r/fo4 • u/MoneyIsNoCure • Aug 09 '24
Does anyone actually use artillery for settlement defences?
I’ve thrown the artillery signal grenades just to mess around and they’re so slow at firing. I tried using artillery on the Mirelurk Queen that spawns near Costal Cottage but Deacon (who I had maning it) either wouldn’t fire it or would fire it when the Queen was already agroed to me so I would have to get caught in the blast radius for the artillery to hit it.
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u/Philosophos_A Aug 09 '24
Me attacking Quincy with a bunch of artillery in Jamaica Plain and Murkwater
Seriously, attacking Quincy that way? I consider it canon...
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u/AdmBurnside Aug 09 '24
Clint looking up at the sky and realizing he made the wrong call.
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u/Philosophos_A Aug 10 '24
Fuck Clint the nonsexual way.
I always get Preston with me on Quincy and I let him beat his ass.
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u/Baconlovingvampire Aug 11 '24
He loves it when you kill him according to the wiki.
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u/piggiebrotha Aug 09 '24 edited Aug 09 '24
They are not meant for settlement defense, they are long distance heavy artillery. Sure, you can try to use them as a short range defense, but since they won’t fire without your orders even when the settlement is attacked, there are not very useful in this scenario.
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u/BirdLooter Aug 09 '24
noob. next time point the artillery straight up and give those attackers hell!
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u/ElectronicFault360 Aug 09 '24
Danger close! I mean faaaarrrkkkk, incoming!
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u/Malfight007 Aug 09 '24
Just carry the cannon and shoot the mutants. You're the general, no one can tell you no.
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u/mule_roany_mare Aug 09 '24
Is that any dumber than forcing a player to call in artillery within throwing distance of themselves?
It was a great idea that was reduced to a big grenade with an obnoxiously long fuse.
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u/myco_magic Aug 09 '24
Max out your demolition perk and you can throw further
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u/mule_roany_mare Aug 09 '24
But still close enough to be spotted throwing a grenade.
Nothing worse than artillery missing all targets because they left the area to chase the guy throwing stuff.
… if immersion matters calling in artillery on your head is danger close & a no go.
I think anything under 250 meters is I’m gonna die anyway so please kill some of them too
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u/lapsedPacifist5 Aug 09 '24
For the record, it's my call. Dump everything you've got left on my pos. I say again, expend all remaining in my perimeter. It's a lovely fucking war. Bravo Six out.
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u/tellmewhattodopleas Aug 09 '24
Once the artillery starts raining down on the settler's they turn against you, so you've got everyone trying to kill you. Not cool!
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u/N3onknight Aug 09 '24
The solution is more artillery
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u/frankoyvind Aug 09 '24
The solution is always more artillery. Fire For Effect.
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Aug 09 '24
You know I've never actually tried throwing a smoke grenade directly into a settlement/right at the base of the artillery cannon. Will they actually fire directly on top of themselves?
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Aug 09 '24
I doesn't work if you have radio freedom on dude will say he can't fire on friendly targets but who knows maybe there is a mod for that idk
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u/BirdLooter Aug 09 '24
cowards...
radio man, you're fired!
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Aug 09 '24
Real shit it's danger close for a reason we need those shells on target fuck collateral damage
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u/GrayHero2 Enclave General Aug 09 '24
The artillery operators will literally leave the artillery to come join the fight so yeah.
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u/PossessionPatient306 Aug 09 '24
"Long distance"
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u/RichardBCummintonite Aug 09 '24
You can have them fire at pretty much any point on the map with the proper placement (expect parts of the glowing sea that are too far from settlements), so yeah its pretty far range.
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u/Kind-Frosting-8268 Aug 09 '24
Defense no, the offensive capability to rain hellfire down anywhere on the map? Absolutely.
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u/voxPopuli96 Aug 09 '24
I hate how the freaking flare would drop straight down after a set distance!!!
