New Player Help for Fallout 4. This page will teach you the basics of wasteland survival in the Commonwealth with some tips and useful wiki links. Check the Settlements Guide for help getting started building your trade empire!
New Player Help
Loot everything you see: crates, desks, chests, etc. Resources are scarce, and the more Ammo, Items, and Bottlecaps you can scrounge up the better you will be able to survive. Carrying too much and cannot fast travel? You can use aid items to boost your strength to fast travel home. Items like Buffout and Grilled Radstag will boost your carry weight for a short time, allowing you an opportunity to fast travel back to your storage location of choice.
Keep a Fusion Core on hand, their power runs out quickly when using Power Armor. When it comes to Power Armor, try to use it only when you need the heavy defensive capabilities of it to conserve your cores.
Make liberal use of the V.A.T.S. in game targeting system. Fallout 4 may have been redesigned to be a smoother real time shooter but being able to pause and line up precision shots as well as identity potentially hidden enemies is invaluable.
Keep an eye on your radiation and limb damage levels. Try and keep ample stock of RadAways and Stimpaks on hand. When you're in the middle of a big firefight, you'll be glad you came prepared with healing.
Speaking of radiation, always be prepared with a Hazmat Suit in your inventory. There are several highly irradiated areas in the Commonwealth as well as the ambient and random Radiation Storm. Having a a hazmat suit which is much lighter than Power Armor will allow you to quickly protect yourself from the dangers of radiation sickness.
Keep an eye on your addiction levels. Using too many Chems can lead to unwanted side effects and withdrawal symptoms.
Pay attention to the different bonuses earned with Equipment such as Armor. Equipping an item that confers a barter bonus before negotiating prices may make a difference in your success.
Don't ignore Settlements. While optional, developing a thriving community can pay off in spades when it comes to survival and resources. In particular, setting up some water purifiers can make sure you have a constant stock of Purified Water which is one of the best options for healing on the go.
Similarly, don't ignore Crafting. Improving your Weapons and Armor as well as creating Items such as Consumables and Ammo will help you become much more self-reliant in the Wasteland. It also gives you something to do with all of those Miscellaneous Items you pick up, as you break them down into valuable Materials for Mods. Turn that awful irradiated meat into something nutritious and more valuable!
If you are spending time with crafting (and this is recommended), Adhesive is a vital Material used in Mods. You can never have enough of it. You can flag a material from a crafting workbench by viewing a mod you can't make. That will mark the material with a magnifying glass. Anywhere in your wasteland travels where you encounter Items that can be broken down into the material you need, moving your cursor over them will mark them with the same magnifying glass. This makes it much easier right away to know what is junk and what isn't. You can also make use of Settlements to help your adhesive needs. Grow some Corn, Mutfruit, Tato and install water purifiers for Purified Water. Those 4 ingredients can be combined at a Cooking Station to create Vegetable Starch which is good for 5 units of Adhesive per starch.
If you are opting to quest with one of the Companions pay attention to their Affinity when making decisions. Unlocking their Companion Perks and romance options requires high affinity.
Fallout 4 is all about exploration. Go everywhere you can, talk to every NPC and accept every Quest that comes your way. It's your ticket to seeing all there is in this massive world.
Quicksave frequently, especially before going into battle. This is a deadly world, and unseen danger lurks everywhere. Don't lose progress from getting too comfortable.
Enemy A.I. is improved from past games. Enemies will flank, hide, ambush and take actions of survival almost as you would. Don't leave your Power Armor unattended!
Collect every weapon you come across. Every weapon you pickup, gives you ammunition. The amount of ammo is varied between zero and the capacity of the weapon. (A Pipe Rifle with a modded capacity of 48, gives 0-48 .38 ammo.) If you don't need the gun, just drop it.
