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Traps in Fallout 4 can be found all over the Commonwealth, the Island, and Nuka-World.

Types of traps[]

Environmental traps[]

Environmental traps represent those the player character as part of the environment, this includes both naturally occurring and man-made hazards. They universally cannot be disarmed as a group.

Name/Form ID Image Description Disarming results Locations
Barnacle
Fo4-Barnacle
Mutated barnacles which have grown to an unusual size.Upon approaching it, the barnacle releases a radioactive cloud that irradiates the player character at a rate of +30 rads/s for a few seconds. - Neponset Park,
Nahant Oceanological Society,
Northwest of Breakheart Banks
Irradiated thistle
Fo4-Irradiated Thistle
Groups of mutated plants spiky-leafed, purple colored. It will release a visible, green-tinged radioactive cloud producing 30 Rads/s when the player character moves close to the plant. They tend to grow in groups which can increase the potential dosage. - West of Red Rocket truck stop,
North of USAF Satellite Station Olivia
Automobiles
Station Wagon
Detoriated vehicles that can explode upon damage. Explosions will inflict radiation damage and leave the area around the explosions irradiated for a certain time. A car explosion indicator, similar to the grenade indicator, will appear on-screen if the player character is too close to a vehicle that is about to explode. - Innumerable across The Commonwealth

Manmade traps[]

Manmade traps are those which required human involvement to construct more deadly than environmental traps due to their increased lethality. Often found in conjunction with firing mechanisms to trigger them.

Name/Form ID Image Description Disarming results Locations
Fragmentation mine
Fallout4 Fragmentation mine
Standard fragmentation land mines which can be found around The Commonwealth and Nuka-World Nuka-World (add-on) Fragmentation mine Boston Airport,
The Switchboard,
The Castle,
Andrew station,
Gunners plaza,
Mass Pike Tunnel,
Nuka-World access tunnels Nuka-World (add-on)
Nuke mine
Nuke mine
Nuke mines which can be found in select areas of The Commonwealth. A higher yield explosive than the standard fragmentation mines, due to their nuclear payload. Nuke mine Crater house,
Hub City Auto Wreckers,
Kingsport Lighthouse
Cryo mine
Fallout4 Cryo mine
Cryo mines which can be found in select areas of the Commonwealth. A specialty mine designed to slow targets which survive the initial detonation. Cryo mine Cambridge Polymer Labs,
Greenetech Genetics,
The Switchboard,
University Point
Bottlecap mine
Bottlecap mine (Fallout 4)
Crude homemade mines loaded with caps. Despite their primitive nature, they can still be quite deadly. Bottlecap mine Near Cambridge Crater,
Near Fort Hagen,
Plumber's Secret,
Starlight Drive In,
Slocum Joe's basement
Plasma mine
Fo4 plasma mine
Energized mine that deals a combination of both ballistic damage and energy damage. Plasma mine Near Cambridge Crater,
Near Fort Hagen,
Plumber's Secret,
Starlight Drive In,
Slocum Joe's basement
Makeshift bomb
Fo4Makeshiftbomb
Makeshift bombs can be found around the Commonwealth, usually attached to tension triggers. Copper,
Spring,
Steel
Hugo's Hole
Mahkra Fishpacking
Jury rigged guns Jury rigged weapons attached to triggers. Not very deadly or accurate as traps go; they usually use a basic pipe firearm or shotgun, but can sometimes mount lasers instead. A few rare instances of rocket launcher traps exist, and these are more dangerous. Mounted weapon Back Street Apparel,
South Fens Tower
Flamethrower trap Jury rigged Flamer set up to shoot flame for a short duration upon activation. Typically triggered opening a door. Saugus Ironworks
Hub City Auto Wreckers
Gas leak Gas leaks fill the air with flammable gas, displayed by a distinct haze effect. This can be ignited via shots, setting fire to anything caught within the pocket of gas. - Saugus Ironworks,
Easy City Downs
Gasoline
OilSlick-Fallout4
Spilt gasoline, easily ignited by weapon fire and discernable by the rainbow coloration. - Institute sublevel 21-D,
The Shamrock Taphouse,
Tucker Memorial Bridge
Military checkpoint near Nahant Police Dept.
Grenade bouquet
Fo4 frag grenade bouquet
One to three frag grenades being held by a small wire or string that is dropped once triggered. Disarming rewards the player the number of frag grenades in the bouquet Saugus Ironworks
Nuka-World access tunnels Nuka-World (add-on)
Radiation trap Small radiation trap that releases radiation, usually found in areas occupied by the Children of Atom. -
Weak plank
Fo4-Weak Plank Trap
Plank bridge covering gaps, one or two planks will collapse under one's weight. They can be identified by shallow V notches in the planks - Saugus Ironworks
Nuka-World access tunnels Nuka-World (add-on)
Caltrops
Caltrops
Four pronged spikes designed to always have one prong upwards, causing stagger when trodden on - Cliff's Edge Hotel Far Harbor (add-on)
Tesla trap Typically found on ceilings, a large metal smoke alarm with electrodes protruding from its sides. Activation results in the trap to emit lightning bolts in random directions that will cause energy damage. Most examples burn out after a short duration and cease operation. Fusion cells ArcJet Systems

Noise making traps[]

Noise making traps are focused on alerting enemies to one's position, often found surrounding occupied areas.

