CAMP and base building guide - Fallout 76
Learn about how the C.A.M.P. works, moving the C.A.M.P., building a starter base, and the saving your base in Fallout 76.
Building a base in Fallout 76 is easy, building a kickass base with automated defences, various workshop areas, and impressive light shows is a little more tricky. Whether you’re just starting out with a square hut to call home or looking to create a well-defended mansion, it
How the C.A.M.P. works
At the very start of Fallout 76, players will receive a Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform or C.A.M.P. for short. The CAMP is used as a central base of operations for each player to build their own home, fortress, shop – whatever their imagination conjures up!
The CAMP can be placed down in nearly any location, the only limitations being that it cannot be placed near another CAMP or within close proximity to other buildings and structures in Fallout 76.
With the CAMP placed down, players can interact with it to begin building, provided they have the necessary resources. Players can only build within the circumference of the CAMP, which is fairly sizeable to begin with but those who wish to make a giant metropolis may feel constrained.
There are limits on how much can be built in the camp, regardless of whether players have enough resources. This limit is represented by the “Budget” in the top-right corner of the screen. Every item that is placed with eat into this budget.
Getting started: Building the first base
One of the first things players should create when starting up their first CAMP is a bed. A bed can be used to regain health and to earn the Well Rested buff. Using your own bed saves on Stimpaks and helps to avoid catching any diseases from the ground or dirty beds in the environment.
Next up is to create a workbench, preferably a Weapons Workbench as this will be useful for crafting weapons, repairing weapons, and applying any mods discovered while exploring. At the very start of the game, most of the Scorched enemies will be dropping Pipe guns, so you won’t be in a situation where you never have a gun. However, once a powerful gun is found, you’ll want to keep it in good condition.
A workbench is also useful for breaking down junk into scraps, which is needed to avoid becoming over encumbered. Once junk has been broken down, the scraps can be stored in the CAMP – though the camp can only hold 400 points’ worth of materials.
The final touch to a base is an automated turret. These stout machines will attack any monster that gets too close, helping to keep your base safe. Placing down more than one can be a good idea, just make sure they’re facing different directions so a larger area can be protected.
After these basics have been crafted, there are really no set ways to proceed. Obviously a good idea is to create a little house to make you feel safe, but you can get away with just having a large floor area to store everything up and off the ground.
How to save your base
The most important part of building any base is to save it for when you’ve got to pick up your CAMP and take it somewhere else. Thankfully, using the Blueprint system, players can save an entire base structure to avoid having to put down the individual pieces again at a new site.
To make a blueprint of your base, start by creating the structure you wish to save:
- Near your CAMP, enter the Build mode, create your structure
- Switch to the Modify mode
- Hold the button to enter the Blueprint mode
- Aim at the structure you wish to save as a blueprint and choose “Select structure” to highlight the entire building and anything connected to it
- Select the Create Blueprint option and give it a name
Any time the CAMP site is moved and placed down, the Blueprint can be found under the Stored tab. Using the Stored section to place a Blueprint uses up no resources as the structure has already been made.
The Blueprint tab is used to keep track of the blueprints that have been created and also used to quickly create multiple of the same structures. As an example, after creating a tower with a turret at the top, save it as a blueprint and then use the Blueprint tab to quickly place a few more towers around your base without having to create them piece by piece.
How to move the C.A.M.P.
There are two ways of moving a CAMP in Fallout 76, the first is to relocate it within the circular area of your base and the second is to completely upend your base and move it across the map to a new location. If players want to simply move the CAMP from the ground to inside their house, they can enter the build mode and then switch to modify. Once in the modify mode, select the CAMP to pick it up and then carry it to its new home. This method is handy if the CAMP is in an awkward spot that prevents placing down more building materials.
For players who want to actually relocate their entire base they can do so without being anywhere near their CAMP, this is done by using their Pip-Boy. After finding a better location for your base and deciding you want to move your CAMP to the new spot, open the Pip-Boy and select the "Move CAMP" option. There is a small cost associated with moving the CAMP, so it's not a good idea to do this too frequently at the start of Fallout 76.
Whenever the CAMP is moved to an new spot the entire base will be deleted, which is why it’s so important to save your base by using the Blueprint method mentioned above. With a blueprint of the base saved, simply navigate to the Stored tab to find the whole base saved as a structure. The CAMP also remembers what individual pieces were created, so anything not "recorded" in the blueprint will appear in the Stored tab as well.
How to power your base
Given enough time, players will no doubt begin looking to automate water collection, as finding Bleach Dogwood can take quite a lot of time, this is where powering your base comes in. With a generator or two in a base, better machinery can be placed down to harvest resources from the world, like purified water. The trouble that some players will face is actually connecting everything up with wiring, as the options can sometimes be lost in the clutter.
Before wiring everything up, players will need to first create some generators. The size and number of generators required depends entirely on what machines are being created. Each machine requires a certain amount of energy, which is represented by the lightning bolt symbol. For the water purifier that is built on dirt, only 8 energy is required, meaning a 3 and 5 energy generator will meet its needs.
Place these generators close to one another, and both of them close to where the water purifier will be located. Enter the Modify mode and look at one of the generators. Press the "attach wire" button and then lead it from generator to generator, and then to the water purifier. With the generators connected together and wired to the purifier, the system will power up and begin providing purified water!
Advanced base building
Under construction…
Base building is a major mechanic in Fallout 76 and will likely take up a lot of time. Learning the basics of base building, like what to build first and how the CAMP works, is the first step to securing a good base of operations. It’s also worth testing out the Blueprint system, as this will help avoid wasting time rebuilding bases piece by piece when the CAMP is moved.
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