Fallout 4 is Bethesda’s most recent numbered sequel in the franchise. After the release of Fallout 3 and New Vegas, gamers hoped that the developer and publisher would improve on the franchise. For some, the story left more to be desired. Many felt that the storyline was too predictable, but enjoyed some of the unique side quests.

Gamers who didn’t enjoy the story complimented the gameplay. The game deviated towards action-adventure more than role-playing but offered several more features. Players could now enjoy rebuilding settlements, companion romances, modding weapons, and smoother battles. These elements kept gamers coming back for more. Since there’s no time limit to complete the main plotline, players could take tens or hundreds of real-world hours base-building. They wanted to make their home in the Commonwealth the best ideal place to live.

Fallout 4 is an open-world where almost anything can happen. Most gamers take on the suggestions that the tutorials pop-up, but don’t take it upon themselves to maximize their gameplay experience. There are several ways to enjoy Fallout 4, and most only scratch the surface. VATS is vital during action-sequences but can be easily manipulated to ensure you always win against your foes. Cooking is not just there for show either; instead of scrambling for one product, it can be cooked in a kitchen.

If you’re curious about what you may be doing wrong in Fallout 4, review our list on how to make the best out of your journey in the Commonwealth. Before continuing, beware that our list contains some spoilers if you haven’t completed the game yet.

25 Careful Where You Sleep At Night

While out in the Commonwealth, you may find empty camps or sleeping bags in abandoned buildings. Don’t feel tempted to sleep in the first mattress you see. Take the time to travel to a settlement or a rented bed.

After sleeping for at least 7 hours, you’ll receive the “Well Rested” perk.

As a bonus, you’ll temporarily receive +10% XP for the next 12 in-game hours. Though a random bed in the Commonwealth may appear tempting, it’s worth the wait to rent a room for the night.

24 Create Unique Names For Every Weapon

Fallout 4 allows players to customize their weapons in a variety of ways with the weapons workbench. They require the Sole Survivor to have the “Gun Nut” perk for ballistic mods, “Blacksmith” for melee weapons, and “Science!” for energy weapons or a combination of two for more complicated mods. The weapons all have basic names which may become confusing when you’re trying to find your favorite new toy. Solve the confusion by renaming your weapons when you’re at the workbench.

23 The Best Dog Trick Ever

Dogmeat has appeared in almost every Fallout game. In Fallout 4, the loveable canine can not only do tricks, search for enemies, and retrieve items. If you’ve ever encountered a locked safe or longingly stared at the Cryolator trapped behind glass, don’t fret. You won’t have to worry about raising your Lockpicking skill, then coming back to retrieve it. Dogmeat has the magical ability to open hard to open locks. If Dogmeat isn’t available, Cait has a high enough lockpicking skill to free the unique weapon.

22 Maybe You Should Help Another Settlement

Many consider the Minutemen’s Preston Garvey to be the most repetitive quest giver in the game. Garvey always has a new settlement that needs help again. Don’t ignore his requests.

After helping Preston Garvey protect other settlements a few times, he’ll open up new places for you to explore.

These settlements will first have to be cleared out, but they’re new locations for the Sole Survivor to rest after a long day. Helping the Minutemen will eventually unlock the Castle, which is a giant fort overlooking the ocean, along with a new type of defense firearm: the artillery cannon.

21 Don’t Pass By Special Items

Since Fallout went from isometric to first and third-person, you may notice there’s an increase in loot. Most of the items you’ll discover in the Commonwealth are junk. It’s easy to walk past anything that isn’t a weapon. However, there is some loot that should always be picked up.

Anything that has a unique name, such as the Silver Shroud costume and firearm, shouldn’t be ignored. These items will likely be used for a quest down the line. Even if you don’t have enough room to carry them, place them in a storage trunk at a settlement for easy access later.

20 A Quicker Way To Reload

VATS slows down time so the Sole Survivor can land that perfect shot. It has more uses than to target a specific point on an enemy. There are other ways VATS can be utilized. When an enemy suddenly appears behind a tree, you may feel panicked if your weapon isn’t loaded. When your firearm is empty, take the shot anyway. Your character will not only hit their target but reload in the process. It’s a much more efficient way to defeat your enemy instead of manually reloading after each shot.

19 Cooking Can Replace Missing Ingredients

Fallout 4 opens several modification options, such as weapons, building furniture, and cooking. Some crafting ingredients are more difficult to find, such as Adhesive. This ingredient is vital to many upgrades in the game.

Luckily, you don’t have to buy overpriced Adhesive or wait until it respawns.

If your settlement has a thriving vegetable garden, pick three each of tato, corn, mutfruit, and ask Codsworth to supply you with Purified Water. These items will create Vegetable Starch, which has the value of five adhesive.

18 They Won’t Assign Themselves

Settlements can be fun to rebuild, especially when you watch new settlers move in. Some will ask you how they can help, but others are much shyer. Assigning all of your settlers to various tasks is essential. They will be responsible for guarding the settlement while you’re away.

Settlers must also be designated as “Supply Lines” who travel back and forth to your other settlements. They will help supply smaller settlements with much-needed items. It’s unfortunate they don’t have the initiative and assign themselves to the task.

17 Hone Into Their Weaknesses

Fallout 1 and 2 included a helpful perk called “Awareness.” This perk gives essential information about an enemy. Fallout 3 and New Vegas skipped this valuable perk, but it was re-added in Fallout 4.

