One of the major themes of Fallout is the attempt to rebuild society from the ground up. There are numerous different factions of many different sizes and with many different goals. The purpose of this thread is to rank each group according to how developed they are in terms of size and influence. I'm not completely certain about all of these, so any input is welcomed. I also haven't played Fallout 1 or 2 so I can't really include them, although someone else can if they want. I'm also pretty sure I'm forgetting a lot too.

Note: Vaults aren't included because they don't represent post-war built societies.


Tier 1

New California Republic
Ceasar's Legion
Midwestern BoS (formerly?)

Tier 1 is made up of groups that have largely transcended mere survival, and are the closest equivalent to modern nations. They have populations in the hundreds of thousands or more, and they are capable of holding and maintaining extremely large territories. They have very complex governments with a well defined chain of command. They have their own standing armies and could defeat any civilization in the lower tiers in an all-out war. While they often possess some very advanced pre-war technology, they usually don't use it as extensively as others, partially because of the impracticality of using such technology on a large scale. They will usually be expansionist in nature, believing that they are meant to bring their form of civilization into the wasteland.


Tier 2

Brotherhood of Steel
Enclave
New Vegas
Boomers
Midwestern BoS
Pitt Raiders

Tier 2 is composed of societies that have a significant size and level of organization. Their economy and population are usually much larger than just that of a single settlement. Often they will be centered around a relatively large headquarters or city that is under their control. They usually don't control a lot of territory compared to Tier 1 but they may have bases and outposts in several different locations, or have influence over a large area. They also possess a large amount of pre-war technology, including weapons. While they would still lose to Tier 1 societies in an a war, they would inflict very heavy casualties on them; because of this they are often taken very seriously by others.

Tier 3

Megaton
Great Khans
Rivet City
Goodsprings
Novac
Jacobstown
Primm
Utobitha
Underworld
Nipton (formerly)
Arefu
Big Town
Canterbury Commons

Tier 3 is roughly the equivalent of a small city-state. They're generally a small town or community that has some way of supporting themselves, either through scavenging, hunting, trading, farming, or a combination of these. They usually aren't armed to the teeth, but they have enough weapons to protect themselves against raiders and wild animals. Unlike raiders they are also rarely hostile to outsiders without a reason. They are the lowest tier that represents a functioning society that can exist in the long term, although they may not always stay independent.


Tier 4

Fiends
Jackals
Vipers
Little Lamplight
Powder Gangers
other independent raiders
most tribals

Tier 4 is made up of groups that are the least stable. They may be only a small group of raiders who have no real plan for the future. They're economy is often based on raiding or saluaging at best, and they're often antagonistic towards neighboring societies. While tribal groups of hunter-gatherer/scavengers can remain independent until civilization reaches them, the inherently violent nature of raiders often forces more civilized societies to deal with them relatively quickly. In the long run these groups will either gain a more permanent settlement and way of life or disappear completely; crushed by the onslaught of civilization or devoured by the wasteland.

Wow. Where would towns like Arefu and Big Town go?

I think Arefu would be Tier 3, although a somewhat low-level one. They were attacked and raided a lot early on, but they managed to survive it. They keep some brahman and trade caravans still go there, so they have a relatively stable economy and a positive relationship with the outside world. Big Town is a weird case, considering that it's made up of Little Lamplight advlts. If the player helps them to learn how to defend themselves they'd probably be Tier 3.

Should add Shi and Pitt Raiders to tier 2.

And maybe even add MWBOS to Tier 1.

I added Pitt Raiders, Arefu, Big Town, and Shi. I've also edited some of the descriptions.

