How to Build a Camp in Fallout 76
One of the most important aspects of surviving in Appalachia in Fallout 76 is using a CAMP, or Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform. This handy all-in-one tool will let you set up a campsite where you can build all sorts of stations, buildings, and resources.
Just like in settlements in Fallout 4, your CAMP allows you to craft important structures like workbenches and turrets from scrap accumulated around the Wasteland.
However, the CAMP system has a lot of depth and may seem a bit overwhelming at times, but we’ve got you covered. Read on to learn the details on How to Build a Camp in Fallout 76.
How to Get Your CAMP
In order to use this magical survival device in Fallout 76, you’re going to need to actually make sure you grab it. Luckily, the CAMP is given to you right at the beginning of the game before you finish exiting Vault 76, along with a handful of other survival materials. Once you pick up your CAMP, it will permanently be in your inventory and you don’t have to ever worry about dropping it or losing it upon death.
How to Place Your CAMP
Placing your CAMP is simple, but finding the right spot can be tricky. To place your CAMP, all you need to do is open your Pip-Boy. Here’s how to do it for both consoles.
- Place CAMP on PS4 – Press circle to open the Pip Boy, then press L1 to bust out the machine and decide where to place it.
- Place CAMP on Xbox One – You can do the same as the above by pressing B and then LB.
However, there are some restrictions on placing your CAMP. If you are too close to a landmark, another building, or another player’s CAMP, you won’t be able to place your campsite, and the game will let you know by displaying a message and outlining the CAMP in red.
You can see the range of your CAMP’s area by a green sphere that is spread out around the immediate vicinity and if any parts of that sphere is red, you won’t be able to place the CAMP.
You also need to place your CAMP on semi-flat ground and we recommend making sure the surrounding area is relatively flat as well to minimize any issues while laying down structures.
Moving Your CAMP
Moving your CAMP will cost you a variable amount of caps, based on how far your current CAMP is from your new spot. Once you are able to place your CAMP, anything you have built previously will be placed into a Blueprint in the same orientation as you built it before.
A Blueprint can be used to instantly place all the structures within it as long as it meets any space requirements. This means you can keep expanding and growing your CAMP without having to worry about breaking things down and rebuilding everything each time.
If you ever change servers in Fallout 76, your CAMP will be placed in an identical location in your new server if possible. If the game cannot place it for any reason (such as another CAMP already being in the same location), then the game will again store the excess structures as Blueprints for you to unpack at your leisure.
Things to Build First
As you play Fallout 76, you will acquire Plans, which you can read in order to unlock more structures and resources to place around your CAMP. When you first start out you will be limited to only a handful of structures, but they will form the backbone to your future camping endeavors.
- Vault-Tec STASH – This crate is a must-have, as it lets you store items and then access them from any other STASH containers you find while traveling through Appalachia.
- Armor Workbench – Useful for creating new items, modifying current armor, and repairing damaged armor.
- Weapons Workbench – The same as above, but for weapons.
- Cooking station – Cook and combine foods from your inventory to make more nutritious and less irradiated foods.
- Sleeping Bag – Sleeping here will slowly recover health, and give you the Well-Rested bonus after sleeping long enough, which grants 5% bonus XP for an hour.
- Turret – Setting a few of these up to defend against other players or wildlife will help give you some defense when you are away.
Placing Structures
Placing walls and floors can not only make your campsite feel like home but will also give you better defense against the wilderness. To enter the crafting menu, hold down the corresponding button while in the vicinity of your CAMP (the touchpad on PS4 or View button on Xbox One) and you will be able to bring up the crafting menu.
From there, you can select a variety of walls and floors to place as you see fit, along with anything else you may need.
Make sure you keep an eye on the ‘Budget’ meter in the top right corner of the screen, as this shows how much more you can build at your campsite.
Constructing anything will automatically pull the appropriate scrap from your STASH or inventory as you build, and you can even label specific resources you might need to keep an eye out for in the Wasteland.
Containers and Locks
Anything you leave unlocked in your campsite can be accessed freely by other players. This means that if you don’t want to use your STASH and would rather use something like a locker to hold items, you should make sure you lock them before leaving or going to sleep.
Players can still try to pick the locks on locked containers but will be marked hostile once they do, allowing turrets to get in some shots against them. You can find out more about how to lockpick and how to increase your lockpicking skills in our other guide content.
Blueprints and Attached Structures
All structures you attach together can be secured in one Blueprint if you want to easily place it in another campsite. For example, if you have two floors and a wall attached together, those pieces can all come as one unit in a Blueprint, along with anything else attached to them.
If you create a handful of these connected pieces, you can eventually have a modular campsite that you can rearrange easily and in different layouts.
Co-Op Crafting
If you are at a party with friends, you can actually build structures at their campsite and vice-versa. However, one downside to this is that once a player logs out, anything they have built will disappear until they log in again.
This means that if your friend logs out while you are still playing, anything they built in your campsite will vanish as well, removing a part of your collective mega-camp.
Repairing Structures
Structures can get damaged from enemies and other players. If a structure sustains enough damage, you will need to spend scrap to repair it, and in the case of things like turrets, they won’t function until you patch them up as well.
To repair an object, you’ll need to head over to it and press the corresponding button, which will cause it to become repaired if you have the proper amount of scrap to do so. Keeping your campsite maintained is important to make sure it runs smoothly and can defend you against the wilderness of the wasteland.
The CAMP system in Fallout 76 offers a lot of unique and daunting functions for survivors to take advantage of, but hopefully, this guide has helped explain some of the basics of using your CAMP out in the wasteland of West Virginia.
If you need any other tips and tricks to help aid in your survival, be sure to check out our Fallout 76 wiki.
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