Fallout 4 - it's official! Coming Nov 10, '15

[escrow4]

"Finished" this game yesterday, now feeling a bit lost as to what game to play. Steam sale does nothing for me.

As for the ending,

Spoiler

I somehow went with the Railroad. Not sure how that happened as I really wanted to go with the Minutemen but for whatever reason I never got any quests from them apart from Preston spamming me. Maybe i missed something. Doesn't really matter though. Was great betraying the Brotherhood and blowing them to bits (the only faction that has no redeeming features imo, they are the third reich of the wasteland)

Railroad? Idealistic idiots? I went with the Brotherhood, at least they have the balls and the will to fix things.

 

[Regs]

Spoiler

I imagine I am not the only one who feels like once they become leader or high ranked in any of these factions you're still their "bitch" .

 

[Phoenix86]

Spoiler

I imagine I am not the only one who feels like once they become leader or high ranked in any of these factions you're still their "bitch" .

I've got something different for you this time general, another settlement needs help.

 

[Imp]

Spoiler

Vertibird got shot down near me in Boston. It came crashing down. Right on top of me and barely missed.

Mind blown. Totally awesome.

 

[Dahak]

was playing last night and saw Art fighting Art again way down south. last time I saw them was in cambridge area i think.

I had that happen a few times in my last game run. I had restarted once i was about 65, but had not proceeded to far into the game, mostly just exploring etc..

But one thing that I noticed on this run, is it seems like some stuff is acting better, for lack of a better expression. While some other bugs are really noticable.

For example a good thing, I had ran into 3 behemoths so far (lvl 43) as a random event, 2 close to a quest point.

But the some of them major/annoying bugs are still there.
- Lost Smiling Larry, have no clue where the hell he when
- VaultTec Guy - will not assign to his stall
- Minor Spoiler Vault 81

Spoiler

Calvin reverts to a resident, Tina cannot leave/recruit properly

- Companions dont seem to use the guns i give them, even if I give them the ammo and equip them with it

 

[WiseUp216]

I've got something different for you this time general, another settlement needs help.

Thank you! It's like I can finally think straight!

 

[GusSmed]

- VaultTec Guy - will not assign to his stall

You have to talk to him first. He looks like a regular resident, but until you talk to him a second time, he isn't.

It works like this:

- Recruit him via speech check to go to Sanctuary.
- Talk to him again in Sanctuary, and offer him a job. This brings up the "which settlement?" dialog. I chose Sanctuary again, personally.
- Now he's a regular settler and you can assign him to his Trading stall. Which isn't really all that special, even if it's technically Tier 4 if you assigned him to an Emporium.

As for companions, they make their own weapon choice. Which is always "what does the most DPS", not what's appropriate for the situation. They'll use shotguns and SMGs at very long range, for example, so I always give them something that's relatively general purpose, like a combat rifle. I avoid giving them automatic weapons and ammunition for that automatic weapon at the same time, because they tend to favor those.

If you assign them a weapon that's lower DPS than their default weapon, I believe they'll go with the hidden, default weapon. I've never had it happen. Alternately, if you only give them a few rounds, they'll run dry very quickly and revert back to the default. Unlike settlers, they do use up ammunition.

 

[Imp]

Memford Memorial Hospital MUST be nuked from orbit.

Burn that place down, please.

Spoiler

I have been there a dozen times for stupid settlement kidnapping or super mutant infestation quests, once for a Railroad quest, and probably once or twice for something else. And I stopped turning quests into Preston in Sanctuary. Some settler walked right up to me from a block away and dumped it on me. So sick of that place, especially because there's a suicider outside.

Also, looks like my habit of clearing buildings before getting quests is coming back to bite me.

Spoiler

Went to University Point or something to do a Railroad quest. I previously cleared it of Institute guys and they didn't spawn/trigger correctly when I went there a second time for the quest. They spawned frozen with the option to "Talk" to them, but there would be no response. Had to shoot one to get them all to start attacking, but that tacked 4 murders onto my rap sheet.

