I'd like an audible alert too- maybe a staticy radio call for help from some panicked settler with guns blazing in the background.

Sanctuary currently has about 550 defense but no walls. That was not enough to defend against a hard mutant attack. Damn Behemots (yes, thats plural)...

Settlement Raiding Mod http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/2995/?

I've noticed that the attacks have been less frequent with my current character, which is the only one in which I haven't built walls. I'm currently only running 2 settlements: Covenant and Sanctuary. Sanctuary has a pop of about 20, 60 water 30 food, with a massive defence rating. Instead of walls, I put a gate on the bridge with 2 guard "towers" and littered the area with 3 turret gardens of 16 mk2 turrets each. In the centre I built a 1 story with laser and shotgun turrets (x4 each) as well as spotlights and mk2 turrets at the base. Cost a fortune, and I'm pretty sure I'm almost at building limit. At Covenant I only destroyed/replaced the turrets with my own mk2's, but it's where my compatriots with fully tricked out legendaries dwell. When they finally do happen, the attacks will be amusing to watch.

If I only have Sanctuary, attacks are nonexistent. Attacks really seem to start once you have more settlements. For me attacks always started with 4+ settlements irregardless of how built up the other 3 are.

Edit: Also, why does me not being there to defend a settlement badly remind me of X3 - Terran Conflict and it′s OOS calculations?

At the moment I am at a loss of how to fortify Sanctuary simply due to it's size. I built a 3 story metal house, but I don't like it and will tear it down after I complete my 3 other settlements. Since enemies can spawn within a settlement, building a wall at the edge of the perimeter seems pointless.

Try the mod, they spawn outside.

I have yet to have enemies spawn inside any of my settlements. I wonder if those that complain about that have moved their fast travelling target or not? Because I always do place it at the main entrance if not there already and wonder if it explains my differing experience.

Okay, thx.

I must have skipped the post above regarding the mod.

Just fyi, the mod doesnt change the normal attacks, bu instead lets you trigger some. Currently its only Sanctuary, but its badass.

But if you aren't there, they get damaged. I didn't notice any message, but when I happened to drop by at starlight, everything was in ruins.

Personally I really don't like the idea, of having an overwhelming defence and still be able to take "massive" damage, some is ok, but not alot, just because I'm not there to defend a settlement.

Last time I visited my settlement at starlight inn ... I found the remains of a death claw next to the gate. Whether a raid or some random triggering ... I don't know. It was funny tho... because my entrance is right by the preexisting theater shop. So one of the settlers were just sitting there on the stool smoking like a boss over the dead body of the deathclaw.

I think Settlements should only be attacked if you're actually there. I also believe defense should have no effect on of frequency of attacks. It should only depend on how much resources you have at that settlement. That way, you're not constantly spammed 'under attack' when you're on a quest, and being at your main settlement isn't so boring anymore. Higher defenses, the stronger the attackers or more attackers. There's no point in putting up defenses if you're never attacked.
The resources in your workshop, plus food+water should be the only factor.
Please Bethesda, I really hope you're listening. Please don't leave this to the modding community to fix.

Just had an idea here... How about...

Attacks only happen when you pick up a quest at the settlement. The longer you wait between doing that sort of quest, the harder the attack will be?

Sure it's not so realistic as the attacks happening randomly, but the player can pick and choose when the attack happens and get to see his/her's handywork in defence at work?

You get some loot from the attack, possibly some other rewards from successfully handling the attack. Possibly this could make the specific playstyle of staying in a settlement more viable (not that I think many do that, but I find the concept interesting)?

Well, just a random idea anyway Feel free to shoot it down.

Oh, that should definetely have an influence. If you don't do your homework, you should bear the consequences. I'm just not comfortable with the idea of automatic loss when you're not there, even though your defence is up to scratch. But FO4 isn't the only game wandering down that path. There's Pillars of Eternity where you have your own stronghold you can build defenses for and hire henchmen to defend. But if you're not there for the attack, you suffer damage in a fight that would otherwise be over in seconds. That's a little bit too much on the lines of player micromanagement. When you meet the requirements, the settlers should be able to fend for themselves. Even more so, since most of the attacks are simply me watching while my towers make short work of the attackers.

so far, my experience has been that Sanctuary has had minor attacks of raiders only a couple of times. I have 200+ defense there. but Tenpines seems to be on the radar for every creature alive! 2 people there, 2 turrets. attacked almost daily. nobody ever dies.

I think the location of settlements must be in line with the mob level on the map...

Clear Spectacle Island and you'll have loads of spare wood.

I wasn't getting attacked at all for the first 80 hours or so other than the odd single attacker. After I hit 100 hours and lvl 40+ I started getting attacked more frequently.

A Behemoth supported super mutant attack on Sanctuary was quite a show. (someone reminded me that I can record clips and should have got it uploaded. My brain wasn't in gear as I just stood there watching. can't wait for a similar attack) Flame traps, tesla traps, heavy & light mg and laser turrets and 2 missile turrets. All lighting up the night sky like a firework display.

About a dozen raiders descended on Starlight.

Legendary raider led attack on Greentop.

