You can meet ...

I'm no coder, but it seems logical to me that we're seeing problems with the random encounter merchants more than the fixed location ones has something to do with the basic fact that the problem group is scripted not to stay put, while the fewer problem group isn't -- since they can always be initially found in the same places.

I'm on Xbox, and I've had not a single issue with Rylee, Vault-Tec Rep or Anne Hargraves -- they're where they're supposed to be, I can hire them, they show up where I send them and they do their jobs. However, I have exactly no success with any of the others. I've met the Scribe, but couldn't hire him. I've never even seen Larry or Ron.

And it breaks my heart! I've collected all the collectibles, done the quests, explored the map -- the merchants are all that I have left before I start anew!

They're the only one's I've ever had luck with actually, and the Vault-Tec Rep is a pain in the butt because he's bugged and always starts his long pre-assigned to a job rant every time I talk to him. Meanwhile Rylee and Anne don't give me problems but their inventories aren't special compared to anyone else at a tier 3 vendor stall.

^ Interesting.

I will say this, after four builds -- no two playthroughs are exactly alike. And I can't complain about that!

you need 20+ people in a settlement to recruit, correct?

if that is the case, then you may not be seeing them until you get closer to the goal.

^ I can assure that that is not my situation, as I enjoy everything about the settlement system except Preston Garvey's unrefusable quests and spend a fair bit of time building up multiple locations.

It might have been the issue one of the two times I've met the Scribe, but it is not the issue generally.

Finally. Maybe now I can recruit them to my settlement. I've had to avoid getting them so that they wouldn't disappear from me.

Well, I thought you meant that I was lucky that it worked and that it does not mean that the bug was fixed. I guess I took you wrong, sorry.

I did not use any console commands to spawn them. But the chance of encountering them is really small.

Don`t panick . I never prepared anything for them. I sent Larry to the settlement with no free beds and no tier 3 stores. I built them only when he arrived there. It has no effect on anything. You just need to have enough settlements and settlers to recruit them. I found Doc Anderson near to the Mass Fusion Containment Shed ( campfire place with sleeping bags) . It was before the patch and I had the same problem as you. I`ve tried to encount her again, but no luck yet.

I think that they can`t be attacked if you are not in the location. Just same as provisioners. I just quickly checked to be sure that no enemies have spawned around him and fastravelled away. It worked this way with the Scribe too (before the patch), and it was actually the only way it worked for me . If I tried to escort him, he just vanished in the air after a few minutes. The problem was that even if he arrived, he did not stay in the settlement, dissapeared after a time.

If I remember correctly, some of them require 30 settlers. But they do not have to be in the same settlement. You can have 3-4 settlements with 10 settlers in each of them, and they should be connected by supply lines.

There is info about each vendor and in wikia.

No, that's what I meant. It seems i got confused by reading your reply so it didn't occur to me you were saying "i was probably was lucky" lol

I can tell you this isn't always true, I set up a supply line on my Lets Play save to get Ron the restaurant guy(i believe) and never encountered him at all, so he just doesn't exist much like Larry or the Scribe. I also had enough people through the supply line between settlements for Ron to spawn by your logic but there's clearly a scripting error involved with some of these random events people.