So, I was just standing in my base working on some weapons when our base was approached by something worth attacking. So I hear my turrets firing and everyone starts scrambling to defend the base, and here comes Preston Garvey, runs up to my safe, opens it and takes one of my legendary weapons and runs off with it. My jaw dropped, I never realized your people could go into any of your storage and take anything, I had to round up all of my settlers and check them, and found 4 out of the 17 on this base had a legendary item that I did not give them.

Has anyone else had this problem? Is there any way to prevent it?

Yeah, I learned early on never to leave anything I care about either lying around or in common storage. Its' considered "Up For Grabs" to anyone in your settlement. My gear goes into specific containers that I build. My Power Armor goes into individual sealed rooms that you cannot access without removing a wall in Build Mode. So far, so good.

Clever, I didn't think of that.

yeah settlers take things, also above way to protect their power armor is excessive as all you need to do is remove the core.

gotta stash these things in your workbenches or they're up for grabs. =P

I haven't had anyone in my settlement, companion or otherwise take or use anything. My weapons are exactly where I've put them and my power armor is exactly as I left it.

Settlers are smart enough to grab weapons all by themselves, but when it comes to armor you got to dress them yourself like they are 1 year old babies.

You know you can just remove the power core, right? No one will take it.

Let me rephrase things:

I place them in locked rooms that can only be entered through the Build menu because the game will not let me hook the Power Armor up to Megaton-From-Fallout-3 grade Nuclear Weapons which will go off ANYTIME ONE OF THOSE $*%@(#* THIEVING $)($#%*@%# SETTLER (@$#&@% TOUCHES MY #)$*%)@#%* STUFF!!!!

Sorry.

Just need to brush some shattered Keyboard chunks out of my teeth................

I prefer that the citizens go into the stash and pick up some better weapons if the community is being attacked. If it is in storage that means I have no need for it. I quite often give the legendaries that I am not using or the companions are not using to settlers, Mostly first to the caravaners and those on guard duty.

Oh. That clears it up perfectly. *slowly backs out of room*

nope doesn't clear up why the person can't just remove the core preventing the AI form using the power armor.

In all (semi) seriousness, some folks, myself included, have had Settlers somehow get into Power Armor with the Cores removed. This was a very, very old bug, and may very well have been long fixed, but I'm just in the habit now, and have made my Armor Vaults part of Sanctuarys' fortifications. Plus, why take the chance. I lost three sets of Power Armor that way. I don't want to loose four.

Floor safes work for me. And removing the cores from all power armor.

Just send Gravy to the Castle and assign him to that big mortar. He will be out of your way until you want to talk to him.

There is a easy way to stop the theft. Give your settlers and companions usefull weapons and ammo (settlers only need one ammo of the type). Then they don't have any need to scavange in your chests to get something to survive in a fight.

You take everything from everywhere, so it's only fair the table is turned. If you really don't want to share, put your valuables in a place that can only be reached by jumping, since NPCs don't jump. Or put them in the only safe container in a settlement: the one shared by the workbench and all the crafting stations.

I keep everything at the red rocket by sanctuary in the work bench. and have no one but dogmeat there and built my power armour building next to it with all the power cores taken out of the suits. never had a problem..

Was this a preexisting safe or was it one that you built? Settlers can take stuff out of safes that were already there, but they can't take stuff out of safes (or any other container) that you yourself built. The preexisting containers aren't marked as being owned by you. The ones that you build are.

I just put them in my workshop bench lol

I keep my important containers in a sealed room along with my power armor. They can't steal my stuff if they can't get to the containers.

I've done this in a past playthrough but it's an imperfect solution.

At a certain point, when you put a large amount of stuff in a container like the workbench, the menu will take a second or two to pop up. While some might not mind that, it annoys the hell out of me.

I try to spread my stuff out between multiple containers to prevent this.

I've build regular containers in my former Sanctuary home and I have never experienced the settlers or Preston taking anything out of these boxes/cupboards. And also, never had anyone use my PA either. What kind of settlers do you all attract? LOL Sounds like escaped convicts a la Powder Gangers? Is there an NCRCF near your settlements? haha

Hey, we all know Mama Murphy has got a bit of a drug problem. Are you sure she's not sneaking into your cupboards and selling off a pistol or two when you're not around? For that matter, are you sure none of your other settlers have a similar habit?

I never had any settler steal from me. I give them one ammo type and a modded weapon which uses said ammo type. Farmers and traders typically have either a 10mm auto pistol or .38 semi / automatic rifle. Guards and scavengers get a long barrel combat rifles.

I recently started going around handing out upgraded armor and better weapons. Farmer and traders are getting combat rifles while the guards and scavengers are getting assault rifles... but I have been thinking about giving the guards gauss rifles instead. Thus far I have never seen any other weapon in my settler's inventory other than the one that I have assigned, even though my containers have better versions of the weapons I have I provided previously.