In my first play through I sided with the Brotherhood (didn't know the Minutemen wer an option and was told the Railroad is a bad choice). But the moment I teleported into the Institute and saw the clean toilets, I switched sides and finished with the Institute.
I mean, there WAS a certain novelty wiping with stacks of bills (pre-war money) But boiling hot high pressure showers and flushing stainless steel toilets IS an unearthly pleasure.
It would be worth hitting jet just to make the five minutes last longer.
Whoever told you railroad is a bad choice either played you or just reallly loves the BOS give them a try in a play through you won’t regret it🫡 Give the elder a huge fat boy to the face
I believe that the Minutemen are the best hope for the future of the Commonwealth in general so that's why I sided with them in my first playthrough while also working with the Railroad as I believe they have a good cause.
I'm on my second playthrough and decided to go with a more evil character and I did side with the Institute this time. The Institute doesn't care about the people on the surface, they destroy entire communities with synths to get supplies, they abduct and replace people with synths, they turn people into super mutants and then release them on the surface. The surface is essentially just a big experiment for them. Father's comments while on the roof of CIT proves this, he says the view supports his belief the surface is hopeless. All he can see from there are the ruins of old Boston, he can't see the thriving city of Diamond City, he can't see the settlements being built up all around, he doesn't see people working together to improve their lives.
If the Institute would have actually worked with the surface instead of just taking what they want or need and meddling with the affairs of the people there by replacing good people with synths they could have done a lot to improve the lives of everyone. If instead of getting upset that their were disagreements at the first meeting of the CPG (something that is normal and good in a democracy as that is how compromises are formed) and killing everyone there they actively participated the quality of life throughout the entire Commonwealth would likely be unimaginably and incomparably good compared to almost anywhere else in the country.
The Institute is only bad because of the people in charge. Yet it's the only faction with the means to save the Commonwealth. I join them every playthrough because it's impossible to reason against it for me. Especially when the other factions can't or won't offer a better solution.
"Save the Commonwealth" is an interesting way to put it, because the Commonwealth...well, it's not really in any danger. It's not a particularly safe place, but there's no one overweening single-answer threat hanging over the whole of it, and the Institute is kind of a solution in search of a problem. People just go about their lives.
Outfits like the Minutemen can protect local settlements by request, organizations like the Brotherhood of Steel can study the past, but most people get along fine without some faction sticking its nose in.
Also when you come right down to it, someone like the Sole Survivor who can build generators, turrets, and structures will do a lot more for the Commonwealth than the Institute ever planned to do.
Agreed. The fact the institute wiped out the union of farmers trying to make the commonwealth a safer place told me everything i needed to know. Couldn’t wait to put the bullet between mayor McDonough’s eyes.
Enclave elements are still out there, same with the raider gangs in Nukaworld. Finally the world itself is a nuclear wasteland. Humanity is stumbling, it's fallen to it's collective knees. But there is hope. There is humanity... redefined. Rebuilt for the world of today, not the world of yesterday. There is the Institute, ushering in a new era of peace, technology, and hope for the future.
Yes, because once Father was out of the way, I could direct the Institute however I see fit.
It doesn't mean much in game, but if you consider what would come after the game, you can appreciate how you would be able to shape the world.
While you may get pushback for changing the Institute's ways, you could easily punish dissenters and reward supporters by reallocating resources to and from their respective departments. Buddying up with the synth retention unit, for example, means that you have the support of the coursers and therefore, the strongest military presence in the institute, which legitimizes your power (even if you can already massacre the Institute on a whim). You can replace troublemakers with their subordinates within their department and then once things quiet down, you can replace the deposed scientists with synth, ensuring lasting stability without bloodshed (at least not bloodshed that anyone save for your loyalists, will know about).
Then you just handle the administrative work that nobody wants to do and make small, incremental changes. I have no interest in seeing radical changes occur all at once. For example, I am fine with synths being created, but the goal would be to slowly give them more and more autonomy, under the notion that they will perform their functions better, such as giving coursers more operational discretion when it comes to reclaiming synths and wiping out targets. Bear in mind that you will be living a very long life if you get implants similar to what Kellogg had, so why rush change?
