Which would you rather support? I've completed both factions and they are equally satisfying and equally beneficial to society in their own way.

Whenever I get to the point in the game where I have to decide between the two, I spend days pondering the better choice. And in the end, I always end up questioning my decision and I ponder about whether I made the right decision or not.

On one hand I become the Director and shape the future of the Institute and their goals, allowing me to hand pick the institutes agenda and create the world into something I deem fitting, though once I die it runs the risk of reverting everything I created. While on the other side I rid the world of what could actually be the worst threat to mankind, I join a faction that has actively fought against mutants rather than create them (Institute), and I become the sentinel of the Brotherhood basically giving me the ability to influence what happens afterwards and become the adviser to Maxson or the Merlin to Arthur if you will.

So, out of these two faction which would you support and why?

Let's see, Institute has top notch technology, an unrivaled workforce, technology for radiation resistant crop, gene cloning, bringing back old world animals, vision stated they save humanity. Become director meaning you can make changes and veto people.

BoS: Danse.

That's a tough choice. I think they're about half and half, but I go with the Institute. BoS ending still means you're Maxson's lapdog, and he may order you to do things you disagree with while as Director, there are more leeway in what you can do.

Institute, because SCIENCE.

It's a tough choice, I really love the BOS now that they're under vastly improved leadership. They are my favorite faction in FO4.

However, I like playing a good guy and I don't really care for mass murdering non-combatants no matter how one might try to justify it.

So I must reluctantly choose the Institute.

I believe there is too much potential in the technology and know how for which the Institute possesses, and believe it would be a waste to destroy it all. And of course, I find it better knowing that the future of mankind is in our hands as the Director at least, over Maxson.

Though, I don't see the thought of when we eventually die as the Director and a new one takes our place and begins to make changes as a reason to not consider supporting the Institute, that is always a chance whenever a new leader takes someone's place no matter what. It happened with the Brotherhood when Lyons's died and Maxson reformed it into a militaristic super power. Whose to say the same won't happen again when Maxson passes and things start to change for the worst? The best thing you can do at that point is contribute and lead to the best of your abilities in hopes your leadership made enough of an impact that is long lasting.

But there are serums to prevent this in precious head canon.

Ad Victoriam boys, Ad Victoriam! We'll destroy those Institute freaks and their robotic abominations! For Elder Maxson!








My inner Railroad wants to kill me now.

This is a tough call. While I find neither side beneficial too the commonwealth if you took the Railroad and Minutemen off the board I wouldn't be sure who too choose. On one hand the BOS are fanatics who's claims of caring about people are fickle at best. At the same time they do take care of common threats. The Institute has the technology that could help the commonwealth but at the same time are responsible for some of thier problems like Swan.

Institute as I prefer the possibilities that my Sole Survivor can accomplish with them.

Still, I do feel sorry for having to blow the BoS... again. Maybe FO5 breaks this recent trend?

Haven't done BOS all the way through yet, but so far my observations of this game...

2nd play-through, all vanilla with official patches on PC, but as far as I'm concerned. as soon as "Father" decided suddenly that he is the boss again after my current character wanted to support the Railroad... it was all over red rover.. burn in hell Institute... I mean make up your damm mind.. "Father"... either your real father is the boss or your character is, especially when he announces at a meeting, he's dying from an aggressive form of cancer....

Besides that, the whole place stinks too much of perfection seeking, sterile and cold feeling... too clean and immaculate to be conceivably real in a Fallout world... just my opinion..

Oh boy. This thread can only end so well. (/sarcasm)

But as for my choice... do I even need to say it?


Institute.

1. Because advancing science > religious nutjob neo-fascist paramilitary manchildren.


2. As Director I'm in a better position to make real change than being Maxon's lapdog or just being a minutemen general by itself.


3. Anything (good) the BOS can bring to the table the Institute combined with the Minutemen can do better.


4. Killing the Prydwen with a hacked liberty prime = schadenfreude (though I'd still prefer it if you had the option to do "our powers combined" while still siding with the institute.)


5. Homemaker Mod (For those consolers... Homemaker mod adds in a ton of new settlement stuff. Amongst them, Institute themed buildings. Obviously though you can only build institute themed buildings if you stay in the institute's good graces.)


6. F the BOS's stupid catchphrase. Caesar did the Latin thing much better.

Ad Victoriam sir. I should go now.....

Ok, I'll be the outlier here. I prefer neither. I find both factions to be reprehensible. I've done all four factions all the way through and, of the Institute and the BoS, neither was satisfying. BoS was the worst.

The Institute is the lesser of the two evils, simply because 1) my character is in charge now and has the opportunity to make some sweeping changes and 2) they have the facility, excellent tech and an abundance of knowledge and research. There are also a few scientists who question whether synths are machines or humans. My character can work with them. She has connections in The Commonwealth and, although it would be an uphill battle, I believe she can change minds and erase some of the bigotry and prejudice against the Synth Community. With time, I believe she can turn this thing around and make The Institute a positive force in The Commonwealth.

I see absolutely nothing positive that the BoS can bring to the table. They are a bunch of simple-minded bigots and bullies, hiding behind their big guns, tin-can armor and a lot of machismo. Doesn't work for me at all.

With the NCR's success in New Vegas, and if the Institute becomes the cannon ending we may be moving to a different type of fallout game.

We are 200 years since the great war...we can't stay a barren wasteland forever.

