[Fallout 4 Ending Spoilers] I Need Help

[(PSN)IIIDevoidIII]

Throughout the entire game, my character, my mindset on conflict, is passification. I'll do anything I can to avoid a fight with other humans (besides Feral Ghouls and Super Mutants, as I almost feel like they are sick and wounded dogs I help put out of their misery), be this including also the more 'sentient' Synths.

If there was a way I can avoid a fight, avoid threatening anyone, I would do it. Don't take this as being afraid of conflict, as I have no trouble going through with it should it mean for my own defense.

Even when I was tasked to hunt down Kellog, and kill the Courser, I had thought there would be someway to cheese out of the fight, and, in the case of the Courser, I justified it as protecting that Synth being hunted, which I'm no longer sure about.

I have never completed a Quest that requires I decimate a raider stronghold, or assassinate any individual.

I prefer a firm, forced peace. I fight in defense, in protection.

-

Now, Bethesda has thrown me for a loop, and cast my ideal throughout the entire game, my own personal moral agenda, aside.

They require that I:

A) Side with the Railroad and destroy the Brotherhood/ Instiute.

B) Side with the Institute and destroy the Brotherhood/ Railroad.

C) Side with the Brotherhood and destroy the Institute/ Railroad.

D) Side with the Minutemen and destroy the Institute/ Brotherhood.

Do you see my problem? I have to actively destroy two of these groups. I do not directly disagree with any of these groups. Many of their ideals are admirable, and their flaws are apparant. Only the Minutemen seem safe from devestation.

I have spent three days beginning down one path, and retreating. Trying to complete the game makes me anxious. Who do I pick, what do I do? I think the Minutemen may even be off limits because I hadn't completed their quest line before this major decision.

Is that what I do? Just not complete the game? That's what I want to do, though in the spirit of continuity, my inaction is also a choice, and two factions will ultimately be destroyed.

This is not New Vegas. I can not delay the inevitable as long as I possibly can. This is not Fallout 3 where there is a clear good/evil.

TL;DR- What faction do I support when my overall morality is directly compromised?

[OverlordMcGeek]

Start all over again but the way they want you to play.

 

Keep your integrity/ideals in that save file(s).

[(PSN)IIIDevoidIII]

Start all over again but the way they want you to play.

 

Keep your integrity/ideals in that save file(s).

There is all black and white decision making here, I'm at the point I have to make a choice if I want to continue the story, and I really don't know how to make that choice.

I feel there really has to be that middle option, where fighting may occur, but the bits are scraped up in the end to form a revolutionized cohesion between the groups, or, at the least, a forced peace, but all groups appear too radical to let that happen.

It's an abscess of swollen ideas that will burst inevitably even if I never become directly involved.

[(PSN)UltraKardas]

If i were you I would look at whatever faction appears to be the noblest in your eyes. Each faction has their flaws but when all is said and done... Who has the highest moral compass.

 

The institute won't hesitate to play God and their experiments range from synths to super mutants and have potentially catastrophic repercussions...

(anything from creating a terminator like world to creating a synth super mutant) And they apparently aren't afraid to look the other way morally. They kidnap people and as proof with Virgil, go to far with their experiments without any thoughts for how it could effect others and will throw people away if they disagree with the institute.

 

The Brotherhood of Steel gripes are that they look down upon anything not perfectly human, and they come off as arrogant. But they normally want to avoid the the mistakes that humanity made that got everyone in this mess to begin with. However they are not afraid to wipe out anything and everything in their path. 

 

The Railroad is kinda in between... But lack the manpower and weaponry to create law like the Brotherhood or the Institute does. 

[Nitresco]

Pretty sure the Minutemen only destroy the Institute.

 

Also, you technically don't have to take anyone's side. Continue to be neutral. Your initial mission was to find your son. You found him. You completed your goal. Why do you have to stand by any of the factions?

 

If you absolutely have to choose an ending, the Minutemen one is probably the most morally similar to yours. Preston prefers to avoid unneeded killing.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Nitresco

[(XBOX)Grihaly]

I went with the Brotherhood, but they aren't exactly the 'good' guys. But I'm pretty sure the Minutemen will be friendly no matter what what bigger faction you pick.

 

Sort of spoiler alert, there are really only two endings: Help the Institute, or blow it up with the help of one of the other factions. 

