Hello all,

This is my first post in Fallout 4 GD. The settlement raid mechanics are so poorly done, however, that I felt pushed to vent in a forum that Bethesda might theoretically read. Just FYI, this will be a bit of a rant.


The basic assumption I am operating under is that players are expected to be able to protect every settler for the entire length of their game, assuming they do everything right. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, building strong Settlement defenses and promptly responding to any attack. My contention is that in-game limitations have effectively made "100% Settler Survival" an impossible goal, primarily for the following three reasons.

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1.) Bad and inflexible companion AI.


We have no control over how residents behave in case of attack. We can't specify the most rudimentary of tactics on a broad level, such as "be aggressive" or "hide"; the most we can do is assign certain settlers to defense as their primary job. This makes long-term settler survival nearly impossible; unless our outermost perimeter defenses can eliminate enemies almost before the settlers are in range, the attack will pose a substantial risk to NPCs.This is amplified by the glitchy pathfinding in Fallout 4, which can make settlers more vulnerable during an attack than they should be.

2.) Poor notification of attacks.


Attack notification can't go in the same section of the screen as experience points. It's too easy to miss, and there's no going back if a settlement is wiped out. Make it large and obvious, like activating a storyline quest is. I would even go so far as to suggest that a permanent save slot be created for settlement raids, with an attack notification triggering an immediate save game (one that will be overwritten with subsequent raids, so as to not eat up much memory, and that doesn't overwrite normal autosaves or quicksaves).

3.) Defenseless starting position.


When fast traveling to a camp under attack, we spawn in a completely defenseless position, frequently with multiple enemies already in range. Particularly on higher difficulty levels, this places us at a distinct disadvantage. Attacks should be keyed to trigger about a minute after we arrive (or after a few real-time minutes, NOT game minutes, have passed, whichever is soonest). This would allow us time to actually choose our position and mount a strategic defense.

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There are probably a few other things I'm forgetting, but these are the major components in my eyes. The entire Settlement attack mechanic seems hell-bent on forcing us to fail (i.e. lose settlers), regardless of how well we prepare. While this may be realistic, it's also frustrating, and in any other section of the game would be rightly frowned upon.


Settlers should have configurable AI, allowing us to specify tactics on a broad, Settlement-wide level in case of an attack (hiding or attacking, and not just via their personal day-to-day job). Attack notification messages should be prompt and very visible (maybe allow us to specify an option for this), and provide us a minute or so to get into a defensive position. I realize that it's unlikely pathfinding will be improved, but I believe allowing for some preparation time will minimize the worst of the problems.

TL; DR - This mechanic wasn't ready for prime time. It's a bad sign when, after the first couple of attacks, I'm frustrated enough to simply look for a mod to disable them entirely. It's wrong to rely on modders to fix fundamental flaws like this; Bethesda should resolve this officially.

I never fully understood the mechanics, so I simply let some of my settlements die and focus on 1 or a few more. What's worse is the enemies spawning inside the walls, they are totally unreliable, and you are right about settlers joining attacks. I think the best bet is to simply fill the area with turrets, and wall everything in a manner that you cant get in or out without jumping. And have your settlers trapped inside. I had several settlements wiped out that I didnt even bother about defending. It seems they also die and get kidnapped regardless of what you do. If you create a perfect defense they still die, or maybe that's the impression I get.

I broke down and started doing a few settlements. But my attitude is that I will get a settlement up and running with everything they need, and then they are on their own. Places to go, things to see.

If you were looking for a solid experience simply with the settlement feature, then the only thing I can say is that hopefully mods will help iron some of the issues out for you. I may have misinterpreted it, but I believe Todd said in one of interviews around e3 that with settlements, what they were anticipating was what the modding community would do with it. It gave the impression of acknowledging that it wasn't optimized, but optimistic about it as a jumping off point.

I was debating doing that, but it gets expensive once a lot of settlements are present. Though I imagine it would be fun to watch an attack...

Interesting, I hadn't seen that interview. Still kind of sad; lack of optimization I'm used to really (and don't fault Bethesda for - their games are far too large to polish everything), but I can't fathom that their testing groups came away with anything positive to say. Especially if anyone was playing on Survival difficulty, at which point it's a matter of sheer luck whether or not you live through the attack after a fast travel...

Regarding the fast travel arrival locations, you can build a Fast Travel Mat that lets you change the fast travel arrival point in your settlement. You can put it in a place that'll give you a slightly better starting point for these attacks.

Open the workshop - Resources>Miscellaneous>Fast Travel Target

As far as placing it goes, you spawn in a position where you're facing the mat and you can read the word 'welcome' on it. Keep that in mind when deciding on a better arrival location. I've found that placing them indoors is usually best. Ideally you'd be facing the door, with no back or side entrances. This will give you an advantage during these attacks because it won't just drop you into the middle of it all. It gives you a second to get your bearings before getting shot up.

I think the ally combat AI is perhaps one of the weakest aspects of the game. It's absolutely horrible! I like how they take cover. I don't like how they engage whether you want them to or not, or run after an enemy in a completely different direction. Or fail to put distance betweem themselves and an advancing enemy. They just run headlong into combat and render strategy irrelevant. At least they can't die. Would have lost all my companions many times over by now. More combat control and less automomy from my companions would make this feature more enjoyable.

True, there is the mat, which I have used in a couple of settlements. I had forgotten about that (I usually use it for convenience purposes), though I still think actual preparation time would be more valuable and sensible. I play a fairly sniper-heavy build, so getting a feel for where they're coming from and settling in is somewhat essential for my purposes. Still, fair point indeed.

I agree, I think this is the worst part, and complicates far more than just settlement defense. I invested in the Lone Wanderer perk because of the terrible companion pathing and decision-making. While I certainly am happy that Bethesda included such a trait (which minimizes the loss of carry weight, especially), I don't like that incompetent AI is what pushed me to select it.

Still, for settlement defense, the Lone Wanderer perk isn't an option (short of being a literal lone wanderer and ignoring settlements entirely). The bad AI inevitably causes problems, here.

Incidentally, I'm somewhat surprised Bethesda didn't include a "lock yourselves in" option, where the player could invest resources in varieties of locked door that were progressively harder for invading hordes to penetrate. It's one of the most fundamental reactions to attacks that the world has, and yet it's nonexistent in Fallout 4, to my knowledge. It would serve to make the various available defenses like turrets and traps far more reliable (though still vulnerable to failure), and would've given a more realistic feel to the whole settlement defense mechanic. Not to mention, it minimizes the problems bad AI generates, and I'm positive they are well-aware that the AI is sub-par...