When it comes right down to it, I might have to take a number from my man, Tolkien.

"All that is gold does not glitter, and all that glitters is not gold."

That is to say, I don't think that the BoS or Institute are by any means the better choice for the Commonwealth simply because they're better equipped or because they're "clean" and high-tech. I say "equality for all, or bust," and that's what the Minutemen and Railroad offer.

The Railroad don't care about people though, they're just stubbornly "freeing" synths JUST COZ.

"Hey, that synth you reprogrammed became a raider and had a pile of settler and Minutemen bodies outside his boat. Can you stop doing that please?"
"He did. Too bad, but it was his choice, we don't care what he becomes"

The Institute have always been a force for good in the commonwealth. They replace farmers crops in the night with better strains, send their 3rd gens into positions of power and influence to guide people to civilisation. The Commonwealth Government? That was the Institute's idea, they got everyone together to try and form a government. Of course, the stupid Wastelanders just ended up killing each other (and the Institute was blamed and became a bogeyman). They tried to reverse FEV to make life better aboveground etc. Sure, they kidnapped some folks to do it, but dont' get all hypocritical: how many hundreds of people have YOU killed trying to make the Wasteland safer?

I played the BOS and I played the Institute, and long-term the Institute ending was the only one that made sense for the Commonwealth, and humanity in general.

Of course, the forthcoming DLC could change our opinions on all the factions.

Choosing who loses and who wins (or which innocents die and which survive) IS the moral dilemma. Choosing either an ending where everyone wins or everyone dies is not even a dilemma, yet alone a moral dilemma.

It is not even about whom you like the most. Many people will love the BoS the most, but will more likely choose the Minutemen or the Railroad because they are presented as the more morally right and the best choice (on the surface), not to mention that this way they don't need to put characters they came to like in danger. A lot of people commented how they liked the Institute, but still ended up going against them because they disagreed with them.

Judging by threads here and around, most people DO have strong, differing opinions on who is right and who isn't. This is unlike, for example, Ceasar's Legion for which most people rejected to support and were mostly played to see how their quests looked.

Except that isn't the best approach at all. The Railroad has no long-term plans for stability and the Minutemen are an army under the command of a single individual.

The Brotherhood of Steel in DC were basically the Minutemen of Fallout 3. Large army under the command of a single individual. Well, look at them now. The player might not be like Maxson, but who's to say his successor isn't? Or that a faction doesn't form within the Minutemen decides he isn't fit to rule them?

All of the factions are bad choices with no real long term solutions. That's why there's no real moral ambiguity, the result ends up being the same no matter who you pick.


The Railroad takes action, but no responsibility for it. They're rebels, not leaders.
The Minutemen show up to save the day, but leave soon after. They're a militia, but leaders.
The Brotherhood of Steel is only interested in technology. They're hi-tech scavengers, not leaders.

All have short-term solutions, and that's it.

I find a lot of the Institute's claims highly questionable and it's also notable they lie like they breathe to their own followers.

For example, did you know Virgil was not a traitor and didn't run away?

Nope, he died tragically and heroically for the Institute.

Doctor Li's reason for siding with the BoS (which she loathes) is because the Institute is a fountain of lies.

Still, I don't feel good about blowing it up. Hopefully, we can get the survivors enough shelter so they can share their scientific expertise and record it.

Ehh, the Railroad destroying the BoS and Institute actually does a lot for the Commonwealth's security by itself.

But yes, there's no guarantees or magic bullets. You take what you can get in this world and do the best you can.

Maybe the Director Survivor could reform the Institute.

Maybe he'd fail miserbaly.

Maybe the Minutemen will build the New Commonwealth Republic.

Maybe they'll become a dictatorship under General Synth Shaun, Hereditary Leader and Warlord.

You take your chances in life and do the best you can.

If she loathes the Institute so much, why did she go back there? Cos the BOS were worse.

The Institute's problem is infighting, too many Chiefs and not enough Indians (to use a maybe unpolitically-correct phrase). Now they have a new leader who will kick [censored] and sort them out

Well, she left the BoS to go to the Institute then leaves the Institute to go back to the BoS.

The Institute is a nation not a Faction, IMHO, so you can't really say it's evil because it's a bunch of people and their citizens.

Sadly, this means the solution to them is ridiculously extreme.

It's like the solution to a war with Germany is turn it into a radiation crater the populace must flee.

I think the only time we were ever allowed to make peace in a game was Skyrim.

The evil psychotic [censored] who murdered everyone in Vault 111? The guys who murdered your spouse? Kidnapped Shaun?

Do you know where they are?

DEAD.

For decades.

They died all snug and warm in their bed. Which is a cool twist, IMHO.

The whole point of Railroad is that they are "The Right Thing" over "The Greater Good". They are supposed to be played by those who care more about the present than the future, aka that ends do not justify the means. Players who care more about bing morally right than improving the Wasteland on the long run will choose them.