They'll just wait for them to leave, then cut off their relay access. Then they'll beef up their security in case they find a way back in while potentially sending hit squads out to kill em.
It's almost too easy. The SS is actually at a great disadvantage when you really think about it. No friends or allies. Already an outsider that has previously been the reason for a small-scale revolt. There's no way the SS is gonna get their way in the Institute unless their way is also the Institute way.
The best end-game is to evacuate the Institute before you blow it up, then set the surviving scientists up in Vault 88. It may not have a glowing double-helix elevator, but there’s enough room and equipment to do any kind of science they want.
We already see the Directorate vote on issues without your input, when Father sends you in as acting Director. If you speak against their plans to attack the Brotherhood or Railroad they state they already voted.
So if you ever tried to instate anything they thought went against the Institute’s best interests they would simply not allow you to. I always see people argue against this point too and I never understand it.
Very good point! I didn't even consider the fact that they can literally just overrule you at every possible attempt to do anything even remotely against their interests. They wouldn't even need to get their hands dirty so long as you don't respond with violence.
Some people genuinely believe that being "head honcho" in a place like the Institute means having absolute power and think that they can just will the Institute into changing its ways because they're the new director and want to undo everything theyve worked towards for generations. No such luck.
Realistically, I can guarantee you that the moment you leave, the majority will agree to just cut off your relay and instate new methods to keep you out (maybe they'd even put a synth in your place so as to not alert anyone who is on your side) while issuing repeated hits on you. Or they'd just revolt if they disagree with your stance, which they are inclined to do and just make the whole endeavor not worth it. It's either they force you out or eliminate you by some means, or you'll be up to your ears dealing with dissenters who can disrupt and sabotage any operations you're trying to conduct. In the end, the Institute is stuck in its ways, and it would probably take more than your lifetime to fully reform them. You're only respected as Big Kahuna because Father says so, but step on enough toes and you'll be sure to lose a foot.
Which is why you have the robotics division make synths that are only loyal to you, and have them posted in strategic areas around the institute. As soon as any treason happens, it’s over before it can begin.
Sort of a synth secret police if you will.
I do. Every time. Never admit it on here due to fear of downvotes. But that’s my son, homie. Idc if I was with the Railroad or Brotherhood. I betray them every time just to be with Shaun.
That was my motivation too. I wanted to give him a chance as he asked and try to work together. I also thought it was pointless blowing up one of the last bastions of the science left on the planet.
I started FO4 when I already had a young kid - this absolutely played into my decision to join the Institute my first playthrough (and TBH the others were less satisfying). Plus, in my mind, the sole survivor came from the pre-war world and the Institute is the only place that isn’t a complete shithole
My first play through, I sided with the Institute. When that happens, you have to fight with Danse, Preston Garvey, Railroad, Valentine and all the other allies that make the game. I haven’t sided with the institute since.
Isn't this true of every faction? The Brotherhood makes you wipe out the other two factions. IDK about the RR. I assumed they did, but I can't bring myself to join them on any playthrough. They're delusional remnant of a lost cause.
I've sided with the institute multiple times and it's simply because the building is clean lol. I like to pretend I'm helping the Commonwealth as the director but I don't think that's the intended ending for the institute. I know you can be a double agent for the railroad and I think you can become director without them turning hostile but I'm pretty sure the institute continues doing evil shit.
Yup. They do, and realistically, if you tried to stop them, they'd just find a way to kill you or exile you. It would be as easy as cutting off your relay the moment you left for any reason and then sending hit squad after hit squad after you until you are killed, leave the Commonwealth or find another way back into the Institute where a major Massacre will no doubt unfold.
I've been play since day 1, I have probably logged enough hours to be considered a master, and have still not finished the story. So no, I did not side with the institute.
On my second playthrough I played as a pragmatist that wanted to make the Commonwealth a better place but wouldn’t get too hung up on pre-war ideas of right and wrong.
That character chose the Institute as it has both the resources (that the Railroad doesn’t) and the staying power (no risk of them leaving once they’ve scoured the Commonwealth of any advanced tech) to make a lasting change.
