Fallout 4 tips

[mandru]

I will admit that it was a search engine hit linking to D_B's FC2 maps that first brought me to OWG.  Thanks again D_B.  :)  :-X

** You slipped in under me D_B as I was preparing to post this, taking the words pretty much right out of my mouth.  ;) **

FO4 presents some serious complications to a dedicated mapper considering almost every player decision opens and closes not only future options for missions and side missions but those same decisions can affect the potential level of weapons and power armor that are placed as treasure caches for unpicking certain locked doors and safes.

I've seen a video where there's a power armor suit that in the player handbook is listed as the most powerful suit in the game.  It is possible to go straight to that location and win through a challenge to take the armor but if you are at a low level you won't get the the most powerful version of that armor.  That suit is composed of ultra rare components and while bits and pieces can be acquired to build towards the higher level suits of that type it is almost impossible to completely round out those full sets.  It's best to wait until you are fully buffed up to to get the full level 3 version of that suit rater than jump on it too early.

Choices open and close paths.  It would take many maps to even get a rough idea of how to navigate game play.

[Dweller_Benthos]

hmmmm.... yummy Mandru words fresh from the source, I wondered where those came from, they were especially good.

As for the IGN map.... well, it's wrong. I was looking to check what magazines and bobble heads I might have missed, and they have the icon for a Grognak comic in Sanctuary that isn't there, the description for it says it's in the fleet shipping lockup, so don't take that map as 100% accurate. But I do have to head back into the vault and get that red menace holotape. At least I think I missed that. I want all the holotape games. They should really have a working holotape player that you can add to your buildings. Unless they do? I think the one they have is the busted version, but I could be wrong.

[PZ]

Too bad about the map, which is only as good as the people contributing to the points of interest. However, I was looking for the Chinese nuclear submarine, which I did manage to find using the map, so it is perhaps a starting place for some locations.

[mandru]

The map's not all bad.  I know that I was able to use it to locate where the very effective (especially after upgrading it to a six times multiplied laser blast) weapon called the Junkie's Laser Rifle.  It appeared to be pretty easy to get in a video.

In the video I was able to grab a quick map glimpse reference that the safest approach was on an East-West running rail line.  Starting from the bottom of the whole map there is a single rail line winding its way to the North which quickly encounters the only spur line that branches off to the East.  Almost to the end of that East-West running spur there is a marker for the rifle.

Use sneak to approach the makeshift building where the rifle's waiting and if spotted by the monsters guarding that area break into a run and get up that first flight of stairs after the shack's initial ramp.  The monsters that you are avoiding there can't climb stairs. Once safe you can take your leisure searching for loot as well as getting up to the top floor grabbing the gun on the table and a fair amount of ammo for a laser in the basket under the table.

Once you want to get away the monsters in the area have crowded up around the lower level of the shack.  You can kill them but it's easier to save your ammo, step off the top floor and hit the ground sprinting to the rail line to the South.  By the time you've reached the rail line you will have left the monsters far behind and after bit (as you are running West along the tracks) the option to fast travel will become available again.


Edit and update *** The location posted above is incorrect for finding the Junkies Laser Rifle ***

I'm not sure why the video showing how to find this weapon provided incorrect info but this will let you zero in on it provided that there isn't some random site scattering built into the game code.  :-\\

From the East edge of Somerville Settlement (in the S.W. of the map) scan East across the river with a good weapon scope to just beyond the opposite bank.  It should be easy to spot the three level shack that has the Junkies Laser Rifle.  This Minuteman style laser rifle requires no ammo you just have to crank it.  The rifle is on the roof which has been set up to be a look out post.

[PZ]

Good tip, mandru - I like new powerful weapons and where to find them - sounds like you are gearing up to get the game one of these days  :-X

[mandru]

There's a lot of concepts I like about this open world game.

I'm into steampunk and the varied costumes and patching together and modifying weapons and armor make it easy to re-imagine the game as something that could be called Post Nuclear Age Apunkalyptic.  The Mad Max series is apunkalyptic but everything runs on petrol, gas, or diesel.  Lets face it exo-suits and lasers powered by atomic batteries are just too cool.  >:D

For now I'm enjoying watching other players' vids on Youtube but the urge to jump in and tear things up is very strong.

