Fallout 4 is a massive departure from the other games in the Fallout series. Unlike past games, this entry puts much more focus on rebuilding the wasteland instead of character interaction. While many hardcore fans hated this change, most Fallout 4 fans have seen the shift in gameplay rhythm as a positive.
Exploration has never been more important, with dungeons granting permanent buffs in the form of magazines and invaluable junk. Junk is the backbone of everything in Fallout 4, with it being required to build everything from guns to settlements. Players will need as much junk as they can get to appreciate most of Fallout 4’s systems, but this can be rather tedious. Thankfully, there are things that players can do to make the grind less aggravating. Here are some tips for gathering scrap and building materials in Fallout 4.
Fallout 4: How To Scrap Items
There are two ways to scrap items in Fallout 4 and convert them into resources; this guide explains how both of them work.
Updated May 4, 2024, by Benjamin Joe: Fallout 4 has seen a spike in popularity. Despite being released in 2015, the game is reaching new heights thanks to the release of the hit Fallout TV series. With all these new players, it seems like a good time to give this article an update. While things have remained largely the same when it comes to the best ways to farm junk, there are a few extra bits and pieces that players may find useful. It’s important to note that a couple of the entries require players to own the DLC expansions for Fallout 4.
15 Gather And Scrap All Weapons
Never Leave A Weapon Behind
Weapons can be found in abundance in Fallout 4. From scavenging to quest rewards, there are lots of ways that players can find weapons. Enemies will typically drop their weapons upon death, which can actually be scrapped into parts. This is a fantastic way to get junk without having to just walk around gathering random items.
This is only possible if the player has the Scrapper perk unlocked, which should be a given. Each level of the perk, up until level 3, provides more materials. From a simple Pipe Pistol, one of the most common weapons in the game, it’s possible to get nuclear material at level 3, as well as screws, springs, copper, and gears.
14 Use The Resource Duplication Glitch
A New Duplication Glitch Has Been Found
Bethesda’s open-world games are often known for their bugs and glitches that sometimes make for viable strategies. Such is also the case with Fallout 4, where it’s possible to use an item duplication glitch to one’s advantage when gathering more items starts to feel like a chore.
There have been lots of duplication glitches in Fallout 4 over the years. Most of them have been patched. However, like in most games, when one glitch is patched, a new one is discovered. The duplication glitch that players may have used previously was fixed, but luckily, there’s a new one that players can use to generate as much junk as they like. It was posted on YouTube by Demon Asylum. While duplicating items isn’t for everyone, those that play the game solely for settlement building may find it useful.
13 Establish Supply Lines
Share Resources Across Settlements
- Rank up to Level 1 Of Local Leader (requires 6 Charisma)
- Head to a settlement
- Open the workshop menu
- Find a settler
- Assign the settler to a supply line via the button prompt at the bottom of the screen.
This tip has more to do with managing junk rather than gathering it, but it will be a huge quality of life upgrade when it comes to sharing resources between multiple Fallout 4 settlements. Players will need to unlock the Local Leader perk to gain access to settlement supply lines.
Fallout 4: 10 Junk Items You Should Never Leave Behind
There are a lot of junk items in Fallout 4 that players pass over but some of them should never be left behind.
Basically, this feature allows players to share the inventory of workshop stations between all their settlements. This means any junk or items scrapped in one settlement can be used for building in another. It’s an essential perk to have when it comes to managing the resources the player gains, but also allows players to gather junk into shared storage across various settlements, with no need to travel around.
12 Build Scavenging Stations
Generate Junk Passively
Some players might not know this, but settlers without an assigned job will produce one piece of random junk every day, which will be stored in the workshop. To boost these numbers, players can build Scavenging Stations. This increases the number to two pieces of junk once a settler is assigned to it.
To build a Scavenging Station, players will need three pieces of steel and five pieces of wood. Make sure to assign settlers to the station after placing it down. It’s not the most efficient way of generating junk, but it’s a nice side business to take some of the pressure off the player’s shoulders to get all the materials.
Note that after the workshop inventory is considered “full” by the game, these stations no longer generate junk. As such, it’s best to use it in the early game stages.
11 Build The Eyebot Pod
A DLC Boost
Those with the Automatron DLC actually get access to a convenient machine called the Eyebot Pod. It’s another settlement build that can be plopped down anywhere and will dispense a robot to go and look for a specific item the player has requested. Once found, a quest marker will appear at its location.
To make the Eyebot Pod, quite a few resources are needed, but it’s well worth the price if finding rare resources is starting to become a headache. Players will need six pieces of aluminum, four pieces of circuitry, two pieces of copper, two pieces of fiber optics, and two pieces of nuclear material. Be sure to also have the Eyebot Pod schematics at hand, found at the new Mechanist’s lair.
10 Max Out Strong Back
Carry More Junk
Carrying as much junk as possible is critical for getting the most out of every dungeon. Strong Back is a fantastic perk for this, granting extra carry weight with each rank.
When it’s fully upgraded, being over-encumbered doesn’t prevent the player from fast traveling. This is fantastic for grabbing everything in an area and traveling back to a settlement to scrap it all. If being over-encumbered bothers the player, maximize the Strength stat and invest in Deep Pocket armor mods for some more breathing room.
