Hiding spot?

[NotReally]

Do you have to send people to hiding spot or can your survivors actually fight against raiders?

[RequiemsRose]

Both. Survivors sent to hiding spots won't be found, but if raiders encounter a survivor within the shelter you begin combat. You don't actually need the hiding spot though. Raiders (outside of the surrounded game mode) are there for your resources rather than your people. They will path to said resources, so as long as your survivors aren't in their way they generally don't care that the people exist in your shelter. I tend to make sure my bedding area is set off to a side of a ladder with no resources near them and this bedding area is basically always ignored as a result, effectively working like a hiding spot without the cost of crafting one.

[Silver]

the only time you will need a hiding spot is when you have sent, say, 3 of the 4 starting family members on missions and only a little kid is managing the shelter and then it gets broken into by 2+ raiders.

but the devs have disabled such a scenario from occurring in the first place, which sucks.