Fallout 4 has a detailed and sometimes complex crafting and settlement management system. When first trying these systems out they can be confusing, especially since Fallout 4 doesn’t do the greatest job of explaining everything.
When you want to build weapons, armor, or mods for both, you won’t be able to unless you have the necessary materials. The same goes for building structures for your settlement(s). Here are a few tips to help you find those necessary materials.
Tag your items!
Your Pip-Boy is a handy tool that comes with all different types of features. One feature that will help you find materials is the tag tool. This allows you to tag specific materials to be found in the world. If you find a piece of junk that has the material, this feature will indicate that with a small magnifying glass symbol over the item when looting. This also works when shopping at vendors in Fallout 4.
To use tag, go to the junk section of the inventory tab of your Pip-Boy. Then select component view on an item. This will show you the various materials the items you carry can break down into. Select ‘tag for search’ on one of the materials that you want to find.
You can also go to a workstation and try to craft armor or weapons, and select tag for search. This will automatically tag any item you do not already have enough of to make the weapon or piece of armor.
The Scrapper Perk
The scrapper perk will help you find more materials in the world. It will allow you to get screws from weapons and armor you scrap.
With additional levels, it will allow you to get rarer materials such as circuitry and fiber optics when breaking down armor and weapons. With level two of the perk any material that has been tagged will also be highlighted, allowing for an easy find! Level three of the perk will double the amount of uncommon materials you find, such as screws.
Weapon Crafting and Modification
There are over 50 weapons and 700 individual modifications in the base game of Fallout 4.
These include stocks, receivers, sights, magazines, barrels, muzzles, and grips. Weapons can be crafted and modified at a weapons workbench.
Armor Crafting and Modification
To begin with, a base layer of clothing can be worn under armor pieces for the chest, right and left arms, and right and left legs. These pieces of clothing and armor can be crafted or modified at an armor workbench.
They can be modified to improve damage, energy and radiation resistance, the armors weight, and other small miscellaneous bonuses.
Additionally, certain pieces of clothing can be modified with the powerful ballistic weave modification, which allows for even greater damage resistance.
Power Armor Modification
The various pieces of power armor can be modified at a power armor station.
You can customize the armor’s appearance, weight, statistics, and level of damage resistance. Additional upgrades to certain power armor pieces can be crafted to grant other miscellaneous bonuses, such as a jet pack, or enhance unarmed damage.
Modified/Customized Power Armor
Cooking Station
You can cook meals that may give bonuses at a cooking station. There you can also craft vegetable starch and adhesive. Adhesive is a heavily used component for armor and weapon crafting, as well as modification.
Chemistry Station
The chemistry station allows the player to craft various medicines, explosives, chemical compounds, and syringer ammo.
With add-ons you can also craft traps, fireworks, and medicinal sludge.
Robots!
With the Automatron DLC, the robot workbench allows the player the ability to create their own robot companion using a myriad of different parts.
Adhesive and ballistic fiber are two must-have materials, and ballistic fiber just happens to be the topic of our next section!
Ballistic Fiber
The best way to get large quantities of this is to buy bulk shipments from KLEO in Goodneighbor.
You can also find it in duct tape and military ammo bags. The ballistic fiber is used in the Ballistic Weave Armor Mod you get from the Railroad.
Enjoy crafting weapons and armor in Fallout 4! There are endless possibilities, so keep experimenting until you find something that is right for your playthrough!