[YourLocustBuddy]

There's no peaceful resolution, spent quite some time trying to find one. When it comes to who overall is the best in terms of being morally good, probably the Railroad. At first I wanted to side with the BoS, but their non-negotiable hatred of ghouls, both feral and normal, as well as their hatred of synths and mutants turned me away from them. When it came to the Institute, I found that while they would be able to accomplish more good for the wasteland than the Railroad, they would only use it for themselves, as they seem to see only themselves as humanity's future, after all, they spent years doing nothing to help people in the wasteland while causing all kinds of problems by refusing to communicate or make themselves known, and using unnecessarily violent methods considering their technological advantages. The Railroad doesn't have any evils associated with them in my opinion, however they can't accomplish as much as the other two. As for the minutemen, you'll pretty much always end up with them as allies unless you actively try to avoid anything involving them. The minutemen ending can be achieved at any time as long as you haven't already 'made the decision' with one of the first three factions, if I remember correctly you just continue doing the main minutemen quests and eventually you'll end up on a path to get their ending, unlike the other three where you can only 'choose' them at a certain point.

 

I guess I also see the Railroad as the best option since they also represent a free wasteland, compared to the Institute or BoS who have a desire to govern the wasteland to meet their own needs.

[(PSN)IIIDevoidIII]

If i were you I would look at whatever faction appears to be the noblest in your eyes. Each faction has their flaws but when all is said and done... Who has the highest moral compass.

 

The institute won't hesitate to play God and their experiments range from synths to super mutants and have potentially catastrophic repercussions...

(anything from creating a terminator like world to creating a synth super mutant) And they apparently aren't afraid to look the other way morally. They kidnap people and as proof with Virgil, go to far with their experiments without any thoughts for how it could effect others and will throw people away if they disagree with the institute.

 

The Brotherhood of Steel gripes are that they look down upon anything not perfectly human, and they come off as arrogant. But they normally want to avoid the the mistakes that humanity made that got everyone in this mess to begin with. However they are not afraid to wipe out anything and everything in their path. 

 

The Railroad is kinda in between... But lack the manpower and weaponry to create law like the Brotherhood or the Institute does.

The Institute is the obvious evil faction for many, though I don't see it quite like that. They see Synths as nothing more than machines, and they truly show strife to those within the Commonwealth they harm, unless this is all meticulously manufactured within reports and terminals the player finds throughout the Institute.

Regardless of their obvious downsides, they show that they are the most obvious group when it comes to technological advances. Destroying them leads to a major step back (at least 200 years worth of continual work) in human advancement, in non-nuclear advancement, at least from what I gather.

The Brotherhood is hell-bent on hoarding technology, while helping others becomes something of a side-activity. Even with the few years since the Lone Wanderer appeared, they have already shifted the helping people goal to genecide of all things non-human, but, however, the preservation of technology is also preservation of human advancement. They are the group most likely to bring order to the working world, besides the NCR out West.

The Railroad appears a noble group, though they place Synths in front of everything else. Nothing else matters except saving Synths from this conception of slavery, that is a grey area on my moral compass. Should a Synth wish to leave, I feel they should be, but total destruction of the organization creating g these Synths is also not a good answer.

[(XBOX)Grihaly]

The Institute is the obvious evil faction for many, though I don't see it quite like that. They see Synths as nothing more than machines, and they truly show strife to those within the Commonwealth they harm, unless this is all meticulously manufactured within reports and terminals the player finds throughout the Institute.

Regardless of their obvious downsides, they show that they are the most obvious group when it comes to technological advances. Destroying them leads to a major step back (at least 200 years worth of continual work) in human advancement, in non-nuclear advancement, at least from what I gather.

The Brotherhood is hell-bent on hoarding technology, while helping others becomes something of a side-activity. Even with the few years since the Lone Wanderer appeared, they have already shifted the helping people goal to genecide of all things non-human, but, however, the preservation of technology is also preservation of human advancement. They are the group most likely to bring order to the working world, besides the NCR out West.

The Railroad appears a noble group, though they place Synths in front of everything else. Nothing else matters except saving Synths from this conception of slavery, that is a grey area on my moral compass. Should a Synth wish to leave, I feel they should be, but total destruction of the organization creating g these Synths is also not a good answer.

