Keeping your Dwellers alive and your vault functioning depends on one important skill: resource management.
Power, food, and water are your three lifelines to keep dwellers alive. Failing to manage them properly leads to illness, chaos, and even death.
This guide explains how resource generation works, how to balance production and consumption, and tips to prevent running out of vital supplies.
For new players, check out our full Fallout Shelter beginner’s tips guide.
Fallout Shelter is available on multiple platforms, but this guide is written with mobile players in mind – whether you’re on Android or iOS.
Power, Food & Water: How are They Generated?
Here is how the three main resources can be generated in Fallout Shelter:
| Resource | Used for | Generated by |
|---|---|---|
| Power | Keeps rooms operational | Power Generator, Nuclear Reactor |
| Food | Keeps Dwellers healthy and prevents starvation | Diner, Garden |
| Water | Prevents radiation damage, keeps Dwellers healthy | Water Treatment, Water Purification Plant |
How Can I Tell How Much of Each Resource I Need?
Each room has an upkeep cost, and the total upkeep cost of all buildings and dwellers is indicated by a small marker in the top resource bar. As your vault grows with more rooms and dwellers, the total upkeep cost increases.
Balance Production and Demand
Keep an eye on the top bar to ensure you’re producing enough resources, red means you’re lacking resources and green means you’re okay. Make sure rooms are upgraded and staffed with the right dwellers. Always expand your vault slowly and strategically to avoid running into shortages.
If you run out of power, food, or water, your vault’s performance (and population health) will quickly decline.
Build the Right Resource Rooms First
Focus on a strong foundation by prioritising resource generation early in the game.
Build 3-wide rooms for each resource:
Power Generator
Diner
Water Treatment
Merging 3 rooms of the same type boosts output and saves space.
Tip: Only build one of each at first, and upgrade them as needed. Overbuilding drains your power supply, requires more dwellers and can drain your caps.
Quick Ratio Tips
Have 1 power room per 2–3 floors
Keep food and water rooms at least equal to your population needs
Upgrade rooms before adding more
Assign the Right Dwellers
Each resource room relies on a specific SPECIAL stat:
| Room | Key Stat |
|---|---|
| Power Generator | Strength |
| Diner | Agility |
| Water Treatment | Perception |
Assign Dwellers with high stats in these areas to maximize production. You can use the Dweller list (clipboard icon) to sort by stat and easily drag-and-drop them into rooms.
You can train dwellers in key stats using training rooms, if you can afford to pull them away from resource production.
Know When (and When Not) to Rush Production Rooms
Rushing gives you instant resources but comes with a risk of incidents like fires or radroach attacks. Use it when your success chance is high (under 30–40% incident risk) or if you’re completing an objective. Avoid rushing when your Dwellers are weak, unarmed, or you’re already dealing with problems.
For more tips on safe rushing and increasing your success rate, check out our Fallout Shelter rushing guide.
What Happens When You Run Out of Resources?
Running out of power, food, or water has serious consequences for your vault. Here’s what each shortage does and why you should avoid hitting zero at all costs.
| Resource | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Power | Rooms shut down randomly |
| Food | Dwellers lose health over time |
| Water | Dwellers suffer radiation damage (max HP reduced) |
Long-term shortages can trigger consequences such as unhappiness in dwellers and increased death or healing rate. You’ll go through a large supply of Stimpaks and RadAway, getting them back to good health.
Summary
Managing power, food, and water effectively is essential to vault survival. Focus on 3-wide rooms, assign Dwellers based on their SPECIAL stats, and upgrade before expanding. Use rushes wisely and train key stats to boost efficiency. With a solid strategy, you’ll avoid shortages and keep your vault thriving.
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