Steam is still a huge hurdle and from what I understand the only way to have gotten the Blu-Ray game disc for the speedier first time set up download was through a pre-order.  I've not been able to find a Blu-Ray FO4 in any of several web searches.  There's also the matter of a system upgrade that I've been putting off but needs to be done even if I never play the game.

Getting one of the consoles and playing through my big screen TV is even more distasteful and still is chained to Steam.  :D

[mandru]

In afterthought I realized I'd neglected to mention the Long Barrel upgrade needed to turn Junkie's Laser Rifle into a far reaching sniper.  :-[   

Without the long barrel to focus and concentrate the energy beams what you've got is a 6X multiplied shotgun which is pretty good at close range.

[PZ]

I just received the Deliverer suppressed pistol from Deacon last night and briefly checked what I could mod in the weapons workbench. I really like how many things you can change with weapons as long as you have the raw materials.  The results of your crafting is quite evident, not like in some other games in which the mods don't seem to do much.

[PZ]

How to easily get the best armor in the game

http://www.geek.com/games/how-to-easily-get-the-best-armor-in-fallout-4-1641239/

[mandru]

I came across an interesting list of observation of game mechanics and useful tactics for FO4.  Some of these seem to be fine finesse issues for serious power players but still worth consideration for beginners too.

http://imgur.com/gallery/5shpg



Also I would seriously suggest looking up how to access and utilize Ballistic Weave.  This material has a real advantage in that it allows you to upgrade the Def stats of your base layers of clothing which will then be stacked on to the Def values of your preferred armor load out.  Good for you.  Good for your companions.  It's even good for the key inhabitants of your settlements to aid in their fending off raiders.

From what I've been able to make out regarding ballistic weave there are a number of (fetch) missions issued by P.A.M. the experimental Synth located in the Railway's secret tunnels.  On completion of P.A.M.'s tasks ballistic weave becomes a new available purchase option in (the Railway member) Tinker Tom's items list.  Once you buy that item it then becomes available to you on your w@&k benches.

I have heard that there is a glitch which sometimes occurs where Tinker Tom fails to recognize that you have completed P.A.M's missions but don't completely lose heart!  I've seen a video where instead of using Tinker Tom to make that key buy there is another (military style) Robot/Synth (? not sure which) that has a shop in Good Neighbor who will also sell the ballistic weave after completing those necessary missions.

Ballistic weave is made from ballistic fiber to be found in scavenged dirty uniforms, black uniforms and a few other sources.  Once you've created a surplus of ballistic weave in your craftable w@&k bench stock examining many articles of clothing (while in w@&k bench mode) the additional option of fortifying the clothing with the ballistic weave becomes available and the upgraded items when combined into full outfits of all upgraded pieces stack all of those buffed items into your total accumulative Def stats.

When accomplished it gives a huge amount of base line Def buff and that's before you really ramp things up with your favorite armor and additionally a power suit on top of that!

Whew!  >:D

[KingRat]

There are ways to get the ballistic weave w/o going to the railroad ...if you get my drift ;)

[mandru]

There is that of course KingRat.  I do love PC games that have console access codes.  :-D

When I get a new game I want to play completely through it at least once before using any shortcuts.  Then I feel free to kick over into rampage mode.  >:D

I tried to access my old Steam account from several years ago when Half-Life² Episode One was new and hot but found no love in trying to log in.  I could have created a customer assistance tracking ticket as the auto-system recognized that there had been an account under the name of mandru but because my internet provider has changed a couple times since then along with my e-mail addresses I couldn't simply access the account to update my current e-mail addy.

I threw my hands in the air remembering why I hated Steam and gave up on the whole thing yet again.  FO4 still interests me and I read everything I can get my hands on about it but Steam still looms over it all like a dark cloud promising a pending crap storm.  :(

[PZ]

Sorry to hear about your issues, mandru - on the positive side, Steam has come a long way and I now actually like it. We can issue you an openworldgames.org email address for your gaming needs if you like.  That way if you lose providers or anything strange, we can always get you back into your email.  I use my OWG email addy for all my gamine needs these days.

