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Frequently Asked Questions about Fallout Shelter by Bethesda Softworks.

How do I get it?[]

You may currently download Fallout Shelter through Apple's iTunes App Store, the Google Play store, the Windows Store, the Xbox Store, the Nintendo Switch eShop and the Playstation Store. It is also available for PC using the Bethesda.net Launcher and Steam. The iOS application requires at least iOS 7 or later, which is available freely through Apple to those with an iPhone model of 4 or later. Please note that although iPhone 4 users may download the application, the app itself will be fairly slow to work with (although not completely unusable). Bethesda has stated that the application can be used on the iPhone, iPod and iPad, however, it is optimized for iPhone 5, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The Google Play Store version is available as of August, 13, 2015, although it is not compatible with all Android devices.

How do I earn caps?[]

You can earn caps in many ways; rushing a room will award a small number of caps, collecting production from a room also has a chance to award a small number of caps based off the luck of the dwellers assigned there, finding and clicking on the Mysterious Stranger will produce varying amounts, leveling up your dwellers will award caps equal to their new level, completing objectives will always reward a few caps, lunch boxes have a chance of containing a varied sum of caps and finally, there is exploring the wasteland. Not only does it reward caps but it also has a chance of getting some gear for your dwellers. In extreme cases, weapons and armor can be sold for a small sum of caps but avoid doing this unless absolutely necessary, as the benefits of a weapon and armor, even weak weapons and armor can be significant, especially early in the game.

How do I explore the wasteland?[]

You cannot. As a vault overseer, you are far too important an asset for Vault-Tec to risk. You can, however, send dwellers to the wasteland simply by dragging them to the area outside the vault door, just like any other room. Upon doing this, you can later tap the area outside of the vault door to check the progress of the dweller you have released. The dweller will give continuous updates on their progress, including when they are forced into battle, when they locate supplies or caps or even when they die. You can also use this menu to recall any dwellers you have recently sent to explore, and they will return (safely, without any trouble) in half of the time that they have been outside for (which is also indicated on this menu).

My dwellers keep dying in the wasteland! How can I stop this from happening?[]

The wasteland is a dangerous place, make sure that any explorers are properly trained and equipped. Higher stats mean better results from encounters in the wasteland, weapons will help dwellers to fight more effectively and armor can provide bonus points to stats. If you can spare some stimpaks or radaway, that can help dwellers to last longer as well. Finally, remember the longer the expedition, the better the rewards will be and the deadlier the enemies will be.

How do I level up my dwellers?[]

Simply performing a job or sending to the wasteland, will grant experience that will eventually lead to a level up. Click the upwards pointing arrow icon above the dweller to level them up. To raise a dweller's SPECIAL stats, assign them to a training room.

Training stats is so slow, can I rush it like other rooms?[]

Yes, you can, with Nuka Quantum. If you do not wish to spend your Quantum, you can upgrade the room to make it faster; however, the upgrades for training rooms are quite costly. The more dwellers you have in a training room, the faster each individual dweller trains. And of course, there are also pets that give the dweller decreases in training time. If you change the time on your device, it will speed it up for you then reset it back and do it again. However, be careful! Changing clock times is known to occasionally break other rooms, such as radio rooms and sometimes wasteland exploration and return times.

Raiders keep attacking me and killing my dwellers, how can I stop this?[]

Sadly, raiders are simply a fact of life in the post-apocalyptic world we live in. Upgrading your vault door will slow them down but it won't actually stop them. The only real way to stop them is to kill them by giving your best trained dwellers some weaponry and armor and assigning them to guard the door and station them in rooms near the door. Radio Stations have a chance of attracting raiders to your base so disabling them would reduce the chance of attack.

One of my dwellers is hurt! Can I help them?[]

Yes you can! Select the dweller and press the stimpak icon, if you have a stimpak, it will heal them right up. Stimpaks can be generated in a Medbay, clinic or hospital. Alternatively you can wait for their health to regenerate on its own if your vault has excessive Food Resources, but this may take a while depending on the extent of their injury.

One of my dwellers is irradiated! Can I help them?[]

Yes, again you can! Select the dweller who is suffering from radiation and press the RadAway icon, if you have any RadAway available, to flush some of the radiation out of their system. RadAways can be created at Science labs or stations. Excess water will heal your dwellers radiation damage over time.

My dweller's aren't, y'know... breeding. Why is this?[]

It is possible that the two dwellers you are trying to get together are of the same family, this can be confirmed if they are simply socializing with one another. If they are flirting, but not getting anywhere, it is likely that they have exceptionally low charisma. Just give them a bit more time. Another possible reason is that your vault currently lacks space for it to be able to take more dwellers in.

My question isn't here! What do I do now?[]

Read the in-game help and see if it is answered there. If it is not, try some of our wikia pages regarding your enquiry. You could also (if you have not done so already), create your own wikia account and 'enter the wasteland...' AKA join the Nukapedia chat where a group of Fallout know-it-all's can help you with your problem if they are not busy bickering intensely about very minor things. Failing that, try elsewhere on the internet for your answer or ask someone on a message board. Including words like "FAQ" "Help" "Guide" and/or "Tips" in your search can help. Finally, remember that the answer you are looking for may not exist yet, the app is quite new and as a community, we rely on shared knowledge in order to create a more comprehensive guide, so share what you have learned with others and collaborate to help us all unlock the secrets of the wasteland and rebuild civilization! Vault-Tec is counting on you!

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