Bottom Crawling

[danconnors]

One of the great disadvantages of using power armor is that you can't swim in it. You can, however crawl across river, lake, ocean bottoms, and that's what I do a lot of. For instance going from the Starlight drive in to Covenant there;s a sizable lake in the way. Quite a while ago I started bottom crawling across that lake. I know it saves time, but I'm not so sure that it saves battery power.

If you're going to do bottom crawling it's wise to get the brightest helmet light you can, so that you don't have to crawl so low. Seeing is usually awful under water, and the brighter your helmet light the more closely you can come to walking instead of crawling. As far as that particular lake goes I've found the optimum crossing point, and it's near the entrance to Covenant's little experimentation dungeon.

I've found a few other walkways under water, but, by far the most difficult is the path from the mainland to Spectacle Island. In order to build the island up properly it's essential to have some good, steady power armor. Not to mention rooting out all the various broods of mirelurks. The best point to submerge to get there is the old abandoned Minuteman fortress. There is an underwater pipeline that goes directly to Spectacle Island, but it's damned difficult to locate. Usually the route is a snaking, far from straight line. You have to find spots where you can climb the hills, and some are very steep--and deep--and VERY dark. This is where you want the brightest helmet light you can get. I believe I've gone down to over a hundred feet below sea level on parts of that crawl.

[Bugscuttle]

My 1st playthru I tried to fix the pumps in the Thicket quarry right as soon as I got my first suit of PA. I think I only had one (ONE!) fusion core and no mods yet on the T-45.
lmao
Yeah I sure did drown good.
Didn't return to that place until recently (4th playthru) at level 190 and able to breathe water which made things ever so much easier...but far less rewarding.

[danconnors]

Yeah, don't try any of this till you can breathe underwater--with that biological impossibility that gives you gills like a fish and invulnerability to certain types of radiation

[DouglasGrave]

Originally posted by danconnors:

Yeah, don't try any of this till you can breathe underwater--with that biological impossibility that gives you gills like a fish and invulnerability to certain types of radiation

My guess is that, instead of growing gills, your skin becomes able to absorb water-borne oxygen and resist water-borne radiation.

Sort of like how amphibians can do cutaneous respiration to draw oxygen from the water, but also able to prevent the irradiated water itself soaking in.

[Out Of Bubblegum]

https://gamerant.com/fallout-4-underwater-map/

It even shows there is loot in the filled with water bathtub, lol.

[danconnors]

Regardless. Evolution doesn't quite work that fast. It's like going from completely sightless to full blown eye balls across 5 generations. Evolution couldn't do it. It would take a biblical explanation--"And God said (It pains me that my creatures cannot see the beautiful creation I have made for them)--and popping his knuckles thrice, suddenly all the critters of the Earth were gifted with eyeballs.

Besides, in Water World Kevin Costner did have gills.

[DouglasGrave]

Originally posted by danconnors:

Regardless. Evolution doesn't quite work that fast. It's like going from completely sightless to full blown eye balls across 5 generations. Evolution couldn't do it. It would take a biblical explanation--"And God said (It pains me that my creatures cannot see the beautiful creation I have made for them)--and popping his knuckles thrice, suddenly all the critters of the Earth were gifted with eyeballs.

Besides, in Water World Kevin Costner did have gills.

We have ghouls in Fallout, where "evolution" apparently produced complete radiation immunity, radiation-based healing, and incredibly longevity all in one hit. Unless you attribute that to the power of Atom.

But regardless of whether it's a mutation or divine providence, I think being skin-based makes more sense for the combination of effects it involves (water breathing and full-body protection from external water radiation, but not from drinking water).

[danconnors]

But anyhow, bottom crawling as a pursuit. To save time, wear and tear on the suits, the fact that of all the plentiful raiders in the Commonwealth apparently zero are afraid of people in power armor making Garvey and his mechanic buddy complete idiots.