 

[imaheadcase]

I must be missing something, the small robot toys you construct..do you place them on something to display? I know the bobblehead and newspapers..but can't figure what to place those on. lol

Also, what is the lore or the story about behemoths? Most things in wasteland are mutants of some sorts..but those are just giants? Seems strange to have them in the game world imo. They don't even have a camp, just random.

 

[GusSmed]

I must be missing something, the small robot toys you construct..do you place them on something to display?

They're just decorative, and there isn't any specific display container.

Behemoths are Super Mutants that mutated, uh, differently. Fallout 4 really doesn't go into the origins of Super Mutants, but they were part of the plot of Fallout 1, and they're part of the background now, like using bottlecaps for currency.

FYI, Super Mutants aren't radiation induced mutations like Radroaches, they're the result of exposure to the Forced Evolutionary Virus, which was a pre-war biological experiment. The Super Mutants will sometimes talk about "no green stuff here" if you eavesdrop. They're referring to FEV.

 

[werepossum]

um...did you read that article? not sure any of it is real beyond the 1st paragraph

That would be nice, but this isn't the dumbest person of which I have read.

Thank you! It's like I can finally think straight!

lol

 

[Markbnj]

Also, looks like my habit of clearing buildings before getting quests is coming back to bite me.

Yeah I ran into that a couple of times. For example cleared the Fed Ration Stockpile early on, didn't show as "cleared." I received a quest that took me back there, and this time it shows as "cleared."

 

[facetman]

Anybody getting the "Run time error " upon exiting the game? Happening to me about 50% of exists. I have to run a higher than 1080p resolution settling in the options in order to see the compass properly.

Ya, I am finally not getting anymore Minuteman Missions after not turning in several after I completed them. When I get a settlement under attack message I always save before I go help, just in case after I help, then a settler come up and dumps a kidnap mission on me.

 

[GusSmed]

I've not really had a problem with clearing sites ahead of missions. Each time it's happened, either the site reset (i.e. ArcJet) or I had the dialog option to say I'd already cleared it.

There are at least a couple of sites which have areas that aren't accessible until you run a mission. For example, the deeper areas of ArcJet Systems.

I do get an error almost every time I exit the game. A couple of Pure Virtual Function calls, which is normally something you get when an object is destroyed and then later referenced. It's not terribly important since it's a post-shutdown error.

 

[Imp]

FYI, Super Mutants aren't radiation induced mutations like Radroaches, they're the result of exposure to the Forced Evolutionary Virus, which was a pre-war biological experiment. The Super Mutants will sometimes talk about "no green stuff here" if you eavesdrop. They're referring to FEV.

Played Fallout 1, finally, for the first time over the summer. Same with Fallout 2. Backstory is so much more interesting now -- too bad I played New Vegas and Fallout 3 without knowing much of anything.

Anybody getting the "Run time error " upon exiting the game? Happening to me about 50% of exists. I have to run a higher than 1080p resolution settling in the options in order to see the compass properly.

I've only had 2 or 3 CTDs so far. I've had a dozen or two stalls during loading, and one crash while quitting that triggered Windows Compatibility Assistant.

I've not really had a problem with clearing sites ahead of missions. Each time it's happened, either the site reset (i.e. ArcJet) or I had the dialog option to say I'd already cleared it.

Hit and miss for me.

Spoiler

Yesterday was University Point, day before was some other Hospital. I had to reload and work around bugs.

Other times, it works properly and I can turn a quest in the moment after it's given.

 

[werepossum]

Memford Memorial Hospital MUST be nuked from orbit.

Burn that place down, please.

Spoiler

I have been there a dozen times for stupid settlement kidnapping or super mutant infestation quests, once for a Railroad quest, and probably once or twice for something else. And I stopped turning quests into Preston in Sanctuary. Some settler walked right up to me from a block away and dumped it on me. So sick of that place, especially because there's a suicider outside.

Also, looks like my habit of clearing buildings before getting quests is coming back to bite me.

