the Sim Settlements forums!

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

What equipment do you give to your settlers?

Koeran83

Active Member
Patreon Supporter
Messages
79
I know we're all keen for an update to SS that'll auto equip settlers with better gear. Though I believe it's on the "Maybe Someday" list, as it'll probably require F4SE.

But in the mean time, do you equip your settlers? If so, how?

The main guide I have for weapons (other than no explosives) is not to equip settlers with silencers. If my settlement is under attack, I want to hear it! This also frees me up to equip them with some of the more powerful options, that I don't typically use myself, such as Laser Rifles. Laser weapons also give you nice lines that point right to wear the enemies are!

Vendors
Weapons
I used to equip my vendors with sawed-off double barrel shotguns, as it's very thematic. But I've since learned that shotguns basically suck in FO4, so I've moved to pistols instead. Most of my vendors currently have 10mm (standard) pistols, or fully upgraded 10mm pistols. I plan to give them upgraded .44's once I reach Gun Nut 4. That'll give me a nice compromise between thematically appropriate and combat effectiveness.
Clothing
As for clothing, I only equip the Weapons and Armor vendors with armor.
Given CC just released the T-Shirt pack for free, my weapon vendor is now wearing a Guns and Bullets T, with light leather armor on his chest and arms (can't equip the legs with the T-shirt), with a military cap, and patrolman glasses.
My armor vendor has dirty army fatigues and dirty army helmet, with wraparound glasses and light combat armor on his chest. I've still only found a few pieces of combat armor, so I can't fully equip him, and don't feel like miss matching his attire.
My barmaid is wearing a bowler hat, black rim glasses, and a black vest and shirt. I like this combo for my mid range barfolk, but would probably use a tuxedo and formal hat for a high class place, and a newsboy cap and suspenders and slacks for a lower market place.
I currently have Doc Anderson at my Clinic so I can't change her equipment. :( But I'd use the lab coat, surgical mask, and glasses, if I could. I'll do that for my surgery center person instead.
My Trader is wearing green mechanics overalls with a grey knit cap, and welding goggles. I also like to use hard hats, mining hats, and utility coveralls. I'll use red rocket mechanic overalls for traders at Red Rocket.
My clothing vendor is wearing fashionable glasses and a laundered rose dress. Lower market places I'll use greaser jacket and jeans, and patrolman sunglasses. Upmarket places I'd probably use some form of suit, but probably not a tuxedo.

Guards
Weapons
Weapons depend on the type of guard post I've built and assigned them too.
Watchtowers I'll give some form of sniping weapon. Currently muzzled .50 marksman rifles. I'll probably upgrade them to a laser or plasma equivalent when I can. I don't give them gauss rifles, as they don't use the charged shot, so they're actually pretty lame.
Overwatch posts (basically raised above ground level, but not a full on tower) I'll give a CQB focused weapon. Currently short combat rifles (upgraded where possible) or laser rifles with gyro stabilizers. I still stick to single fire weapons, as the damage per shot is much better than automatics, and much more effective against armored targets.
Clothing wise i'll give them a full set of armor of whatever I have available at the time. Ideally combat armor, and put that over either army fatigues, military fatigues, minuteman outfits, or road leathers. If they're supposed to be MM, then I'll give them a militia hat, but otherwise either the corresponding helmet from the armor (if possible), or a military cap, one of the various flight helmets, or an army helmet.
Glasses wise I'll give them either wraparound glasses or patrolman glasses. Occasionally I'll be in the mood to give them a bandanna too.

Farmers
Weapons
Start the same as vendors upgrading to the same as overwatch guards once I have the resources.
Clothing
I try to use a full set of light leather armor, over one of the following sets; flannel shirt, green shirt and combat boots, long johns, t-shirt and jeans, or road leathers. I keep the chosen clothing consistent for the whole settlement so I can immediately tell what they're role is.