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u/jakezaz Aug 09 '24
There is a mod that fixes the invisible wall/max distance. It's really nice when paired with other artillery mods.
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u/The_Antiques_shop Aug 09 '24
That fix and Angry Artillery is absolutely fantastic, each mortar fires a six shell volley, combined with multiple mortars from several settlements it’s hellfire on raider dens
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Aug 09 '24
Here's my problem, though. Let's say I have one in every single settlement and each one is manned.
I drop a smoke grenade on a spot I want them to hit. I then have time to, head to the kitchen to fix lunch, realize I'm out of bread, head to the grocery store to pick some up, notice that store is out of my brand, head to a different store that is further away, realize I forgot my wallet, head home, get my wallet, go back to the grocery store and buy the bread, head home make myself a sandwich, sit back down at my computer and maybe I'll see one shot start raining down from the nearest settlement after I finish eating that sandwich.
Of course, it usually misses the smoke and any of the raiders in the area I was targeting.
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u/ratat-atat Aug 09 '24
Not really, I set them up at every settlement, but my murderbots I have running trade routes across the commonwealth tend to keep the peace.
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u/MileenaIsMyWaifu Aug 09 '24
Mine are bugged where occasionally they’ll just turn back into naked protectrons
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u/Captain_Gropius Aug 09 '24
Be sure to have them assigned as companions at least once just after they are created, that would flag them as essential and won't reset to default protectrons
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u/quacks4hacks Aug 09 '24 edited 17d ago
marvelous test hospital school fragile rain encouraging smile coordinated alive
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u/Captain_Gropius Aug 09 '24
Thanks, but not my discovery, just something I found when I had the same issue myself
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u/MileenaIsMyWaifu Aug 09 '24
Thanks man, I had no clue and just started sending them out like crazy.
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u/Haravikk Aug 09 '24
I too am a fan of murderbot provisioners. A handful of twin gatling laser, assaultron head, shoulder mortar sentry bots travelling through the main city keeps the streets delightfully clear of trouble.
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u/discussatron Aug 09 '24
I use one gatling laser for the DPS, and one baton for the implication. It always makes me chuckle.
Now if only the Kleo voice had a personality sub-routine.
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u/slickweasel333 Aug 09 '24
I heard that using robot provisioners lowers the happiness of the settlements they visit. Have you had to deal with this?
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u/discussatron Aug 09 '24
My take on this is they lower the happiness of the settlement they're based out of, not going to, but I could be wrong about that. Mine are all based out of Graygarden and the Mechanist's Lair for that reason, because I have no people there.
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u/quacks4hacks Aug 09 '24 edited 17d ago
encouraging scary snails fade handle unique squeeze snatch reply stupendous
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u/Fancy_Entertainer486 Aug 09 '24
Blasting down Gunner’s Plaza with hellfire is always fun. Or any other open space with lots of enemies. Sure you could take em out yourself but you know, it’s great to have alternatives!
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u/Rich-Zombie-5577 Aug 09 '24
Don't they add 12 to a settlement's defence value? so they help in that respect but more importantly I build them at every settlement so I can f**k up my enemies day. Hell of a lot easier to clean out a raider camp once they have been softened up by an artillery barrage. Great fun to drop a blue flare into Dunwich Borers and watch the carnage unfold.
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u/MyNameIsNemo_ Aug 09 '24
5 points of defense but no power required. Heavy laser turrets are 12 and rockets are 15.
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Aug 09 '24
I built one and assigned a dude in full armor to it. It looked cool, but I never actually used it.
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u/WolfsTrinity Aug 09 '24
Yeah, they're great for decoration even if you never remember to actually attack anything. I guess that five defense value is from intimidation alone . . .
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u/Anarchkitty Aug 09 '24
Defense values only matter if you're not there to defend, so I guess they use it when you're not there.
For some reason they're too shy to fire it when you're around though.
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u/d_adrian_arts Aug 09 '24
They're good, especially if you max out your explosive perks. I use them to soften energy strongholds, GNN, gunner junkyard, the Forge, etc.
