I got to the institute by means of the minutemen. I did their first quest (because it was to take down a raider) but didn't go back to the institute yet. I delivered the data to the Minutemen and I brought the serum to Virgil. I then went to the railroad to see if I had pissed them off. No I did a misc quest for them and got another one but Desmonda (sp?) keeps asking me to work with her instead of the minutemen. I'm not really inclined to do that but is that the only way to get the Ballistic weave?

What is the implication of saying I will work with them instead.

According to the wiki, you need to complete the initial Railroad quests

until you can get a Jackpot mission from P.A.M. and after completing 1 or 2 such missions you'll be told to speak to Tinker Tom who'll unlock Ballistic weave for you. Joining the Railroad doesn't prevent you from ending the game with the Minutemen.

Note that Tinker Tom only needs to mention something about ballistic weave after the trigger quest before it unlocks. It's VERY ambiguous that you recieved the perk.

Years ago when I was DM'ing Star Trek RPG, my players were after an alien infesting a space station who didn't really understand that the players were people. The translator seemed to indicate the alien considered the players merely food. Once they started hitting it with phasers they graduated to "dangerous food!"

Yeah, I think specifically, you have to help him with the MILA quests a few times and then he will mention Ballistic Weave, and that he sells a few armored pieces.

You can buy shipments of Ballistic Fiber from KLEO in Goodneighbor.

This is true...says it in the survival guide, which is better..er..more accurate than wiki..





The MILA quests have nothing to do with when you get the ballistic weave...you get a prompt only after doing 1 or 2 Jackpot quests from PAM...it's more of a hint that shows up in the top left...then talk to tinker Tom and the rest will play out...


IIRC, Tinker Tom also starts to sell shipments of ballistic fiber after the weave mod is obtained..

Just an FYI for anyone who wants this perk.

You only need to do the first RR quest, which is helping High Rise deliver the synth to safety.

After this, speak to PAM at the RRHQ. Take and do her first quest (it's pretty easy: just clean a place out). Once you return, talk to her again and she'll ask about a lost shipment.

Once you complete this quest, talk to PAM, then talk to Tinker Tom. He'll blabber something about the cache and the weave, but know that you'll get it after he's done. The game won't notify you that it's now available.

So far, the best armor to use this one: Courser. 145/125/15 protection.

Though, I'm extremely, extremely disappointed we couldn't use it on the Minutemen general's outfit.

Can't wait until tax return time when I can build my new PC. I badly want a mod that lets me put it on anything I want. I think the female version of the road leathers look just fantastic and would love to put it on those.

More headwear options would be nice too. Basically me, my companions, and most of my settlement guards/provisioners are wearing armored battered fedoras because there just aren't any other good options...

I was kind of hoping to supercharge the Minuteman General's uniform as an alternative to the vault suit and/or the combat armor but you don't seem to be able to do that. Maybe I don't understand the system.

The hats provide additional protection, but also can give a SPECIAL stat boost such as PER, CHR or LCK.

I chose the Newsboy Cap for the charisma bonus.

That means I don't have to remember to switch a Combat Armor helmet for the cap every time I sell something or talk to anyone.

The permanent CHR boost is so convenient that I don't even think the cap looks all that stupid any more.

Females need more hats in general. There is an entire panoply of 1950's women's hats they could have chosen from, and we're walking around in men's fedoras and trilby's. Or possibly wigs beyond that stupid pompadour.

I promptly installed a mod that allowed me to put it on just about any kind of outfit and hat. One of my PC's is a gunslinging MM general with ballistic weave on my general uniform and militia hat.

You can buy a Combat Armor helmet in Covenant which gives you the charisma bonus.

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Destroyer%27s_helmet

I was disappointed that there were no bonnets in FO4. My favourite outfit for Clover in FO3 was that pink dress she came with paired with a bonnet - made her look really cool and lethal. FO4 has so many nice dresses but no suitable headwear.