Provisioners
Weapons
Same as overwatch guards.
Clothing
Drifter outfits
and militia hats. I hope to swap to travelers cloak/leathers (the leather coat with the small backpack), as that'll look more thematic.
I love drifter outfits, I think they're one of the best looking outfits in the game. They just aren't practical to use for actual play.

Scavengers
Weapons
Same as overwatch guards.
Clothing
I like to use the gas masks with one of the few pieces of headware that they can use with them, presently mine is wearing a green hood. Also a full set of light leather armor, over long johns. They're probably the only settler type I'd actually intentionally miss-match their armor, as it's thematically appropriate. I'd like to try something a little more colour consistent, but road leathers are too dark, and I already have someone wearing army fatigues. Granted I haven't applied any of the CC paints to the armor.

Wow, this post ended up being much longer than I anticipated. Screenshots would've been so much more convenient.
 
I used to do this type of thing, though not to your extent. Right now Mama Murphy is dressed in Raider leathers and cage armor. Several others in Sanctuary have combat armor, goggles, various helmets, .44 pistols, etc.

In the end though, I realized that there was no point. The settlers will keep running towards attackers, shooting, even if they end up shot and helpless on the ground. They don't die. Having them yelling and running in the direction of attackers is plenty good enough for me, no need to give them laser weapons and fusion ammo.

With the revelation that settlers can and will grab the best weapons in the workbench or boxes (and experiencing it myself - dratted Preston grabbed a fully-modded legendary Gauss Rifle) I now leave the simplest of .38 pipe weapons there. Depends what's dropped, though technically these days I can upgrade everything to the most powerful if I desire. The settlers will effectively become self-arming if they have a need.

Usually though, I simply donate weapons/armor via the City Planners Desk. It seems to be more effective on the whole, even if the settlers don't get actively equipped and look visually appropriate to their roles. (Maybe I'm just lazy. Or choose to concentrate on different things. Either or both work for me!)
 
With the revelation that settlers can and will grab the best weapons in the workbench or boxes (and experiencing it myself - dratted Preston grabbed a fully-modded legendary Gauss Rifle) I now leave the simplest of .38 pipe weapons there. Depends what's dropped, though technically these days I can upgrade everything to the most powerful if I desire. The settlers will effectively become self-arming if they have a need.
Yeah, it's rough.

Doc Anderson took a Legendary Gamma Gun from my workbench. I don't mind so much as I don't use gamma guns, but I do wonder about her ethics if that's the weapon she chose. There were other legendary weapons in there.
Preston also currently has a minigun he took from the workbench. I don't mind so much as I haven't retaken the castle yet. So I figure it'll come in handy when we do. And since retaking the castle is all he talks about, I can't actually get to the trade dialogue.


IIRC you can equip them (special vendors) but you can only do it outside business hours.
I thought that was the case also, but even outside business hours Doc Anderson insists on offering to patch me up. It locks me out of the trade dialogue. :( It'll probably be okay with other special vendors though.
 
Yeah, it's rough.

Doc Anderson took a Legendary Gamma Gun from my workbench. I don't mind so much as I don't use gamma guns, but I do wonder about her ethics if that's the weapon she chose. There were other legendary weapons in there.
Given that you can't access her trade dialogue, that's *really* rough. It wasn't the Lorenzo's Artifact gun was it?
 
The "look" is really more about it than the functionality.... this is where role playing comes into being.... I am waiting for someone who does a western town with properly attired settlers and .44 on their hips...
 
I like putting my settlers in the black Vest and Slacks and Black Prospector Hats.

It makes them look kinda Amish.

(I should get really ambitious and Looks Menu them with chinbeards.)

One day, I hope to discover a clothing mod with bonnets and dresses with aprons.
 
The "look" is really more about it than the functionality.... this is where role playing comes into being.... I am waiting for someone who does a western town with properly attired settlers and .44 on their hips...
There's some minor functionality, if you know how your vendors are likely to be dressed, and you don't dress your non-vendors in a similar way, when your vendors go walk about it's easier to find them. That and I also have an easier time telling who's unemployed and who isn't.

