So I've seen different approaches at maintaining multiple settlements - splitting each settlement up in terms of duties (farming settlement, water settlement, etc) and was wondering what the best method is. I'm level 43 right now and have plentiful resources but still only have one true settlement and that is sanctuary.

Supply lines to everything, and any settlement large enough or with enough water should produce excess amounts of it to help supply the other settlements.

Corn, Tato, Mutfruit.

Walls if you plan on keeping items there.

Everything else seems pretty open to interpretation.

how do you transfer water/crops from one settlement to another?

the only real reason to have a supply line to any settlement is so you can share building resources. Nothing else is shared between settlements. as far as I've seen

Food, water, armors and weapons are not shared.

Noob question....

How do you set up supply lines between settlements?

You need charisma 6+ and the perk local leader. Then, while in the build menu, you must mouse over a setler and press Q (PC).

AHHH I did NOT know that! Thanks for the info man! I tend to over look little things like that; I just figured out how to equip a damn bandanna on Dogmeat.

I am on console but i'll figure out the button to press. Thanks again

Wrong u clearly have no idea what u are talking about FOOD and WATER is shared

This is how it works

If u got more food and water then settlers like 40 water but only 15 settlers that extra water will go to any settlements that need it that has a supply line

Then you are bugged or I am bugged. Either is possible with bethesda games.

In my game I have 4 of 14 settlements producing zero local food and water, at 80-85 happiness, surviving just fine on supply line shared food and water.

I find the supply lines kinda pointless. I can easily find the resources for 7 water pumps... and food seems to grow back in a day or less so it is easy to stock up. Just go acquire mutfruits (1 food each rather than 0.5) and plant them. The plants produce fruit so quickly (less than a day it feels like to me) that you can just pick, plant, pick, plant.

How are they pointless? It allows u go use any building materials u have at other settlements that have that supply link otherwise u got to gather more or carry it urself between them

Food and water is indeed shared by supply lines. There's just no way of seeing where that food/water goes or how much you need. But it does work, I got several settlements with 0 food production and there's no warning symbol in the pip boy nor is the resources highlighted red in the "build mode".

However the settlers dialogue sometimes bugs out and they comment that they need more food/water.

Im pretty sure you are wrong. I have settlements given me 40+ water while having less than 10 setlers and even with this surplus my other setlements need their own water. I cant have a settlement without pumps. In my experience the excess in purified water just go to the workshop...they are not shared

Also I sure dose affect their happiness for that settlement to have their own water and crops and not have to wait for shipment of water and food thru the supply line

How do you know they need water? When you open the workshop menu inside your settlement is water highlighted red? I have settlement with 11 settlers and 3 water and its not red because of my mass production in other settlements. Make sure you connect the supply routes properly.

Besides, I doubt the purpose of a purifier producing 40 water is just for getting purified water bottles for your character (no settlement will ever require 40 water by itself - seems obvious its meant to be shared). svcks if it doesn't work for you but I got plenty of settlement and i stopped producing food in settments that arent farms (farm icon on map) and it works. Except for the occasional bugged dialogue from settlers but happiness keeps going up and new settlers keep arriving plus no warning triangels in the pip-boy-data-workshops. So dont go around saying it doesn't work, it just shame they didn't put a more clear indication of it in-game.

No I am right I just removed the pumps from red rocket which has 21 settlers but the water is not red in the build mode cause of the purified water that got sent thru the supply lines yes the settlers complain about the water but they got water from supply lines

Exactly, its the dialogue thats bugged. Sometimes the info on the pip boy bugs too but it quite quickly goes back to what it's suppose to. Same thing happens to the amount of beds sometimes. So fabiano, go and try making farm focused settlements. Makes it so much more fun making settlements focused on different things (food, water, trading, "military"). Without the sharing of resources i wouldnt enjoy settlements as much.

Keep in mind the settlement will still display "0 food"/"0 water" but salong as its not highlighted red its getting enough resources from supply routes.

Can "Provisioners" be killed?

I have run across of few of my assigned supply line settlers out in the world and noticed one of them getting attacked as he walked close to a raider camp. I immediately jumped in and helped, killing the raiders. But had I not, and just sat back and watched would he have been killed and does that affect me?

Yes they can be killed and that supply line will be cut off

Yes, the water is red...always. Just tried ingame. I,agree that the purpose is probably the one you said, but, at least for me, is not working. I would love to have 2, 3 farms feeding all my setlements, but food also is not shared through supply lines in my game.

Have u check ur supply line it is possible he was killed the supply line cut off

Im wondering about this. Maybe they were killed, but my pipboy still shows the supply line.

One question, if is really shared, will I find in any workbench the fruits my farms produce? Until now, I keeped travelling around to collect them in order to make adhesive.

If a settlement is producing no water or food but has a supply line then some water or food will appear in the workbench of that settlement

Is the settlement that it has supply line producing enough water for both

If settlement 1 has 15 settlers and producing 20 water and the settlement it has a supply line with has 10 settlers that's 20 water for 25 settlers