I'll be honest, I thought about going Institute, but I just had to go with the Brotherhood... Because Liberty Prime xD

[(PSN)IIIDevoidIII]

Pretty sure the Minutemen only destroy the Institute.

 

Also, you technically don't have to take anyone's side. Continue to be neutral. Your initial mission was to find your son. You found him. You completed your goal. Why do you have to stand by any of the factions?

 

If you absolutely have to choose an ending, the Minutemen one is probably the most morally similar to yours. Preston prefers to avoid unneeded killing.

Is this source incorrect then?

"Possibly one of the fastest endings, simply only requiring you to build 8 settlements, and get on the institutes bad side. If you follow all of the minutemen quests, you’ll receive a holotape to use to download the data off of the Institute's computers. This will take you a mission to defend Castle, at which point you’ll invade the Institute, then as one final act, destroy the Brotherhood."

http://www.tentonhammer.com/guides/fallout-4/fallout-4-ultimate-endings-guide-every-ending-revealed

If so... If the Brotherhood are spared in this assault, this would feel the least evil way.

[Nitresco]

http://www.tentonhammer.com/guides/fallout-4/fallout-4-ultimate-endings-guide-every-ending-revealed

That's extremely strange. After I finished overloading the Institute reactor, I was treated to a view of the institute exploding and the standard "war never changes" slideshow. No additional requirement to destroy the Brotherhood after that.

 

It may be because I was partly allied with the Brotherhood.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Nitresco

[direcyphre]

Sadly there isn't a pure 'Good guy' ending, precisely because all of these groups are completely unable to co-exist (difference of opinion on synths).

 

If you break down the groups as they are, the Minutemen are the only peaceful neutral party in the whole situation. They just want to keep rebuilding peaceful settlements in the Commonwealth. Brotherhood of Steel are the canon Brotherhood of Steel and do not want to associate or help the people of the land, only keep things peaceful by destroying anything that might be dangerous whilst taking technology that could prove useful. The Railroad is the most useless of all the groups because all they care about are the personal freedoms of Gen 3 synths, rather than doing anything about peace in the Commonwealth. Their ideals, while noble, are pretty dumb and unsustainable (you meet them after they were almost destroyed). The Institute is the 'greater good' and achieve goals 'by any means necessary'. There isn't anything inherently evil, but they obviously conduct experiments without consent, your own character included. Your son is kind of a $&*^ when you ask about the whole situation, as he just wanted to see what would happen.

 

Ultimately, I went for the Institute on my first run, because BoS are a bunch of $&*^s and the closest thing to post apocalyptic Nazis. They even have indoctrinated 'squires' that resemble Hitler's youth! While some of what the institute is bad, they really are trying to lead the way to a new humanity, maybe at the cost of a few lives. They're playing god, but there isn't some ultimate goal where you are trying to take over the world in the process. Either way, playing a female character, the dialogue with Shaun is very emotional, so there was that motherly instinct still.

 

A couple of notes though; as far as I hear, you don't actually have to kill Kellogg, or even meet him. I know you can acquire a Courser shutdown code from Mama Murphy if she has her visions, but I haven't really looked into the whole scenario beyond what others seem to have accomplished. Although you'd be missing out on a lot because the Kellogg story parts are great.

 

Although really, to me, all of the endings are insatisfying because there isn't much for the game to tell you at the end like it did in Fallout 3 or New Vegas (because time doesn't move ahead or anything). It's a nice little monologue and a few cut scenes for a couple minutes and then it's back to what you were doing. The factions all have little missions after the fact, but they aren't really 'world building' to me, just more random fodder quests.

[(XBOX)Grihaly]

 

Ultimately, I went for the Institute on my first run, because BoS are a bunch of $&*^s and the closest thing to post apocalyptic Nazis. They even have indoctrinated 'squires' that resemble Hitler's youth! 

The founder of the BoS defected from the US military because he discovered they were experimenting on humans with the FEV. Doesn't sound very Nazi-like to me. Also, the BoS are the enemies of the faction that are a hell of a lot more like Nazis, the Enclave.

[(PSN)UltraKardas]

Is this source incorrect then?

"Possibly one of the fastest endings, simply only requiring you to build 8 settlements, and get on the institutes bad side. If you follow all of the minutemen quests, you’ll receive a holotape to use to download the data off of the Institute's computers. This will take you a mission to defend Castle, at which point you’ll invade the Institute, then as one final act, destroy the Brotherhood."

http://www.tentonhammer.com/guides/fallout-4/fallout-4-ultimate-endings-guide-every-ending-revealed

If so... If the Brotherhood are spared in this assault, this would feel the least evil way.

