Fallout 3 and New Vegas each had about 6 vaults to explore with a few that were only mentioned in each game. I love discovering the lore of the twisted experiments gone wrong with each vault.

Since Fallout 4 is speculated to at least be as big as Skyrim, I wouldn't mind seeing a minimum of 8 creepy vaults to explore, all with sinister stories to discover.

If it wasn't for the 200 year timeline, I would like to meet a survivor or two this time around from other vault experiments, instead of just reading about the horrible fates everyone met or how they mysteriously vanished after managing to escape the vault.

Eight would be a good number. My bigger fear is that they'll continue to be bland. It's weird. No matter how much they filled the vaults with lore and creepy backstory, I always hated them. They all looked the same.

Between 6 to 8 vaults is a healthy number for me.

If they designed the vaults to stand out like they did with Vault 22 from New Vegas and Vault 112 from Fallout 3, I'd say you might be pleasantly surprised this time around.

The only vaults I didn't really care for was Vault 92 in Fallout 3 with the violinist, and Vault 3 in New Vegas that turned into a Fiend hideout. Other than that, the lore alone made all other vaults worth exploring imo. Though I can see how you may have found the Vaults bland to explore.

Also, keep in mind the progression made with hand crafting Skyrim's dungeons, using the background to add to the lore, dead bodies, animal sacrifices, skeletons locked in cages, etc, compared to Oblivion's copy / paste dungeons. This time around I would expect each Vault in Fallout 4 to stand out in it's own creative way.

As many vaults as they can throw at my character

As many as possible

I'm clearly in the minority here ... but I'd like to see less vaults, but more unique vaults. I think 3 really well-done vaults is a good number.

Edit: I mean 3 not including Vault 111

5 is probably a good solid number. Enough to get a good amount of exploring done but not too many to the point of over-saturation or all being samey.

2 or 3 and i think they will be bigger and more rooms levels than anything we ve seen before, sice their rubberband scalling killed any surface exploration they need to compensate somewhere else

I'd be comfortable with three, as long as they made them feel unique.

Also, Oblivion's dungeons are better than you give them credit for, they more often than not had a backstory to them, one of the most disturbing ones dealt with necromancy and children for example.

I'd like thirteen vaults ranging from small to preposterously humongous. One should make Blackreach look like a tiny hole in the ground.

Since I'm a strong believer in narrative constructs (as expression of a greater theme, not simply a story that exists in a meaningless limbo and revolves around itself) I don't think there should be any more than 3 Vaults in or around Boston (or the whole of Massachusetts).

But it doesn't really matter at this point, since Vegas and DC already had too many Vaults, compared to the greater Core Region (LA had one Vault), which in and of itself didn't necessarily make sense from a narrative viewpoint in the first place.

So Boston having like eight Vaults (of the 122 seemingly established ones - there's no canon info on this as far as I know though, but all the designer's choices point in that direction) wouldn't really disrupt any overarching narrative, since there is none that makes any sense anyway.

Vaults are loved because the concept behind them makes for great individual experiences. And that's all really. There's nothing to suggest that you need a Vault to reach that goal. Fallout can very well work without a single Vault and it should try to focus not on the burden of enigmatic icons that streamline the narrative experience, but rather reach out for original concepts that leave the seemingly omnipresent staples behind in favor of creative freedom, unique identities and coherence at the same time.

In short: Don't ask yourself how to do Deathclaws in Fallout 5, how to make the Brotherhood unique in Fallout 5, how to justify Supermutants in Fallout 5, how to execute the Enclave in Fallout 5.

Release yourself from that burden and leave these icons behind if you don't need them, in order to strengthen the identity of your new game and the rest of the franchise.

6-8 is fine and I want 2-3 of them functioning with the original inhabitants so you can actually see what's going on for yourself.
You go in, stay a night because they seem to hospitable and boom. You're a captive.
They want to to do experiments on you, they're cannibals, you witnessed something you shouldn't have seen... Possibilities are endless.