[mandru]

I gave incorrect info for finding the Junkies Laser Rifle earlier:  http://www.openworldgames.org/owg/forums/index.php?topic=3790.msg78161#msg78161

Sorry for the misinformation.  I've updated that post (from almost six months ago) so that someone reading from the start of the thread won't dash off on a wild Rad-Goose chase.  ;)

The easiest way to locate this rifle is to start at the East edge of Somerville Settlement in the S.W. of the map.  Scan East across the river (which is easy to cross at this point) with a good weapon scope to just beyond the opposite bank.  Or in daylight it should also be easy to spot with the naked eye.  There's a three level shack due East that has the Junkies Laser Rifle.  This Minuteman style laser rifle requires no ammo you just have to crank it.

The rifle is on the roof which has been set up to be a look out post.  It is also worth noting that while the Junkies Laser Rifle is a one time grab this location respawns this style Minuteman hand crank laser rifles that range in value and power from single crank going all the way up to six-crank variations.  While somewhat slower on re-fire rate they are a worthwhile occasional free pick-up to equip your settlers with something more powerful than their standard low power pipe-pistols.

I had commented that the Mirelurk Kings can't chase you up to the roof of the shack but at times I've seen that there have been Feral Ghouls who can spawn at that location and are able to follow you.  So as in any aspect of this game keeping an eye out for them is worthwhile.

[PZ]

Nice!  :-X

[mandru]

Settlement build availability limits are increased by scavenging everything you can, breaking all of it down into components and dumping it all into each of the various settlement Workshops as you are developing them.  It seems obvious now but I'm just barely figuring out that major detail.  :D

***(This is why I like printed Instructions with a How To Play Guide included in the hard copy of the games I buy)***

I found out that this was behind the problem I was encountering with the different settlements each having a limited build allowance when starting them.  I didn't realize that it's not a fixed amount.  The fact that I'm somewhere around level 170 on my character doesn't make for this being a proud confession.  :-[


The settlement at Jamaica Plains (which I had to limit to 11 settlers max) has always been a sore point for me.  It's postage stamp sized and mostly concrete with extremely limited dirt available for farming.  It's strangled for usable resources and I thought I was doing all I could trying to make it a survivable habitat.  It doesn't help that it's regularly attacked by various bands of fairly high level raiders and at times even Gunners have tried to run a blitz on them.

To help my Jamaica Plains settlers have better odds of making it through their meager (constantly unhappy and literally scraping in the dirt) existence I've equipped each of them with the best weapons and armor (sometimes at least armor-wise better than my own) that I can lay hands on.  I loaded the roof of the main building with three big generators and crowded in 15 laser turrets for defense but finding out that machine noise adds to the settlers unhappiness I had to spend the rest of my build allotment stripping out all of the beds out of that building and setting up and powering ( at ambient line level for lights) a separate barracks to move them into.  The new barracks build (at the very least) had the advantage of allowing me to wall off one full side of potential attackers' approach.

The level III Clinic and Food stands besides a few Diamond City tuned radios are the limit of luxury that I was able to afford them.

I pretty much live in my best power armor rig and had long ago enabled the Over Weight Run and Fast Travel Perks.  It was purely coincidental that I'd popped into Jamaica Plains knowing that I was carrying 2500 pounds of excess scavenged items to sort out the reoccurring problem where all of the settlers have forgotten that there really are plenty of beds available in the settlement which is easily fixed by just making a visit.

I made a quick stop at the workshop dumping in all non-essentials to bring my carry weight back down to reasonable and then switched over to build mode to double check that the missing bed problem was solved and that was when I noticed that the normally maxed out Build Level Meter in the upper right corner of the screen had changed to only half full.  :o

I have a few other settlements that have reached near ceiling build levels that I've been wanting to give additions to.  So now I'm generally grabbing up every bit of encountered junk that's not nailed down.  That means if there's been a re-spawn of the guards on top and in front of Gunner's Plaza (or any of several other heavily guarded item rich locations) then there's also been a re-spawn of all those goodies for the taking on the inside too.  >:D