I'm on the fence right now about the MWBoS. Since they don't follow the rest of the BoS they deserve to be mentioned separately, but I'm not exactly sure where to put them. I don't think they should be in Tier 1, since Tier 1 is made up of significantly large portions of the former US (about at least a state), but they might be too big for Tier 2. It really all depends on how much land they control outside of Chicago. I might reorganize the list and add a tier between 1 and 2, including possibly New Vegas after F:NV if you or house choose to take over (since you would control most of the Mojave at that point).

double post

Was a long time ago since I played Tactics but I remember them kinda taking areas over and forcing people to join them so they do have a lot of area and population and also has their own currency.
Dunno if that's enough for Tier 1 though. :confused:

NCR is the most Developed Faction known in the Wasteland. Before FO1 they managed to build a town, start farming and trading. By the time of FO2 they had taken control of all location in FO1 and started moving into Northern California. Time of New Vegas they have taken control of California, Baja Mexico and maybe Southern Oregon and East into Northen Nevada and now Mojave. They have a large population of at least a couple million. They have had a working economy of their own since FO2.


Ceasars Legion, I would not call them advanced or developed but they are a powerful force. They Control Arizona, parts of New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado and trying to move into Nevada. Population unknown, maybe as high as a million. They have their own economy and a system of trade (slave trade).

Shi are highly advanced maybe as advanced as the Enclave were. They have powerful weapon such as M72 Gauss Rifles, large market places that sell T-51b power armour. Their people are great researchers and they know how to work with DNA. They control San Francisco. They maybe allied with NCR or apart of NCR. They also have a number of fishermen.

Western BoS are advanced, numbers unknown maybe be indecline. Control a number of bunkers across California and have chapters one being in the Mojave. Fallout Bible says they have their own state within NCR.

Enclave are dead.

Fallout 3 factions are nothing. They live in radioactive mud holes, eating radioactive food. No working economy, no outside trade and very little inside trade, no laws or governemnts and no farming.

MWBoS at one time controlled a large empire form Chicago to Cheyenne Mountain but they seem to have been having hard times in the 80 years since tactics. Numbers unknown, said to be a small group in Chicago but they do let in ousiders.

I don't think your Tiers are flexible enough personally and seem to be determined more on military strength than anything, Caeser's Legion is intentionally restrained by Caeser technological wise, even basic stimpaks are illegal and firearms discouraged for some tribal reason I forget.

The Enclave have the most rigid, complex and defined chain-of-command possible surely, the NCR itself is based on the pre-war US Government, if anything the Enclave with it's lack of corruption and much more streamlined government (admitedly to conform to it's small size) is more efficient than the NCR could ever be, again I know this is due to size but if your talking about the societies themselves then surely it counts.

They still have some trade caravans, and they do keep brahman for food. Rivet City is by far the most advanced native society in the Capital Wasteland, they have a very organized government and defense, and they even grow food in their science lab. The Capital Wasteland is very primitive overall though.



If they have territory spreading from Cheyenne to Chicago, they would certainly be Tier 1. Why are they so small now though? Most of the information I could find on them said that they mostly just have Chicago.



The tiers are based roughly on three factors: land, population, and economy. Large military strength and advanced government is usually a natural outcome of a large society. The Enclave has advanced technology and government, but they have very little territory and people compared to the NCR and Legion. Militarily the Fiends and the Powder Gangers are probably tougher than most Tier 3 groups, but they don't have anything resembling a stable economy. They subsist on mostly raiding alone.

I would not call them a faction. The Carvans are just one person and some guards each selling different things. Ones sells junk "yes I would like to buy a bent tin can and a pencil" :down: The food in the Lab are experimental. They did not have enough to feed the population of the city. Only Arefu farmed brahmin and there was what three of them? I will agree they are primitive.




My own personal theory/wish/ideas as to what happened to the MWBoS.

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1165500-will-the-midwestern-brotherhood-of-steel-ever-return/page__view__findpost__p__17141661

About the caravans, I was not suggesting that they were their own faction, merely that there is some trading going on. I also haven't played Fallout 3 in a while, but I was under the impression that some Brahmin were kept for food and milk by most settlements. Then again, there aren't really that many settlements there to begin with. It's interesting how bad the situation is there. In the Capital Wasteland people are in huts made of scraps of metal, living on radscorpions and irradiated water. In the west though people are building nations and gambling in fancy casinos. I guess the DC area would have been hit harder than most places though, and there are an awful lot of super mutants there. Those guys ruin everything. :sadvaultboy:




I'd like to see them in another game. It's a shame that there's been so little information about them recently.

