Fallout 4: 12 Useful Items to Grab in Sanctuary Hill Area

Guide oriented for those players who already started a playrun and they don't want to miss a thing in future playruns and/or for those methodical players starting to play FO4 who want to be sure to grab all the early important items. 

The guide is also focused on combat-oriented and challenging playruns (survival, no saves, bans...) 

Of course, everything here is 100% legit. 

Cheating, exploits, tricks, console use, mods... ignored. Guide for real players only. 

SANCTUARY HILLS AREA MAP

1. S.P.E.C.I.A.L. BOOK

Sanctuary Hills, in our post-war house, in the baby bedroom.

It's like a joker bobble-head, the book gives any +1 in any S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

Easy to get. One of the best items in FO4.

Most players already know it, but it is my duty to inform. It would be a terrible disgrace to miss this one...

2. GOLD (1.350 caps)

Sanctuary Hills, in the basement of the house of our neighbor. Look for the door on the floor, behind the house.

There is some useful loot in that basement too: ammo, chems, adhesive, locked items... being the 

most notable the three gold bars. 

In FO4 there are almost infinite legit ways to make infinite money, with more or less effort, but to start the game with 1.350 caps of value, almost weightless, is a nice help.

There is an usable bed in the basement, the only one in Sanctuary Hills. There is also some loot on the roof of the house.

3. ARMY HELMET

Sanctuary Hills, West. In a mini-island in the middle of the river, close to a military vehicle.

We must grab this helmet and to wear it asap.

It's just very good, believe me. 

+10 DR (Damage Resistance) for free is a huge help at the beginning of the game. Observe that the effect is the same that the popular (and good) perk Toughness gives: +10 DR, but with no need to wait or to waste a perk... 

The helmet is also compatible with the +1PER glasses that we should be wearing from the Vault.

4. .44 PISTOL

Sanctuary Hills, South-East. Follow the river, pass a small dock, and you will find a water-device. Follow the pipe, at the end you will find a skeleton with the .44 pistol, five rounds and some loot.

This pistol is stronger than any other of the guns we will find at level one, like the 10mm. or the pipe pistol, but the .44 ammo is too hard to find until level 8-10. Even with the five bullets, it's a good thing to have it in our inventory for an emergency, or to deal with an early OP enemy. 

(SPOILER) Tip: activate the water device and three boxes with caps will be available in the yellow deposit. Be cautious. in the area the visibility is low (trees, weeds...) and diverse enemies patrol the zone: mole rats, hounds, raiders... 

5. FRAGMENTATION MINES (8 PIECES)

Vault 111, West. Between the big power poles. A small minefield with eight fragmentation mines that can be easily deactivated (vatscouting) and taken.

It is allways nice to have some of this, just in case... 

Note: sometimes the mines don't show. I think this happens when the player kills "too early" the four raiders camping in the area (not confirmed yet). 

6. WSG MAGAZINE: "-5% MELEE DAMAGE"

Ranger Cabin. Inside the shack, on the table, next to the bed.

The closest landmark from Sanctuary Hills and a safe place, so it's a good plan to grab this mag soon.

We listen "melee damage" and a luckless raider with a pool cue or a poor supermutant with a board come to mind, but it is more than it. Hounds, mole rats, bugs, insects, mirelurks, ghouls... do melee attacks too! This magazine protects us from almost any non-ranged weapon attacks... and for free!

7. WSG MAGAZINE: "EXTRA LOOT FROM DEAD ANIMALS"

Sunshine Tidings Co-op. Easy to handle settlement. It can be cleared by the player with no need of any faction or settler gives us a quest. 

The book is inside the shack close to the high deposits. 

This magazine is incredible! I didn't appreciate it until I got it. 

I don't use to care about "greedy" perks, but omg, this one is just too good! 

In a long playrun, this mag will give us an immense amount of extra free resources. We wil loot hundreds (maybe thousands) of dead animals, from radroachs to deathclaws... and this means that we will get thousands of extra meat pieces, caps and freebies!

It is totally worth it to make an effort to get this magazine asap to get bonuses from all those mole rats, bugs, radroaches, hounds... that will be killing 24/7 out there... 