In the most recent game, the Sole Survivor can see what their resistances enemies have, along with their current level. The Nuka-World DLC increases the power of this perk to level 2 with a 5% increase. With so many enemies in the game, knowing what they’re weak to will make your battles easier.

16 Take Cover!

Most enemies in Fallout 4 have a firearm. If attacking from a long range, will try to fire at you first. They’ll only take out a melee item if you get too close.

If you’re a better long-range fighter than getting close, there are ways to utilize your environment to your advantage.

If your enemy is on the corner of a wall, have the Sole Survivor press against it, aim down your sight, and your character will lean out. This gameplay tip is only mentioned at the beginning of the game and is something most players never discover.

15 Get The Brahmin Back On Land

Fallout 4 may run much smoother than previous games, but some still encounter glitches. Bethesda does their best to fix them as quickly as possible in updates, but they don’t catch everything. One of the issues happens within settlements.

After entering a house, a Brahmin may waiting inside. If it’s not inside, it may be stuck on someone’s roof. Instead of feeling frustrated that you have to live with a loud pack animal, save and reload. Once the game restarts, the Brahmin should safely be back on land.

14 Increase Your Carry Weight By Cooking

Cooking has several benefits in Fallout 4. Not only can you create crafting ingredients, but also make delicious meals that restore your HP. Cooked items also come with side-effects that act as temporary perks.

If you find yourself carrying too much, cook up a hearty meal of Grilled Radstag. This meal will increase your carry weight by +25. If you don’t have any Radstag handy, consume a bottle of an adult beverage. It will increase your carry weight by 10+ and stack with Grilled Rag. You’ll have enough time to head back home to store your valuables or sell them.

13 Recycle Those Spare Weapons

Weapons are the difference between surviving and reloading your game in the Commonwealth. The Sole Survivor will find several stray weapons during their journey. There’s more you can do with extra firearms other than selling them.

The “Gun Nut” perk is essential in upgrading your firearms at a workbench.

This perk also means that you can take weapons you’ve found and strip them down for parts. By breaking down the firearms, you can use mods that you haven’t created yet.

12 Protect Your Power Armor

Power Armor gives the player an advantage during gameplay. While walking around a settlement, you may find it’s easier to wander around on your own two feet. If you’re going to take a break from wearing Power Armor, take special precautions first.

Many players make the mistake of leaving a power core inside the armor. Any NPC or enemy can use Power Armor. If you make the mistake of leaving your armor powered up, don’t be surprised if you see a Raider inside.

11 Use VATS To Speed Up Time

VATS can be used for more than just targeting an enemy. It slows down time but speeds up explosives. After throwing an explosive projectile, you will have to wait for it to detonate. The enemies can run past it, meaning that your valuable weapon is lost for good. To always make your mark, throw your projectile, then immediately bring up VATS. Target your enemy, then launch your attack. The projectile will explode, even if you didn’t fire at it. This is an effective way to attack your enemies with both firearms and explosives.

10 Save That Attack For Later

Every time you attack an enemy in VATS, the Sole Survivor’s critical hit meter will rise. This meter will continue to rise until you manually use it in battle. Don’t feel pressured to use your crit attack before you’re ready.

The crit meter won’t decrease or increase until you decide to use it in an attack.

This becomes essential when a powerful Legendary creature comes along. The Sole Survivor will want to save their most powerful attacks for the most lethal creatures. When it comes to VATS crits, it’s better to be prepared than sorry.

9 Cook A Meal Before Buying An Antidote

The Fallout series doesn’t want its players to go overboard on aid. If you take too many substances, there’s a risk of becoming addicted. Typically, the only way to cure addictions is by paying a hefty sum of bottle caps at a clinic or buying aid that removes the dependence.

Curing your addiction can be expensive. Before buying Addictol, head to a Cooking Station instead. Cooking up various meals, such as a Radscorpion egg omelet, will not only restore HP but has the positive side-effect of curing an addiction.

8 A Less Lonely Journey

The Sole Survivor may decide to stay solo during their journey to find Shaun. The “Lone Wanderer” perk will make up for a missing companion by adding +50 carry weight and 15% less damage. The perk doesn’t work if you bring along a humanoid companion. There is a workaround for those who need extra carry weight. The perk does not count Dogmeat as a companion, even though you can’t bring him plus another friend along. You can still bring Dogmeat and use him as extra storage.

7 Sneaking Is Easier Than You Think

There are several ways to make it through Fallout 4’s many abandoned buildings. The Sole Survivor can bring their favorite essential companion and take out everything inside, or plan ahead. Stealth can be used to get past almost anything.

While crouching, you are practically invisible unless you get too close to an enemy.

After taking down an enemy, their friend will be shocked and begin searching for you. All you have to do is run away and crouch, even when wearing Power Armor. After a few seconds, their friend will completely forget what happened.

6 Don’t Panic After Exiting VATS

Many players prefer to use VATS when attacking in battle. VATS slows down time, making it easier to aim at specific parts of your enemies’ bodies. There is only a limited time to use VATS for each attack.

Attacking in VATS doesn’t always mean the end of your enemies. Instead of racing to enter VATS again, take a breath. After exiting, your firearm will be centered on the center of your target’s body. Though you won’t have VATS to help, it’ll give you an advantage when facing your enemy.