 

Personally, I don't see why you don'y have the option to broker a truce between two factions.....

 

BoS could have made a truce with the railroad, as long as all synths be freed/stay away from the BoS ( like exiling Danse ) 

 

The institute is too sketchy in my opinion... IF Father really was your son... Why didn't he send a courser to wake you up and take you to the institute? 

When he became leader he never thought to look for his original parents till said parent started killing synths? He never thought to program synths to not KILL his parents?

 

Also regarding the Brotherhood, I haven't seen them actively kill ghouls other then the feral ones. I know they are anti super mutant/synth/feral ghouls but I haven't seen them take any action against normal ghouls

[(PSN)IIIDevoidIII]

Personally, I don't see why you don'y have the option to broker a truce between two factions.....

 

BoS could have made a truce with the railroad, as long as all synths be freed/stay away from the BoS ( like exiling Danse ) 

 

The institute is too sketchy in my opinion... IF Father really was your son... Why didn't he send a courser to wake you up and take you to the institute? 

When he became leader he never thought to look for his original parents till said parent started killing synths? He never thought to program synths to not KILL his parents?

 

Also regarding the Brotherhood, I haven't seen them actively kill ghouls other then the feral ones. I know they are anti super mutant/synth/feral ghouls but I haven't seen them take any action against normal ghouls

The Institute is, well, instantutionalized into believing in science and experimentation. To Shaun, that is his life, that is what he believes to be normal, and found his dad to be a great experiment.

The Brotherhood has always been known for hating Ghouls of all types. As far as I remember, in Fallout 3, the Brotherhood had a disgruntled truce over not firing on sane Ghouls, but were not unknown to take pot shots at distant 'ferals'. Even within Fallout 4, they make it quite clear they see no difference between the two, and generalize the bunch, even if we don't see any blatant massacre (I have seen them fight Ghoul Triggermen, but am not entirely sure what to make of those encounters).

I think I will look into trying to get onto the Minutemen side of things, if I don't destroy the Brotherhood in the process.

[izzatuw]

I finished all 4 endings.

T

You destroy Railroad and BOS when you join Institute. If you switch the factions around in that sentence those are the consequences you'll get.

You destroy the institute when you side with Minutemen.

[StallordD]

You play the same way I do! Charisma was my dump stat, haha.

 

I found myself in the exact same position as you are, and I was really REALLY hoping for a Skyrim roundtable scenario where I can try and mediate between the factions. I always love playing the character that plays all the sides to try and simultaneously empower AND depower all the major players to reach peace.

 

I was very disappointed when I found that wasn't going to work this time.

 

I also found myself unable to dedicate fully to a single cause. Like you said higher up, all the factions are pretty gray.

 

And so, I was forced to do something I HATE to do in RPG games and roleplay past the game's scope. As in, I had to step back and say "alright, the timeline of this game wouldn't allow for it, but what would be the unrealized future for my actions?"

 

Doing that, I found the best option was the Institute.

 

The Institute is objectively the best hope for mankind we are aware of, and now with the MC at its head, its path is largely in our hands. Sure, bureaucracy will make immediately saying "LET THE SYNTHS BE FREE, BRO!" or "Stop body-snatching!" impossible, but over time, slow change could lead to that outcome.

 

The Institute additionally has no direct quarrel with the Minutemen, meaning that a Commonwealth led faction could be effective at keeping peace for the people until more drastic change could occur.

 

The Brotherhood is far too xenophobic for the era of the wasteland, and an aspect many people miss is their dedication to the regression and strict control over technology. They want to maintain an arbitrary status quo with them as the sole dictators of mankind's technological progress and create a landscape where their fascist rule is unopposed. Admittedly, they would be extremely effective in establishing peace, but it would be a peace with no alternatives, and opposition would see harsh punishment. That's not a future I want to exist. Additionally, the MC has little agency within the BoS. Though they could continue rising through the ranks eventually, they would never have as much influence as they do in the Institute.

