¶ Standard Start
- Activate the Workshop. (This makes the Settlement owned by you.)
- Build, power, and activate a vanilla Recruitment Radio Beacon
- The Sim Settlements 2 questline will start shortly after you do this. A Stranger will appear in your Settlement.
Pro Tip: You can skip the magazine and just build, power, and activate a Recruitment Radio Beacon in any vanilla workshop you control to start the mod.
It doesn't have to be in Sanctuary.
If you have other Settlements with Recruitment Beacons, the Stranger may spawn in any one of those Settlements.
Players who cannot find him after building a recruitment beacon should use the City Manager Holotape (one can be found in the Concord Hardware store near the Museum in Concord), then go to Tools > Advanced > Change Main Quest Settlement, select a new settlement for the quests to use.
¶ Quick Start Video
Quick Start Guide - Sim Settlements 2 by kinggath - Looking to get started with Sim Settlements 2? This is your guide - the first 30 seconds will tell you how to start.
The rest of the video explains the different files and frameworks of SS2 and how you can quickly install them on PC and Xbox One.
¶ How to Tell if Sim Settlements 2 Loaded Properly
There are four primary things to check in-game to ensure Sim Settlements 2 has loaded properly:
- The magazine is present on the Workshop in Sanctuary.
- Reading the magazine gives you enough building materials to build a vanilla Recruitment Radio Beacon.
Click for materials provided
Ceramic (3)Circuitry (2)
Copper (6)
Crystal (2)
Rubber (1)
Scrap things around the settlement for Steel
- Activating the Workshop to claim the settlement immediately displays the Sim Settlements 2 HUD elements
- The Sim Settlements 2 building tab is added to the Workshop Build Menu.
- Building and powering the vanilla Recruitment Radio Beacon should immediately spawn a Stranger. Approach him to start a conversation.
¶ Alternative Start
Alternatively, you can use the City Manager 2078 Holotape to skip the questline and unlock all of the Plot types, Building Plans, and other content. You'll find this under Tools > Cheats.
Fair warning: Skipping the questline may have unintended consequences with the functionality of your settlements.