Spoiler

Went to University Point or something to do a Railroad quest. I previously cleared it of Institute guys and they didn't spawn/trigger correctly when I went there a second time for the quest. They spawned frozen with the option to "Talk" to them, but there would be no response. Had to shoot one to get them all to start attacking, but that tacked 4 murders onto my rap sheet.

lol I cleared Memford once just from running up on it as some trader went by, plus the usual couple settlement quests. Then I got the

Spoiler

Silver Shroud

quest that sent me there, so I cleared it out again. THEN I realized that wasn't where I was sent at all. DOH!

A slow sneaky approach culminating in a shot into the mini nuke is very satisfying.

 

[Dahak]

Behemoths are Super Mutants that mutated, uh, differently. *snip*

I dont recall exactly if this is true or not, and cannot remember where the lore was from but, I believe the Behemoths are created when a child is exposed to FEV where as the rest are from adults, and as children still grow, keep doing so after the exposure.

You have to talk to him first. He looks like a regular resident, but until you talk to him a second time, he isn't.

Hmmm must have missed talking to him the 2nd time.... Was sure I did. Oh well he is there at the stall now.
Now if they would only fix it so that the other ones you find don't die/disappear on you when you send them to a settlement.

If you assign them a weapon that's lower DPS than their default weapon, I believe they'll go with the hidden, default weapon. *snip*

For the companion weapons, I have only tested on Cait but seems to work now.
Although on my other run, I had a better 10mm for Piper but she always defaulted to her hidden default. May need to try again for her. Not that it matters too much, as I usually try to snipe off most of the enemies first

Also, anyone else find the Gauss Rifle annoying/weak? even fully modded out it does not seem to be that good.
Same with the Cryolator... does not seem to be that good other than slowing down the enemy

 

[GusSmed]

Also, anyone else find the Gauss Rifle annoying/weak? even fully modded out it does not seem to be that good.
Same with the Cryolator... does not seem to be that good other than slowing down the enemy

Seems likely that you didn't take the corresponding perks. If you have points in Gunslinger but none in Rifleman, rifle-type weapons are going to look really weak. The Cryolater uses the Heavy Weapons perk, and yes, it's pretty weak if you don't take points there.

I've yet to take points in Heavy Weapons personally, since it requires STR 5 and it's rare that I can actually use one of the weapons it covers (Cryolater, Junk Jet, Minigun, Missile Launcher, Fat Man). The Junk Jet is probably the most general purpose of those, since it doesn't have limited ammunition like the others, and isn't likely to blow up in your face indoors like the Missile Launcher or Fat Man.

As for the Gauss Rifle, in playthrough 1 I had mine up to 400+ damage per shot because I had Rifleman maxed. Add the silencer, and it was doing 2000+ damage on a sneak attack with Mr. Sandman and Ninja. It basically one-shotted everything. So no, I didn't find it weak.

 

[Jumpem]

As for the Gauss Rifle, in playthrough 1 I had mine up to 400+ damage per shot because I had Rifleman maxed. Add the silencer, and it was doing 2000+ damage on a sneak attack with Mr. Sandman and Ninja. It basically one-shotted everything. So no, I didn't find it weak.

Ignoring perks and weapon mods, does weapon damage change based on level? For example, will a combat rifle found at level twenty have the same damage as one found at level 40?

 

[zinfamous]

Ignoring perks and weapon mods, does weapon damage change based on level? For example, will a combat rifle found at level twenty have the same damage as one found at level 40?

no to the bolded; yes to the following example. all damage is based on weapon type, with specific mods, and your own perks.

weapons themselves do not have"levels" like in some other games.

You can technically find and equip a guasse rifle or some other endgame weapon early on and use it at level 5, if you manage to get into one of the places where the item has a fixed location. The inherent damage would be the same if you found it at level 40--though you likely wouldn't notice that because you've probably perked into various damage traits.

 

[Markbnj]

lol I cleared Memford once just from running up on it as some trader went by, plus the usual couple settlement quests. Then I got the Silver Shroud quest that sent me there, so I cleared it out again. THEN I realized that wasn't where I was sent at all. DOH!

