Shanty Arefu

Arefu is an iconic location in Fallout 3 being built upon a highway overpass. That being said, the area is a little underdeveloped and doesn't really highlight the towns history. According game to lore, Arefu once had more inhabitants than it does in the year 2277, but the population has decreased drastically due to the inhabitants either dying or leaving to safer settlements like Megaton. This was cause by attacks from slavers, raiders, and other wasteland hostilities. With this mod, Arefu will feel like a more well developed town that has since become partially abandoned. Old businesses and buildings lay empty and dormant as their inhabitants have long since left, and while the town is relatively functional, trash and scrap accumulates around the rusty shacks. Many gaps in the highway have been filled with welded plating and the general 'safety' of the town has also been addressed. Features like enhancing the blown out part of the bridge, and adding sources of power and water have been taken into account.

Immersion & Lore Issues Addressed

Windmills generate electricity which is supplied via a network of wires between shacks.

Holding tanks have been added to the settlement where Arefu settlers store potable water. Plumbing pipes can be seen protruding from shacks.

More clutter and décor has been added to a reasonable amount, indicating this was once a bustling settlement.

While it's stated settlers "packed up their shacks", this is clearly a lazy lore excuse for the towns measly size. The latter half of Arefu is now a total ghost town with abandoned market stalls and boarded up shacks. Even with these additions, it can still be believed some shacks were disassembled.

Arefu has a couple defensive strategies that are poorly explained. Firstly, the collapsed part of the bridge contains explosives nearby implying settlers detonated the section for defense reasons. Secondly, the entrance to the town has been bolstered with a spotlight, barrack, and dead raider to better explain the entrance sequence.

You'd think if you're living on a bridge citizens would expect a certain level of safety measures. All holes have been filled with welded plating and fences have been added to sections you could easily fall from.

Looking for more vanilla+ settlement overhauls? Check out Megaton Outskirts

This file will be incompatible with mods that edit Arefu and areas in immediate proximity to the town. It's a master file to solidify NavMesh changes.

Simply drag and drop the contents of the mod into your data folder, and enable with the mod manager of your choice. Alternatively, download using a mod manager such