food per plant so it's the most space-efficient.

Water - Water pumps and purifiers will give you water, and don't need settlers to run them. Each settler needs 1 water.

Power - Power isn't necessary for your settlers, but higher level turrets and water purifiers need power, as do lights. Build generators to provide power.

Defense - Building turrets and manned guard posts will increase defense. The defense rating acts as a deterrent for potential attackers. The higher your defense, the less likely you are to be attacked. Your defense rating should be [Food rating] + [Water rating] x2. If it's lower than this then settlers will be kidnapped and you'll need to keep rescuing them. For example; 15 people will need 15 food, 15 water, and 60 defense.

Beds - Each settler needs a bed, and will randomly claim an empty one when they first move in. This means that any beds in your home can be claimed by settlers.

Happiness - The overall mood of your settlement. In order to be happy a settler needs food, water, defense, and a job. Building trading stalls will also increase happiness, as will the presence of your character.

Size - This is the maximum amount of stuff in your settlement. Larger settlements allow you to build more stuff, and it's basically there so you don't go crazy and break the game by building too much.

This post has been edited by hazmick: Dec 6 2015, 06:11 PM

[hazmick]

I'll jot down some stuff about each settlement. I won't be talking about the player house you can buy in Diamond City, since it's not a proper settlement (even though you can build certain items in there). There's no particular order to this list, but I'll start with the settlements closest to Vault 111. Here are the first 7:

First up - Sanctuary.
Sanctuary is the first settlement you'll encounter, right at the start of the game. It's one of the biggest settlements out there and will probably become your main base of operations. There's enough scrap material lying around to create a wall that protects the entire settlement area, but rarer items like gears and oil will have to be scavenged elsewhere. You don't need to clear it, but there are some Bloatflies and Radroaches lurking in some houses, so be careful when you're walking around in 'Build mode'.

Red Rocket Truck Stop
Very close to Sanctuary, you'll meet Dogmeat here. It's currently infested with Mole Rats, and you'll need to clear them out (They'll start popping up when you wander around).
It's a decent sized area, and features a large gas station building (The building has 4 entrances, so be careful when you're building any walls). The large, flat roof is perfect for turrets, and the surrounding area isn't too difficult to build on. Enemies generally spawn from the East and West.

Abernathy Farm
Located just to the South of Sanctuary, under an old electricity pylon. This is already a functioning settlement, run by the Abernathy family. You will receive a quest from them to retrieve a locket from some raiders - completing this will allow you to build here. The settlement is a good size, and mostly flat land, but already has housing and crops. It's also the tallest settlement, allowing you to build to a height of about 11 stories. I'd recommend patching any holes in the Abernathy's fence and popping some turrets on their roof ASAP.

Sunshine Tidings Co-op
Heading south from Abernathy's will bring you here. You'll need to clear it of Feral Ghouls before you can build here. It's a good sized settlement, and features 8 existing buildings of various size. There's a large barn in the centre which is a good point to build out from.

Starlight Drive In
Following the road from Red Rocket, through Concord, will bring you here. The area needs to be cleared of Mole Rats. It's a large settlement, with flat, open land which is super easy to build on. There's a small diner building and a huge cinema screen already in place. The diner has a nice, flat roof which is good for turret placement. Enemies usually spawn from the East and Northwest. Once you get trade routes up and running, this settlement will probably become something of a central point for travelers.

Tenpines Bluff
Heading North from the Drive In will see you to this small settlement. It already has a small shack and a farm, run by two settlers. They'll have you do a quest before you can build there. The land is quite uneven and difficult to build on. Enemies will usually come from the North and East.

Outpost Zimonja
Head north from Tenpines to reach this settlement, built under a radio tower. It's occupied by Raiders (One of whom wears power armor) which will need to be cleared out. It's a small settlement, but there is some existing shelter and fences. I'd recommend just patching up the fences and putting some turrets down. A raider and some turrets spawn in a camp just to the South.