Burning Springs is one of those places in Fallout 76 that looks calm for about three seconds, then suddenly reminds you that the Wasteland has teeth. If you plan to set up a long-term CAMP anywhere near the area, strong defenses aren’t optional. They’re your survival kit. Below is a practical, player-friendly guide on how to boost your CAMP security so enemies crash against your walls instead of crashing your game session.
Understand What Threats You’re Up Against
Burning Springs tends to attract all sorts of uninvited guests. Super Mutants like to roam nearby, Scorched patrols wander through, and the occasional creature treats the region like its personal jogging path. Before you start building, take a moment to watch the traffic around your spot. Knowing the direction enemies usually approach from helps you place turrets and traps where they matter instead of decorating empty hillsides.
During early building, I often kept a stash of Fallout 76 items ready, especially repair materials, since my defenses would get dinged up while I tested layouts. Keeping this stash topped up saves you from scrambling mid-fight.
Pick the Right Perks Before You Place Anything
CAMP building isn’t only about snapping walls together. Your perk setup plays a huge part in how well your defenses perform. For example, the Home Defense perk lets you craft better traps and turrets, while Contractor reduces building costs. If you’re planning a serious fortress, these perks stretch your resources and let you experiment more.
A good rule I follow is to temporarily swap to a “builder loadout” using the punch card machine. Build everything at a lower cost, set your traps, then switch back to your combat perks once you’re done. It’s a small trick that saves caps and headaches.
Build with Defense Layers Instead of One Big Wall
A single giant wall won’t stop much in Fallout 76, especially in Burning Springs where enemies love to rush in groups. Think of your CAMP like an onion with layers that slow down and split attacking mobs.
Here’s a simple layout strategy that works well:
Outer Layer: Fences, spikes, or a ring of junk walls to keep enemies from walking straight in. These don’t need to be pretty. They’re speed bumps for monsters.
Middle Layer: Turrets placed high enough to get clean sightlines. Roof corners, watchtowers, or even stacked foundations work great. I like mixing machine gun turrets with lasers because different mobs have different resistances.
Inner Layer: Strong walls around your crafting benches, stash box, and generator. If you run a resource extractor, give it extra protection since creatures love to attack anything that hums.
And don’t underestimate elevation. The Burning Springs terrain is bumpy, so lifting your CAMP even a little makes turret placement smoother and reduces blind spots.
Power and Noise Management
Generators attract trouble. The noisier the generator, the more likely a wandering creature decides your CAMP is worth investigating. If you can craft fusion or solar options, you’ll keep things quieter and safer. If not, tuck your generators behind walls so they don’t sit in the open like glowing snacks.
This is also where smart wiring helps. Group your turrets and lights so you can turn certain defenses on only when needed. It keeps your CAMP cleaner and lets your power grid stay stable when things get chaotic.
Make Good Use of Traps and Chokepoints
Turrets do the heavy hitting, but traps do the crowd control. Flame traps, Tesla arcs, and floor spikes can weaken enemies before they reach your turrets. Burning Springs enemies often move in straight lines across ridges or roads, so placing traps along these “natural lanes” does more than trying to cover your entire CAMP perimeter.
Chokepoints are also easy to build. You can funnel enemies by leaving only one or two open paths into your inner area. They’ll usually follow the path of least resistance, which means your traps can do their work.
Keep a Steady Supply of Repair Materials
Anyone who’s fought waves of Scorched knows how quickly defenses break down. Carrying a personal stash of junk, screws, gears, and aluminum keeps repairs quick. Sometimes I stock up by checking community markets or trading posts. You might even come across discussions about Fallout 76 items deals while browsing other players’ setups or trading spaces, which can help you refill supplies at good times.
But even with decent deals or trades, remember to stick to things you actually need. A CAMP defense project can drain materials fast if you overbuild.
Test Your Setup by Triggering Local Fights
One habit I picked up is stress-testing my defenses. After building a new layout, I’ll poke a nearby enemy group and run back to my CAMP to see how everything reacts. You learn a lot this way. Maybe a turret can’t see over a rock. Maybe a trap is too far from the path. Maybe you forgot to power half your defenses. These little tests help you tune your CAMP before a real fight hits.
If you prefer not to experiment alone, you can invite a friend to attack the outside of your CAMP. Friendly fire rules won’t let them destroy anything important, but they can help you spot angles or blind spots you’d miss on your own.
Don’t Forget Practical Living Space
Even the toughest stronghold feels awful if it’s a pain to live in. Keep your crafting benches close together, leave enough walking room, and make sure you can reach your defenses quickly when a fight breaks out. Burning Springs already has rough weather and radiation pockets, so build in a way that lets you move smoothly under cover.
Some players like using vendors, displays, or mannequins as decorations to make their CAMP feel alive. I sometimes use a vendor as a marker for my “safe zone,” mostly because it’s a quiet reminder to check for supplies. If you hang around trading hubs or chat with players who buy and trade gear, you might hear someone mention places like U4GM. Just treat these sources as ways to compare prices or learn what other players consider valuable.
Keep Updating as You Level Up
Your defenses shouldn’t stay frozen forever. As you unlock stronger turrets, better traps, and more efficient generators, revisit your layout. Burning Springs doesn’t get any friendlier over time, so a fresh defensive upgrade every few levels keeps you a step ahead.
Your playstyle might also change. Maybe you start farming nearby events or running public teams. Maybe you pick up a legendary weapon that lets you help defend your CAMP more directly. All of that affects how you want your base to function.
A CAMP in Burning Springs doesn’t need to look like Fort Knox to survive. It just needs to work with the terrain, match your playstyle, and handle the region’s constant pressure. Build in layers, use perks smartly, stay stocked on repair materials, and be willing to tweak things after a few fights.
Once everything is set, you can enjoy the area without worrying that your CAMP will vanish the moment you fast-travel away. And when a pack of Super Mutants shows up for a surprise visit, you’ll get to watch them walk straight into the storm you prepared.