 

A close second to siding with the Institute would be the Railroad, largely because they have no direct quarrel with the Minutemen. After destroying the Institute, their role would largely be complete, and without purpose, they would eventually dissolve with little to no lasting impact. The Minutemen would still be around to maintain stability in the Commonwealth, but they failed once, so they could easily fail again. Siding with the Institute at least offers an alternative should that happen.

 

So again, though many sacrifices have to be made, the Institute is the best choice for an eventually peaceful resolution.

[(PSN)zeratul____12]

Im going to spin my story:

 

I was originally going to side with the BoS, but then I got quest to defend the Minutemen and I just couldn't leave them to die, and knowing it would end my rep with the BoS I went to defend Castle (and might I add that was one tough fight). So I attacked the Institute with the Minutemen, I ultimately decided that even though it meant fighting Father, it was the only choice. The Institute had done unforgivable things, they needed to be stopped.

 

So after exhausting almost all of my ammo, used every Mininuke, Missile, Grenade and several fusion cores, my Power Armour (Model E level I might add) was pretty banged up with the left arm and right leg were broken. I had finally fought my way to the master control terminal in Fathers quarters .....and there he was lying there dying, he saw me as the bad guy, the villain.

 

After issuing the Evacuation I looked back at him, I knew he was in pain and there was only one thing I could do to help him......... I drew my magnum (It was Kellog's gun, after I killed him I took it and vowed to kill the bastard who took Shaun, and gave it the name "Revenge") I aimed down the sights at Father's head, but I couldn't watch, so I physically closed my eyes and looked away. *BANG* I looked back and saw the blood. I turned and walked away......

 

After the explosion that destroyed the Institute I wondered around for awhile and helped a few people but I still felt the guilt. So i made my way to Vault 111, I dropped the mini-gun and left my Power Armour on the platform into vault 111, like a Sentinel watching over the Wastes. I made my way down to the cryo-chamber room where my wifes pod was.

 

I dropped her ring in her pod and closed it one last time. I placed several types of explosives frag, plasma and pulse, had a few bottles of whisky, then took out "Revenge" once more took aim and fired.........this was the end of my journey.

 

My character didnt understand the world and while making it a better place, the guilt of what he did would consume him.  

Edited November 26, 2015 by (PS4)zeratul____12

[(PSN)Xewkeryx]

The Minutemen seem like the nicest guys around, and their ending urges you to have the Institute's population evacuate before you obliterate it. No killing a secondary faction either.

 

 

We all know the BoS is the best faction, let's face it, but the Minutemen sounds like the choice for you.

[izzatuw]

The Minutemen seem like the nicest guys around, and their ending urges you to have the Institute's population evacuate before you obliterate it. No killing a secondary faction either.

We all know the BoS is the best faction, let's face it, but the Minutemen sounds like the choice for you.

They are the nicest indeed, heck they're the only ones to say to evacuate all institute members before you destroy it but they're still arguably the weakest. One Knight can easily take down a whole settlement.

[(PSN)Xewkeryx]

Not even arguably, they're wimps compared to the BoS. Laser muskets and trench coats, versus specialized battle rifles and mechanical sealed environment suits with an affinity for shrugging off small arms fire.

 

But their hearts are in the right place. However wimpy they are mechanically

[izzatuw]

Not even arguably, they're wimps compared to the BoS. Laser muskets and trench coats, versus specialized battle rifles and mechanical sealed environment suits with an affinity for shrugging off small arms fire.

But their hearts are in the right place. However wimpy they are mechanically

Although that is true I still fear that BOS could easily destroy Minutemen on a whim

[(XBOX)Grihaly]

Although that is true I still fear that BOS could easily destroy Minutemen on a whim

I hope they go to war in dlc, I can't stand Garvey, and their radio station sucks.

[izzatuw]

I hope they go to war in dlc, I can't stand Garvey, and their radio station sucks.

Minutemen feel like the epitome of last second faction. Right off the bat you notice the repetition of quests within the first hour. It's not even remotely varied. Although BOS does have some of the same missions but at least it also has interesting side quest.

[(PSN)IIIDevoidIII]

Although that is true I still fear that BOS could easily destroy Minutemen on a whim

I gave all my settlers in my two main settlements (Spectacle Island, and Sanctuary) fully upgraded Heavy Combat Armor and and over half some Gauss Rifles. We haven't been attacked yet... but a BoS menace will have a nasty surprise flying in, and a huge dent on my caps with all that ammo usage.