Base Management & Upgrades
Your Brotherhood of Steel bunker serves as your central hub in Fallout Tactics, offering vital services for recruiting, equipping, and healing your squad. Efficient base management is crucial for success in the wasteland. As you progress through the campaign, new facilities and upgrades will become available, significantly enhancing your operational capabilities.
Recruitment & Squad Management
At the start of the game, you'll have access to a limited pool of recruits. As your reputation with the Brotherhood grows and you complete more missions, a wider variety of specialized recruits will become available. Always consider your squad's overall balance of skills and combat roles.
- Recruit Terminal: Located in the main bunker area, this terminal allows you to browse available recruits. Each recruit has unique stats, skills, and perks. Pay attention to their combat proficiencies (e.g., Small Guns, Energy Weapons, Melee) and support skills (e.g., Doctor, Outdoorsman, Repair).
- Squad Roster: Manage your active squad members here. You can swap out injured or less effective recruits for fresh ones. Remember that only your active squad gains experience from missions.
- Training: While not a direct "upgrade" in the traditional sense, consistent mission completion is the primary way your recruits gain experience and level up. Focus on developing key skills for each squad member. For example, your designated medic should prioritize the Doctor skill, while your heavy gunner needs to invest in Big Guns.
Quartermaster & Inventory
The Quartermaster is your primary source for weapons, armor, ammunition, and supplies. Your access to better gear is directly tied to your progress and the upgrades you unlock.
- Initial Stock: Early in the game, the Quartermaster's inventory will be basic, offering standard small arms like 10mm Pistols, Hunting Rifles, and Leather Armor. Ammunition for these basic weapons is usually plentiful.
- Unlocking New Gear:
- Mission Rewards: Many missions offer unique or advanced equipment as rewards. Always check mission briefings for potential loot.
- Base Upgrades: Certain base upgrades, detailed below, directly expand the Quartermaster's inventory. For example, upgrading the Armory will introduce more powerful firearms and armor.
- Salvaging: loot every enemy and container during missions. Salvaged items can be used by your squad or sold back to the Quartermaster for Brotherhood Points (BP), which are essential for purchasing new gear and upgrades.
- Managing Inventory: Keep an eye on your squad's carrying capacity. Distribute heavy items like Big Guns or Power Armor among stronger squad members. Always ensure you have sufficient ammunition for all your equipped weapons before deploying.
Medical Bay & Healing
The Medical Bay is critical for keeping your squad in fighting shape. Injured squad members will automatically recover here between missions, but upgrades can significantly speed up this process and offer additional benefits.
- Basic Healing: After each mission, any injured squad members will be sent to the Medical Bay for recovery. The time it takes to heal depends on the severity of their injuries.
- Medical Bay Upgrade (Tier 1): This is usually one of the first upgrades you should prioritize.
- Cost: Typically requires a moderate amount of Brotherhood Points (BP).
- Benefit: Significantly reduces the healing time for all squad members. This means less downtime between missions and a quicker return to full strength. It may also slightly increase the effectiveness of your squad's Doctor skill during missions.
- Availability: Becomes available after completing early missions, often around the time you establish your first permanent base.
- Advanced Medical Facilities (Tier 2): Later in the game, a second medical upgrade might become available.
- Cost: Higher BP cost, potentially requiring rare components found in later missions.
- Benefit: Further reduces healing time, potentially offering passive regeneration for minor injuries, and may unlock access to advanced medical supplies or even cybernetic enhancements for your recruits (if applicable to your game version).
Armory & Weapon Upgrades
The Armory is where you can improve your squad's offensive capabilities. Upgrading it grants access to a wider array of more powerful weapons and armor.
- Initial Armory: Starts with basic firearms and light armor.
- Armory Upgrade (Tier 1):
- Cost: Requires a substantial amount of Brotherhood Points.
- Benefit: Unlocks access to more advanced weapon types such as Assault Rifles, Shotguns, and potentially some early Energy Weapons. You'll also see improved light and medium armor options like Combat Armor.
- Availability: Typically available after completing several successful missions and demonstrating your combat prowess.
- Advanced Armory (Tier 2 & 3): As you progress, further upgrades will become available.
- Cost: Increasingly higher BP costs, possibly requiring specific mission objectives to be met or rare schematics to be recovered.
- Benefit: Introduces heavy weaponry (e.g., Miniguns, Rocket Launchers), advanced energy weapons (e.g., Plasma Rifles, Laser Gatlings), and the iconic Power Armor. These upgrades are essential for tackling the tougher enemies and environments found in the later stages of the game.
Workshop & Vehicle Bay
The Workshop and Vehicle Bay are crucial for maintaining and upgrading your vehicles, which become indispensable for certain missions and faster travel.
- Initial Workshop: Allows basic repairs to your initial vehicle (often a Hummer or similar utility vehicle).
- Workshop Upgrade (Tier 1):
- Cost: Moderate BP investment.
- Benefit: Improves the efficiency of vehicle repairs and may unlock minor vehicle modifications, such as improved armor plating or weapon mounts for your existing vehicles.
- Availability: Becomes available once you acquire your first vehicle.
- Vehicle Bay Upgrade (Tier 2):
- Cost: High BP cost, often tied to a specific mission where you recover a new vehicle type or advanced vehicle components.
- Benefit: Unlocks access to entirely new and more powerful vehicles, such as APCs, tanks, or even Vertibirds in later stages. These vehicles offer superior firepower, armor, and carrying capacity, making difficult missions significantly easier. You'll also gain access to advanced vehicle weapon systems and armor upgrades.
- Strategy: Prioritize this upgrade if you find yourself struggling with vehicle-heavy missions or need to transport large amounts of loot.
Strategic Considerations for Upgrades
- Prioritize Healing: Early game, a Medical Bay upgrade is often the most impactful as it minimizes downtime and keeps your squad healthy.
- Match Upgrades to Missions: If you anticipate a mission with heavy enemy resistance, invest in Armory upgrades. If you expect long-distance travel or need to transport a lot of gear, consider Vehicle Bay upgrades.
- Balance BP Spending: Brotherhood Points are a finite resource earned through mission completion. Don't spend all your BP on one type of upgrade if another area of your base is severely lacking.
- Scavenge Relentlessly: Selling unneeded weapons, armor, and junk to the Quartermaster is your primary way to earn BP. Always maximize your loot during missions.
- Check Availability: New upgrades often become available after specific story missions or when your Brotherhood rank increases. Regularly check the base management interface for new options.