Do Not Scrap Junk, right?

[Flying_Neeyoe]

I noticed no one is talking about this as it might not seem that important. Please correct me if I am wrong as this reasoning is solely from the wiki.

"All unemployed settlers will collect one random junk item per day, which is automatically added to the workshop inventory. A settler assigned to a scavenging station will instead collect two random junk items per day. Once the total number of junk items (including crafting components) in the workshop reaches 100 + (population × 5), no more junk items will be added to the workshop in either case." -Fallout Wiki

How is no one saying, as a rule of thumb, to not break down junk. Because, by my reasoning, if you break down you have more individual components and reach the "invisible" cap earlier, right? I know most people already do this cause it's more convenient to drop junk, but for example junk at settlement I mostly break down when it's actually worth storing.

Is this correct? Just want to write this in stone for those wondering and googling. Peace

[ZarahNeander]

I might be wrong, but junk items are *not* components. These are different classes

[sdack]

There is junk and there are components. Junk usually can be scrapped to get these components. Occasionally can one also find only a component as junk.

The settlers will stop collecting once the workbench has filled up with more than a hundred junk items. However, nothing stops one from taking them out of the workbench and storing them in a container. This way will the settlers continue collecting and one gets an endless supply of junk.

If you need to build something then simply take the components and junk out of your container and store them back into the workbench (or keep them in your inventory). Moving junk around this way can be tedious when one always has to press E or Enter to move junk items into a container. There are however likely some mods, which make this easier. I myself use AutoHotKey and let a keyboard macro do it for me.

It is however not a real problem. Moving junk out of the workbench and into a container should not really need an explanation, or does it?

[Flying_Neeyoe]

Originally posted by sdack:

There is junk and there are components. Junk usually can be scrapped to get these components. Occasionally can one also find only a component as junk.

The settlers will stop collecting once the workbench has filled up with more than a hundred junk items. However, nothing stops one from taking them out of the workbench and storing them in a container. This way will the settlers continue collecting and one gets an endless supply of junk.

If you need to build something then simply take the components and junk out of your container and store them back into the workbench (or keep them in your inventory). Moving junk around this way can be tedious when one always has to press E or Enter to move junk items into a container. There are however likely some mods, which make this easier. I myself use AutoHotKey and let a keyboard macro do it for me.

It is however not a real problem. Moving junk out of the workbench and into a container should not really need an explanation, or does it?

Exactly what I was thinking. Can you confirm that the game, however, treats 1 component as 1 junk? Cause I only assumed as these are under the junk section and the 1st post got me thinking. If you got an answer, please quote all this first so I can tag as answer, thank you very much guys.

[sdack]

Originally posted by Neo:

Can you confirm that the game, however, treats 1 component as 1 junk?

You will have to test this yourself when you want to know exactly. It is easy to test and I do not want to do this right now.

Settlers will however collect 1 Vase (3x Ceramic) just as well as 1 Ceramic and so do not make a difference there. I would assume the logic behind the limit makes no difference either, or it would be a mess.

I have now checked in a settlement and counted the junk pieces (a mix of junk and components) and the sum of it was 100. If these had been broken down would it be far more components. I think it is time to make a collection run ...

[ZarahNeander]

Originally posted by Neo:

Can you confirm that the game, however, treats 1 component as 1 junk?

This is an UI thing. Some UI mods (like FallUI) give you 2 tabs, 1 for junk and 1 for components. The game internally also has 2 different categories: components and misc. items

[Ellorien]

To me this means that having a scavenger is a waste, unless you assign a settler to the scavenger station in order to avoid having unemployed (unhappy) settlers. One-two junk items per day is an extremely inefficient way to collect junk anyway.

If you have a factory, you can also store your junk in a chest from which it would be vacuumed to make ammo or whatever.

[Flying_Neeyoe]

This post got way too complicated lol. I just wanted to make a statement that if you don't break down items, the scavengers would be less useless. Question of components being junk still stands. I cant test it now, but if some1 does at least we got a place to post now :)

[sdack]

Originally posted by Ellorien:

One-two junk items per day is an extremely inefficient way to collect junk anyway.

It depends.

I have 4 scavengers at each settlement with a total of 22 connected settlements. The settlement workshops fill up within a relatively short time that I have to run around and collect before it gets too much (I often just wait for an attack and empty the workbench afterwards) and now am I sitting on 35 tons of junk and got more than I can use.

It is also only the unemployed settlers who will collect 1 junk item per day. Afaik do guards and farmers not collect junk.

Scavengers, while not contributing to the defense value of a settlement, still make good guards, because they wander across the entire settlement in search of junk and do not just sit in one corner. They often spot approaching enemies first and the settlement will be alarmed sooner.

Edit: I have done a collection run and only the junk itself, collected by all my settlements, weighs 828 lb.

[fluxtorrent]

if you really want to be sure, dont store your junk items in the workshop except when you actually need it to work with. throw down a container next to it.

[Ellorien]

@sdack

Is it worth it? Sounds like a tedious chore to me.

You can go to any location and collect more junk than you would ever need without wasting time on visiting each settlement and risking another “Houston, we have a problem!” conversation with a random settler.

[sdack]

Originally posted by Ellorien:

@sdack

Is it worth it? Sounds like a tedious chore to me.

Like I said, I wait for an attack and empty a workbench then. It is not a chore. Why then go to "any location" when I have to visit my settlements anyways? Now this would be a chore if I had to go out of my way just for junk. Besides, they are all connected and I do not have to collect the junk just to build something.

[The Inept European]

Scavenger stations are really a massive waste anyway.

The game doesn't distinguish between Junk and components really. All components are in the category, Junk. Whether broken down or not broken down. The components that Junk items break down into are just a subset of the class of Junk items.

But yes this is a valid approach for "optimising" the (extremely poor) utility of scavengers, if you can't be bothered to shift the junk to a container and craft too little to ensure the junk is used up.

[sigmapsidelta]

Not sure if there ever was such a thing, but I seem to have invented a 'scavenger build'.

Each of my settlements has the minimum of farmers, one of each of the shopkeepers, bartender (some places up to 3), guards, usually 2 or 3 (except the Castle - 6), soda jerks, barbers and opticians, and everyone else scavenges.

Vault 88 has 50 humans and 12 robots. The robots farm and provision - 23 humans scavenge, and I'm still making robots to release human farmers for scavenging. Most places have 15 to 20 scavengers and I tour them every few days to empty the junk out and make room for more. I also ship as much as I can to the Mechanist's Lair and store it in the workshop there - no humans other than Isabel, just many robot provisioners.

Not many days off from junk-touring, but I had a short holiday recently during which I sent the USS Constitution on its way. The junk-touring had been going on for so long I couldn't remember what main storyline task or even side-quest I'd last done before that. The game basically automated me. I could probably tour those twenty-odd settlements in my sleep now.
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[The Inept European]

That's funny and also scary. Scary because I recognize that behaviour in myself too.

[Ellorien]

Lol. Unlike you upstanding farmers I developed quite a different in-game mindset, namely, why work when you can steal?!?!
You’re all a bunch of psychopaths! And I love you for it!