Vaults like 87, 34, 22 and 11 svck so hard. They're a chore to navigate through. Vault 3 and 21 on the other hand are my favorites.
Vault 21 especially since you get to see the inhabitants try to still keep it running without any horrible side effects except for claustrophobia.

Yeah, the vaults can be very bland, but assuming Beth have given them their backstories and lore then I think six is a good number, like F3 and NV.

I fully support that idea. I'd love to find an vault that still had the original dwellers still alive and kicking inside.

Not every vault in the game of course, but I'd be perfectly content with just one.

That could also end up being a nice side quest too, have some sort of transmission the Sole Survivor picks up (not unlike the Vault 101 side quest in 3) saying they need help or whatever. Could be quite fun.

*Edit- As far as the number of vaults in the game, I think I'd be content with 3-4. If the map really is as big or bigger than Skyrim, I think that'd be a nice number without it feeling too crowded.

Lots?.. I have no idea what a good number would be. I love exploring them but at the same time they can get a bit "samey." 5 or 6 would probably be a good number.

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a control vault, ie, a vault that actually served it's purpose. It'd be nice to walk in there and trade with the inhabitants, learn and share personal experiences from the Great War, etc. Basically like Vault 21 without the concrete and gambling. C'mon, that couldn't have been the only controlled, and fully functional Vault in the Wastes.

6-8 vault I be happy with.

My favorite most vault was V-11

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/System_recording:_Vault_11_front_entrance

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Vault_11

I like the other vault but 11 is my toppest favorite.

3-4 vaults , quality over quantity.

5 Vaults (Not Counting Vault 111)

Hopefully there isn't another GARRRRRYYYYYYYYYY Vault.

4 or 5, just make them more interesting and detailed. I did really like some the other vaults in FO3 & NV.

I'm hoping for as many vaults as possible- I personally never found any of the vaults bland (though a better flashlight or a way to turn the power back on would be nice). I love discovering the lore behind each one, teasing it apart from the various computer entries, audio logs, etc. The 'sacrifice one dweller a year' vault was particularly cool/creepy, being able to see the remains of the whole process.
More than anything else though, I'd really love to come across another vault that is still functioning (i.e. with people still alive inside). have them be friendly, hostile, crazy/indoctrinated, whatever, but it would be really cool to interact with vault dwellers.

If Vault 112 was in the general DC area, as was Vault 101.... and Fallout 4 is Vault 111... never mind, their numbering system is clearly all over the place. Still, I would hope for maybe 3 - 5 vaults (aside from 111). They have to have ~some~ other vaults (than the one we start in) because it's a Fallout game and you gotta have a vault... but unless they come up with some really great twists on new vaults, I fear it would be more of the same, kind of throw-away vaults.

I would love love love a vault that could basically be taken over or repurposed to serve as a Settlement base, with some exterior buildings / fences guarding the actual entrance to the Vault itself.... and then perhaps a vault that explores more of the Synth / AI kind of thing (early experiements, etc to contrast with the more advanced main story)..... and then one or two oddball experimental vaults. I actually did not mind Vault 3 in Fallout New Vegas ---- makes sense for the Fiends to take over the base and kill everyone in it when they first ventured out to make friends with the surface dwellers. That said, I don't know if a raider-occupied Vault would be as welcome in Fallout 4 since we have already seen it, now. Don't want to re-hash stuff (even if it wasn't in "their" Fallout game).

I'm on the "less but better vaults" team here. They all look the same, so I'd find it fairly boring to explore too many of them. I'd rather have like 3 or 4 that were really well done where you really get into the creepy experiments behind them. Deeper stories, less monotonous exploring.

I'd prefer it if there was not vaults at all. Just cause Vaults are a part of the Fallout world does not mean they have be shoehorned into every game they release. Instead, they should be creative and come up with 'new' pre-war stuff. Rehashing iconicism doesn't allow a setting to grow into a more developed and complex world. All it does is turn it into a cartoon show where every episode it's pretty much the same thing with a different paintjob.