Synths attacked the Castle

Super mutants at Abernathy

Gunners the Co-op

Missed a few too. As others have said the alert system is crap.

Definitely agree with this.

I don't know if it was a glitch or what, but just recently I fast traveled to Sanctuary (which has a defense rating of 300 ) and all hell broke loose. It seems that three missile turrets salvoing on a deathclaw gives the critter (or more accurately, its corpse) the power of flight. The corpse flew from the bridge to about 10 feet from the House of Tomorrow. It took about 2 seconds. lol

Crazy is it not.
No fix in sight till GECK comes out as far as I can tell, though.

No, the defense>=food+water is stated during the tutorial section of Sanctuary right at the beginning of the game, along with the various other "first timer" instructions when building settlements (e.g., how workshops work, connecting powered constructions, assigning farm and defense duties to settlers, etc.). It may be a slide in the loading screens, but the instructions for it are right there in the tutorial.

Note that the official guidebook does NOT state "food+water" for defense, only that defense should be at least as high as the current population. That would also be equal to either food OR water at a minimum since each settler requires 1 food and 1 water, unless they are simply doubling food or water for each settler to get the minimum defense rating desired by settlers, but that's not what is actually stated).

In the 300+ hours I've played FO4 I've found that the best defence for a settlement are armed/armoured guards + turrets. In Sanctuary I have about 6 guards in combat armour with assault rifles, 9 guard towers and 8 turrets and nothing gets through.

My reasoning for this is:

1. Guards are far more accurate than turrets.

2. They respond quicker to oncoming threats than turrets.

3. They have a 360 degree X,Y,Z firing arc where as turrets only have about 120 degree arc.

4. If you have more guard posts than guards they will rotate between them giving you greater coverage.

5. If the attackers get past your defences or spawn inside them the guards will leave their posts and attack them inside the settlement.

6. A well equipped guard as more firepower and better defence than the best turret.

7. If you have a clinic in your settlement they will be healed automatically after the battle.

The only cons I've found are you must make sure they have sufficient ammo as they will use up the ammo you initially give them.

The best setup I've found for defending walls is to use the raise floor platform (e.g. the floor on stilts) and place a ground level defence station on it and a ladder up to it. The guards will happily climb the ladder and stand watch over the fence. You can also place a turret in front of it and the attackers will shoot at it while your guard and turret shoots at them.

This is just my opinion of how best to defend your settlements, feel free to add or make comments on it.

I hope this info helps some of you in defending your settlements

Just a quick question.

On the settlements tab (wher you see all Your settlements) i have a Red Triangle whit a ! in it on some of my settlements. What does that meen?

Does it have anything to do whit deffense?

@Mussi

If you click on the settlement name it will show a list of stats for that settlement (settlers, food, water, e.t.c. ). There will be a ! next to the items that need attention.

NOTE: I have found that those stats are not always accurate, I've had it report 0 settles in a settlement with 16 settlers!

I got the message at a critical point in the game, and had to drop my current quest, rush to Sanctuary, and got hit by 3 waves of gunners....highly unimpressed. Way to go to spoil the immersion...my 17 armed to the hilt settlers, behind defences that made Omaha Beach look like a playground, still needed the only man in the Commonwealth that can plant carrots and build a shanty to rescue them.

I'm not the Vault Dweller/Lone Wanderer/Man out of Time...I'm McGyver with a bunch of deros and warbies hanging off him.

I only have 4 settlements myself at the moment. I decided to use Tenpines Bluff as my 1st testbed to create a walled in community since it is pretty small. That means there is only one way into the settlement which is currently being protected by 4 turrets that facing outward to shoot approaching enemies. Behind the wall (inside the settlement) I set up two more turrets so that enemies would be caught in a crossfire. There are some more turrets where the main housing complex is with more turrets; some face outward towards the wasteland to pick off enemies outside of the settlement and others facing inward to shoot at enemies that got past the 6 turrets guarding the entrance. Because Tenpines is such a small settlement, there is only so much that I can do with it.

Outpost Zimonja is my 2nd testbed to create a walled in community. It is larger than Tenpines, but it is still small. However, it is larger enough where I created a gauntlet of turrets at the main entrance where enemies must survive to get into the inner compound for the chance to face even more turrets.

First off, I put up some pretty high walls around Zimonja because it is right up against a rock cliff... so basically double stacked concrete foundations. The front is protected by 4 turrets, 2 on each side of the gate entrance. The first set is placed on concrete foundations that are somewhat low to the ground, but high enough that I cannot simply jump to get onto the foundation. On the level above are two additional turrets facing outward as well as two guard stations; one on the left side of the gate entrance and one to the right. Upon breaking through gate enemies must deal with 3 turrets on the left and 3 turrets on the right as they run through a short passage to get to the inner compound. Additionally, on the 2nd level of the gate entrance are two turrets that are facing inward to shoot enemies that got past the gate in the back.

I am still developing Outpost Zimonja. I need to build the main living area as well install additional turrets in the compound, and plant some crops. However, the biggest stumbling block has been the stupid glitchy walls around corners...

I will probably post some pics of both settlements after I completed Zimonja.