Gaming
Games
How to make the perfect settlement in Fallout 76
These seven tips will guide you on the way to building the best Fallout 76 camp possible.
Making a settlement in Fallout 76 may seem frivolous at first, but put enough time into it and you’ll soon see the benefits. Having a functional base in the game is a great way of ensuring you have a steady supply of food and water, and can grant you easy access to workbenches and additional storage space.
But, before you go running off to build, there are a few things you should probably consider first. Not only will you need to think about defences to keep enemies and other players from snooping around, but you will also have to figure out how best to use the limited space made available to you.
We’ve put together a list of tips to help speed up this process, covering things like where to build and what resources to stockpile, as well as other helpful advice.
1. Collecting scrap
You can tag the material you're after at a workbench
© Bethesda Softworks
First things first: in order to build anything in Fallout 76, you’ll need scrap – and lots of it. You can collect scrap by picking up an item in the world and breaking it down into its raw materials at a workbench, buying it in bulk from vendors like the one in Flatwoods, or farming it from workstations.
Some of the materials you’ll need the most are wood, steel and aluminium. Don’t worry if you find yourself running low – you can simply tag the material at a workbench or in the building menu and whenever you’re looting objects in the world it will display a magnifying glass next to those that have the materials you need.
2. Location, location
Finding the right spot to build your camp can be crucial
© Bethesda Softworks
There are lots of things to consider when choosing where to build your base. You’ll want an area that is relatively open to give you enough room to place down foundations. It should also be pretty remote to avoid clashing with other bases upon entering into a new server.
Try to find somewhere off the beaten path that is also close to a water source. This way you’ll be able to place down a water purifier into the nearby stream, river or lake to produce a steady supply of clean water, as opposed to having to draw water from a pump before boiling it.
3. Build upwards, not outwards
Having a smaller footprint makes it easier to move your settlement
© Bethesda Softworks
At some point, you might decide you want to relocate your base, so make sure you’re ready to move.
An important part of this is making sure that you have a blueprint made up of what you’ve already built so that you can place everything back down quickly and efficiently in the new area. But you should also put some thought into the shape and style of your base, too, to give you more options as to where you can place it down. Building your camp upwards – as opposed to outwards – will make it easier to relocate your base because it is less likely to clash with objects in the environment, such as rocks or trees.
4. Make a farm
Having a farm will help to stave off hunger
© Bethedsa Softworks
Once you’ve got your base sorted, you will want to start looking into constructing a farm to keep you well stocked with ingredients to stave off hunger. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy; just go to any farm in the world, harvest some crops, and replant them in the area surrounding your base using the C.A.M.P menu. As a side note, you can also do the same with your own crops once they start to grow, which will help to increase the size of your farm.
5. Building defences
The best defense is a good offense
© Bethesda Softworks
Every now and then, your base will come under attack from wandering enemies and online players. So it is important for you to build traps and turrets to keep them at bay.
Try to assign at least one turret to each side of your base and place it down in such a way to give it the widest possible survey of the area that is at risk. For added protection, also place down some additional traps outside of your base, like punji sticks or bear traps, and keep them well hidden by foliage to catch players off guard. This will weaken your enemies slightly, allowing the turrets to finish them off more easily.
You’ll also want to keep checking on the state of your turrets and repair them whenever necessary. This will keep your base defences strong and ensure you aren’t at risk of being attacked.
6. Rigging up electricity
Another skill you should familiarise yourself with early on is how to set up a simple power grid. This will keep your base illuminated and also power devices that can harvest raw materials.
To generate power, all you need to do is construct a small generator and connect it to the power outlet on the wall of your house or the device you’re powering with a wire. You’ll want to keep the circuit as basic as possible, so try to keep the number of connectors and outlets to an absolute minimum and connect wires so that they aren’t crossing with any others. This will help you to easily disassemble everything when you need to make a change or add another machine to the grid.
7. Keep within the budget
Focus on building a base that is practical, rather than buying BBQs...
© Bethesda Softworks
Much like Fallout 4, there is a limit to how much you can build in your C.A.M.P area, which means you should probably focus your resources on building a base that is practical over something flashy and filled with expensive furniture that you’ll never actually use. To make sure you are getting the best out of your budget, try to build the most essential aspects of your base first, including the walls, roofs, generators, and defences.