Minutemen and BoS can't be compared as BoS is much, much more than some settlement-defending militia. It is better to compare Minutemen with NCR Rangers and their ending would most likely result in Commonwealth becoming something like the NCR... or just like Yes-Man's New Vegas, a bunch of independent settlements that just mind their own business (some players would prefer NCr-like route, other would prefer a stable anarchy). Long-term, they are something between Railroad and the other two: they are more ambitious than the Railroad but not ready to fight for something even more long-term. Nice balance, but the former Minutemen were sinfully incompetent so choosing them is a risk.

It is also very interesting that you did not comment on BoS and Institute, whose entire point is that they are aiming at long-term solutions, yet focused on the ones who are more focused on short-term. If BoS wins, they conquer the Commonwealth, cleanse it of Synths, Supermutants and maybe even Ghouls and become even more powerful, thus you influence the rest of East Coast Wastelands. If institute wins, you start something new and ambitious that can go horribly right or horribly wrong... either way, something will happen and there is no more anyone that can stop the Institute's ambitions.

Yeah, the thing about the Railroad is they're a bunch of morally upstanding people who choose to ignore the "breaking eggs" element to do the right thing. Except, they're happy to break an entirely different set of eggs.

They take down the Empire(s).

But, well, that doesn't make life all that much better save for less oppressors.

Plus, they're kind of gleefully willing to use maximum amounts of force to achieve their goal.

Honestly, I think that when it comes to each of the factions, there is a certain kind of character that would join them (not the moral kind)

• Brotherhood of Steel: The soldier/Tank-adin (yes, I went there) would easily fit in to that kind of build/roleplay/choice. Not about moral ambiguity here, just join them if you like the BoS and want to play soldier (makes sense as a male protag).
• The Institute: The techie/scientist. pretty obvious.
• Minutemen: The marksman/general leader type. also makes sense for a female after exploring the wasteland.
• Railroad: Just whoever does not fit in with the other factions.

The Railroad are the plucky resistance.

They lack the sixy toys but are gleefully weird and fun.

Also a bit like a family.

I'm sorry Desdemona isn't a romance option.

I was mostly talking about which character-types fit the factions best.

the Railroad are the only people who have Gauss guns, I don't think they "lack the sixy toys"

That Preston only starts a war against the BoS, if the player agrees, only proves that the BoS-Minutemen war is completely unnecessary, what makes Preston a warmonger. The other wars in this game, on the other hand are unavoidable. The Institute, Railroad and the BoS simply can coexist.

And the game does not make it clear the commonwealth might be helpless when an army of super mutants attacks.

The world has lain in ruins for over 200 year. Why has no one rebuild society before? And the situation will only got worse, synths divide society -some hate them others don't- and the super mutants , things were already bad before.

I find it interesting that the Brotherhood (on the East Coast anyways) seems to be setting up/conquering a kingdom instead of just collecting technology and leaving/Scourging the region.

While it was rather shoehorned in at the end of the Minutemen questline, it's easy to see why he did it: he wants to protect the people of the Commonwealth. The BoS wants to exterminate non-human citizens of the Commonwealth. Ergo, Pretson wants to stop them and fulfill his mandate of protecting the people of the Commonwealth.

Yeah, I think Arthur's view is summarized best by the PC making a Sarcastic Comment during their early comment. "Paladins, Knights, Armor. What is this, the Dark Ages?"

Arthur: [with surprising levity] Take a look around. It looks like the Dark Ages to me.

That actually makes YOU the warmonger, being the General and all.

Or not. I am ignorant of the conversation and might be completely wrong.

The guidebook says the mission only becomes an option if you turn the BoS hostile.

Really? Interesting. I thought it happened automatically if you complete The Nuclear Option for the Minutemen.

That's good for me though, my second playthrough is with the Minutemen (first was with the BoS) and I was hoping for a way for the two to not fight each other.

Thank you for telling us that.

So that make the General even more responsible since you have to make them hostile through your actions. Good to know.

General W.R Monger of the Minutemen!

Since you have access to the guidebook, can you tell me if you have to fight the Railroad if you play as the MInutemen? I'd assume you don't, but you never know.

It explains some of the confusion I was getting because in the "Minutemen are Unrealistic" story I mentioned the ideal scenario for the Survivor to defeat the Brotherhood of Steel is to do a sneak attack on the BoS.





No, the two endings are not mutually exclusive. TV tropes.org mentioned its possible to do a Hybrid ending where the Minutemen ally with the Railroad and have them destroy the BoS while the Railroad destroys the Institute but that's not mentioned in the guidebook.

Preston is pretty much involved. But the result is the same.

The point is that he and Solo Survivor is start a war that is not necessary. all the other wars in this game were unavoidable.