Hi all,

A quick question that I don't yet know the answer to.

I know you can arm settlers, but how does it all work ?

Do I have to supply ammunition to each settler, or is there a '1 bullet will suffice' kind of mechanic ?

Thanks for your help !!

When you talk to a settler outside the Building Mode, you will ask them to Trade. Give them any armour pieces or weapons and then, once they have the item in their inventory, click on it and you will see an Equip option. Only at that point will they actually wear or use the item.

As for Ammo, I believe a single bullet is sufficient but for RP reasons I always give them a couple of clips worth. I generally avoid the automatic weapons, preferring my settlers to use rifles.

Open trade with them, give them the gun (I dunno about ammo, I always give them some to be sure) then press T on the gun you gave. And that should do it.

Initiate dialogue and select "Trade" if it doesn't do so automatically. Trade the weapon (and ammo) you want with them. Press the "T" key while selecting the weapon, to equip it.

As long as it has ammo, they will use it. My understanding is they never run out of ammo for their default weapon (meaning whatever they had on them - usually something crummy), but I've never seen this theory in action for myself. My understanding is also that the "one bullet" thing does not work in Fallout 4 (I wish it did, and I would be arming everyone with much better stuff).

I usually just give them 20-30 rounds for regular arms, or 200-300 rounds if it's a minigun or whatever (I usually have like 5000 rounds in my inventory anyway).

If you give the settlers a weapon you also need to supply ammo. Personally I just equip the settlers I designate as guards with combat armor when I can because the default weapons settlers carry never run out of ammo.

I suppose it would make it too easy if the '1 bullet will suffice' mechanic worked.

Alternatively, could i supply each settler with a different version of the weapon they use by default ?

For example, a settler uses a standard pipe pistol, but I create, trade, then equip them with a modded pipe pistol. Would this then allow them to have unlimited ammo with this new, improved firearm ?

If you don't want to worry about ammo, you can alternatively just give everyone melee weapons.

I distribute proper arms to my designated guards at every settlement, and just give upgraded melee weapons to everyone else. When you've got 25 people at a settlement, the last thing you want is to painstakingly go around giving everyone ammo.

My Castle, for example, has six people patrolling the upper catwalk with fully upgraded gatling lasers and heavy combat armor. Everyone down below farming and running shops just has Minutemen jackets and melee stuff.

I don't think so. I've also never gotten an answer as to what happens if you remove their default weapon, upgrade it, and then hand it back to them - and never tried it myself. My guess is taking it out of their inventory probably "breaks" it's status as their default weapon.

In reality, well defended settlements seem to get attacked so little, that handing them a few rounds may be something you only ever have to do once anyway.

My Sanctuary and Castle are well defended, and literally have never been touched in over four days of accumulated play time.

it does work that way, one bullet for the gun they use is enough. This works for settlers, provisioners and any companion not actively travelling with you.

Have you seen this in action yourself? I've gotten conflicting answers on whether the "one round" mechanic works in this game.

I'd be bummed if it does, because otherwise I'd have everyone with plasma weapons by now, haha.

I've tested this several times, I have Strong in one of my settlements that has been attacked various times, his Minigun never uses the one ammo I provided, same with settlers. Checked out provisioners that I just witnessed having a fire fight, they still had their one round I provided.

I'll give this a try when I get a chance.

If it does work, I think i'll try to just arm my settlers with 'basic' weapons like pistols or shotguns for my workers, and rifles for my guards, in an attempt to keep some kind of semi-realism.

I can't comment on companions as I never use them so they sit with their original weaponry.

However I do reequip settlers and those I make Provisioners.

I tend to stay away from 1 round (to be honest ammo isn't that hard to get).
Settlers get a couple of clips worth of ammo for the weapon they are using.
Provisioners get a 3-crank laser musket with 12 fusion cells and a single plasma grenade.

After watching a Provisioner throw around grenades with abandon and spend about 5 mins in a laser duel with raiders I went to trade and they still had 12 fusion cells and the single plasma grenade.
I miss more settlement raids than I get back to but at no point has the equipped amount of ammo on a Settler with a better weapon ever been lower than the number of rounds I originally gave them.

I think how people get confused about the 1 bullet, unlimited ammo. Concerns companions. If, the companion is also your traveling companion, and you give them a weapon. You have to supply them with ammo as long as they're with you.

Once you dismiss them from your group, then like settler, provisioners, etc. It's the one bullet rule.

Settlers, just like any other NPCs in the game except companions does not use ammo (including grenades). Exception are mininukes and rockets. They however need to have at last one bullet or grenade in the inventory to use it.

So, if you will give your settler weapon but no ammo, it will not use it. If you will give him weapon and single bullet, it will use it without ever expending that one bullet.

I had a rescue mission at Saugus last night. Got into a scrap with the Forged at the entrance. Saw laser shots coming from behind me. One of the Provisioners from The Slog decided to pass by a notorious spot for bad guys on their route??? She joined in the fight and easily used up more than the amount of ammo I had provided. (I always give 10 rounds of whatever is required) Even taking out the 3 enemies on the roof by herself. Checked after the 'ash' had settled and she still had 10 FC ammo.

Thanks all.

Answers the question nicely

I'll stop scrapping all my guns now then and start dishing them out !

I have been in multiple defenses where the settlers were blazing away and didn't use any ammo. Companions are a different story.

I do believe that if you give them something like a MInigun, which fires 25 round bursts, you have to give them at least 25, but I haven't tested this out yet.

Good point, I gave one to a guard in sanctuary. But not had the opportunity to see it being used yet. To be safe, will give it a full 25.....carrying closed to 2,000...won't miss 24 more.

My field-test for the settler ammo thing happened like this:

I was equipping a guard at one of my settlements with an assault rifle. I saw something moving in the distance just before I was about to open up the trade menu with him- VATS'd it - it was a bloatfly or something. I took a couple of shots at it, making sure to miss and get him and his buddies coming in closer, just to see how the ammo thing was going to work on a settler with a non-default weapon. I gave him the assault rifle and ONE round of 5.56 ammo. The fly got closer, my guard said "Whu...? HEY!" ~POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP~ .... he fired like 20 shots at a dam bloatfly with only round of ammo, and it was still in his inventory afterwards.

On the other hand, actual companions eat ammo for real. I had one I had given the railway rifle to... she fired like 30 spikes at one guy to take him down. Seems like they will burn through ammo at the maximum fire rate of whatever weapon you give them.

It occurs to me you could test the rate of fire settlers give out with whatever weapon you give them by going to a settlement with very few settlers so you can really watch the results in detail, do a save, give them whatever weapon you're testing, and open fire and attack them or somebody else there and see how they respond with volume of fire when they turn hostile to you. Re-load and make nice afterwards.

It does work this way (confirming+1). I give my guards miniguns with ONE bullet. I have witnessed two attacks with these guards present and they open up like mobile turrets.

I did. Works like this since Fallout 3 btw (with NPCs).

In my experience:

Go in to trade with them

Give them the weapon.

Use whatever button/key you need to equip it (on the PS4 it's the triangle)

Give them 1 ammo

They will use that weapon thereafter.

Same thing with clothing/outfits.