How to wait in Fallout 4: Passing time explained

If you’re new to the game after becoming a fan of the Fallout TV show, too, you’ll be new to concepts such as waiting and how to quickly pass time in Fallout 4.

Trickier than in other Fallout and Bethesda games, there are a couple of ways in which you can advance time quickly in Fallout 4 – waiting and resting. You will need to interact with different in-game objects to achieve both.

Fortunately for you, we’re here to help with both waiting and resting.

Here's how to wait in Fallout 4, skip to the end of the page to find out how to rest.

How to wait in Fallout 4

To wait in Fallout 4, you need to sit down at a chair. You can sit down on any chair, bench or couch that you find (or craft). Once you sit down, the game will ask you how many hours you wish to wait.

Select the number of hours you wish to wait, and after a few short moments you’ll be exploring once more.

You can check out exactly how to wait in Fallout 4 by watching Nate Gaming's useful YouTube video on the subject below:

It’s worth noting that you cannot wait if enemies are nearby, and that it won’t heal you.

After waiting, the time of day will be different based on the hours you choose to wait. This can be helpful if quests only appear at certain times of day, or if you need to access particular stores or other areas that open at specific times.

Waiting will also allow NPCs to catch up with you, and can be used to simply play the game in your preferred setting – day or night.

If you’re playing Survival Mode, waiting will prevent Periodic Damage being applied by extreme hunger, thirst and/or disease. Wait that disease out, and use the function to allow food and water supplies to be restocked.

How to rest in Fallout 4

To rest in Fallout 4, you need to sleep in a bed. After resting, your health will be restored and you will have the 'Well Rested' temporary perk, which increases experience earned by 10 per cent.

To earn the 'Well Rested' buff, you need to sleep in a bed you own (in a settlement under your control), in a paid-for rented bed, or in a few other locations such as the Railroad HQ, the Vault 81 room, the Nucleus and in Ticonderoga.

If you’re playing in Survival Mode, resting will save your game and heal you if you rest for eight hours. It’ll also help remove that pesky Fatigue in Survival Mode. Useful stuff, sleep.

Remember that you will probably wake up hungry and thirsty in Survival Mode after resting, too!

Just as with waiting, you cannot rest if there are enemies nearby, so move somewhere else or defeat them before you rest/sleep in Fallout 4.

Read more on Fallout:

• Fallout games in order - best place to start
• Best Fallout 4 mods - and how to use them
• Fallout 4 cheats - the full list
• When is Fallout 4 set? Timeline explained
• Is Fallout 76 cross-platform?
• How to get Fallout 76 free - Prime Gaming deal
• Fallout: New Vegas cheats
• Fallout: New Vegas explained - how will TV address it?
• Fallout London release date - latest news
• Will there be a Fallout 3 Remastered? What we know
• Fallout 3 cheats
• Fallout 5 release date speculation
• Fallout 4 next-gen update - key details
• Fallout season 2 - will the TV show continue?
• Fallout 4 power armour - where to get it
• Fallout 4 trophies and achievements guide
• Hack your game of choice with Fallout 4 mods, Fallout 76 mods or Fallout: New Vegas mods

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