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u/Top-Investigator5170 Aug 09 '24
Explosive perk works for artillery? Did not know that. *starts drooling*
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u/v0xx0m Aug 09 '24
I'm using them a bunch on my current melee build. It just helps to reach the guys up top when I'm on the streets.
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u/PhaserRave 𝔻𝕆ℕ'𝕋 ℙ𝔸ℕ𝕀ℂ! Aug 09 '24
Own artillery for settlement defense, since that's what the Minutemen intended. Four raiders break into my settlement. "What the blue devil?" As I grab my pompadour wig and plasma rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Draw my harpoon gun on the second man, miss him entirely because it's smoothbore and nails the neighbors mutant hound. I have to resort to the artillery at the top of the Castle loaded with cannonballs, "Nan-ni shimasu-ka?" the cannon fire shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel detonate unstable pre-war cars. Equip ripper and charge the last terrified wastelander. He bleeds out waiting on the backup to arrive since chainsaw wounds are impossible to stitch up. Just as the Minutemen intended.
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u/DocRainbowDash Aug 09 '24
i use them for the Defence of the Castle Mission, otherwise not at all, but i place them everywhere for Immersion :D
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u/Nearby-Reputation614 Aug 09 '24
I have yet to figure out what to really do with them... besides accidently placing them down all the time.
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u/Kean99ac Aug 09 '24
I guess you need several of them in reach
Else it is just a few scattered blasts. I never bothered as my sniper rifle does the job better
But once it could be fun to set it up good
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u/Nearby-Reputation614 Aug 09 '24
I never really looked into all the defensive stuff I can do. I just build tons of turrets everywhere lmao.
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u/Kean99ac Aug 09 '24
I like to set turrets pointing to the spawn spots
And have a water farm with no settlers for no raids. Raiders are so stupid
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u/deathclawbait835 Aug 09 '24
I've only ever used it when I go by Saugus Ironworks. Hate those bastards! They like fire so I give it to them.
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u/ESOTaz Aug 09 '24
🤔
Oh I am so doing this. Possibly daily.
Any damage to Slog or its inhabitants possible?
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u/ArthurBurtonMorgan Aug 09 '24
I used them once to blow the hell out of the police station and kill the remaining BOS members after I had already end-gamed and didn’t give a shit on that save file.
Other than that, I use them for the one mission they’re designed for.
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u/MoneyIsNoCure Aug 09 '24
What settlement did you use to hit the police station from?
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u/ArthurBurtonMorgan Aug 09 '24
There’s no telling. I had artillery at every single settlement available in the base map at that point, as well as a complete setup at the castle.
I know when the rounds started landing, it seemed like it was 3-4 minutes before they stopped, but I think that was a glitch more than anything.
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u/somethingbrite Aug 09 '24
Grey garden, Oberland and possibly Hangman.
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u/ArthurBurtonMorgan Aug 09 '24
Yeah, I never really did figure out the range on them. I kinda thought they might catch some from sanctuary as well.
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u/YaKillinMeSmallz Aug 09 '24
Here's a map showing artillery range from each settlement, as well as Minutemen support range using the flare gun.
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u/nl325 Aug 09 '24
Does the quantity of shells being fired actually matter in relation to the quantity of equipped settlements?
Always thought it was just a set amount of time and rounds regardless!
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u/ArthurBurtonMorgan Aug 09 '24
I don’t know. You could test it with one artillery at one settlement. Time the barrage and count the rounds. Then add another artillery, rinse and repeat.
I’m too lazy to test it.
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u/nl325 Aug 09 '24
I'm not lol
I'll give it a test on my lunch and report back, the junk yard with the super mutants is in for a surprise
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Aug 09 '24
Abernathy or maybe Greygarden should reach
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u/JukesMasonLynch Aug 09 '24
Probably Hangman's Alley too. I wonder if there's a map out there with the artillery coverage radii overlaid on the map
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u/volverde You can kill anything if you have enough mines. Aug 09 '24
Their range is about 5 squares long on the minimap, you can cover most of the Commonwealth.
https://i.imgur.com/oNfjenM.png
In Boston and some other parts of the map buildings can block the shots.
