The Fallout series has long established itself as one of gaming's powerhouse franchises and, alongside The Elder Scrolls, sits proudly as one of Bethesda's greatest accomplishments. From its humble roots in turn-based strategy on PC to its modern-day status as a household name, Fallout boasts a quality that very few can deny. This standard of quality can be seen in the 2015 release, Fallout 4.

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Like many RPG titles before it, Fallout 4 offers a plethora of things to indulge in, as well as huge amounts of story options, multiple quest lines, and — the most commonly discussed of all — various factions to join. Fallout 4 offers four key factions, each with its own quests, items, story, characters, and experiences. But which faction is the best? While this is very much subjective and varies from person to person, here is a comprehensive list of the pros and cons of each joinable faction.

Updated on April 22, 2023, by Branden Lizardi: With Starfield growing ever closer, we've been taking a good look at Bethesda's past work and the trends they share. For Fallout, one similarity appears to be the inclusion of factions. Fallout 4 may not have been the strongest example of inter-faction conflict and its influence on the overall landscape, but there are still factions, all the same. With the wisdom of time, and the perspective of an upcoming sci-fi RPG from the same studio, we've revisited this list and updated it with new information, improved formatting, and some interesting ideas.

4 Minutemen

Preston from the Minutemen in Fallout 4

The Minutemen are almost the default faction to align yourself with, offering the most simple road to story completion. They're the first group you meet, where you help them secure and protect the museum in Concord. They operate on the idea of helping the Commonwealth "at a minute's notice."

The Good

They offer the most clear-cut “good ending” in the game, allowing you to explore the wastelands guilt-free. Pursuing the Minutemen's ending will also allow you to continue completing missions for the Railroad faction and The Brotherhood of Steel, assuming they maintain relations with each respective faction.

Aligning with the Minutemen will also unlock the Minutemen squad reinforcements and the ability to call in artillery strikes during encounters. These abilities will give you an extra edge in combat across the wasteland. This makes the faction an excellent choice for those who want to leave as many options available as possible.

The Bad

You will have to eliminate the Institute faction to complete their story. The Minutemen quest line also requires the crafting and base-building mechanics within settlements, which may be enough to persuade you otherwise.

The weapons and equipment attained through the Minutemen cannot hope to compare to the likes of the Brotherhood of Steel, and their technological prowess pales in comparison to the Institute. While they may be seen as the good guys, they certainly are not the most powerful.

3 Brotherhood Of Steel

Fallout 4 Brotherhood of Steel Paladin reloads with a radscorpion in close pursuit.

Since the Fallout series began, the Brotherhood of Steel has always been a powerful, well-armed militia focusing on the collection and preservation of technology. In Fallout 4, however, they've leaned more into the militaristic aspect and less on the preservation. Under new leadership, they believe the synths to be abominations and are making an active effort to hunt down and destroy all of them.

The Good

One fairly clear plus to siding with The Brotherhood of Steel is their impressive weaponry — including their iconic power armor — and the awesome airship base that houses various NPCs. You can also earn access to a very nice suit of power armor much faster and easier than other methods, such as spending caps. The Brotherhood of Steel can provide you with mods for their energy weapons courtesy of the faction's unique merchant, Proctor Teagan.

If you want to become a powerhouse in battle, it's better to wait until the end to betray the Brotherhood. Of course, given this faction's historic nature, some long-time fans of the series would have no problem letting the Brotherhood achieve their goal.

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The Bad

Completing their quest line will mean the destruction of both the Railroad and Institute factions, removing the opportunity to interact with either in the post-game. As well as this, the unique merchant Proctor Teagan does require the completion of certain quests within the faction to unlock access to his exclusive weapons.

The Brotherhood's constant focus on hoarding technology can be really off-putting, portraying them as hypocrites who consider themselves alpha and never practice what they preach.

2 The Railroad

The Railroad in Fallout 4

With ideals opposite to the Brotherhood of Steel, the Railroad is a modernization of the historical Underground Railroad. They believe the synths deserve a proper life and have secret systems for liberating and freeing them from Institute and Brotherhood scrutiny.

The Good

The Railroad faction possesses an extremely noble goal. This is to liberate all Synth life, which they consider to be sentient and valued, from oppression. The Railroad will also provide access to the best armor upgrades attainable within the game with the least hassle. Joining up with the Railroad also allows you to maintain good relations with the Minutemen. The Railroad will also allow you to cater more towards stealth, with access to better Stealth Boys.

The very idea of supporting a revolution from such a mysterious hideout makes the Railroad a pretty intriguing faction in its own right. If you want to roleplay as a good character, you will definitely find it fitting to side with the Institute during the final moments.

The Bad

A more cut-and-dry drawback to joining the Railroad is that the unique merchants that can be accessed don't cater well to playstyles beyond stealth. While armor upgrades offered by the Railroad are extremely helpful, the selection of weapons and supplies from their merchants cater far less to action playstyles than, say, the Brotherhood of Steel or the Institute. Joining the Railroad also means destroying the Institute and the Brotherhood of Steel, locking them out of accessing those quest lines and NPCs.

One rather disappointing part of siding with the Railroad is that its endgame quests, along with those of the Minutemen, aren't really that great. This can be quite frustrating, especially when the Railroad seems like the right option to take but doesn't have the content required to justify this decision.

1 The Institute

Shaun inside The Institute in Fallout 4

The last faction you will find, the main campaign following the search for your son will eventually lead to their secret society. They created the Synths, believing them to be the next step toward the life of the future.

The Good

The Institute, being the most scientifically advanced of the factions, can offer full healing capabilities free of charge, including the removal of radiation damage. You can also call upon Synth reinforcements to aid in battle, much like the support they can call in from the Minutemen. The Institute's unique merchant offers a decent selection of energy weapons. So if that's your weapon type of choice, it would be wise to side with the Institute.

Synths within the game world will no longer be hostile. Maintaining relations with the Minutemen is possible if you can convince them to stand down during the mission “Pinned." Their endgame quests are fairly entertaining and more fleshed out than other factions in the game.

The Bad

Aligning with the Institute will require eliminating the Railroad faction and the Brotherhood of Steel. This will result in losing access to the Prydwen airship that houses the merchant Proctor Teagan, essentially locking the ability to buy mods for energy-based weapons. So, before making an enemy of the Brotherhood of Steel, buy all the mods you need.

Another con to siding with the Institute is purely a moral one. The Institute creates Synths placed in the wasteland, passing as humans to manipulate and control the societies of the wasteland. This makes them, by default, the antagonists in the story. As a result, they should not be sided with unless this character path is what you desire.

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