Mark 1 Beacons are used to gather salvage from cleared locations for your settlement's virtual storage. There is also a chance to discover and unlock certain late-game building plans.
Unlocking the Mark 1 Beacon technology is accomplished by:
Mark 1 Beacons can be crafted at the City Planner's Desk along with ASAM Sensor Scanners which are required for their use.
To use a Mark 1 Beacon:
NOTE: The salvage will be deposited in the settlement's Virtual Storage, and the Mark 1 Beacon will placed in the workbench for you to reuse.
The total time is typically in the range of two to four days, but varies depending on the distances from the original settlement to the salvage location, from the salvage location to the dropoff settlement, and from that settlement to the original settlement.
It will take at most 36 in-game hours for each leg of the journey, plus 12 hours searching the location. The total time will then be no more than:
time_to_location + time_to_search_location + time_to_destination + time_to_home
<= 36hrs + 12hrs + 36hrs + 36hrs = 120 hours, or five days.
It will take fewer than three and a half days if the scrap is dropped off at the settlement the caravan came from.
The settler assigned to a settlement's Caravan Service plot is the person who will be dispatched to search the location for salvage. The settler's stats have the following effects:
For example a caravaneer with 5 points of Endurance, Luck, Perception, and Strength would return with 150% of the base scrap amount (100% base scrap amount + 25% (for Strength) + 25% (for Endurance), and would have a 20% chance of discovering a building plan if the location type had an associated discovery (10% base discovery chance + 5% (for Luck) + 5% (for Perception)).
A City Leader with a Major Trait of "Investigator" will add a massive bonus to discovery.
When you use a Mark I Beacon at a location, there is a chance of discovering a new industrial plot plan.
The base discovery chance is 10%. This is increased by 1% for each point of Luck or Perception the caravaneer has.
Not all locations have possible discoveries. A few locations have guaranteed discoveries (See the Named Locations in Bold lettering). Below is a list of plot plans and the type of location(s) where you may discover them.
| Industrial Discovery | LOCATION TYPE/Location |
|---|---|
| Body Armor Technology | Cambridge Polymer Labs |
| Ceramics Kiln | OFFICE, RUINS (TOWN) |
| Chemical Plant | HOSPITAL, LABORATORY |
| Crusher | SALVAGE YARD, WAREHOUSE |
| Crystal Cavern | QUARRY, VAULT, UNDERGROUND TUNNELS |
| Fiber Optics Factory | ROBOTS |
| Flare Factory | FACTORY, MILITARY |
| Glass Blowers | SCHOOL, RUINS (URBAN) |
| Glue Factory | FACTORY |
| Metal Mill | Saugus Ironworks (INDOORS) |
| Military Salvagers | MILITARY, WAREHOUSE |
| Munitions Factory | FACTORY (INDOORS), Corvega Assembly Plant |
| Nuclear Arms Production | MILITARY |
| Nuclear Enrichment Facility | LABORATORY(INDOORS) |
| Oil Pump Jack | NATURAL, SHIP |
| Ore Mine | QUARRY, VAULT |
| Paper Mill | OFFICE |
| Plastic & Polymers | HOSPITAL, LABORATORY |
| Remelting Facility | SALVAGE YARD, FACTORY |
| Surface Mining Operations | QUARRY, The Big Dig Location |
A few locations can be salvaged immediately.
Some locations will require clearing out enemies before you can place the beacon.
Others will require that you find and kill the boss.
Red locations probably won't give any discovery.
Purple locations are untested.
| KEYWORD | LOCATIONS - (FH) Far Harbor, (NW) Nuka World |
|---|---|
| FACTORY | Atomatoys Factory, Corvega Assembly Plant, Four Leaf Fishpacking, General Atomics Factory, Longneck Lukowskis, Poseidon Energy, Poseidon Energy Turbine, Poseidon Reservoir, Saugus Ironworks, South Boston Factory, (FH) Eagles Cove Tannery, (FH) Vim Pop Factory, (NW) Bottling Plant |
| HOSPITAL | Kendall Hospital, Mass Bay Medical Center, Medford Memorial, Milton General |
| LABORATORY | Cambridge Polymer Labs, HalluciGen, MedTek Research |
| MILITARY | Federal Ration Stockpile, Fort Hagen, Fort Hagen Interior, Fort Strong, Listening Post Bravo, National Guard Training Yard, Recon Bunker Theta, South Boston Checkpoint |
| NATURAL | Cambridge Crater, Gorski Cabin, Lake Quannapowitt, Walden Pond |
| OFFICE | Art Studio (SS2 Location), Atomatoys Corporate HQ, BADTFL, Cambridge PD, Ticonderoga Station, VaultTec Office |
| QUARRY | Dunwich Borers, Quincy Quarry, Thicket Excavations (after the quest), (FH) Northwood Ridge Quarry |
| ROBOT | 35 Court, ArcJet Systems, Boston Bugle, Boston Public Library, Cambridge Science Center Gift Shop, General Atomics Factory, General Atomics Galleria, Milton General Hospital, (NW) Nuka Galaxy, Poseidon Energy, Reeb Marina, (NW) RobCo Battlezone, (NW) Starlight interstellar theater, (NW) Vault Tec Among the Stars, Wattz, Mass Chemical, (FH) Wind Farm (Interior), (NW) Galactic Zone, (NW) Starport Nuka |
| RUINS (TOWN) | Forest Grove Marsh, Hyde Park, Nahant Chapel, Natick Banks, Quincy Ruins, West Everett Estates, (FH) Southwest Harbor, (NW) Bradberton, Barneys Bunker |
| RUINS (URBAN) | 35 Court, Back Street Apparel, Boston Bugle, Boston Police Rationing Site, CIT Rotunda, Camp Kendall, College Square, Commonwealth Bank, Dartmouth Professional, Harbormaster Hotel, Hoarders Apartment, Hub 360, Joe's Spuckies, Layton Towers, Monsignor Plaza, North End Boxing Gym, Old Corner Bookstore, Shenleys Oyster Bar, South Boston Church, Union's Hope Cathedral, Warren Theater, Water Street Apartments |
| SALVAGE YARD | Atom Cats Garage, Big John's Salvage, Hub City Auto Wreckers, Rotten Landfill, Robotics Disposal Ground, (NW) Hubologist Camp Zone |
| SCHOOL | DB Tech High School, East Boston Prep, Shaw High School, Suffolk County Charter School |
| SHIP | USS Constitution, USS Riptide, Wreck of the FMSN Northern Star, Yangtze, (FH) MS Azalea |
| UNDERGROUND TUNNELS | Concord Underground, Fen Street Sewers, Mass Pike Tunnels |
| VAULTS | 114 Tunnel Start, 95, 75 |
| WAREHOUSE | Wicked Shipping Lockup, Goodneighbor Warehouses (3x), NH&M Freight Depot, Waterfront Warehouse Location |
Salvage Beacons are used to dispatch caravans to collect items the player has dropped in a container, allowing for the player to send items to settlements without having to travel to them.
The Salvage Beacon technology is unlocked by:
Salvage Beacons can be crafted at the City Planner's Desk.
To use a Salvage Beacon:
A certain amount of time must pass for the caravan to walk to the location, pick up the items, and return to settlement. This is typically in the range of one to two days, but varies depending on the distance from the settlement to the location. It will take at most 18 in game hours each way, so fewer than 36 hours total.