9 Players Can “Grow” Adhesive In Player Settlements
Farm Adhesive From Home
Adhesive is an uncommon resource in Fallout 4 that is needed in virtually every weapon, armor, or settlement build. Since it comes in short supply, it is a good idea to farm this item specifically.
Thankfully, players can craft Adhesive from their own virtual backyard. At any cooking station, combining 3 Corn, 3 Mutfruit, 3 Tato, and 1 Purified Water will create Vegetable Starch. This starch is the equivalent of 5 Adhesive, making it the best method of farming Adhesive in the game.
8 Use Companions As Pack Mules
A Perk Of Having Friends
This wouldn’t be a Bethesda game if a companion wasn’t sworn to carry the survivor’s burdens. Companions are just as well-suited to carrying the players’ items as the player is, so enjoy it.
Equip companions with Deep Pocket armor and let them carry all the heavy items. This grants an extra 200–300 pounds to the player’s overall loot haul from every expedition. Strong and Paladin Danse are the best for this since they have high Strength stats.
7 Tag Items
Find Certain Components With Ease
- Open the Pip-Boy
- Head to the Junk tab
- Press the button to view core components (bottom of the screen)
- Press the button to highlight any required core components (bottom of the screen)
- Once components have been highlighted, they will appear much clearer when looting.
Tagging things is essential for efficiently farming resources in Fallout 4. Without tagging, it is much more likely players will miss core items that they will need later on to make amazing gear.
When an item is tagged, objects containing that item will glow a vibrant green color to notify the player of a good item that should be looted. Do this for Aluminium, Nuclear Material, Ballistic Weave, Screws, or anything else that can be tricky to come by.
6 Grab Everything
Fallout Encourages Hoarding
It sounds simple, but many people forget to do this. Unlike other Fallout titles, clutter has a purpose now. If the player has a high carry weight, then they should pick up all the junk items that they come across. There is rarely a time when it isn’t worth it.
Weight is the only thing driving players back from stealing bucket loads worth of supplies, but there are ways around this limit. Maximize the Strength stat, use Power Armor, or use any tips mentioned in the guide to help mitigate this issue. Yields from each outing can double or sometimes triple when the player can afford to grab and store everything in sight.
5 Purchase Shipments Of Resources
A Costly Way To Obtain More Resources
Sometimes players need a particular junk item that will not spawn. Certain zones that are known for high quantities of resources can be farmed, but this can be a pain for lower-level characters.
Fallout 4: 7 Items You Should Never Sell To Merchants
While some items are completely fine to sell for extra Caps in Fallout 4, these are ones that you should hold onto.
Like most things in Fallout 4, players can buy resources from vendors. Look out for shipment items that vendors frequently sell. These are bundles of resources that have a moderate fee attached to them. If the player has the money, these vendors can save hours worth of farming, allowing the player to focus on other stuff instead.
4 Cranberry Island Supply Room Farm
A Far Harbor Secret Stash
Those who own the Far Harbour DLC for Fallout 4 have a phenomenal farming spot that offers players lots of materials. Head to Cranberry Island and look for a particular shed.
Head to Cranberry Island Bog and explore the island, killing all enemies in sight. The dormant generators on the island need to be activated. After all three are on, head to a nearby bunker and kill the ghouls to obtain the key to this shed. This shed contains dozens of uncommon and rare materials, and this area resets every couple of days. Head to a new location, wait a few days, then return to obtain a fresh batch of supplies for crafting.
3 Scrapper Works On Workshop Items
Gain More Junk From Scrapping
While this won’t prevent farming junk and crafting materials altogether, there is a neat trick to preserving some of the materials spent on making items.
Scrapper grants more items from salvaging, mainly meant for earning uncommon and rare materials from armor and guns. However, the perk omits the fact that it grants extra materials from scrapped workshop items as well. If the player makes a settlement build that they don’t like, get all 3 ranks in Scrapper and tear the place down to get most of the uncommon materials back.
2 Deposit All Junk To Workbenches
Don’t Get Weighed Down By Junk
Some players drop their items in a ring around them when returning to a settlement to manually scrap their materials, since scrapping items through the workshop doesn’t give players every type of junk. Don’t do this. Instead, head to the junk tab in the workshop UI and press the “store all junk” button.
This will store all items in the junk tab without having to scrap them individually. Any crafting options that require built items, such as, Abraxo Cleaner, can be built, and materials needed will be scraped as needed for their full worth. This can save dozens of minutes or even hours manually scrapping items that the player finds.
1 Turn Water Into Resources
Water Makes Money, Money Makes Junk
How the character knows how to create water purifiers at the start of Fallout 4 doesn’t make any sense, but it is possible to capitalize on this knowledge and create a never-ending stream of income.
Creating more water than a settlement needs will result in Purified Water being made. This water is worth a decent amount of caps on its own. Creating dozens of water purifiers can result in hundreds of water bottles daily. Sell these to vendors for lots of extra income, and then use the money to buy shipments of any junk. Players can effectively turn water into any resource that they want with this strategy.
Fallout 4
- Released
- November 10, 2015
