The only thing that really bothers me in the game is "defend the settlement". It forces fast travel, it's repetitive, It pulls me out of quests that I'm doing on the other side of the map and it I miss 90% of the messages anyway. It's a terrible system. I wouldn't mind it if :

1. I actually had to acknowledge the message.

2. It was more like "defend the checkpoint" You only get those if you are near the area.

If you could make this system better what would you do?

having them actually work for you when you are not there would help...when I put up 20 or so turrets spread out, aiming inside and out of a settlement, and still get a fail...yea ok..

Take a ticket and join the queue.

The defend system we have now doesn't work. Why do we need to have above 200 in defence to prevent attackers. Meaning 4 turrets on the rooftops of each shack I have + some random location. When we get the message "...under attack", quest will be "defend .... settlement". You should have the time to finish what youre doing and then fasttravel to the settlement. The attackers should be at distance and then close up to settlement while your present. The attacks on Caste they always start from distance, they never ever spawn in the middle of Castle area. We are able to build walls, but if they keep spawning in the middle settlement, walls are a waiste. Maybe attacks are just random, whatever defence you have, they may attack. That seems logic specially when you have 200 in defence, 23 settlers, 26 food and 28 water.

Cheers,

-Klevs

RealmEleven had a few decent ideas:

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1576066-settlement-critics-and-suggestions-for-updates/?p=24802634

And http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1576198-settlement-system-some-suggestions/

It sounds a little complicated, but it also sounds like it'd work.

Yes, it's... nuts. I'm stomping around the Glowing Sea, but I just suddenly learn Sanctuary is under attack. First, how?? Am I now psychic? Then I'm supposed to just take the nearest wormhole to Sanctuary to help?

None of it makes any sense.

I want to see a messenger run up to me and notify me that a large force of X number of mutants, raiders, etc. are headed towards Sanctuary and are expected to arrive in x amount of time.

I love the idea of settlement attacks and defense, but it needs work.

My feeling exactly. I put a lot of effort into making my settlements into miniature fortresses, but I have to show up every time or else they get sacked, regardless of how many turrets and guard posts I have.

Ah, cool.. I didn't see that.

Dunno, theyre not entirely the same thread. Arguably different, that thread covers Radiant quests and novel admin mechanics and other things that dont really fit in here.

I just thought he had good ideas worth looking at.

I like the idea of "occasionally" having to defend a settlement, but I agree with most of those above that the current system is really poorly implemented. It also forces me to fast travel, and I never fast travel. But now I'm forced to. The message warnings are also too brief, and pop up at the worst times.

This system is just broken. Honestly, how hard would it have been to have coded the mechanic so that if your Defense number is higher than say, 100, then your settlement is effectively capable of defending itself without any intervention from you? It's irritating to show up to your settlement, stand there while your turrets (laser and missiles for me) utterly destroys the like, three or four Gunners who attacked? Why was I even called? Give me that radio, and don't call me again unless it's an emergency!

That's the issue I have with the system, it effectively makes all of your neat defenses worthless. If you need to be called whenever two or three bad guys with pipe rifles show up, then those defenses are worthless.

Now, all that said, it would be FANTASTIC if there were a situation in which you show up just in time to watch like, 20 or 30 Raiders/Gunners/Super Mutants attack your well-defended, turreted-up fortress. That would be awesome, and you'd actually have a test of defenses.

^ Yeah. Add that to the list too lol

Unless they show up outside my defenses with artillery and rocket launchers I don't even need to know.

Another thought on the subject:

Destructable walls. Having the enemy attacking those could take time to break through and allow us time to get to the settlement.

I think it would be ideal if going and helping out was an optional thing. I have a minimum of 200 defense at all of my settlements, and my main settlements are more like a minimum of 300. At Sanctuary, the Castle, and Spectacle Island, it's more like about 900. They're well defended. When I show up I basically just have to stand there while the enemies get bombarded with lasers and missiles from every direction. I might have to kill a straggler that's hiding behind something, but that's about it.

I would love it if the settlement defense tasks were in the form of some kind of optional gamble. Basically you'd have a timer and if you want to go help out you have until that time runs out to go help. If you don't go help out, you either get a notification that "your defenses have successfully defended ________" or you get a notification that "your defenses failed to defend _______". There are times that I DO want to go help out. I love seeing my defenses in action after all the time I've spent on them. Sometimes if I'm just randomly exploring or whatever, I don't mind stopping to go help defend it. But if I'm about to head out on a quest or if I'm actually out exploring with a real goal in mind, I don't always want to stop and go help defend it. I think making it a bit of a gamble would be a fair tradeoff. You're running the risk of having some stuff destroyed, losing a couple of settlers, having one or two get kidnapped or whatever the case may be. This seems like a much more reasonable system.

It really annoys me that despite having the best defended settlements in the whole Commonwealth, they can't take care of anything without me there. Even aside from the defenses, my settlers are equipped with full suits of combat armor and good guns. They have an array of combat rifles, combat shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, laser muskets, laser rifles, and others, all of which are at least reasonably well modded. And yet they can't take down three bloodbugs? Come on now.

Guess we'll have to wait for a "better settlement defense" mod. I'm not a bug fan of "random" events in games. They often end up being an annoyance.

It's a tough one.

i remember when i first got the attacks i would get involved and help destroy the enemy.

..........so your natural reaction is to learn from the attacks and modify defences so that they are more effective.

I've finished the main game so now am doing things to make it more interesting til DLC comes out.

