This, although I'd like to add Styles' notion with the MWBoS under Barnaky. Really the only ways the Enclave can make a comeback imo.

I was thinking not necessarily a return to the strength they had at the height of their power but maybe controlling a few areas and remote military bases. Maybe kind of like how Mr. House controls New Vegas, he has the most strength and power so people listen to him and do what he says.

The Enclave were pretty cool--crazy evil, super neato weapons, all militarized if that sort of thing gets you going. I think it's even cooler they're sorta dead. Just another footnote on the pages of history to be lost in the wasteland. They were pretty much wiped out twice, any members they have left have got to be insignificant and if they know what's good for them, they'll keep their heads down. I just don't see what purpose there would be in bringing them back again. The remnants faction was a nice, low-key appearance, but at some point even the remnants have got to go and the issue dropped. Just because once they were a major player in the wasteland doesn't mean they need to be kept around forever.

Just my two cents on the topic.

In my opinion the Enclave weren't evil they were just doing what they thought had to be done to ensure humanity's survival. And just because they were wiped out once or twice doesn't mean there all gone. We don't even know about the Chicago outposts or any other supply stations/bases across the wasteland. We only know what went down on the West Coast and in D.C.

Well it's called an outpost for a reason you know, in-regards to militaries' an "outpost" has specific connotations.

I'm sure there were Nazi's who felt what they were doing was the right thing too, doesn't make them any less evil. The Enclave's plan was genocide against non-pure humans i.e. anyone who isn't them. This is shown in Fallout 2's opening cinematic where the Enclave are shown wiping out an entire vault of people, people who have never once stepped foot outside of their vault. Regardless of their ideals or beliefs, the Enclave were waging a war against the world and that's pretty evil.

And no, we don't know anything about Enclave outposts or supply stations, but then again they're just that, outposts and supply stations. In my personal opinion, I think it would be pretty gosh darn moronic to bring back the Enclave once again for a third time just because there happened to be a couple of old dudes in power armor hanging out at some desolate supply station in Bum[censored], Egypt.

And why are the Enclave in Egypt? Besides nobody ever said the Enclave are a bunch of old dudes, there were female members of the Enclave and humans reproduce. Remember Arcade Gannon? He was the child of two Enclave members, they could live in a remote bunker or military base like Vault 101.

Bum[censored], Egypt is an expression for "middle of nowhere", it's not actually a real place.

And any remnants of the Enclave still hiding in secret bunkers or military bases are probably like crazy xenphobic survivalists with lots of fancy technology at this point, why would they have any sort of importance? What could these isolated bands possibly be doing in their secret bases that would warrant the Enclave being brought back? The president and presumably the vast majority of the core Enclave organization was blown up with the oil rig, and whatever was left of leadership was wiped out with Eden and Raven Rock. How many more "But really I am the true leader of the Enclave!" can they pull? The way I see it, anybody with any sort of second thoughts about the Enclave jumped ship when the oil rig went up leaving behind those too stuck in their way to move on, who then presumably relocated to the east coast where their organization once again was blown up.

Exactly. They were done in Fallout 2. Bringing them AND the BoS back is more than just fan-service it's laziness.

I would like new factions in the future.. I haven't really seen Bethesda's creative side in any of Fallout 3.. A lot of the stuff in the game was from previous games..

And what is wrong with crazy xenophobic survivalists? There are probably a lot of people like that in Fallout.
I want new factions too but I've always preferred the Enclave rather than the BoS.

Sure, there are probably a lot of people like that, why does it need to be the Enclave? Their time has come and gone. It feels cheap to keep them around just because.

Agreed. However, I will give them the Pitt Raiders and Rebels. These two DLC factions were done better than any of factions that Bethesda actually made in the base game.

I always thought a smaller team worked on DLCs and never worked on main games.. Skyrim right now is getting DLCs by a small team and they probably will be done by the time Fallout 4 gets released.. In other words I didn't give them credit for perhaps changing their ways by the time Fallout 4 is released..

They could be a group like the boomers in nv. Be a part of the main quest, but not the main quest, "kill the bad guys" that angle is more played out than the enclave itself.

Reading these posts and previous ones, it seems like the same old stuff. Every game is basically the same story, stop the " bad" guys from trying to take over the world. Reminds me of pinky and the brain" what are we gonna do tonight brain?" " try to take over the world"
Sounds good I'll buy it.

Yeah, sadly the Enclave aren't done like a normal faction is. There always used as [ insert generic bad guy faction here].

Because the Enclave is so far unique amongst Fallout factions as having the avowed goal of exterminating everyone on the planet who isn't them. Kinda makes it hard to use them as anything other than an antagonist.

I'm pretty sure the MLA would be in even worse shape than the Enclave remnants by that time. A few Super Mutants or ghouls may still be alive somewhere, but that's probably it.

Here is my take on it. Fallout 4 starts up nearly 10 years after the events of Fallout 3. John Henry Eden has made contact with the ZAX computer at the Institute in Boston, much like how he contacted the Enclave and summoned them to DC. He had downloaded his persona onto the Institutes' ZAX before making his pitch to the Lone Wanderer to destroy all mutations in the wasteland and then self destructing. During this 10 year interval all remaining Enclave Remnants were summoned from the DC area to the Institute to continue breeding "pure humans", while Enclave Scientists have been instructing Institute technicians to keep making Enclave androids. Bam, in 10 years time we have a fully replenished and ready to go Enclave Faction. With purebred Enclave/Institute humans running things and a nearly inexhaustible amount of fully obedient Enclave foot soldiers. O sweet America!

I always thought he would do something like that. He was a computer ai I thought he would transfer somewhere else. But instead you just ask him a question and boom. He's gone. What's up with that?
Pretty bad ending for a super computer that did all that, uniting the enclave and everything.

In retro science fiction, the best way to deal with an evil computer is to out-logic it.

Yes, through the powers of SCIENCE John Henry Eden lives on....a thumb drive.
He wasn't evil.

He was... counter-productive to the plans of the organisation you were working for.

Yeah, Eden's plan wasn't the best thing ever, I like Autumn's better only eradicating things like super mutants, feral ghouls, etc. (Don't know what he thought about regular ghouls probably generic Enclave opinion) Things might have actually worked under Autumn's Enclave, if the main quest didn't force you to kill all of them.