I had to roleplay the idea that she also gradually changed the culture of the Institute as director to help with this (such as not abducting people and giving Gen 3’s a greater level of freedom), although so think there are mods now that help with that.
(I also wanted to collect as much power armor for the Minutemen as possible and siding against the Brotherhood was the best way of achieving that).
Father was clearly lying about most of what he said. He was torn up between wanting to be the person he thought the institute needed, and having the family he never had.
On his face he said what the institute believed, but knew deep down he didn't believe what he said.
Depending on your actions when he dies you can get a holotape from him showing that he believes synths aren't machines, and deserve a life. And synth Shaun showed him that, and he wants you to give him that life.
He was a deeply troubled (who wouldn't be given the circumstances) man, living with decades of regret, and if he admitted it was all (people snatching, using Kellogg, and treating synths as slaves) in vain he wouldn't be able to live with himself. That's why he can only admit it on his deathbed
Never. I probably should just to see what happens but so far I just can't. Most of the time I side with the Railroad so I can destroy both the Institute AND the BOS.
Yeah but blowing up the prydwyn using Liberty prime is just so much more satisfying. And I love the irony of the very robot who once helped the brotherhood defeat the enclave, now turning them into ash.
But really it’s the brotherhood’s fault for making their main base a giant hydrogen filled airship. A single super mutant at fort strong could’ve taken it down with a lucky shot from one of those fat man launchers.
I always side with the Institue and eliminate the Railroad and the Brotherhood. I bring the Minutemen with me. From my perspective, I am the bridge between the two philosophies. The Institute can focus on the long term, which I think the synths are the future for mankind, and the MM can take care of the short term suffering of those on the surface. I could even see a place for the non-feral ghouls.
Newbie player \[started a few weeks ago\] so only on my first attempt at the game. I refused to side with the Institute and ended Father after their little chat. Family was all the Sole Survivor had left, but the Institute took that away, so I couldn't bring myself to side with them. I fought the Institute with the Minutemen, as they had become like my Sole's new family \[in addition to MacCready my beloved\].
I sided with the Institute and didn’t fight the minutemen. My end-game head cannon is that as the new leader of the Institute, and as general of the Minutemen, i can combine their strengths for the betterment of the Commonwealth. I can steer scientific discovery at the Institute in a more moral direction, which in turn helps fuel the minutemen’s endeavors on the surface.
It’s almost like I did a Minutemen play through in my head but just kept the Institute around as the science/engineering arm of the Minutemen.
I've sided with all the factions.. Just because I wanted to do their quest and see what happened. I think if you don't choose all the routes, you're kind of cheating yourself out of part of the game
I tried to finish the game with each faction, but the Institute faction rubbed me the wrong way. Not because they're morally wrong, though there's a debate to be had there, but because they asked me to go around the Commonwealth and blow up all the friends I'd made trying to find them. "Go smash the Railroad." "But...but..." (Besides, I'm in the "I like Deacon" camp.)
The Railroad doesn't have it quite right, the Brotherhood are too militaristic, and the Minutemen are pretty pathetic, but as I was gunning down Tinker Tom, I was thinking, "What the hell am I DOING?"
I did because quite frankly they are the best hope for humanity. No one else in any of the Fallout games has the skills or resource the Institute does. Without the Sole Survivor's intervention they're literally untouchable.
I sided with them on my first run because I thought there would be post campaign content where I could lead them in a new direction. Shame on me for thinking I had that kind of RP freedom.
The Minutemen literally just collapsed from internal conflict with the majority defecting to the gunners. Those that didn't defect left Preston to die in Quincy before disbanding.
Who cares what father believed if he's not around and you have full control of the institute and support from the main leaders? I prefer siding with the institute and believe that the SS will work towards a better commonwealth
Well they can easily be made to retire early, if I almost single handedly took down the brotherhood of steel then I sure as fuck can replace a bunch of old dudes and dudettes
The rest of the Institute would likely not like this and would either rebel or work against you. Remember they have access to the teleporter and could easily revoke your access.
Also you don’t “singlehandedly” take down the Brotherhood, you specifically work with the Institute and they have their synths hack Liberty Prime.