Presently I am not fast travelling so run and swim everywhere, just in plain clothes, that have no damage protection.

Swimming and running is consequently very fast.

I have suits of power armour scattered around the map in strategic locations, for those occassions they may be required.

So now when I am invited to help a settlement I might finish what i am doing then make a bee line for the settlement that is supposedly under attack.

Take last night, I'm in the middle of the map and respond to a callout by first running across country.

Past the stinging wasps and flies that chase me and give up.

Right between the two supermutants at Breakheart Banks who are standing side by side who say "What" and fire off a pot shot as i disappear into the night.

Past raiders too slow to keep up.

I cross rivers and reach the sea, diving in to take the shortcut to my destination at warwick farm.

After swimming for a couple of minutes I hear and see gunshots and missile fire in the distance.

As i approach shore the message flashes up.

Completed help defend the settlement.

i get to view another pile of bodies cut to pieces by my defences and loot yet another bag of missile launchers, other assorted weaponry and armour pieces.

Perhaps it would have been better to not have installed those missile turrets and walled defences, as i might still be able to join in.

Not wearing armour makes me highly susceptible to friendly fire but it's all over before I get there anyway.

I don't know how they could change it.

They would have to stop issuing callouts so what would be the point of putting in defences.

Also from previous experience if they initiate an attack while you are at a settlement but for whatever reason you leave just before the commotion starts, it's an instant fail because the game registers that you have failed to provide assistance.

So perhaps they should issue written advice of an imminent settlement attack even if you are there at the time.

Another possibility is that they only instigate attacks on settlements that are within a shortish distance from your present location.

I suppose the trouble with that is those who don't get out much will get the same settlement repeatedly attacked.

Without reading through all the comments, not having to be there for each and every attack and a formula for calculating success against the particular attackers. And that means, taking into account, that I provided my perimeters with missile and laser towers, as well as spotlights and sirens. Oh, and settlers in combat armor and combat rifles.

I know not everyone likes the Brotherhood, but the ability to call on a vertibird to get you to a settlement under attack is really nice. Even the institute's teleportation works if you're going for a no fast travel game. If you do the Rail Road ending with settlements I guess you can kiss them goodbye.

Not spawning enemies in the middle of my walled town would be nice.

Getting a warning that I actually notice would be nice.

Not really complaining since it's actually a relief but I returned to Sanctuary to find out I missed a mutant attack. I was so POd I I ignored the damage. A few fast travels later I come back and everything fixed itself.

My Sanctuary settlement has a 290 defense rating. And I swear, about every couple of in game days that goes by, one of my shop keepers will get kidnapped or I'm having food stolen. Fort Knox ain't got s*#!t on me and this shouldn't be happening. I want to test my defenses and watch It wreck everything, but instead I keep getting hit by Ninjas or Ethan Hunt or something. Please Fix

Everyone has already made this point already but, yeah, the turrets count for nothing and that is really annoying. The settlements should be able to handle themselves when you set up a good defense.

Also, what would be cool is if you could craft cameras in the work shop and when your settlement is under attack you can go into your pip boy and watch them defending the settlement and watch your turrets do what they are meant to do!

I'd love watching that.

Something I haven't really seen anybody mention is the settler behavior during attacks. When there's an attack every settler aggros and tries to fight the invaders. I feel like that shouldn't be the case. I have guards for a reason. Let the guys with the combat rifles and combat armor handle the invaders. Everyone else should go take cover.

Shaikujin's Better Alerts solves most of this problem for me, it gives an pop up instead of an misc quest alert who is easy to miss during combat or dialogue.

Gear up everyone, at least good weapons, shotguns at lower levels, better at higher, guards and provisjoners get miniguns or moded stuff.

They only need one bullet even on the minigun.

More of an issue does anybody have an list of spawn locations?

It would be nice to know before building a lot, not an problem if they spawned far away but they tend to spawn pretty close many places.

Know that they spawn at your default fast travel spot at somervile place.

At the slog its two points, one at your fast travel spot and one at the opposite side at the farming area at the same time.

Do not know the exact location of the farming spawn who tend to come at the same time but smaller numbers.

At starlight drive in they spawn up in the hill above the settlement or at the road downward.

I hadn't called a Vertiird before because i forgot about it.

So i took your suggestion.

I'll do that in future, thanks, for a non fast travel game.

So......

I have all the settlements so have experienced seeing them trashed a few times now.

Last night when i played I was doing the rounds.

Went to the settlement at Murkwater where there is a nearby checkpoint manned by the Minutemen.

As usual there was a callout to help defend the checkpoint.

This time it was Gunners and one of them strayed into the perception zone of the adjacent settlement resulting in missile fire and the settlers joining in the fight with the Minutemen.

After the fight we strolled back to the settlement and I sold some of the looted gear at a stall that was still manned.

Was walking away and got jumped by a Sentry Bot Annihilator.

I didn't think much of it because it was near a post where one spawns frequently when you open a door.

Anyway today I open the game at my last location, Covenant.

My accomplice had been piloting a power armour suit for installation there and i had finished spiffing it up with the Military paint.

After admiring it i checked the Pip Boy and noticed problems at Murkwater.

For the purposes of investigation i went back there by fast travel and sure enough the settlement had taken damage.

So i had failed to protect it.

On further investigation it would seem that the sentry bot I encountered was actually a defend the settlement scenario that occurred while i was there.

The reason i didn't notice it is revealed in the following short video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjZpksjj7U8&feature=youtu.be