Getting Started

First Hour Walkthrough

Your first hour in Fallout 4 is a guided tutorial broken into these steps:

1. Character Creation – In the bathroom mirror of your pre-war home (Vault 111 sequence), you customize appearance and assign SPECIAL stats. See details below.
2. Pre-War Home – Interact with your spouse, baby Shaun, and the Vault-Tec Rep. Follow the corridor to the front door, then to the bus and the Vault entrance.
3. Vault 111 – Go through the decontamination arch, get Vault 111 suit and Pip-Boy from the Overseer. Witness the cryo-pod scene and your spouse’s death. Eventually exit the vault at the end of the tutorial.
4. Sanctuary Hills – Explore your neighborhood. Loot your pre-war house (gold bars, caps, ammo). Talk to Codsworth (your robot butler). He gives you a short tour and a quest to go to Concord.
5. Concord (Museum of Freedom) – Follow the road to Concord. Inside the museum you meet Preston Garvey and the Minutemen. Clear the raiders, then go to the roof to get Power Armor and the Minigun. Use them to kill the Deathclaw outside.
6. Return to Sanctuary – Walk back with Preston & crew. The game now opens up: you have a settlement, a companion, and a main quest—"The Molecular Level" (follow the Freedom Trail) or explore freely.

Character Creation

You can adjust: Face, Hair, Skin color, Body type (male/female), and SPECIAL stats (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck).

• Tips for new players:

- Balanced spread (S4, P4, E3, C4, I4, A3, L4) gives versatility.
- If you want better dialogue/merchant prices, invest in Charisma (C).
- Intelligence (I) speeds up XP gain and unlocks crafting perks.
- Luck (L) increases critical hit rate and loot odds – very forgiving for beginners.

• Appearance changes can be done later via barbers/surgeons in Diamond City.


• Your character name matters only for Codsworth – he says it if it’s in the list.

Controls (All Platforms)

PC (Keyboard & Mouse)

Xbox Controller

PlayStation Controller

Note: Quick Save is not default on consoles; you must pause and save manually. Save often!

UI Overview

• Health Bar (top left) – Red when injured, broken into segments. Use food, stimpaks, or sleep to heal.


• AP Bar (top left, below health) – Action Points for sprinting and VATS. Recharge quickly.


• Compass (top center) – Shows direction, quest markers (white diamond), discovered locations (triangle).


• Ammo counter (bottom right) – Current magazine / total ammo.


• Weapon Condition – Not a thing in Fallout 4; weapons degrade in durability? No, they don’t. Repair is irrelevant.


• Pip-Boy (tap Tab/B/O):

- STATS: Level, HP, AP, carry weight, perks, status effects.
- ITEMS: Weapons, armor, apparel, aid, misc, junk, mods. Junk can be scrapped for raw materials.
- DATA: Quests (main, side, misc), holotapes, notes, radio stations.
- MAP: World map with discovered locations, fast travel points.

• HUD Colors – Can be changed in settings (for colorblind options).




Essential Early Objectives



1. Exit Vault 111 – Complete the tutorial.
2. Reach Sanctuary Hills – Meet Codsworth, get basic gear.
3. Travel to Concord – Fight raiders, free Preston Garvey.
4. Acquire Power Armor & Minigun – From the museum roof. Use them to kill the Deathclaw.
5. Return to Sanctuary – Talk to Codsworth to start settlement tutorial.
6. Build a Settlement Workshop – Scrap junk, build a bed, water pump, defenses.
7. Choose a Main Quest Path – Either follow the “Freedom Trail” (to find the Railroad) or head to Diamond City as the main story suggests.



What to Do First vs. What to Avoid





Do First



• Loot everything in Vault 111 (Vault suit, gold bars, caps, ammo).


• Immediately scrap junk at a workshop to learn raw components.


• Accept the Minutemen quest (“When Freedom Calls”) from Codsworth or the radio.


• Explore the Red Rocket gas station near Sanctuary for workbenches.


• Build a bed in Sanctuary (sleep saves and heals).


• Save often.




Avoid



• Wandering too far south (towards Lexington, Cambridge) – high-level enemies (super mutants, ghouls) will kill you.


• Swimming in irradiated water without Rad-X or a hazmat suit – radiation sickness reduces max HP.


• Selling unique items – Gold bars, wedding ring (later can be used in a quest), Vault-Tec bobbleheads (permanent stat boosts).


• Killing essential NPCs – Preston, Codsworth, Diamond City guards, etc. They are essential (cannot die).


• Over-encumbering – Moving slowly makes you a target. Drop or scrap junk.


• Ignoring settlement building – Settlements provide free resources, water, caps, and safe storage.


• Engaging multiple enemies head-on without VATS or cover. Use VATS to target legs to slow them.

Early Resource Priorities

Tip: Scrap junk at a workshop (use “Transfer” -> “Scrap All Junk” when storing). You can also mark specific components for search in Pip-Boy (Items -> Junk -> “Tag for Search”).

Common Beginner Mistakes

1. Not using VATS – VATS is a core combat tool. It pauses time, allows targeted shots, and grants critical hits. Use LB/L1/Q frequently.
2. Ignoring the settlement system – Many new players skip Sanctuary building, missing out on free water, caps from crops, and safe storage.
3. Hoarding everything – You have limited carry weight. Pick up only high-value junk (screws, gears, adhesive) and weapons/armor with good weight-to-cap ratio.
4. Not saving often – The game has softlocks, crashes, and tough fights. Quick Save every few minutes (F5 on PC). Save manually before entering new areas.
5. Running out of ammo – Early on, use melee (security baton, lead pipe) to conserve .38 and 10mm ammo. Loot every corpse.
6. Not checking your active quests – You may wander into high-level zones. Follow the compass to avoid dangerous regions.
7. Rushing through dialogue – Some dialogue choices affect quest outcomes and faction relationships. Read carefully.

Day-One Checklist

• [ ] Complete Vault 111 intro and character creation.


• [ ] Exit the vault and explore Sanctuary Hills.


• [ ] Scrap all junk in Sanctuary via the workshop.


• [ ] Build a bed (sleep to save and heal).


• [ ] Build a water pump (provides clean water).


• [ ] Meet Codsworth and complete his dialogue.


• [ ] Travel to Concord (follow the road).


• [ ] Clear raiders from the Museum of Freedom.


• [ ] Get Power Armor (frame with fusion core) and Minigun from the roof.


• [ ] Kill the Deathclaw outside (use the minigun and armor).


• [ ] Return to Sanctuary with Preston.


• [ ] Talk to Codsworth about the next main quest.


• [ ] Save the game (manual save).


• [ ] Optional: Build a small shack, plant a few crops (mutfruit, corn, tatos).

Once you complete this checklist, you are ready to explore the Commonwealth. Good luck, Sole Survivor!