I've been a fallout fan ever since I first played Fallout 3, I've fully completed both Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas on multiple occasions, doing every quest, exploring every location and playing in a different variety of styles with the characters I've created in game.
For me the DLC in both games was a huge part of the gameplay and greatly improved the base game, adding to it's replayability value greatly, for example Broken Steel in Fallout 3 raised the level cap to 30 and expanded upon the main storyline, making the game playable after the main story arc had finished. Likewise with fallout NV, the level cap was also raised by 5 with every new DLC to level 50 and hours of new content, dialogue and many new weapons were added.
DLC also allowed us to explore unique locations/ settings not present in the base game, for example Mothership Zeta in F3 allowed us to travel to space and The PITT, Point Lookout and Operation Anchorage allowed us to explore different settings across the United States.
DLC Is a unique opportunity to add new locations and features to the game which are not present in the base game, it's also a chance to add new or old factions and bring us more content in general. Sometimes DLC can be more memorable and interesting than the base game, Old world Blues in NV is a great example of this.
Even though I'm sure the DLC or fallout 4 has already been decided on I have a few ideas in mind
1. H.P Lovecraft/ Stephen King Horror
- A horror themed DLC would add a new tone to the Fallout Universe, it would add a whole new aspect to gameplay and branch off Fallout into a new gameplay setting. A unique and dark mysterious DLC like this would add features not present in the base game, like Old world Blues did. I believe there is a lot of potential with a horror themed DLC and a return to the atmosphere of Point Lookout and the Dunwich Building in F3 and also Dead Money in NV. I'd love to see some DLC set in Upper New England (Maine, New Hampshire or Vermont). where we could have some horror themed storyline with Stephen King and H.P Lovecraft as inspiration, waking up in a small town in upper new England in a psychiatric hospital for example
2. Enclave
- The Enclave is a fan favourite which most people would like to see return, the Enclave is a faction that could use some development, instead of always being seen as the bad guys, we should be able to see things from their perspective and join them (which we never had an opportunity to do in F3), I believe the Enclave can be evolved into a faction which is neither good or bad, but somewhere in the middle, much like the Brotherhood of Steel. We still don't know much about what happened after the events of F3 and I think an Enclave DLC would help Fallout 4 expand upon it's much needed back story and possibly expand upon the East Coast Brotherhood of Steel backstory between the events of F3 and F4 (such as the death of Sarah Lyons and the fate of the Enclave and Augustus Autumn). There has been hardly any mention of the Enclave in F4 and as many would like to point to it as a dead faction, the Enclave is a cornerstone of the Fallout Universe that many fans would like to see return.
3. Aliens
- An alien abduction/ mystery would also make a good DLC, Mothership Zeta was a unique, fun and memorable DLC from F3 that greatly expanded upon the Lore of the universe. It would also fit into the 1950s theme of the fallout universe with it's space and alien abduction feel (think Roswell, government cover ups and 1950s conspiracy theories). but instead of being set in space, It would be better to be set in some rural area where there are rumors of abductions and you have to investigate the mystery
4. Upper New England setting
- I think the perfect location for a new DLC would be the states of Maine, New Hampshire or Vermont, much of Upper New England is untamed wilderness that would have avoided the Nuclear Fallout from the Great War, I believe the Upper New England Mountains would be a perfect fit for DLC, since we don't have a mountain setting in F4 and it would be a change from the urban feel of F4, making the DLC feel more rural and more filled with nature than derelict buildings. This setting would also be the perfect place for a horror themed DLC, some small rural mountain town where everything is mysterious and strange (much like Twin Peaks or the X files). The rural mountain natural setting could enable us to have either a New England Horror inspired by Stephen king or H.P Lovecraft or it could also be the perfect location for a secret Enclave base hidden away in the mountains or even for a DLC which involved alien abduction in a small rural town. It could even be a combination of all 3, with the Enclave, the alien abduction and the Horror theme fitting together nicely in some mountain valley.
Think of a mysterious town in the New England mountains where you wake up in a old psychiatric Hospital where everything is strange and nothing seems right
The Rural setting would also provide a change of scenery from usual Fallout Games and a new area to explore in the New England wilderness, away from the Urban mess of Boston. (Think along the theme of Alan wake and Twin Peaks small town rural America), and also a chance to have a more greener and nature themed setting in game, think pine trees, scenic lakes and greenery,(much like Pre War America). The natural green setting could also lead to new enemies/ creatures to fight inspired by nature
5. Memory Den (Pre War America)
- Another Good DLC would be a memory den one which could take you into Pre-War America in 2077, which we haven't seen much of in the Fallout Universe, it would provide us with more of a backstory and a completely different setting where not everything was dead and decaying in rubble as it is after the bombs fell. It would also be an opportunity to possibly look back into our own character's backstory and also into Vault Tec and the Pre government, maybe we'd finally know who fired the first bombs.