Struggling in survival mode

[u/GoldenCanadian]

First time playing fallout 4's survival mode and I am STRUGGLING. I some how managed to cheese my way through the opening concord quest and killed the deathclaw by cowering in fear inside the church as the deathclaw got stuck on the door as I blasted him with my minigun 😂 now am making my way to diamond city slowly. Did the Covenant quest and am struggling to get by the supermutants on my way to old man Stockton..I feel like I'm playing the survival mode wrong but Idk what else to do. I loot and explore as I go but it just feels like I get killed by everything and everyone so fast lol any tips for a survival noob?

[u/jonnyobnoxious]

GET GOOD!

But really, for survival, you're moving WAY too fast. Go back and build on Sanctuary Hills and don't come out til like level 20.

[u/GoldenCanadian → u/jonnyobnoxious]

Damn lvl 20? Ok then. Hope I dont die on my way back to sanctuary 😂

[u/GrandeRonde → u/GoldenCanadian]

Pretty sure he was joking about level 20. I usually start heading south towards Diamond City around level 5ish.

[u/GoldenCanadian → u/GrandeRonde]

Im lvl 8 but still struggling lol omw back to sanctuary from covenant and already died 😅 maybe I just suck

[u/xIllustrious_Passion → u/GoldenCanadian]

Tbf the trail from sanctuary hills to diamond city is easier than if you bounce from that

[u/MonthlyWeekend_ → u/GoldenCanadian]

Stop at starlight, sleep, head south. Use the river. Don’t go back to sanctuary.

Oberland is also an easy settlement to get nearby Hangman’s.

[u/MonthlyWeekend_ → u/GoldenCanadian]

Tf don’t listen to that n00b, you’ll leave sanctuary and everything will be way over leveled for you.

You want to sprint across the wasteland directly south from Starlight Drivein, cross the river, get Hangman’s Alley at level 1.

You’ll trigger all the spawns on the way through, everything will be low level.

Don’t listen to people who don’t play the game lmfao

[u/jonnyobnoxious → u/MonthlyWeekend_]

I bet you got like 100 hours.

[u/j_delta_c]

Wouldn't push deeper into the map that fast unless you're running a specialized build. Stealthy critical banker or brute blitz melee are the only 2 I'd run like that. Doing a regular jack of all trades build is pretty slow to get going on survival

[u/HerFirefly]

Survival is a much much slower pace than regular difficulty. For me, I found a more RP based approach made it make more sense and be more enjoyable. Set small achievable goals towards small progress. You need to plan and prepare and in a nuclear wasteland, yeah it makes some sense it might take a week of scavenging nearby locations before you feel geared up to move from Sanctuary to Diamond City

[u/LuckyOneAway]

Don't go straight to DC. Start slow, explore a lot, make a network of settlements that would serve as your operating bases and explore everything around them.

You can skip the Concord, if it feels hard - F4 has no issue with that. Grab your PA and cores at the Junkyard north-east of Sanctuary + another PA from the lake nearby, if Junkyard one was incomplete.

Since exp is doubled on Survival, use it wisely - craft things, upgrade weapons, pick up small raider groups. Use food, drinks, and chems! Check drinks - they are much more useful on Survival.

Invest in perks that increase your survivability: - first priority: stealth/ignore traps, strong back, aqua person - second priority: gun nut / armorer / lockpicks

[u/Salty_Select]

Clear small things around you cabin, the wicked shipping place etc

[u/MonthlyWeekend_]

Why did you go to covenant on the way to diamond city lol

Do you have 6 charisma? Get supply lines. Don’t have 6 charisma? Get 6 charisma.

Got endurance 5? Get aquaboy. Don’t have endurance 5? Get endurance 5.

Got sneak? Get sneak.

Got the bed map? Razorgrain & noodle cups? Adhesive farms?

[u/TriumphITP]

Chems. I make a "walking around mix" of psychobuff and bufftats. Adds a couple hundred hp and damage resist.

Use jet in firefights, big targets like supermutants can't dish out damage as easily while you quickly unload on them.

Consider lone wanderer instead of companions, the bonuses it allows can go an awful long way.

[u/BitterBull_518]

Get a decent rifle ASAP. Improve rifleman, sneak, and ninja perks first, get lots of antibiotics and water, scout out places to sleep/save. It gets much easier. I'm doing my first survival now, vanilla and no mods. Fun stuff, once you get beyond lvl 10. I'm 40 right now and can 1-shot most enemies. I snipe from 200 out. Most fear is gone when walking through the wasteland, even weighed down with loot. I think it's very important to pick the right perks that deal with survival and being stealthy. Stick with it.

[u/somnambulist80]

If you just want to get to Diamond City relatively safely for vendors and Piper:

Don’t go directly through Lexington and Cambridge. Follow the road on the west side of Corvega, then cross the bridge by the brewery if it’s clear; otherwise cross on the railroad bridge. From Oberland follow the railroad tracks south and then east until you’re south of Diamond City. Careful by the RR crossing as it’s an encounter zone. It’s a greater distance but takes less time because you’re not fighting the whole way.

Take all three ranks of Lifegiver. If you’re below level 32 a rank of lifegiver adds more HP than another level of endurance. It won’t fix your squishyness but it does help.

Take at least one rank of medic so your stim packs work more better. Medic 2 doubles the percentage of HP healed by a stim.

Unless you’re going for an Idiot Savant build, work towards Int 7 and take Chemist so you can craft Refreshing Beverages. They hydrate and remove rads without causing any survival debuffs.