I see a lot of people talking about the benefits of being the Director of the Institute because that means we choose the future direction of the Institute. Are there actual quests that demonstrate this ability? I did the ending and found nothing that fulfilled that role. What did I miss? I can't find anything in the wiki to point me in the right direction.

The reason I ask is because I have trouble overcoming my disgust with the way they've treated the people of the Commonwealth and Nate/Nora. Everyone who isn't a member of the Institute, and some who are, seem to be used as research subjects. I find this alarming and cruel. Also, they insist on wiping out the RR which is in no way a serious threat to them and I am never given an option to even try to negotiate with the BOS.

So based on that I'm inclined to choose the BOS. I didn't like them in FO3, but aside from Maxson and his egotistical delusions, there are a lot of good people in the FO4 BOS. I like that some of them struggle with their own ideas v the BOS tenets, I like that even if they are technologically obsessed they end up helping the Commonwealth by killing those things that threaten its inhabitants.

It's true that the BOS can be bigoted and selfish, but they appear to have less of a negative impact than the Institute, if for no other reason than they've just arrived. The Institute has been terrorizing the people above ground for decades. But at the end of the MQ, the BOS falls short just as the Institute does. Why they want to blow up the Institute is a mystery to me. Shouldn't they want to win over the scientists and seize the facility intact?

So, because they are both so flawed I decided to choose based on the NPCs in each faction. I love Danse and the rest of the BOS more than I like the collection of oddballs in the Institute. So, it's BOS for me unless it turns out I can actually do quests to control the direction the Institute takes in the future. That could move me to the Institute camp.

BoS....

Because I can build my own post-apocalyptic power-state and re-education camps, and teach the commonwealth what real fear is.

Pretty sure the Powering Up quest was basically the transition in your role as the Director. Father asks that you attend the board meeting as the Director and discuss future plans for the Institute, even so far as you making the choice in whether the Institute should focus on weapons or synth development.

Institute because I already did the BoS "build the robot and watch it nuke the bad guys". They ripped off the entire F3 Main quest which itself was identical to the ending of oblivion. Just replace giant robot with dragon statue.


Blowing up the prydwyn was kind of a bust because you can't appreciate it crashing when you are underneath it.

Not to mention how they let you handle the issues in the bioscience lab.

If you talk to him, you would notice that he was trying to look out not only for the Institute but for you at all. There are a lot of talks and opposition to you becoming director already and they also know about your involvement with the RR meaning that you're working with the enemies. He was the one who talked them down for you. You are not the "boss", you are a trainee, but Father is still the boss. By destroying the RR, you silenced those who oppose you and say that you're a spy and things like that. You're just proving those detractors right when you betray the Institute for the RR and that you have been working with the the entire time.

I'm just providing a perspective here. In true, if you are still siding with the RR by doing quests up to that point, basically, you are really a spy, so I don't get why you get mad at the Institute for when you're basically also stabbing them in the back the entire time.

Not to mention you can expose Patriot or get Ayo to step down. X6 is basically your body guard. The director has a lot of power, they just don't show it much in the game since Beth go for the more shuttle approach.

They think they want to show it using the ending vision which replace the ending slide in this game. Basically, as director, you are able to save humanity, even though you will not be loved. Could it mean that because you go against the Institute and help the surface, earning the contempt of the other scientists? Could it mean that it's because you help the Institute people wipe out humanity, thus, while saving humanity within the Institute, but at the cost of anguish from the surfacers? For me, I will not be loved because Danse hate me . Yeah, there are various demonstrations to show that director's power is absolute, Father order you to destroy the RR, you can't debate about it, he named you director despite you being a newcomer, a surfacer, and working with the RR, you can set what the synth focus would be against the BoS, you can decide the fate of other Institute people like Ayo, Liam, Lawrence. I think it was just Beth's lack of faction benefit in general. It was like with Skyrim, it doesn't matter that you are the leader of each group, there is nothing change, you are still the errand boy, and some factions are still rude to you and speak to you like you're trash. It was just that Beth didn't bother to include too many options for you to do as the faction leader. It wasn't that the director can't do anything. It's one thing to say that there is no option for you to do with the gorilla, it's another thing to say that they don't allow you as director to do anything with it.

Okay, first things first (and the most important, imo)

I know! In my game he showed up at the airport and I had to watch synths attack him over and over again, he wouldn't talk to me once the battle started and I couldn't use a stimpak on him when he was slumped on the ground and then, at the end, the Prydwen crashed into him and if he wasn't already dead it killed him. I actually cried. I won't do that ending again as long as I've got him following me.

I can live with the interpretation that we have an impact, ultimately, but that Beth failed to demonstrate that thoroughly. I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything in the game that showed our influence.

True, that is the most important stuff. I personally could never bring myself to kill Danse, so even if he hates me, I would rather for him to live, so I try to do Blind Betrayal everytime. Maybe part of me hope that he would eventually come around to forgive for what I did. Playing as the ruthless institute director who sees synths as nothing more than machines to serve humans. Would he have go the the extreme and brainwash Danse into serving him? Would that still be Danse or someone else entirely? Basically, even if he could get Danse's body, he wouldn't be able to obtain Danse's soul. In the end, they both part way but the director still holds on hope that Danse will one day forgive him. They have eternity to think about it anyway.

Yeah, Beth was pretty weak when it comes to demonstrating power, I accidentally click on an apple while in town in Skyrim and the entire town try to skin me alive after just saving the entire world.

i actually wanted to side with BoS but the choice to blow up the institute is not very smart so i defected to the institute