¶ Overview
In Fallout 4, there are a variety of junk items you can pick up, all of which give you scrap. This scrap is a critical resource in Sim Settlements 2, since it's used to build, upgrade, and maintain your plots. Resources are stored in each individual settlement's Virtual Storage. As your settlers build, upgrade, and maintain plots and other assets within the settlement, they will pull resources from the Virtual Storage network.
¶ Resource Use Priority
The current use priority is:
- The settlement's Virtual Storage
- The Virtual Storage of settlements connected via Caravan Services
- The settlement's Workbench (if you're on-site in the settlement)
- Your inventory (if you're on-site in the settlement)
If you are currently within a settlment's borders and the Virtual Storage doesn't have enough resources for the settlement to build/upgrade something, it will then pull from the Workshop storage, or the scrap in your inventory, to fill the gap.
If you aren't currently in the settlement and the Virtual Storage network doesn't have enough resources for the settlement to build or upgrade something, that task will not be completed. Additionally, if you aren't currently in the settlement and the Virtual Storage network doesn't have enough resources for the settlement to pay maintenance costs for an asset, that asset will break as though it were damaged in a settlement attack.
¶ The Resource HUD
Your resources display in the Resources Panel
The Hud
¶ Levels of Resource Complexity
There are three levels of complexity associated with scap in Sim Settlements 2:
- Simple
- Categories
- Components
Each level of complexity requires you to manage more specific types of scrap, increasing the difficulty of resource management as you go down the list.
¶ Simple
At this level of complexity, all you need to manage is how much Scrap of any type you have in your Virtual Storage. This is the easiest level of difficulty for resource management in Sim Settlements 2, and is recommended if you want a more hands-off settlement experience.
¶ Categories
At this level of complexity, Scrap is divided into 4 Scrap Categories:
| Icon | Category |
|---|---|
 |
Building Materials |
 |
Machine Parts |
 |
Organic Materials |
 |
Rare Materials |
You will need to manage how much scrap you have from each of these categories (per the Breakdown of Resource Categories below). However, you don't need to worry about individual components. This is the default level of difficulty for resource management in Sim Settlements 2.
¶ Components
At this level of complexity, Scrap is divided into 4 Scrap Categories, which are futher divided into 32 Scrap Components (per the Breakdown of Resource Categories below). You will need to manage how much of each individual component you have available in Virtual Storage for your settlement. This is the hardest level of difficulty for resource management in Sim Settlements 2.
¶ Breakdown of Resource Categories
| Icon | Component |
|---|---|
 |
Aluminum |
 |
Asbestos |
 |
Concrete |
 |
Fiberglass |
 |
Glass |
 |
Steel |
 |
Wood |
| Icon | Component |
|---|---|
 |
Circuitry |
 |
Copper |
 |
Gears |
 |
Lead |
 |
Plastic |
 |
Rubber |
 |
Screws |
 |
Silver |
 |
Springs |
| Icon | Component |
|---|---|
 |
Acid |
 |
Adhesive |
 |
Bone |
 |
Ceramic |
 |
Cloth |
 |
Cork |
 |
Fertilizer |
 |
Leather |
 |
Oil |
| Icon | Component |
|---|---|
 |
Antiseptic |
 |
Ballistic Fiber |
 |
Crystal |
 |
Fiber Optics |
 |
Gold |
 |
Nuclear Material |
¶ Video Tutorials
Sim Settlements 2 Resources Scrap Categories Components by Raybo