Interesting. I went by there a few levels ago, took out the mutants in front but passed it by for something else nearby (maybe Malden Center). Got sent back last night for a Sanctuary Hills kidnapping quest, so now it shows as cleared. Wasn't hard at all at level 27, but here's the thing: I still have the Silver Shroud quest in my list, so I am wondering now whether the location can reset from "cleared." I'll try it tonight and see what happens. Probably there will be a dialog option to say I've already been there and cleared it out.

 

[Madia]

Are there any advantages to having thriving settlements? I beat the game using a high charisma build and did some settlement building but I didn't find any real advantages to having settlements. On my next playthrough I'm thinking of going with a charisma of 1 and ignoring building up settlements other than sanctuary. Was I missing something or do settlements not really add much to the game other than the enjoyment of building them?

 

[GusSmed]

Was I missing something or do settlements not really add much to the game other than the enjoyment of building them?

Vegetable starch, experience points, merchants where you want them, loot from combats, materials scavenged by settlers, gun emplacements, and purified water, in that order.

All weapon and armor mods except the basic ones require adhesive. If you have a thriving settlement network, vegetable starch will provide all the adhesive you ever need. Otherwise, it's a significant bottleneck. You can't really scavenge enough, and buying more from vendors only somewhat closes the gap.

This is particularly true if you enjoy using explosives. Making grenades and mines require adhesive, and since they're consumables, you can't really afford to make them if you don't have that limitless supply of vegetable starch.

Every time you build a settlement part you gain experience. That's a fairly substantial benefit - I know I've gained several full levels just as a side effect of building up housing and defenses for settlements. Doing this primarily uses up wood and steel, which are plentiful. Defenses use additional materials, and there's some small overlap with other crafting needs, but it's not a big deal.

It's extremely convenient to have a set of merchants set up near your primary stash of loot. You can pop a Grape Mentat, load up, and sell much of it all at once. No need to keep your load down to fast travel limits. You also get to buy ammunition whenever you feel yourself particularly short of a type. There are ways of getting some of this effect without settlements, but settlements make it easier.

Those "defend this settlement" missions can seem annoying, but it means you're fighting a large group of enemies with LOTS of fire support from turrets and settlers. This yields experience and loot. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.

In the same vein, there are settlements where you can set up a wall of turrets and then lead hostiles into them, because there's an enemy-held location very close. Not so important in the late game, but it can make clearing tough spots much easier. Finch Farm and County Crossing come to mind.

Eventually you do get those artillery strikes, though I never liked those much. They're free and do a ridiculous amount of damage, like carrying around a delayed-launch Fat Man.

Less visible is the materials gathered by unemployed settlers, and settlers assigned to scavenging stations. This income is relatively small - 1 or 2 units per settler per day, of any possible crafting material - but it adds up when your population gets large across all your settlements.

Finally, those Industrial Water Purifiers produce a ridiculous amount of Purified Water. Which you can sell, for example.

 

[Phoenix86]

You can technically find and equip a guasse rifle or some other endgame weapon early on and use it at level 5, if you manage to get into one of the places where the item has a fixed location. The inherent damage would be the same if you found it at level 40--though you likely wouldn't notice that because you've probably perked into various damage traits.

This is the "soft" leveling of weapons, you typically won't find "high" level weapons until you are appropriate level. Gunners won't have assault weapons until you are 30ish for example. Mods also come into play, a fully modded combat rifle (requires gun nut 3) will beat an assault rifle until you can fully mod it, which isn't possible until lvl 39 (gun nut 4).

 

[Phoenix86]

All weapon and armor mods except the basic ones require adhesive. If you have a thriving settlement network, vegetable starch will provide all the adhesive you ever need. Otherwise, it's a significant bottleneck. You can't really scavenge enough, and buying more from vendors only somewhat closes the gap.

Also oil from cutting fluid at the chemistry station. While you don't produce the mats in the settlement the bones you pick up are only used here. It also takes acid, water and steel, but you'll likely have plenty of those. Bones will likely be your limiting resource (takes 8) so pick them up if you're short on oil.