I know there's a mod with western themed outfits, but I think it builds a whole new faction around them.

It makes them look kinda Amish.
Now you've got me thinking how the Amish handled the apocalypse.

"Well, the crops got harder to grow, and the neighbors got weirder. But other than that, we really didn't notice anything different." :lol
 
The "look" is really more about it than the functionality.... this is where role playing comes into being.... I am waiting for someone who does a western town with properly attired settlers and .44 on their hips...
That's how I do Dry Rock Gulch in Nuka World. All western attire and .44 revolvers (though they don't wear them on their hip).
 
I use certain costume options for different roles. Industrial workers get coveralls, hardhats, and goggles. Security guys get military styles and armor. Supply line guys get armor and mining helmets, although I sometimes consider postal uniforms. Weapons are also by role. Farmers and merchants get handguns.

The weirdo thing I do here, though,. is that I do random event rolls (manually) at certain times and one of the events is to give everyone in a settlement a uniform type. Such as vault suits or institute jumpsuits. Yeah, I'm weird.
 
Weird, but fun to do. :)
 
Has anyone figured out what kind of weapons the settler AI prefers and why? Is it damage per shot or based on rate of fire? or some optimal combo?

What is it about the gamma gun that they prefer? and why do some swap out and others don't?

If Trashcan Carla is given a choice, will she steal a minigun or a gamma gun?

Also, if settlers can take better weapons out of the bench, why can't they take better armor?

And based on the fact that when they take a weapon, they seem to also take all that weapon's ammo as well, will they take just one of a stack of gamma guns or the whole stack?

So many questions....
 
Yes, many questions. I like giving them mini-guns, bigger the better. They will steal the best ones. Had one steal a min-nuke launcher.

My Settlers are all a bit odd. They would rather drink and get frisky at the Starlight Bar than tell me which weapons they prefer...
DT.jpg
I'll ask them in the morning...:lazy
 
I also have a rule whereas if I give someone a gun, I have to give them 40 ammo with it. 120 for automatics. And 500 for miniguns. Feels better for me that way.
 
I also have a rule whereas if I give someone a gun, I have to give them 40 ammo with it. 120 for automatics. And 500 for miniguns. Feels better for me that way.

You know? You only have to give them “one?”
 
I also have a rule whereas if I give someone a gun, I have to give them 40 ammo with it. 120 for automatics. And 500 for miniguns. Feels better for me that way.

You are much too generous. By the looks of the above pic, @RayBo even more so. My settlers lead a life of hard scavving. I expect them to be able to take out a deathclaw with one bullet and no sexy massages after.

They will steal the best ones. Had one steal a min-nuke launcher.

I still wonder what counts as best. It doesn't seem to be a case of straight up comparison. At some point they seem happy with what they've got. I mean a settler with a pipe bolt action seems to be itching to switch to something bigger, faster, louder, and more lethal; but, a settler with a minigun already doesn't seem so quick if at all to swap to nuke launcher.

I think I'm going to run a test where a settler starts with a switchblade. I'll put one of each from a list of "best" weapons in the workbench and then see which they opt for.
 
You are much too generous. By the looks of the above pic, @RayBo even more so. My settlers lead a life of hard scavving. I expect them to be able to take out a deathclaw with one bullet and no sexy massages after.



I still wonder what counts as best. It doesn't seem to be a case of straight up comparison. At some point they seem happy with what they've got. I mean a settler with a pipe bolt action seems to be itching to switch to something bigger, faster, louder, and more lethal; but, a settler with a minigun already doesn't seem so quick if at all to swap to nuke launcher.

I think I'm going to run a test where a settler starts with a switchblade. I'll put one of each from a list of "best" weapons in the workbench and then see which they opt for.

They will also take them off tables
 
They will also take them off tables

Perfect. Should make observing the results easier. I'll go to a brand new settlement. Set up a death dealer buffett. Send in an unwilling test subject unarmed volunteer and then start spawning waves of attacks. Rinse, repeat. I feel like a Vault-tec scientist
 
Top