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]

Graygarden
South of Starlight Drive In, this small settlement is occupied by several friendly Mr.Handy robots. One of them, Supervisor White, will give you a quest to fix the water supply before you can build here. The area doesn't have much free space since it features a large greenhouse, but there is a trader.

Oberland Station
Head South from Graygarden to find this small settlement. Two settlers live in the little shack here and will give you a quest to complete before you can build here. Tricky to defend because it's in a little dip next to the railway tracks, this settlement is still handy if you're joining other settlements together with trade routes.

Hangman's Alley
Easy to miss, this settlement is located in an alleyway to the North of Diamond City. It's really small and compact, with enemies on all sides. You'll need to clear some raiders out of here before you can build anything. I'd recommend walling off one side since there isn't much room for turrets to fire on intruders. There is a shack here already so basic shelter is taken care of.

Egret Tours Marina
You'll have to head quite a ways South of the Alley to this riverside settlement. It has a big area to build in, with some large warehouses already in place and an area of flat, open land nearby. An old woman already lives here, but you can deal with her as you see fit and then you can build here. It's a nice location, even if it is pretty far South.

Somerville Place
Head across the river and keep heading South from the Marina. This farm lies on the edge of The Glowing Sea, and is inhabited by a man and his two children. You'll have to do a quest for them before you can build here. This settlement actually has a pretty big area to build in, but you'll have to clear away loads of trees and the ground is quite uneven. There aren't many friendly places this far South, so it's nice to have this as a rest stop.

Jamaica Plain
Head East from the Marina to reach this town. The actual building area is a small house and car park near the town hall. Once the area is cleared of Feral Ghouls you can start building. This settlement is something of a central point, and you'll have 4 or 5 trade routes coming to and from here if you link everything up.

Murkwater Construction Site
Head South from Jamaica Plain, into the swamp. The actual construction site is easy to miss, but the Mirelurk Queen living here can be spotted from a mile away. Deal with her to build here. This is probably the smallest settlement, with the already small area being taken up by water and a ruined house. You can build a small shack here, but nothing else would really fit.

Warwick Homestead
Head Northeast from the Construction Site to this settlement, located in an old water treatment plant right on the water's edge. 6 people already farm here, and you'll have to do a quest before you can build anything. It's a pretty big settlement, but most of it is taken up by water treatment machinery. There is a decent sized area of flat land here though, even if the settlement itself is pretty far from anything useful.