Fallout 4 is a big, ambitious, complicated game, and — as is often the case when experiencing something of such far-reaching scale — it’s easy to get so dazzled by the bigger picture that the little things get overlooked. In Fallout 4’s case, this doesn’t just happen to players. In a few cases, it seems to have happened to the game’s designers and developers too, as there are a few seemingly easy points in the game where players get frustrated.
These unexpected obstacles and trivial stumbling blocks are common, so don’t be embarrassed. Any player whose mission to save the Commonwealth has been delayed by some kind of petty, but frustrating, obstacle is not alone.
12 Attracting More Settlers
Growing a settlement in Fallout 4 isn’t particularly complicated; however the game doesn’t hold the player’s hand through the whole process, so it can be a little unclear how it works. The first thing players should do is make the settlement appealing to newcomers.
This means it needs to have an excess of every essential, i.e., more beds, food, and water that it actually needs. It also must gave at least a few guard posts and turrets. Then the settlement just needs a Recruitment Radio Beacon and enough power to run it. Don’t expect newcomers to show up immediately, but they will come.
11 Obtaining Ballistic Weave
It’s debatable whether ballistic weave is really worth the effort, given that it doesn’t make much difference when worn under a solid suit of power armor. Yet, there are a lot of completists and perfectionists out there who want the best of everything.
To get this item, complete The Railroad’s “Boston After Dark” and “Mercer Safehouse” missions. Next, do P.A.M.’s DIA cache missions until Drummer Boy says that Tinker Tom would like a word. Talking to Tom will unlock ballistic weave. Crafting it requires ballistic fiber, which can be bought in bulk in Goodneighbor and on The Prydwen.
10 Recruiting Curie
Curie is the most sought after companion among Fallout 4 players. This might be because her combination of combat and healing skills makes her the best companion in the game — or it might be because she looks cute in synth form.
Curie resides in Vault 81 (look for the cave marked “Restricted Area” up the hillside west of Diamond City). She becomes available as a companion after completing the “Hole In The Wall” quest, given by Dr. Penske in the vault. She’s transferred to a synth body during her companion quest, “Emergent Behavior.” Curie likes kindness and non-violent resolutions of conflict, and she dislikes selfishness and drug use.
9 Hacking Terminals
A lot of players have difficulty with hacking terminals in Fallout 4, especially higher-level ones with longer words. For players who aren't used to playing Scrabble and other word games, they can be confusing at first.
First, pick any word. The “Likeness” tells the player how many letters the chosen word has in the same place as the target word. If it’s 0, the next guess should be a word with no letters in the same place. If it’s 1, the next guess should be a word with 1 letter in the same place, and so on. By taking time and thinking carefully about each guess, players can usually deduce which word the target must be before running out of guesses. But if there’s only one guess left and the player isn’t sure, it’s best to exit the terminal and start again, rather than risk getting locked out.
8 Repairing Power Armor
A suit of power armor is pretty much the most useful item in the whole game, but it’s in its nature to get pretty beat up. Thus, it’s important to know how to repair it. The first thing to do is find a power armor station, and exit the power armor as close to it as possible.
Interact with the power armor station and press the repair button. A pop-up will state what materials are required and whether the player has them. Press the repair button again, if possible. If not, go looking for the necessary materials. Note that the cost of repair varies by power armor type, but does not vary according to the amount of damage, so save repairs until the part is below 50% health.
7 Scrapping Junk
It’s obvious how to scrap weapons and armor in Fallout 4 – just go to the relevant workbench, select the item to scrap, then press the scrap button. But a lot of players want to be able to do the same with junk. After all, some (although not all) junk items are lighter and more valuable when broken down into scrap.
It is possible, although not very convenient, to scrap junk, but it can only be done in a settlement with a workshop. Drop the junk earmarked for scrapping on the ground, then switch to workshop mode. Point the crosshair at each item of junk and press the scrap button.
6 Opening The Corvega Safe
There are dozens of safes in Fallout 4, but not one of them gives players as much trouble as the one in the Corvega assembly plant. It’s not because they can’t open it, but because they can’t find it.
The key is easily found on the body of Raider leader, Jared, but the safe is well hidden. It’s directly underneath the room where Jared is encountered, behind a piece of board that says “keep out”.
5 Exiting Power Armor
When a Fallout 4 player finds their first power armor, the excitement is overwhelming. They just jump on in without giving a moment’s thought to how they’re going to get out when they need to sleep, or drink, or craft stuff.
Then the time comes that they want to get out, and not one of the buttons in their keyboard and controller seems to do the trick. Press and hold the “Activate" button, and the Sole Survivor will obediently exit the power armor without further delay.
4 Stopping Settlement Happiness Dropping For No Reason
Settlements were an interesting addition to the Fallout franchise in Fallout 4, but not exactly the best implemented. In addition to feeling a little pointless for the most part, settlements are prone to more than their fair share of bugs.
The most common reason for mysterious drops in happiness is that the presence of TVs and jukeboxes in a settlement may, for some reason, cause the game to think that there are fewer beds than there actually are. The solution is to remove all TVs and jukeboxes.
3 Cracking The Railroad Code
The Railroad is a very secretive, very underground organization. Most of its operations involve some kind of complicated code, most notably the device that unlocks the entrance to The Railroad headquarters.
Use the dial that says “THE FREEDOM TRAIL: BOSTON” in the cellar of The Old North Church to spell out “RAILROAD.” That means turning the dial so that the red arrow points to an R, then pushing the button in the middle. Then do the same for A, and so on.
2 Waiting
The reason everyone is so confused about waiting in Fallout 4 is that, unlike most other games in the Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises, players can’t simply do it at the touch of a button.
As ridiculous as it may seem, the Sole Survivor is unable to wait while standing up. Instead, the player has to find (or maybe even craft) a chair before being able to wait. Fallout 4 players are unanimous in their belief that this is not one of the game’s better ideas.
1 Figuring Out What To Do Next
This can be a problem in all sandbox games – simply being spoiled for choice and not being able to decide what to do next. The simple answer is, of course, “Do whatever you want!”, but some players don’t know what they want.
One approach is to activate every available quest and go to whichever marker is closest. Another is to attempt Trophies/Achievements in reverse order of rarity. Alternatively, players can systematically sweep back and forth across the map, investigating everything encountered.