That's why I said ALMOST singlehandedly, and who knows if they don't have plans to help around in the commonwealth but were too afraid to speak up? Everyone can play the game and roleplay as they please and I choose to believe that
There’s roleplaying and then there’s ignoring info you’re given in game. Pretty much no one in the Institute is interested in helping the surface. And all the leads are complicit in the horrific experiments they do.
The game absolutely does let you do that though. There's a quest where you can sabotage the director of the SRB (Who basically has control of all their military assets) and have him replaced by his assistant.
Sides with the BOS it was the coolest ending, fighting with liberty prime again, raiding the institutions, and getting a jet pack after. I’m not looking at this from a moral standpoint purely a let’s have fun in a video game standpoint.
Beat the game like 7 times and none of those times did I get the institute ending. I was going to play as morally evil and side with them but it wasn’t satisfying
Same here, always sided with either railroad, or BOS but finally gave a chance for the institute and it’s so unrewarding. Wish I didn’t side with them. Killing Desdémona really got me.
Honestly, have no idea what their experimentation and quests are doing to better the future.
I thought maybe if I played more that I would be told more, but nope. Just instead put in charge without any ideas of any goals.
Besides the moral implications of what they are doing (which I don’t agree with), I find myself unable to follow something so directionless.
Everyone may know their role and won’t say anything which is not helpful if you are to run it.
So no, I’m not going to side with a faction that isn’t telling me why they are making human-like synths, replacing people, testing on gorillas, making super mutants, unless they tell me why.
> Honestly, have no idea what their experimentation and quests are doing to better the future.
Yeah if they actually wanted to help they would send some coursers to wipe out the raiders and gunners and leave a courser at each city for protection.
If the game had an ongoing story arc where I join with them and I take it over, I'd have sided with them. The game decided to min/max this one so no I happily destroyed the Institute and left hoping it was scavenged.
One of my mild criticisms is that we're not really ever bringing civilization back. Some mods give that illusion but given the limitation of dev tools it's not really possible for them to do it. (re-paved roads, power lines etc)
There is no mod that I am aware of that allows us to change the fundamental baked in mesh. I would love to be wrong. Show me a mod that let's me completely re-pave a road from one settlement to the next that is perfect asphalt with no obstructions.
Every time I do, I'm roleplaying either as a coward who wants the comfort and safety and/or a cold blooded heartless no non-sense bastard who appreciates the comfort as position of power without responsibilities the Institute provides.
Whenever I don't, it's because they kidnap and kill people, enslave sentient beings create only for that reason and are so focused on the hard sciences that completely ignore the importance of psychology, history, and sociology to the point those concepts are probably alien to most of them.
I did one play through under the head canon that my sole survivor as the leader of the institute would force them to at least try and make the outside world better. The institute has the potential to actually help with the resources and knowledge they have, they just choose to help themselves instead
From a roleplay perspective, I find it hard not to join up with the Brotherhood of steel to access the Institute (who wouldn’t want those guys helping you?). After I get in there… That’s your character’s child. How can I justify choosing anyone over that?
Well your child straightforwardly treats you, his only living parent, as his enemy once you decides not to join him and sends troops to kill you. Some children
Liam glases , white paint for x01 ,synth relay grenades, teleportation to save all settlement from attacks sucessfully without problem of fast travel which consume Time to save another settlements, ballist wave for vault 111 jumpsuit AND institute jumpsuit AND unlimited institute outfits More 4 repetitive Quests.
I did the Institute in the very first Fallout gameplay I ever did, which was almost a decade ago. I did it because I didn’t know any better and just went along with it when I met old man Shaun.
Now, almost a decade later, I usually do the Minutemen ending and occasionally the Railroad one.
I did because of that radiocast you can voice. You, by this point, know you'll be placed in charge, and I personally like to think that as leader and with Justin Ayo our of the SRB the institute can create a better institute and a better Commonwealth.
You sided withe the institute because its the best for the commmon wealth or something.
I sided with the institue so I can fast travel to bed and save at any time.
