How to wait in Fallout 4

Waiting a few hours for daylight or nighttime is a tradition in Bethesda games. Sometimes, you need to pass a couple of hours to complete a quest or to face a specific enemy—and this is no different in Fallout 4.

In the post-apocalyptic Commonwealth wasteland, you come across hundreds of different threats. Some higher-level enemies only appear at night, though, while others surface during the day. Waiting has always been a default option in Fallout games, and in Fallout 4, it’s also available. But it’s a bit tricky compared to previous games.

How to pass time in Fallout 4

To wait in Fallout 4, sit at any chair or bench and press T (on PCs) or the prompted button on consoles to select the number of hours you want to pass. However, when enemies are nearby, you can’t wait, so make sure you’re in a relatively safe place before passing the time. Once you wait, the time of day will change, which is sometimes required to access a few quests.

In previous Fallout games, players could wait whenever and wherever they wanted by simply pressing an appropriate button on their PCs or consoles. That is why new players in Fallout 4 are surprised by the lack of this ability in this game.

There is another way of waiting, which is actually “better” than just sitting in a chair—sleeping in bed. When you lie down in a bed, you can select a specific number of hours you want to sleep. Afterward, you get the “Well Rested” temporary perk, which increases the experience you gain by 10 percent. Beds are usually found in settlements and towns, however, so this option isn’t always available.