‘Fallout 4’ Settlement Building: What Character Perks To Select And Getting Started


Settlement building is the new feature added to Fallout 4 that is all the rage with PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC players. Some of the buildings created thus far have been nothing short of mind-blowing, such as the one above from Redditor Oryx2046. This is the first in a series of guides to help you get up to speed to create your amazing constructions in Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic Boston. First on the docket is what kind of character build you should aim for and prepping an area to build.

Set the Right Settlement Management Perks for Your S.P.E.C.I.A.L Character

You can set your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes however you like, but your main focus for Settlement building should be to get Charisma to 6 for the Local Leader perk and Intelligence to 5 for the Scrapper perk. The rest of your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points are up to how you want to create your character, but you may want to invest in some points into Strength so you can carry plenty.

The rank one Scrapper perk is what you want to aim for first since it only requires a level one character. This allows you to salvage uncommon items like screws, aluminum, and copper when scrapping armor and weapons. These are all necessary items to help you construct your post-apocalyptic dream home. The second rank is not available until level 23, but is even more valuable as items made up of favorite components are highlighted.

Rank one of Local Leader is available for level one characters as well, but can wait for a moment until you get your first and second settlements up and running. This will allow you to establish supply lines between settlements and share all the items and parts stored in Workshops for each location. The second rank of Local Leader is available when your character hits level 14 allows you to build stores for your settlement.

Fallout 4 Perk Chart (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Picking the right perks can make Settlement building less of a hassle. [Image via Fallout 4]
Other perks to keep an eye out on are Fortune Finder to find more bottle caps to help with purchasing items for settlements Cap Collector to help better be able to buy low and sell high.

Armor and weapon modding perks such as Gun Nut (Intelligence Rank 3), Science! (Intelligence Rank 6), and Armorer (Strength Rank 3) will also help with Settlement defenses plus the ability to build certain items.

Another reason to shoot for a high Charisma character build is that Settlement population is dependent on it. The total number of residents in a settlement is determined by your character’s charisma plus 10. This includes any Charisma boosts you get from armor and clothing.

Scavenge and Store Everything

Every item in Fallout 4 has some sort of value or use, either by itself or because of the components that make it up. You may ask what you are going to do with a typewriter until you realize it gives out Steel, Gears, and Springs; all necessary components for constructing useful objects like Defense Turrets.

There are a seemingly countless number of small junk items in the game world and they all have a use when it comes to building settlements, modding weapons and armor, along with brewing up food or chems. Your character can’t carry everything though even with a maxed out Strength attribute. Use the Workstation in the Settlements to transfer all of your junk items into the bottomless storage of workstations. There’s even a handy “Store all Junk” option when you go into transfer menu.

Fallout 4 Workbench (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
The workbench is your best friend when it comes to Settlement building. [Image via Fallout 4]
Other options for carrying include transferring items to a companion or using chems like Buffout to boost Strength temporarily.

Once stored in the workstation, that item is always available when building or modding in a settlement. The game will automatically deconstruct items and leave the unused bits in storage.

Scrap (Almost) Everything in each Settlement

If you arrive in Sanctuary Hills with the first group you meet, you’ll go through a series of tutorial quests meant to introduce you to the workstations in the settlement. Whether you do or don’t, the first thing you’ll want to do is go to the Workshop bench and go into the building mode. You’ll now be able to select items to move, store, and even scrap. Note: You’ll be able to enter the building mode at any time after the first accessing Workshop mode by pressing the ‘V’ button on PC or menu Xbox One and the touchpad on PS4.

Fallout 4 Scrap House (PS, Xbox One, PC)
Scrapping as much as you can gives valuable basic materials. [Image via Fallout 4]
The scrapping part is what we are interested in at the moment for two reasons. First, it is the fastest way to increase your inventory of necessary materials like steel and wood. Second, the Size meter in the top right-hand corner of the Workshop mode tells you when you’ve reached the limit on the number of items in a Settlement.

Walk around the settlement and scrap everything you can highlight from the broken down houses, to the trees and stumps, to cars, tires, mailboxes, and street lamps. All of these will give you the necessary materials needed to start building in addition to cleaning up the neighborhood and reducing the Size meter.

You’ll want to do this exercise in each Settlement you gain access to.

Tip: Items that can be stored in your Workshop will be highlighted in green. These are items you may want to keep around versus scrapping. Items that can only be scrapped are highlighted in yellow, so scrap away.

Other Guides

[Image via Redditor Oryx2046. Note: Each of these guides will feature a build from a member of the Fallout 4 community.]

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