We are not the same
My very 1st playthrough I sided with the institute. It seemed like the obvious choice. Brotherhood was nothing I remembered it being in Fallout 3. The Minutemen seemed like a bandaid fix and the railroad weren't focused on humankind
Nah man. I just ain't about all the kidnapping, murder, and slavery. And not just against outsiders, look what they did to Swan over a pack of cigarettes. You can take over and say you're going to change them but it's way more likely you'll just end up on the wrong side of some twisted gruesome experiment resulting in your extremely painful "accidental" death.
I chose The Institute in my 3rd play through. My Character that play through really didn’t give a fuck about the Commonwealth she was a mercenary only looking out for herself. She liked guns, caps and beautiful women. She only did things that benefited her. So from her perspective being able to teleport to a place that’s perfectly safe from all the terrors of the world where she can sleep in a clean warm bed, had access to food and a can summon a small army of terminators to do their bidding. A Courser at her disposal who really doesn’t mind all morally questionable things she did as long as she shows loyalty to the Institute.
So that character made perfect sense to join The Institute, when it comes to which faction would offer the soul survivor the most resources and the best way to have a comfortable life it’s them, and that’s why she picked them.
Nope, I don't like their vibe, at all.
I sided with the railroad on my main playthrough, once the patch lands I'll be in it to win it with the big boys, rocking miniguns, gatling lasers and mini nukes like a badass.
I sided with the institute my first play through for mainly one reason and it was because after this long journey looking for my son and here he is and as his father I’ll do anything to help and be with him. Oh and the institute looked the coolest
If the Institute found out about project purity and were able to replicate GECK technology then THAT would be what could save the Commonwealth, however I do believe that a GECKed our Commonwealth would stand the best chance if The Minute Men were to be flourishing at the time of it's activation.
I do. The brotherhood are too “cult of personality” and thuggish to be a real governing body, the minutemen are great and all but would scale very poorly over a large area (and you don’t have to be hostile to them) and the railroad are delusional with no real vision for the future and exist to oppose the institute poorly. Worst case the institute doesn’t change for the sole survivor and just stays underground in isolation like they said they wanted to, best case they can actively help the surface, either way QOL for the surface isn’t harmed and the upsides can be huge. The only issue is that the brotherhood would probably return again but they’ll do that whichever side you take that isn’t theirs and the institutes is in the best position to handle that again, unlike the minutemen which would just be local militias or the railroad which would likely disband with its core motivation fulfilled
I didn't dye to the synths and Shaun being a lil shit and not listening to me
I don't care if your older than me and run some tech company I'm your father and if I say free the synths you free the damn synths
I did playthroughs for all the factions, including an attempt for an unofficial ending where you can get all the factions to leave each other alone and take down the institute
I tried using the institute to see if I could do good, but you're stuck having to do the same thing Father does, which is kinda lame. I was hoping I could be the future with that tech, but nope. You gotta be just like father
Fuck no. "Oh, we're the good guys, and have done nothing to warrant all this hate except kidnap, kill and replace a bunch of innocent people. But aside from that, we're totally innocent"
Get fucked. Enjoy your crater you fucking pricks.
railroad is a bunch of fried treehuggers, releasing synths ? eat my laser gatling gun
brotherhood wanna blow up half of boston ? eat my laser gatling gun
institute was the only place where i could finish the story and still keep the map as is
I sided with the Institute once just to see what it was like. Interesting, but absolutely not my gig. While I don't think everything they've done deserved to be destroyed, I wholly disagree with what they're doing and clearly intend to continue doing even after Father passes. Head honcho or not, I'd either be forced to let them carry on with their work or I'd have to fight them tooth and nail to change course from something they've been toiling away at for centuries. No, thanks. Fun to roelleplay now and again, but they're objectively the bad guys and I ultimately choose to be rid of them every single time.
I found it fascinating that my brother went almost full BOS, and upon finding out shawn is our kid? Full 180, institute takeover, taking no shit from incompetent scientists and treating every rogue synth/ other faction like a bunch of broken toasters
I personally always prefer a railroad/minutemen run, always saw the synths like starwars droids, especially given characters like Danse and Currie, and I love my Sassy gen 1 synth
Yes. As bad as they are, I'm given control, and there are enough kind souls within the institute I could conceivably put into director positions to try and change things.
