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]

These are the last of the settlements, and these are slightly different from the others.

Covenant
West of Taffington Boathouse, this walled community is a very nice place to live. In order to build here you must either help the residents (there's a quest to pick up here, speak to Honest Dan) or kill them. There are 5 nice houses, and the community has a strong wall, complete with turrets (you don't have to fight the turrets if you want to kill the residents). The building area doesn't extend much further than the walls, and there isn't any room for new structures, but it's already fully functioning which will save you a lot of work.

Boston Airport
West of Nordhagen Beach. If you join the Brotherhood of Steel and advance through the Main Quest you'll get this settlement automatically. Otherwise you have to clear the entire airport of Feral Ghouls (there are a lot). The actual area to build in is just outside of the main airport area, it's a seating area next to some buses. There are some issues with this settlement - you can't grow crops or build recruitment beacons or trading stalls. Unless you're doing the Main Quest with the Brotherhood of Steel, there's no point checking this place out.

Bunker Hill
Southwest of County Crossing, Bunker Hill is a rest stop for merchants. You can only build here after you've advanced quite a ways through the Main Quest. I'm not sure how big the building area is, but Bunker Hill is already packed with buildings so there's not much room for expansion.

The Castle
Northeast of Jamaica Plain. The Castle is the old Minutemen HQ, and is actually Fort Independence. You can clear it of Mirelurks, Mirelurk eggs, and a Mirelurk Queen, and move in at any time, but the Minutemen will move in when you get a further through their questline. Most of the fort's walls are intact, and there is a network of power lines and lights running through the entire fort, just waiting for you to connect a generator. You can build in the medium sized courtyard, which is perfect for crops.

Spectacle Island
A large island Southeast of The Castle (it's easy to see on your map). You'll have to swim to get there. This settlement is huge, even bigger than Sanctuary, with very few existing structures. In order to build here you need to restore the power. To do this: Head to the South side of the island and into the boat there. Flip the switch on the generator and follow the power lines Northwards to the small metal shack and radio tower. Flip the switch in there. You'll be swarmed by Mirelurks of all kinds (Hunters, Kings, a Queen) as soon as you set foot on the island. Once cleared, this settlement offers the most empty space, and is the second tallest (limit of 10 floors). A Mirelurk King will continue to spawn at the ruined house, so make sure you have plenty of turrets set up. Setting up trade routes requires no special building, as the traders won't actually come to the island (They go to Warwick Homestead, but the island still gets the benefit). This settlement is the furthest from Vault 111 and requires the most work, but it's worth it.