Hello. This is a list of all I've learned. I've built quite a few and I've read a few tips here. Please feel free to add you own in the comments and I'll tack them up here. Please not this is not intended as a 'How to 100% happiness' guide. This will however keep your settlements above 80 easily. I am also continuing to edit as more people share their experiences.
Perks:
- Gun Nut 1 - Allows Heavy Turrets
- Science 1 - Allows Industrial Water Purifiers
- Science 4 / Gun Nut 3 - All the fun Turrets. Not "needed," but, hot damn, Missile Turrets and Heavy Lasers are awesome!
- Local Leader 2 - Needed for Supply lines and for trade stands.
- Cap Collector 2 - For Level 3 stands
- Medic 1 - Clinics
Basics: Settlers need 1 food and 1 water and a bed to stay at 50% happiness. The higher your happiness the more productive your settlers will be. If happiness falls too low, you can lose control of a settlement.
- Food: The more you feed your settlers, the happier they will be. Each will consume up to 2 food before excess is stored in the workshop. So if you have 20 settlers and want them to be really happy, have at least 40 food. If you grow Corn, Mutfruit, and Tato you can make adhesive at a Cooking station. Requires Purified Water as well.
- Water: There is a bit to consider here. Water is good. Purified water is even better. Settlers will always drink from a local water source, then draw water that is needed from a supply line. This is important. If you want a settlement to be very happy, and it does not have a place for a water purifier, you must connect a supply line, delete Water Pumps in the settlement, and produce excess purified water at another settlement. Fortunately, Sanctuary, The Castle, and Taffington Boathouse are capable of HUGE amounts of water production and a large defense to keep it safe.
- Beds: Each settler needs their own bed. Any bed is enough. A bed with a roof over it will make settlers a lot more happy. Beds with frames may or may not increase happiness.
- Supply Lines: Supply Lines connect the workshops of settlements. They will transfer food, water, and junk between settlements. They will not transfer stored constructed items. What this means is dumping junk in any workshop will allow it to be used for parts in any connected workshop. Also, if a surplus in food or water exists at a connected settlement, it will supply a deficit to a connected settlement.
- Supply lines make a network. Only 1 connection to the network is needed per settlement. Settlers assigned to supply lines become Provisioners. Provisioners can not be killed, thought they may be mortal on Survival difficulty. Like all settler they can be equipped including guns, grenades, and Combat Armor. To assign a Supply Line enter the Workshop and highlight the settler. The key will be displayed in the list at the bottom of the screen and varies by platform.
- Stores: All except Weapons and Armor add happiness. Bars and Medical seem to have the most effect. All stores make a moderate amount of caps which are deposited into the Workshop under 'Misc'.
- Defense: Your settlement has chance of being attacked. To deter attacks, build defenses. A base with less defense than the total of its combined resources is likely to be attacked. A base with 2X Defense to Resources is almost never attacked. In sum, if sum(Resources) > sum(Defense): increased chance of attack else if 2*sum(Resources) == sum(Defense): Decreased chance of attack.
- Make your defenses high up and hard to access. The last thing you need is a Supermutant bashing your Spotlight with a Super Sledge. Make him run through a hail of gunfire and die on the way.
- Create a firing line. Line your turrets up where they can support each other.
- Use the terrain. Build or use natural choke points and defend them heavily.
- Defend the inside of your base, too. A perimeter is not sufficient. Enemies can and will spawn inside your walls.
- Put your generators well behind your defenses. They are primary targets keep them safe.
- Turret and generator noise may decrease happiness of settlers. Keep beds away.
Power:
- Medium Generators are the lowest net junk cost per power produced. Use large generators if you are at your build limit and need space.
- Lights do not consume power but must be near a Power Coupler to work. Imagine a sphere of 2 prefab units in radius. If it is inside that sphere it should light up. Make sure a power line is strung to the power coupler.
- Lights increase a settlement's happiness.
Tips:
- Use Wooden Floor #5 with the concrete foundation to level off an area. Place a Wood floor #1 at the level you want, and snap the foundations to it.
- You can keep a tight perimeter for beds / traders and put your farms outside of it. Turrets have a very long range.
- Build a Food / Drink stand and surround it with a chair for each of your settlers. They will hang out at night and socialize.
- Settlers who are not assigned a job will sit at the Food / Drink stand after 9 am.
- Settlements with a powered beacon can gain one settler per day. If your base is full, you can move a settler to another settlement, and that settlement can grow again.
- A Bell or a Siren will alert settlers to danger. Your settlers will use it on their own when they see danger.
- Brahman might, one day, for a few seconds, hang out at a Brahman Feeding Trough.
- Once your settlers are nice and well fed, assign excess settlers to the Scavenger Stations. #1 under Resources, Misc.
- You can trade your settlers weapons, ammo, armor, and even grenades (if you're daring), but you must equip them yourself. Key is listed on the bottom of the screen in the trade menu and varies by platform.
- Flags are located under wall decorations and are available based on your allegiances.
- Decorations may add a very slight increase to happiness. Once your base is set up feel free to decorate liberally. Cat pictures are under wall decor.
- Caravans can be added to your settlements by completing a quest chain in Bunker Hill. First clear the National Guard Armory for Deb, then talk to Kessler to get the quest Kill Zeller. Rescue the captured caravan survivors, then complete. You will be able to build a caravan post in your settlement. This will cause the traders from Bunker Hill to stop at your settlements.