I would add the tribals to the lowest tier.
Other than that I don't think the Enclave counts. They ARE Vaults basically, not directly in public vaults but same concept, they came from the pre war people...
Not sure how to explain, but I know what Im saying. Hope you understand.

Thing is DC was not hit worse then the west. Every single monument and land mark in DC (built before the 1960s) but the white house still stands and is in good shape along with many other buildings. The west was pretty much wiped off the map but for Vegas which has a reason why it was saved. DC had a few hundred super mutants coming out of Vault 87 no more then a couple thousand. The west has thousands many tends of thousands of smarter, better armed and lead by the Master and yet the people there managed to ge to the point they were in by FO1. There are even trees, plantsand farming of animals and crops.

FO3 is 200 years after great war, little to no progress. FO1 84 years after great war and there is farming, rebuilding, working economy, new cultures and large caravan companies.

Well, you act as if the communities evolved the same way. There isn't always a leader among them, there isn't always someone to start the new world. DC is an interesting situation, sure it might seem unlogical. But there may be reasons for it deeper than explained in the game.

Tribals are a complicated bunch though. The Boomers are technically tribals, but they have an awful lot compared to others. I'll add "most" tribals Tier 4 though. As for the Enclave, I know what you're saying. They aren't really a "post war" society. They're on the list mostly because of how often they intervene in the events of the series.

The boomers came from a vault, and made a little city. Everyone there is a direct descendant of a vault dweller.
I don't think they are really a tribe, they are probably more educated. More civilized, and in general a much better idea of what pre war america is like. Hostile, and untrusting! :celebration:

Well, I'm going by the Fallout wiki that says that they're tribals. They're definitely a step ahead of your average tribal though. They're also much more awesome than your average Fallout faction. :flamethrower:


PS: I've added some content to the Tier descriptions and edited some things a bit.

Problems is humans always form communities and communities alway have leaders. I agree DC could have had alot of bad leaders but some progress should have been made. People don't want to eat pre-war food their whole life and live in squaller. It also does not account for people not knowing how to farm and it does not account for why there are no trees or plants other then Oasis.

Well, I think the trees in new vegas were part of the fact about them saying New Vegas was untouched by the war. I think, that DC was hit hard, real hard, but since it has so many high structures, the bombs had a hard time just downright demolishing it.

But like I was saying, Communities form, communities die. The enclave, the BoS, they seemed like they were top dogs at one point, power armor, weapons, a government. But look at them now, in the MW BoS and Enclave are mostly gone, in the East BoS has power but it still has many struggles due to its generous new nature. Enclave is mostly dead EVERYWHERE.

S--- happens. Its the only logical explanation that doesn't completely tear a whole in the Fallout Universe.

Nukes not being able to destroy the buildings yet poison the land for 200 years is very illogical. Trees and plants are in many places in Fallout and Fallout 2, even Tactics. It was not till Fallout 3 that all plant life went way but for poor Harold or should I say Herbert? (Bob)

Aliens did it.

There definitely should have been more plants around. The whole DC area should have been overgrown with plant life after 200 years, but all they have in F3 is small shrubs everywhere. The old-world food and supplies would have also been depleted by now. What was up with the cooked lizard bits and squirrels on a stick? I couldn't find lizards or squirrels anywhere, but I couldn't walk ten feet without picking up a hundred pounds of mole rat meat (could only bring 50 pounds back to the wagon though). Where were are all the lizards and squirrels?

:stare:

Bethesda Magicka :disguise:

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@ Yksmi, Iguana-on-a-stick was from the originals. We did not see iguanas in them but then again they have forests to hide in. DC there is no place for them or squirrels to live.

Thing is. Fallout 2 had aliens to, I'm not sure why everyone got super pissed bout Fallout 3 aliens, sure. They were cliche, but whats more cliche than laser weapons in the future?