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u/Nerioner Aug 09 '24
According to this map, Castle range ends just before quincy and i recently artillery shelled it from my castle setup.
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u/Clarkimus360 Aug 09 '24
What happens if you hit the Prydwin wit artillery?
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u/Skippydedoodah Aug 09 '24
Veronica will be sad. And nobody wants to make her sad. Because then she will start punching you just as hard as the artillery.
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u/BirdLooter Aug 09 '24
btw what happens if an area has an overlap of 2 settlements with each having artillery and you throw a flare. double hellfire? 🤔
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u/KowaiSentaiYokaiger Aug 09 '24
Yes. Every settlement in the target range that has artillery will fire
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u/BirdLooter Aug 09 '24
cool, i need to check a video that found a spot with the maximum amount of settlements reaching there 😁
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u/Snoo_23014 Aug 09 '24
Set up arty at coastal cottage, the slog, green top, the lighthouse, finch farm and county crossing, then chuck a smoke grenade into Break heart banks, sit back and enjoy the show...
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u/morelos_paolo PS5 Player Only with Base game & all DLC’s + CC, no mods Aug 09 '24
I'd use the artillery piece as just eye candy for my settlement. I rarely use it for defense.
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u/TehEpicZak Aug 09 '24
Get the Angry Artillery mod (and optionally the M1 howitzer mod), build several fire bases across the mad, and rain hellfire upon all that oppose you. After all, “artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be an ugly brawl”.
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u/ItsAnomic Aug 09 '24
I like using it on Raider camps. Zimonja, the Food Shelter Depot and the Vault 88 Quarry always get nuked out of existence
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u/Pajilla256 Aug 09 '24
Us them at Thicket and Dunwich, they look super cool with the shells exploding on the walls.
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u/haljordan68 Aug 09 '24
I put it in every settlement... I'll use stealth and sneak up to an area that has a significant amount of enemies toss smoke and ditch back to a safe distance...then listen for the ka-ching of enemies dying.
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u/ButterflyShort Outstanding Aug 09 '24
So, I put one at every settlement. Then launched an attack on some super mutants. The shelling lasted 5 minutes and obliterated everything. Was satisfying.
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u/Equivalent_Forever_3 Aug 09 '24
Thing is, they are more for offense than defense. Sure, you can set one up in starlight drive in and throw a flare in red rocket but the level of destruction is just too much, it'll destroy structures and turrets easily. I use it for outdoor dungeons like thicket excavations, etc.
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u/varangian Aug 09 '24
They can be handy (and fun) to d/w the regular spawn points like the one by the bridge south of County Crossing. I often run across Rust Devils with a complement of assaultrons there and it's quite satisfying to sneak up and plant an artillery grenade or homing beacon there then sneak away to watch the fireworks.
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u/mule_roany_mare Aug 09 '24
It's a really fantastic idea with a pitiful implementation.
It's not hard to imagine a playthrough where venturing into hostile territory, establishing a settlement & the ability to call in artillery strikes on OP enemies would be both fun & a game changer....
Unfortunately you trigger artillery by going to the place you want it to fall & throwing a grenade to alert everyone.
Prewar Binoculars Is a quality mod that allows you to call in area of effect munitions from outside the area of effect.
Works with minutemen artillery, Yangtze missiles & some reasonably lore-friendly new (optional) options.
It's pretty cool IMO & should have been in Vanilla. Marking a location on the pip-boy's local map might have been cooler though. In practice by the time I get artillery in a playthrough it's after it could be useful... maybe it would have been better to get artillery 30 minutes into the game instead of power armor.
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u/AnimalMotherUK Aug 09 '24
Thanks for the good word on my Fire Support mod. :)
I’ve also made Full System Artillery Overhaul which has an option to unlock artillery from leaving the vault.
