Find the Nearest Settlement
It’s more than likely that Fallout 4 will follow the same beginnings that Fallout 3 and New Vegas did. You’ll be exposed to the wasteland with very little to your name. While it’s incredibly tempting to go and explore right away, your first stop should definitely be the nearest town. This tends to be where the game’s first main quest will take you to anyway in order to prepare you with some basic supplies to fend off what prowls the wasteland.
Not only is this helpful to get some basic supplies, you’re almost guaranteed to be given some low-level side quests which will have you exploring the wasteland, and also helping you to acquire some more items and giving you a ton of XP for completing them. Get a couple of these under your belt and then…
Get Exploring
Fallout 4, like any other Bethesda game, is going to have a pretty huge map and leaks have almost all but confirmed this hasn’t changed in the latest game in the series. Therefore as soon as you’ve leveled up once or twice and are more than prepared for combat in the huge, sprawling wasteland of Boston, you need to go adventuring.
Checking out every nook and cranny of the map is the best way to appreciate the sheer scale of Fallout 4, and the best way to find hidden items and secrets that Bethesda tends to slip into their games. But yeah, definitely make sure you’ve at least got some kind of weapon and armor equipped before you do. You don’t want to walk into a Super Mutant unprepared.
Do Some Base-Building Preparations
You may not be able to build your base as soon as you step foot into the wasteland, but you can start to spec out the large sites that Bethesda has created where you’re allowed to build. Finding the perfect one for your upcoming settlement may take some time as you travel the wasteland but is well worth doing in order to truly make your first base perfect. While you’re on your travels, be on the lookout for these areas with lots of building resources that you can scrap and then craft into materials to create your own impenetrable fortress.
As you progress through the game and travel around, you’ll be able to send Brahmin Caravans to trade between your different bases. However, spend longer perfecting your bases, instead of having a few half-baked ones that won’t be able to withstand a raider attack. You’re also going to want to spend some time expanding your settlement to allow traders to arrive, as these guys have got some of the best items you’ll come across in the game. But remember, you’ll also need to plant food, build some water pumps, and some power generators to make sure they stick around.
Find Your Perfect Companion
According to Bethesda, there is a total of twelve companions for you to choose from to accompany you on your travels across the wasteland. Dogmeat is definitely adorable and could be handy for sniffing out hidden items, but maybe you’d prefer to take Codsworth with you instead?
Each companion it would seem is going to have a particular skill or ability that will help you on your journey. However, if you’re looking for more than just a handy companion, Todd Howard did say that human companions could be romanced, regardless of gender. Will you be choosing a human companion as a wasteland partner for those cold, lonely nights?
Explore Landmarks
Fallout 3 and New Vegas took advantage of the real world locations they were based in by making slight adaptations to real life landmarks. While these were definitely cool to go take a look at and admire, they tended to house something of particular interest to the player. Whether it was a sweet new weapon, a Super Mutant hideout, or maybe just a place to while away your time like we did on New Vegas’ strip, it was worth visiting these iconic locations.
As you step out into Fallout 4’s wasteland rendition of Boston, be sure to look out for famous sites such as USS Constitution, and Bunker Hill monument. While some of these may be more similar to their real life counterparts than others, they’re all definitely worth admiring for a second. And as an added bonus, there is sure to be something of interest there for you.
Decide on Your Preferred Combat Style
Spending time early on in the game to decide which weapon category suits you best is the easiest way to take advantage of the skill points you acquire as you level up. If you’re a fan of explosives over small guns, make sure you’re putting a hefty amount of skill points into that over the various other combat-based options that you have to choose from.
Deciding on the way you’re going to tackle the dangers of the wasteland early on will help you with any slight hiccups in combat you may hit in your early hours. For those of you tackling the hardcore difficulty mode, this will generally just help you out throughout your playthrough. This doesn’t mean completely ignore all of your other skills, if you run out of grenades and fat boy ammo, you may need to depend on that trusty pistol instead.
What will you be doing as soon as you step foot into Fallout 4’s wasteland? Let us know in the comments below.