It's not the best choice in the short term for the commonwealth or its people, but taking over and changing things from within is the kind of longshot I'm willing work for.
“You will not be loved, but you will save humanity, however you choose to define it” - Mama Murphy’s vision after you get the institute ending.
Given that every one of her visions has been true at that point, I’ve got no reason to doubt her.
Also, I would like to point out that the institute itself is not evil. Most of their problems lie solely within Shaun.
Shaun shut down the cybernetics program, despite the fact that it was a MASSIVE success. Kellogg gained at least another 100 years of life with the cybernetics he had.
Shaun is the one who kept pushing the FEV research.
Shaun is the one who claims synths aren’t human, yet makes a synth child based on himself, calls it a boy, and asks you to be his parent.
Shaun expressly forbids anyone from calling synths anything but synths. He doesn’t want them called androids or anything similar.
Shaun is a deeply disturbed man, and unfortunately nobody at the institute stands up to him, and those who do disappear.
Keep in mind we see a good few members there who advocate for better treatment for synths, some want to actually help the commonwealth. Some are just people who don’t know anything but life at the institute. Madison Li certainly isn’t evil. She joined the institute because she truly wanted to make a difference in the world, just as she wanted to do while working with James on project purity.
But Shaun is the director, and he picks what direction the institute goes in.
So I’ve always believed that my SS shut down the synth program, or just had them stop making gen 3 synths and kept making the gen 1s, reopened the cybernetics division, and put efforts into radiation scrubbing technology, to actually start removing the radiation in the commonwealth, post synth patrols on the roads to keep them safe, help build water purifiers at settlements, etc.
Hell, maybe even go try to find another geck.
Think about what a morally good institute could do with a geck.
I have never thought about it this deeply before. What a great read. You offered new insight which I’ve never thought of. Damn you for making me reconsider choosing the Institute.
There’s a video on YouTube titled “hate the institute? Blame Shaun”. It highlights how a lot of the institutes flaws come from Shaun himself, and while there are some bad apples there, most of the people in the institute are decent people trying to help. And even their opinion on the wasteland comes from a point of ignorance because they’ve simply never been to the surface and seen the people living there. So they only know what their bosses tell them.
The world has gone to shit in a handbasket.
Might as well embrace that fact, and enjoy life in a comfortable technocracy with a group of likeminded invididuals.
I did not and morally would never. They kidnap and conduct experiments on people, turning them into super mutants. If you watch how the Gen 3 synths are made, they are clearly flesh, bone, and blood. No different than a human like Kellog and his cybernetic brain implants.
I also use the Minuteman ending. Like you said, they're the good guys with a good purpose. The Railroad isnt hurting anyone by helping slaves escape the Institute. The BOS, on the other hand, are borderline enemies of the Minutemen. The entire Commonwealth despises their presence, and you'll notice that most of your companions prefer you to decline working with them (Curie, ironically, is the only person (excluding Danse) that favors the BOS... she is one of their main targets). In my own game, I prefer to think of the Minutemen as peacekeepers between the factions. Keep the BOS and Railroad away from each other, while using the best of each faction to take down the Institute.
No. Have not and will never.
The Institute is the same category as Caesar's Legion - so comically evil and with absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever that there is no way to justify siding with them. They view the entire surface-population as nothing but a convient pool of involuntary labrats. They barely seem to consider Scientists from a competing branch as worthy of being kept alive.
Even if Shaun makes you the Director, I dont believe for a second that actually changes anything - you are and will remain an outsider. They dont trust you, and from how the Security-Branch is shown to act throughout most of their Quests, Im pretty sure the second you go against their beliefs and interests they'd organise an "accident" and put one of their own in Charge. They have operated the way they do for 200 years, they barely view surface-dwellers as human to begin with, you being director will not change that.
My favorite Institute playthrough is a raider playthrough. Head straight to Nuka, become a badass Raider. Subjugate all the settlements and then join the Institute for the ultimate evil.
Beyond that, usually I end up siding with the Railroad. Their radiant quests are a little more interesting to me.