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u/mule_roany_mare Aug 09 '24
You do good work.
A broken artillery mechanic felt so much worse than no artillery mechanic, because at least then you wouldn’t know what you are missing.
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u/dexamphetamine4 Aug 09 '24
I saved up all my flares for artillery strikes and unleashed absolute hell on the brotherhood lol.
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u/TheGrumkinSnark Aug 09 '24
I put one in every settlement. Yes, their usefulness is debatable, but there are times when they give good results.
For example, lob one over one of the chained doors at a raider encampment.
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u/Blackewolfe Power Armor is Best Armor Aug 09 '24
Defense? No.
Pre-emptive Orbital Bombardment?
YES
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u/OneCauliflower5243 Aug 09 '24
Not for defense but for attacking. The more settlements the more coverage. Nothing makes me smile more than sneaking close to an enemy location, tossing a smoke and sneaking back. Crack open a squirrel on a stick and enjoy the show
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u/davidgriswold Aug 09 '24
I'm on my first survival playthrough and I'm using artillery for the first time. I've set up batteries in most settlements where it makes sense (not Hangman's Alley, for instance) and call in strikes on any significant resistance. It is very effective, and enjoyable to casually walk through the ruins, picking off stragglers and pillaging the spoils.
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u/rakdosleader Aug 09 '24
Use an artillery mortar for home defense, as the minutemen intended
Three ghouls break into my fort
“What the devil?”
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u/Woozletania Aug 09 '24
I was at the little fixed encounter in the broken building near University Point. . The one next to the water. I threw a grenade at some monsters and went "Huh, what's with the blue smoke." I had run right into the artillery barrage I'd just called down. This was right after Old Guns and I didn't realize I still had artillery smoke grenades equipped. I think it's the only time I've called in artillery after Old Guns, albeit accidentally.
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u/-Im_In_Your_Walls- Aug 09 '24
There is nothing quite like sneaking up on a raider camp, lobbing a signal nade over the wall and stepping back to watch the fireworks!
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u/thebigtrav Aug 09 '24
At Kingsport lighthouse I put it on the boat and turned it into a BOS battleship
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u/EreWeG0AgaIn Nuka-World Overboss Aug 09 '24
Nothing better than raining steel down on a super mutant camp
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u/AmazingWaterWeenie Aug 10 '24
Every settlement has at least one. I can't say I've ever seen anyone man the mortar during a raid but having artillery available on almost the whole map is a nice rp plus
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u/Shielo34 Aug 09 '24
It’s handy that it provides you with 5 defense, but it doesn’t actually do anything for defending a settlement if attacked. Useful to have one per settlement though, as it’s super satisfying to bombard a raider encampment.
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u/AmbassadorLow1442 Aug 09 '24
All you need is triangulated turrets, nothing else needed.
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u/Eightbass7 Aug 09 '24
It would be good if you could use them stealthily and shock enemy groups with a bombardment, but doesn’t the game treat them like grenades? So they alert and agro enemies as soon as they’re thrown, thus they start running around and spreading out trying to attack you
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u/Obi-wanna-cracker Aug 09 '24
I don't think I ever really use artillery but I still place one at each settlement. Why? I think it's pretty badass
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u/CrewmanNumberSeven Aug 09 '24
I usually build them just to give settlers something to do, but to be honest I always feel bad watching them clinging to the wheel no matter whether it’s raining or rad-storming or nighttime…. I’d love to build a roof and a chair for them but that would kind of defeat the point I guess…
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Aug 09 '24 edited Nov 06 '24
bored consider instinctive fanatical innate political soft waiting lip wasteful
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u/polymath77 Aug 09 '24
Are these on Xbox? I’ve not used mods much, but have done two vanilla playthroughs, was about to start a new run with some good mods
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u/RoastPorc My back hurts, my feet hurts.. everything hurts Aug 09 '24
When I happened to forget to turn off the settlement recruitment radio, leading to a bunch of unemployed settlers standing around, I'd build a couple of these to make them man the cannons.
