There will come a time in ‘Fallout 4’ when you have to choose one of the major factions to side with. There are ways of keeping one or more of the others sweet in the meantime, but it’s likely at least one of the factions will turn against you.
Here’s a rundown of the first impressions the factions present. SPOILERS abound for players who haven’t met them all yet.
The Minutemen
Unless it’s not your first playthrough and you aren’t intentionally avoiding him, Preston Garvey is probably going to be your first encounter with a faction.
You meet Garvey as he is attempting to defend a small group of survivors from a raider gang who have been on their trail for some time. They’re pinned down in a building, having lost many of their number already and almost all remaining hope.
Garvey enlists you to help him save them, and introduces you to your first set of Power Armour. You fight off the raiders and a Deathclaw, and become the saviour of these people.
Garvey leads the people to settle at your hometown where he tells you about the Minutemen. They were a militia force whose only goal was to protect the people of the Commonwealth. After many unfortunate events, he is quite possibly the last of them and would like you to become the new General, to help him rebuild the force as it once was.
From there you begin defending innocent settlers and survivors as they try to make a life for themselves on small farms, while constantly under threat from the likes of raiders and super mutants. You also learn how to build better settlements and defences to make your people happier and safer.
Garvey has a seemingly (actually) endless number of tasks for you to run about saving lives and freeing settlements from fear. The life of the Minuteman is to serve the people and try and keep the peace. They’re noble, and although they ask for the support of the settlements they protect, they’re not looking for an Empire to control.
It seems pretty clear that these are good guys, although they do basically represent the masses. They aren’t a proper military force or gubernatorial power. They’re protectors, but they aren’t really leaders.
You can imagine that a settlement like Jacobstown in New Vegas would be seen as a threat by the people of the Minutemen. With so many people having had bad encounters with super mutants, it would be very difficult for them to come to terms with a peaceful group. The more immediate situation facing them in the Commonwealth though is the synths. The masses probably wouldn’t be happy to share land with them without a lot of convincing.
IN SHORT:
Pros: Noble goals, valiant protectors.
Cons: Not ideal leaders, spread thin, represent general population rather than the best minds or strongest warriors.
The Brotherhood of Steel
The next faction you’re likely to meet is the Brotherhood. You pick up a signal and go to the aid of a group at a recon base. Being the nice Minuteman you probably are at this point, you offer them a helping hand. After sorting out one or two issues for them Paladin Danse offers you membership. The thing is this membership puts you at the lowest rank of the organisation, directly under his command.
Up until now, you’re thinking, “Hey, I offered you help because I am General of the Minutemen. You think I’m now going to be the Brotherhood Bottom Bitch?”
He’s all like, “Hey, I’d give you a higher rank, but I don’t have the authority. Don’t worry, you’ll shoot up the ranks.”
So you agree, pretty confident that five years from now you’ll have his job.
The Brotherhood gives off this whole strict military vibe. Everyone in their place in the hierarchy. It doesn’t sit right with the casual teamwork of the Minutemen. You’re also concerned that if you’re in charge of the Minutemen, and now the Brotherhood is in charge of you, does that mean they are now in charge of the Minutemen?
A repeatable quest from their quartermaster, Proctor Teagan, lets you hand over settlements to their control, so it seems – kind of – yes.
They have a strange fascination with tech and seem to place their own priorities over the people of the Commonwealth. They’re also very wary of super mutants and synths. With the Minutemen you at least think they could eventually learn that some mutants, some ghouls (you get a lot of ghoul settlers, so this is clearly no issue at all), and some synths are safe, but the Brotherhood seem set in their ways that these groups should be exterminated.
I don’t want to destroy the Brotherhood, but I don’t want them in charge either. They’re not the heroes that they were in Fallout 3, and you hear many of them saying they’re glad Elder Lyons is no longer in command.
IN SHORT:
Pros: Powerful ally, best tech in the Wastelands.
Cons: Xenophobes, pure military.
The Railroad
The next group you’re likely to meet is The Railroad. To find them you have to follow a trial and decipher a (really dumb) code. Once inside, you’re in a stand-off as you explain who you are and why you’re there.
I got the impression they were ready to blow my head off if their man Deacon (who I had never met) hadn’t vouched for me.
After the tense start, they explained that their caution was because they were an underground group and had to be very careful about who they trust. Caution made sense.
Their whole shtick seemed to be driving towards helping human-like synths escape from the Institute. To them, the Institute was this big boogie-man threatening the Commonwealth with its synth army. There had been rumours that some real people had been kidnapped and replaced by synth replicas without anyone noticing.
Working with them for a short while showed you that the Gen 3 human-like synths seemed to be indistinguishable from real humans (like that one in Fallout 3), while earlier models were mindless robots that were simply tools for battle. Somehow between the robots and the human replicas, it seemed that free will had gotten into the programming.
You face off against a number of the battle robots and they seem entirely intent on killing you. You’re pretty convinced that even if the Railroad are mistaken about the humanity of the Gen 3 synths, at least they’re doing what they think is right, trying to help the people and androids of Boston, while the Institute really is the big baddie of the game.
IN SHORT:
Pros: Noble protectors, underground operations, equality matters.
Cons: Small time, seem more focused on synths than general population, better suited as what the are rather than Commonwealth’s main power.
The Institute
So after fighting through countless synths, the cyborg agent that kidnapped your son, and a powerful Institute courser, you manage to find a way to get to the Institute.
You’re packing your best guns and explosives, ready to kick ass and chew Buffout.
You arrive, and there’s no flood of defensive forces. No synths, no turrets, no robots. You’re met by the leader of the Institute, who goes by the name of Father. Strange enough, as he is your son.
It kind of changes everything. He explains that his goal is to help humanity by using the best science has to offer. As they put it: Mankind redefined.
It’s pretty confusing. They’re telling you they want to help, they’re all very welcoming, but you can’t shake the nagging feeling that up until now they have done nothing but try to kill you.
If Father/son was so keen to have you in the Institute, and he knew you’d got out of the Vault, then why didn’t someone come to find you peacefully? Was he not aware of all the synths who intended your death? Or of the meeting with Kellogg?
It’s all a bit too suspicious.
Finding a back room full of dead cats did it for me though. I’m not siding with these guys.
But, there does seem to be some good genuine people mixed in with the arses. And a whole lot of synths looking for freedom and safety.
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
IN SHORT:
Pros: Incredible tech, ideal living spaces, so much potential for advancement.
Cons: Kidnapping, murder, xenophobia, and a general disregard for the people of the Commonwealth is mixed in with their vision of a greater good.