8. GROGNAK MAGAZINES (TWO OF THEM)

One issue in Sanctuary Hills, in our post-war house, on the kitchen table.

One issue in Wicked Shipping Fleet Lockup, Soth of Sanctuary Hills. 

The +5% critical bonus mags are just ok imo, even for their especific builds, but freebies are freebies, we can't complain... let's just grab them all! 

(SPOILER) Tip: It's possible and very funny to clear the area with no need to spend a bullet, a hit or any resources at all. Take Dogmeat with you, sneak to the terminal, activate the protectron, jump to a high place (trucks, roofs..), grab some popcorn and watch the show! You will have to "awake" some ghouls and to make them to run into the protectron/Dogmeat alliance...

9. U.S. COM MAGAZINE

Lonely Chapel. The book is in the Federal Ration Stockpile basement, on the table of a raider named Red Tourette. In the early game is more safe to enter in the basement using the secret door in the Chapel. This way we will have to deal with six enemies, not with +20 if we use the main door of the complex.

These COM books are really powerful when stacked. The effect of one single book is not clearly appreciable, but I joined all of them with the Sneak perks and the Sneak bobblehead in my long playrun and the effect is is really impressive. Raiders, Ghouls, Supermutants look like Stevie Wonder! 

10. SILENCED GUN

Drumlin Dinner. Sold by Trudy in the caravan for 200 caps. 

This is the fastest way to get a silenced fire weapon in FO4.

it's also a stronger weapon than the average low level guns. it uses .308 ammo. 

Even with "Gun Nut", we can't create silenced mods before level 13 (GN#2).

Like most pipe weapons, it can be modded as a rifle or as a pistol. Gunslinger and Rifleman perks will boost it or not in each case.

Trudy also sells the unique "General Chao's Revenge" sword. It has high stats. I guess this could be a decent "level one weapon" for a melee build (or to borrow to companions), but honestly, I've not tested it myself.

(SPOILER) As you arrive to the place, a mini-quest triggers... be prepared! Tip: In my experience to shoot fast to the couple disturbing Trudy is the best option. I tried to talk to them twice and all I got is some bullets flying to my head.

11. FATMAN + MINI-NUKES

Robotics Disposal Ground. 

The Fatman is on the chassis of one of the ruined cars there, close to the combat sentry.

There is a Mini-Nuke next to the big pile of tires, close to the fence.

In FO4 Bethesda placed Fatmans in the Cheetos bags... We find Fatmans everywhere! They are easy to grab and they respawn in some places! In any case, it's not a bad thing to have at least one Fatman stocked in our base, just in case we need something fat to solve a fat problem...

There is a Hot Rodder magazine in the cabin, on the table, next to the terminal, that gives us +1 AG when applied to ur power-armor. 

(SPOILER) Mini-Nukes for the Fatman become much more easy to get after level 10-12 when suicide supermutants show...

12. POWER-ARMOR + FUSION CORES

Unmarked location: Crashed Vertibird field.

Apart from the famous power-armor in Concord, there is another one very close to Sanctuary Hills, in an open field with a crashed Vertibird, at the East of the Robotics Disposal Ground. This power-armor comes with no fusion core, so be prepared if you decide to go for it.

Available fusion cores in the Sanctuary Hills area:

- One in the Red Rocket Truck Stop, in the subterranean cave. 

- One in the Robotics Disposal Ground, in the military box. close to the combat sentry 

- (SPOILER) Two inside the combat sentry if we make it to autodestruct via holotape/terminal.

- One in the Concord Museum of Freedom basement.

- One in the sewers of Concord. 

There is also a Power Armor (with Fusion Core) at the South of the Drumlin Dinner, in a cell on a train wagon, but the Hacker level 1 perk is needed to open the magnetic door with a terminal.

Notes.

I tried to skip Concord because I am preparing a specific guide for it.

No copy-paste here. All this content (map, text, pictures...) is original, and everything was experienced by myself. Feel free to ask me anything.

I've played Fallout games for more than 2.000 hours. I play in survival with handicaps and zero saves. If I do something stupid and I die, I begin a new playrun from the Vault. For this reason I end knowing very well the early areas of these games...

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Credits: Special thanks to B.O.S for this tip.

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