If the standard difficulty of the game isn’t tricky enough for you, Fallout 4 Survival mode will make your stay in the wasteland all the more gruelling.

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Quite significantly different from the standard Fallout experience, Survival mode is much harder and you will need to keep track of various cumulative stats and other damaging aspects to, well, survive.

Trust us, it’s a lot more difficult.

If that’s your jam, or you want to replay the game with a new character now the shiny next-gen update is here – or you’re a new fan looking for a tough experience after watching the TV show on Amazon Prime – we’re here to help.

Keep reading to find out what Fallout Survival mode is and the differences it features. Skip to the end of the page for a list of Survival mode tips!

What is Fallout 4 Survival mode?

Fallout 4 Survival mode is a far harder difficulty option that can be turned on in the game’s settings. It removes features such as autosaving, manual saving and even adds carry weight to ammo.

One of the biggest changes in Survival mode is that you are unable to fast travel. This slows you down. Big time. You’ll have to reach every location manually, on foot.

Add onto this that you will become hungry, tired, and thirsty. You will need to eat, sleep and drink to stay healthy in Survival mode. It’s quite a lot to keep track of.

Here’s the full list of Fallout 4 Survival mode changes (thanks, Fallout Wiki):

  • Saving | Can only save when exiting the game or when you sleep. Many have had issues with exit saves not working though!
  • Cannot fast travel
  • Significant reduction in detection of locations of interest
  • Location repopulation happens after 35 or 80 in-game days, rather than 7 or 20
  • Strong enemies spawn more often
  • Take twice the amount of damage
  • Enemies award you double XP
  • Adrenaline perk is available
  • You get hungry, thirsty, and fatigued
  • Can get ill | Seek treatment from Antibiotics or a doctor
  • RadAway gives you Fatigue and makes you more likely to become ill
  • Healing items are weaker
  • Crippled limbs don’t auto-heal | Sleep, see a doctor or use a Stimpak
  • Ammo has carry weight and safe carry weight is reduced
    • Exceed your carry weight and become Fatigued, receive limb damage, and lessened agility and endurance
  • Unconscious companions don’t get back up after combat and need to be healed or return to their settlements
  • Workshop inventory capacity is reduced

Fallout 4 Survival mode tips

Some tips on how to be best prepared in Fallout 4 Survival mode include ensuring you’re stocked up on food and drink, knowing where beds are, and making sure you increase your carrying capacity.

Keeping a lookout for beds is a great place to start. Make sure to build plenty of them in any of your settlements!

Sleep in a bed, mattress, or sleeping bag whenever you can as this will save the game. Aside from the exit save, which doesn’t seem to work every time, sleeping is the only way to save in Survival mode.

Save often and remember to sleep for seven hours to fully restore your HP! Doing so on a proper bed will grant you the Well Rested perk, too, which is a nice bonus.

The Strong Back perk will be your friend in Survival mode. Not only will it increase your carrying capacity, but rank four will also keep you from getting Fatigued, and your limbs taking damage, and stop that pesky reduction to agility and endurance while over encumbered.

You will need as big a carrying capacity as possible in Survival mode as you will need to carry more food, drink, antibiotics, and ammo now weighs something.

Good Intelligence will help out, too, and increase your XP earning rates even more.

Other perks to prioritise include Lead Belly, which helps you avoid rad damage from eating and drinking. Useful, given you’ll be doing both all the time in Survival mode.

Finally, take it slow. You can be killed a lot more easily in Survival mode, so take your time to better take in your surroundings.

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Authors

Toby Saunders
Toby SaundersFreelance Writer

Toby Saunders is a freelance writer specialising in Video Game journalism. He has a wealth of experience in the field and is published on many different websites including PCGamesN, Nintendo Life and Pocket Tactics. He has a degree in Film Studies (he gets to write about Film and TV occasionally, too).

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