Since Fallout 4 is set in the future, there’s more to breaking and entering than just cracking locks. You’ll also need to break into computers, so to give you a helping hand, here’s how to hack in Fallout 4 explained.
How to Hack in Fallout 4 Explained
To hack computers in Fallout 4, you’ll first need a hacking skill that at least matches the computer you want to hack. Look at a computer, and you’ll see what hacking skill level it requires. Everyone can hack novice-level computers, but there are also advanced expert and master locks. You can unlock the various hacking skill levels by meeting the requirements on the perk screen.
So, if you’re up to hacking a computer, what do you do? First, if it turns red when you move your crosshair over it, make sure no one is watching. That’s a terminal you’re not supposed to have access to, and if you’re caught hacking, you can expect the same lethal penalty as for stealing.
Now, interact with it, and you’ll be presented with a jumble of numbers and words, as seen above. Ignore the thinner 0x01DC, etc, columns and look at the scrambled text. You’ve got to discover the password which will unlock the terminal. You have as many goes as you do blocks at the top of the screen. Here’s how it works:
- Pick a word, any word (words vary in length between terminals and may be split over two lines)
- Once you’ve chosen that word, you’ll be given a Likeness number. This tells you how many of those letters are in the same place in the password. For, if the password is NAILS and the word you’ve chosen is WAILS, the Likeness is two because E and S are in the right place.
- It doesn’t count if it has the right letters, but it’s jumbled up. So, SLAIN has a likeness of 0.
- Keep going till you’ve guessed the password or are locked out.
- If you’re locked out, step away, wait about 20 seconds, and you’ll be able to try again.
Tips For Hacking in Fallout 4
Those are the basics, anyway. The good news is that the words aren’t randomly plucked out of some dictionary. There are letter patterns that make it easier to work out the password. It’s important to think about the words you can eliminate. Here’s an example:
- In the above image, we pick SENDS and get a Likeness of 1. That means any letter out of five could be in the right place.
- So, we find a word that’s got just one letter in the same place as SENDS, NERVE, so we can narrow it down. A Likeness of 1 confirms it’s the first E that is in the right place.
- So, we look for words that have an E as the second letter. That narrows it down to HEART, REACH.
- HEART has a Likeness of 2, so it’s not that. It must be REACH, the only remaining word with an E in second place. That’s the right word, and we unlock the terminal.
So, it helps if you’re mentally crossing out the words it can’t be. Use an actual piece of paper if you want, there’s no time limit while you’re hacking and you can’t be attacked. Also, if you exit before you use up your last attempt, you can dive right back in.
It’ll take a little practice, but you’ll get the hang of it. And that’s how to hack in Fallout 4 explained.
