I'm really excited about Fallout 4's system of building settlements, especially with the amount of detail and potential for customization they seem to have put into it. That being said, I'm a little worried about the whole defending settlements things (needing to put down a bunch of traps, turrets, etc.). I like the idea that your settlement might occasionally have problems with raiders and it certainly makes sense that a new settlement could be a target, but I'm concerned that the defense aspect of settlements could get a little gimmicky, and make it so that building your own settlements turns things into too much of a tower-defense mini-game type situation. I don't mind if I need to put down a couple of turrets or hire a few guards but if we need to jump through hoops to have our settlements capable of defending themselves without our personal intervention I feel like that would take the fun out of the concept

Thoughts?

Personally I have no plans to use the mechanic besides customizing a home for my PC himself, hopefully the raider mechanic is bound to the amount of settlers, so if you have zero, you in turn get no attacks.

I just hope we can equip our guards individualy. I don't just want to hoard those special weapons again, I want to have a reason for gathering them! If I go through the trouble of gathering a set of miniguns in the early game, I want to have a reason for doing so, and what better reason than giving my settlement an advantage. Risk for reward and all that jazz.

It will work exactly like fallout shelter. Eventually you will get death claws ripping your buildings apart.

Yup, don't ever plan on using it. Just seems like a fluff item like garrisons in Warcraft etc...

Fallout will always be a game of exploration. Not playing mayor in my own settlement. Just doesn't fit IMO.