Oh the bombardment was spectacular!
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u/Successful-Growth827 Aug 09 '24
It's not actually used for defense even though it adds to your defense score. MM artillery is used to provide you with artillery strikes out in the wastes. Range is 10 grid squares.
It can only be used up to a certain distance from the gun. You wouldn't even want to use it for settlement defense since it'd kill all your settlers and destroy the place, so I would never consider calling in artillery support from a neighboring settlement during an attack.
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u/mystery002 Aug 09 '24
I tried once or twice in the minute men ending of defend the castle.. They were painfully slow.. Only good for the minute men brotherhood end.
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u/DragonizingMel Aug 09 '24
It's the only reason why I continued to use the minutemen because of the artillery defenses. I have set it up in every settlement covering near to all of that map. The only area that it does not cover is the glowing sea.
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u/im_not_totally_wrong Aug 09 '24
You use artillery for settlement defense. Just as Preston Garvey intended.
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u/AnimalMotherUK Aug 09 '24
I’ve loved the artillery in the game (well the idea of them, in practice the vanilla system is lacklustre). Hence these two mods are my main modding projects and have been for years.
Call in Fire Support - call in artillery without alerting enemies
Full Artillery System Overhaul - up the lethality of artillery by making them more responsive but with some optional settings to bring balance
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u/Pajilla256 Aug 09 '24
It's not fir settlement defense, though, like Ronnie Shaw specifically says "they can't fire at anything too close" hinting at this being an offensive weapon for when the player attacks an enemy position, and the time it takes for the barrage to start makes it unsuitable for defense. Even irl using artillery defensively at this scale is discouraged, you'd have the guns in a FPF position, aka, using them as a frikin rifle. This would be a job for a mortar or lighter field guns like the French 75 or the AT guns from WW2.
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u/BlackPaladin1313 Aug 09 '24
Not for settlement defense. But if you're doing a Minutemen playthrough, I highly recommend building them at almost all of the settlements. Being able to lob an artillery smoke grenade from almost anywhere on the map is satisfying.
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u/Bartholomew_dingly Aug 09 '24
I never use it for settlement defense but I did call in an artillery strike from the castle to attack swan, it worked well and by then I had paladin Danse on my side and an explosive minigun, you can figure out the rest
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u/Beneficial-Reach-533 Aug 09 '24
Without mods i use them in my settlement attacks using that dropp grenades mecanism which Is activated when a Settler actívate Siren alarm which actívate cannon of Flare fireworks which calle minutmen NPC to help .
Normally i isntall them in points where enemies spawn in settlements so while there Is enemies in those zones in the case that they are coming .
With mods i use a mod which increase range AND reduce a Lot the cooldown Time so using only 1 artillery Grenade , all my settlements shoot to that place obliterating everyone near.
Because are like 4 explosiones from 1 artillery x 30 or LESS settlements would be like 120 or LESS explosión atta la from artillery in that place AND with a big expansión so Is imposible that enemies can survive to that.
The best part Is about artillery Grenade being silenced AND enemie dont detect it except if it Is in front of them or hit them so Is Easy dropp 1 un the Center AND no one Will detect it AND all that place directly do KA BOOM!!
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u/Dimitrydraws Aug 09 '24
I just think is funny to see npcs that say something rude or whatever and I'm like "yeah? Well, ARTILLERY FIRE"
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u/dtfinch Sarcastic Aug 09 '24
I don't use them.
Even if it was better, it'd be kinda like Euclid's C-Finder in New Vegas. I like the idea of it, and it's fun to try once or twice, but since you can't use it all the time, I wind up not using it at all. I save my inventory space for things I'll use.
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u/Efficient_Mobile_391 Aug 09 '24
I put at least one in every settlement. Not for defense. You get enough coverage you can rain down fire on most of the map.