Which Faction Should You Join In ‘Fallout 4’?


Fallout 4 is replete with an overabundance of many, many things: experiences, places to explore, distractions, and, increasingly, as players progress through the game, choices. This being a Bethesda game with a moral dimension and an open ending, there is the worry that major or fundamental choices in Fallout 4 might funnel the player into a set of outcomes that they might not necessarily want. As mentioned in US Gamer, the Fallout 4 faction that you choose to support will determine the way the main quest ends.

Each faction has its own moral dimension and main perk, and while it’s possible to join all four factions at the beginning of the game, their goals and missions will eventually diverge. In fact, there are critical points in Fallout 4 where completing a faction mission will completely alienate one or more of the other factions — a situation that will generate a notification. It would seem that the maximum number of factions that can be kept on side throughout the whole main quest is three, with two being more usual. Bearing this in mind, here’s a handy guide to who each Fallout 4 faction is and what they’re about so that you can mold your game experience early and have a better idea, from the very start, who it is that you wish to back.

THE MINUTEMEN

Fallout 4
The Minutemen are probably the first faction you’ll join, and the easiest to please.
[Image via Bethesda]
The Minutemen are probably the easiest Fallout 4 faction to get on board with and keep sweet until the end. Chances are that this will be the first faction you encounter in Fallout 4, and probably the first one that you join. The Minutemen are basically a citizen militia with the very agreeable goal of making people’s lives better. It’s all about helping the little man and providing safe havens for citizens of the wasteland. Minutemen missions are largely concerned with settlement formation, and, with such a benign agenda, there is very little chance that working for the Minutemen will present you with any moral dilemma. In fact, just proceeding normally through the game will probably result in inadvertently completing a number of Minutemen missions. If, however, you wish to become a terror of the wasteland, there will be few opportunities to build notoriety within the Minutemen framework, and if you do, you’ll probably lose your membership.

Joining the Minutemen will give you a flare that you can use to summon a few fighters to help you out in a tight spot, and will also give you access to some limited artillery support. And then, of course, there’s the satisfaction of doing good and being an all around nice guy.

THE BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL

Fallout 4 factions
The Brotherhood aren’t the nicest of chaps, but they do have some of the best gear.
[Image via Bethesda]
The Brotherhood is pretty well consistent with former iterations of the group, being more similar to the West coast version than anything else. This is an absolutist group with a quasi-religious world view. They’re not what you’d call tolerant, being tasked with the missionary goal of eliminating every synth, super mutant, and ghoul in Fallout 4. The Brotherhood believe in “purity,” which should ring alarm bells for every liberal-minded player, but if you’re a human supremacist and have no problem with massacring large populations of non-human NPCs (and let’s face it, who really does?), then The Brotherhood is the Fallout 4 faction for you. Unlike raggedy groups like the Minutemen and the Railroad, the Brotherhood is seriously well-equipped and has top notch goods and services. In exchange for this, however, players will not only need to support their agenda of “cleansing,” they will also fatally compromise their allegiance with less xenophobic factions.

The Brotherhood provides airborne infantry support and the aforementioned high-quality goods and services. Any companions you might have that don’t fit the Brotherhood’s world view, however, will be lost as you progress in their story arc.

THE RAILROAD

Fallout 4 factions
The Railroad seems to provide little but the warmth of inner virtue.
[Image via Bethesda]
The Railroad is a clear reference to the “Underground Railroad,” the secret organization that illegally freed slaves in the years preceding the U.S. Civil War. The slaves that the Railroad are concerned with are the less human denizens of Fallout 4. The Railroad believes that synths, mutants, etc., are sufficiently human and entitled to basic human rights, and should therefore not be owned or used by anyone. Apart from the appeal of being a freedom fighter, fighting for the rights of the oppressed (if that’s your sort of thing), there is also the fact that the Railroad and its missions provide the biggest element of cloak and dagger in Fallout 4. As a clandestine organization, the Railroad provides plenty of opportunities to play the spy, and to really get your covert ops groove on. The Railroad is indirectly opposed to the Brotherhood and directly opposed to the Institute, both factions which can provide serious assistance in your wanderings, so this needs to be kept in mind.

The Railroad is poor. There aren’t too many material benefits to membership, apart from a perk that allows players to add armor to clothing. But there’s always the cloak of virtue to make up for it, assuming that this is what does it for you.

THE INSTITUTE

Fallout 4 factions
The Institute believes in utopia through synthetic servitude.
[Image via Bethesda]
It’s difficult to explain too much about the Institute without dropping a bunch of spoilers. Suffice it to say that their utopian vision for the Fallout 4 world is based on the enslavement of synths. The Institute doesn’t crop up until later in the game, and the opportunity to join won’t present itself until you’re already seriously entangled with the other Fallout 4 factions. Institute goals and attitudes are teased throughout the game, delivered in whispered rumors and tales, which can make them very appealing to lovers of intrigue. The Institute is obviously a bad match for the Railroad, but less intuitively, brings the player into direct opposition with the Brotherhood of Steel. In fact, this conflict will show up very early on, as Institute missions will run in direct opposition to the Brotherhood’s views on the corrupting influence of technology.

Joining the Institute will provide free health care (healing and radiation) and will also see a handful of synth fighters warped in to help you out in a tight spot.

[Image courtesy of Bethesda]

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