Name/Form ID Image Description Disarming results Locations
Spotlight Spotlights are lights that scan across an area and can detect intruders, alerting nearby enemies by sounding an alarm. They will continue to follow intruders with their light as long as they are in the light's line of sight, beeping constantly. - Hub City Auto Wreckers
Mass Pike Interchange
Saugus Ironworks
Corvega assembly plant
Clapping cymbal monkey
Cymbal monkey
These monkey dolls will raise their head to look at nearby intruders with green eyes. Should the intruder remain in their line of sight too long, their eyes will begin flashing red, and they will begin clapping their cymbals together. This will alert nearby enemies to the intruder. They can be disarmed by being shot or struck with a melee attack. Additionally, they can be connected to other traps as shown by a spinning antenna. - Hubris Comics
Beantown Brewery
The Gwinnett Restaurant
College Square station
Rocky Narrows Park
Tin can chimes
FO4 Chimes
A string of tin cans suspended from a doorway or ceiling. They will rattle upon contact and alert nearby enemies to one's presence. Disarming them will create noise but will not alert enemies. Nine Tin cans Rocky cave
Diamond City Surplus
College Square
Corvega assembly plant

Craftable traps[]

Tesla trap[]

Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Copper (3)
Steel (2)
Range
Level
Tesla trap (1)

Flamethrower trap[]

Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Oil (6)
Rubber (4)
Screw (2)
Range
Workshop
Level
Flamethrower Trap (1)

Laser tripwire[]

Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Steel (4)
Range
Workshop
Level
Laser tripwire (1)

Far Harbor traps[]

Caltrops[]

Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Steel (5)
Range
Level
Caltrops (1)

A craftable version of caltrops that can be used to cause staggering and minor damage. Due to movement when the map respawns, they can result in NPC's becoming hostile.

Poisoned caltrops[]

Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Steel (5)
Range
Chemist rank 1
Level
Poisoned caltrops (1)

Poisoned version of the caltrops.

Wasteland Workshop traps[]

Trap door[]

Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Wood (6)
Steel (2)
Steel (4)
Range
Level
Trap door (1)

Trap doors are large, flat wooden floor sections with a small trapdoor in the center, about the size of a regular small floor section. When an NPC or something heavy is placed on top of the trap door, it automatically opens up, causing them to fall through the hole, after which the trap door closes itself.

It requires no power source and does not directly harm NPCs (though they can suffer fall damage or be hurt by any other traps placed below). The platform snaps to floors and foundations. Due to the small size of the trap door, humanoid NPCs can have difficulty successfully falling down the hole.

Spring trap[]

Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Screw (3)
Spring (2)
Wood (2)
Range
Level
Spring trap (1)

A trap consisting of a pressure plate connected to a spring-loaded sheet of jagged, rusty metal, serving as a blade. When the pressure plate is stepped on by an NPC, the blade jumps forward, stabbing whoever activates it before resetting itself back into place. It requires no power.

Powered spring trap[]

Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Screw (3)
Spring (2)
Wood (2)
Range
Level
Powered spring trap (1)

Same as the spring trap, but it requires a power source of any amount. Provides +1 defense for settlements. It can only be activated by connecting it to a switch of any kind, such as a laser tripwire. After activating, it must be manually reset via the connected switch.

Sawblade trap[]

Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Gears (4)
Spring (2)
Wood (2)
Range
Level
Sawblade trap (1)

The sawblade trap consists of six circular sawblades stacked on a seven-foot-tall metal pole, held upright and running along a set of rails on the ground. When connected to a power source, the pole rapidly spins around and slowly runs back and forth along the rail, slicing up anyone who gets too close. Like the powered spring trap, it only requires a direct connection to power. The rail itself is about one and a half floor squares long and requires a wider breadth to move.

Spike trap[]

Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Gears (3)
Spring (3)
Steel (9)
Range
Level
Spike trap (1)

The spike trap resembles a concrete floor foundation with a large pressure-sensitive platform covering most of its area. When stepped on, large spikes (made from sharpened steel girders) shoot up from holes in the platform, stabbing any NPCs that walk on it. It resets when weight is removed. The spike trap snaps to floors and foundations.

Firing mechanisms and initiating actions[]

Name/Form ID Image Description Disarming results Locations
Handmade trip wire
Fo4handmadetrip
Green thread or fishing line that's strung across walkways, often in narrow doorways. Can sometimes be jumped over if there's enough room. Gears,
Spring
Three at Hugo's Hole

Nuka-World access tunnels Nuka-World (add-on)

Laser tripwire
Fo4 location Jamaica Plain Town hall basement lasers
Tripwire that emits multiple red beams of light that are easily seen, especially in the dark. Can also be linked to activate turrets, as in the Jamaica Plain Town Hall. Fiber optics,
Crystal
Two Taffington boathouse,
49 in the Jamaica Plain Town Hall basement

Nucleus Command Center Far Harbor (add-on)

Tension trigger
Fo4 tension trigger
A small box, triggered by opening the door or container they are attached to. Gears,
Spring
Revere Beach station
Bathroom scale
Fo4bathroomscale
Appears to be a normal bathroom scale with the word "dead" written on the numbers. Triggers nearby traps, sometimes rigged as land mines. Copper,
Spring,
steel
Dunwich Borers,
Milton parking garage,
Poseidon reservoir

Nuka-World access tunnels Nuka-World (add-on)

Notes[]

  • Certain mine traps change positions or disappear completely upon a reload of the same cell.
  • Although most traps can be disarmed by interacting with them directly, the radiation emitter and cymbal monkey cannot. Despite this, they have unused leveled lists for the rewards of disarming them. The rad emitter would have given lead, nuclear material and steel, whereas the cymbal monkey would give cloth, circuitry, and copper.
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