[DouglasGrave]

Originally posted by danconnors:

But anyhow, bottom crawling as a pursuit. To save time, wear and tear on the suits, the fact that of all the plentiful raiders in the Commonwealth apparently zero are afraid of people in power armor making Garvey and his mechanic buddy complete idiots.

Of course the raiders aren't worried. Everyone knows that once you've got a pool cue in hand, a few bits of scrap metal tied onto you, and enough chems to make your eyeballs float, you're practically invincible.

[Out Of Bubblegum]

Originally posted by DouglasGrave:

Of course the raiders aren't worried. Everyone knows that once you've got a pool cue in hand, a few bits of scrap metal tied onto you, and enough chems to make your eyeballs float, you're practically invincible.

I like how the borderlands games explain the raiders. They ARE insane. Something happened while they were being forced to mine. Then the corporation abandoned the mining and just left. Bethesda games just make all of the raiders/bandits very stupid.

[DouglasGrave]

Originally posted by Out Of Bubblegum:

Originally posted by DouglasGrave:

Of course the raiders aren't worried. Everyone knows that once you've got a pool cue in hand, a few bits of scrap metal tied onto you, and enough chems to make your eyeballs float, you're practically invincible.

I like how the borderlands games explain the raiders. They ARE insane. Something happened while they were being forced to mine. Then the corporation abandoned the mining and just left. Bethesda games just make all of them very stupid.

Hard to say if it's really that unnatural for the post-apocalypse, though.

Life is short and brutal and working hard today will reward you with being eaten by monsters tomorrow. It's too surprising that a lot of people just say to heck with it all and live entirely in the unbridled violence of the moment. Leap recklessly into fights, load yourself with chems, gleefully torment anyone you can catch; you'll probably die young no matter what you do, anyway.

[danconnors]

Maybe bottom crawling is rarer than I thought.

[DouglasGrave]

I blame the lack of mermaids.

[Zotliatlicor]

Why would you OP wnat to crawl slowly at the bottom af a lake in PA when you can go around on a nice road ?

If there actually WAS something in the lakes it would be fun, but the water areas are woefully empty.....

It sounds like you play Survival, as otherwise there is no problem to swim from the Castle to Spetacle Island and just Fast travel back to your PA in the Castle.
- first time i "walked the Bottom line" in PA to Spectacle i got stuck in a Pipe or something and drowned....

- the shortest way is not the best way to Spectacle Island under the Sea, as there is lots of "cliffsides" and places to get stuck...

Even on Survival you can fly there on Vertibirds (BOS friendly) after you have it on your Pip-Boy map. And doing Spectacle Island without PA can be seen as a good challenge.

[danconnors]

I do play survival mode. I very seldom side with the BOS, so no ride in a chopper. The Institute can't send you to Spectacle Island with their teleporter. They typically drop you in the ruins of the CIT. If I want a set of power armor on the island I have to walk it there.

The route from the fort to the island is the easiest I've found. When I found the pipe to the island I walked on top of it, since it was a straight shot. I have approached from the north before, but it was extremely difficult. I'd be interested if you found an easier approach.

On Spectacle Island I usually build my character's retirement resort, and I like to build the buildings entirely in the lagoon just offshore. The power armor is needed to keep me from drifting as I work underwater.

I make decent speed crossing the lake between the drive in and Covenant--takes me a lot less time than walking around it. There's a lot less ground to cover. As for the fight on Spectacle Island I'd rather face a mirelurk queen and several hunter mirelurks in a good set of power armor than any set of regular armor. What would be a terrific challenge would be to approach the queen under water, but I haven't gotten up the nerve to try that.

[Bored Peon]

So why not alter you end path a bit and get Vertibirds with the Minutemen or Railroad?

There was a mod out there that only allowed fast travel form one settlement to another in survival. I think I ditched it because it did not have a good save option, since I wanted the save on wait that Survival Options has.