Being that I’ve just this last weekend reached level 32 on my fourth play-through of "Fallout 4," I thought I might share some of the copious notes I’ve taken in the hundreds of hours I’ve logged playing my four characters since the game's release on Nov. 10. Of my four characters, I have two level 39s and two level 32s, the first of which was played on hard/very hard mode, while the other three were all played on the much-dreaded Survival mode. With this particular installment of "Fallout 4," tips focusing on the in-game workbench system (settlement.) Easily my favorite new feature, the Crafting/Workbench system can absorb copious amount of time. Using a system that slightly resembles the "Forge mode" of Bungie's "Halo" series, you can and will get lost in this aspect of the game for far too long.
Scrapping—you'll be doing a lot of this while walking around your various settlements (once established,) among the scavenged resources, wood as well as steel are going to be your bread and butter. Your top tier crafting supplies are going to be: screws, copper, adhesive, crystal, and aluminum, alongside the even rarer crafting components like circuitry, nuclear materials, and fiberoptics, all eight of which (besides crystal) can be ascertained from scrapping (dismantling) weapons at workbenches with the affiliated perk(s.) (Intelligence level 5, Scrapper 1, lvl 5 Int. and total level 22 Scrapper pt 2.) The arguable second tier of important crafting items consists of: concrete, cloth, rubber, oil, glass, ceramic, and gears, all of which can be found around the wasteland if not from scrapping around your settlements. Despite having the 5 int for the Scrapper perk, it's worth noting that the level 5 luck Idiot Savant perk is one of the single best perks in the game. What makes Idiot Savant so powerful is that it creates for the chance to receive 3x(4,5) xp for any action, with the chance being increased relative to how low one's Intelligence level is; this can also apply to quest xp which has resulted in immense xp reaping both early and late game.
When it comes to actually building your fort/town/shack(s), the following are the best tips I have when it comes to the process itself:
Basics: The maximum number of people you may have in each settlement is 10 (+1 for every level you have invested into Charisma.) You'll need enough beds, food, and water, to feed each person at a given settlement, simply plant some veggies and assign a settler to them, place some water pumps (one concrete, four steel, one gear) via the Resources menu, and construct some beds via the Furniture menu; with the cheapest bed being sleeping bags (three cloth.) Next you're going to need to build some defenses. This is where the fun really begins. If you're not really into the whole workbench system yet, just throw up some guard posts (10 wood, four steel) and assign a settler to them (select the settler, then select the guard post.) According to the game's loading screen tips, you should aim to have your defense rating equal the sum of both your food and water. Although actual assaults upon your settlements won't happen all that often, it's still worth setting up some defenses. Similarly one should be keeping up with the power section, which allows you to build beacons to attract settlers, terminals which can control lights, sirens, or traps, and allows you to construct generators that power all of the aforementioned units as well as some pretty impressive turrets in the defense section.
As for some more advanced tips for constructing your very own mega-compound:
Some of the more expansive places to practice your creativity are Spectacle Island, Abernathy Farm, Finch Farm (on the overpass), The Castle, Sanctuary, Starlight Drive-In, Warwick Homestead, and Sunshine Tidings Co-Op. Building massive fortifications complimented with garrisoned towers, defensive turrets, and artillery, at any of the above settlements, is one of my favorite pastimes.
Invest in pre-fabs, (pre-fabricated buildings/shacks etc.). These use fewer resources and ultimately will streamline the otherwise lengthy process of setting up walls, floors, and roofs.
In the "wood" and then "floors" sections, there exists what are called the Shack foundation pieces (concrete blocks that require cement and wood), that allow for the building of epic concrete fortresses and towering walls to protect one's settlements.
Power Pylons are your best friend when connecting multiple turrets, traps, or lights to a (relatively distant) generator.
A portion of the workshop system I didn't blunder upon until more recently is the third piece of the Resources section called Miscellaneous. This Misc. section contains the following awfully useful additions to your settlements:
Scavenging Station: An assignable station that improves local scavenging (unassigned settlers will naturally scavenge for materials nearby, this station allows settlers to scavenge more efficiently).
Brahmin Feed Trough: Brahim tend to flock nearby.
Bell: Ring to gather nearby settlers.
Siren: Alerts nearby settles to the presence of danger when triggered (req one elec).
Fast Travel Target: Moves the fast travel arrival point (one per location.)
Finally remember that you can "Move" settlers from full settlements to less populated ones via the workbench interface, by hitting x/square (xbox one/ps4) and selecting an alternative less-populated settlement; and don't forget to keep your defense rating beyond the cumulative total of your food and water production levels at each settlement.