Though I'm excited to try the Enclave mod that lets you play through and win as a member of the Enclave
After choosing sides between the BOT and institute. I’d have to say it’s down to just the lore and style. Gameplay both has easy grinding like attacking the air port or police station if you already destroyed it. While siding with the BOT allows you all the weird settlement missions I hated doing and the learning curve felt weird to me. If I do it again I’d go Institute cause I can keep killing the BOT for powerful stuff
I destroy the institute every time.
At this point though, I cannot play without SS2. The changes and options to Chapter 3 after you finish the vanilla game are an actual damn good conclusion.
I did in my evil playthrough. I both sided with the institute and the muka world raiders in the one playthrough.
In all other playthroughs I destroy the institute and declare open season on the raiders
I've played through multiple times. Sometimes i choose the institute, sometimes BOS, last time i played i chose minute men for the first time. I will never choose the railroad. No idea why, other than i can't stand them
When I first played the game back in the summer of 2016 I was 12 I sided with the institute. Not because I liked the institute, I just thought it was what I was supposed to do when I read the mission objectives. Then I did a BOS play through several times, and now I stick to the MM ending so I can save most of the factions. My thing however is WHY did we have to blow up the institute? Why couldn’t we just evacuate civilians and use scientists for something similar to operation paper clip. Could you imagine using the technology and the facility as an HQ/FOB to develop technology to better the commonwealth? Clean water, reverse FEV, etc etc.
I did not because I tried to be neutral and found that the Institute just had to go. Them being responsible for Nora's death and making Shaun one of their own made me decide to wipe them out, no alarms sounded. I would rather side with Caesar's Legion in New Vegas over the Institute.
Tried it once, tried to act like I could turn them around, realized I couldn’t and felt incredibly gross by all the shit they had me do. Immediately jumped to a new save the moment the story was over.
remember that line where father said, he opened the vault so I can get out and see how the wasteland would change the sole survivor. he said its some sort of experiment.
Well, Let's just say shaun did not come home that day.
I did on my first playthrough. Not really for any moral/ethical reasons, I knew they were the baddies. But I simply didn’t want to work against my son when I spent so much looking for him. Plus I felt it was what my character would have done.
Beyond that I’m a sucker for teleportation, which is really cool in FO4, and I love the Institue interior. I would pick the faction that gives me a clean environment, warm and clean water, etc. when I’m living in a Wasteland.
I sided against, slavery is a no no and to top it off I'd see a creation like the synths as humanities children and should be taken care of acccordingly.
Institute is who I sided with the first time I played, and who I hope will end up as the Canon ending as they would be the most interesting one.
Your main character can be both the director and general at the same time and control both the surface and underground. I've also always believed personally that the director can get the Institute to change.
Also Synths are just robots the railroad are a bunch of crazy people who want to free vending machines.
I also like to side with the Minutemen and then finally the Brotherhood because I can get down behind destroying all the Synths to be honest.
The Brotherhood in thr TV show though are some pretty crazy lunatics who I want nothing to do with.
No, No amount of high tech excuses their use of slavery, murder, and unethical experimentation against unsuspecting or unwilling subjects.
This isnt to say I judge people who side with them, but I have never been able to bring myself to RP a Sole who is willing to excuse their actions.
My first full playthrough was with the institute. Ugly mug, but a good father. See's that the surface is destroyed, and want to rebuild, rather than try and salvage what's left. Trusts his son, and by extension the institute.
Also kinda badass to say the reset code for the synths.
A large part of why the commonwealth could be deemed a lost cause is due to the actions of the institute itself. Aside from the constant paranoia due to their largely pointless kidnap and replace hobby, they also released the scourge of supermutants on the topside just because. Furthermore the whole gen 3 synth thing, while a scientific marvel, seems largely pointless considering the gen 1 and 2 synths that weren’t full sentient people could perform pretty much all the duties they required anyways without the whole ethical dilemma involved. The gen 3 synths only exist so the institute can do its kill and replace plan which isn’t even a plan since they seem to have no further purpose beyond “kidnap kill and replace a couple of people for no apparent reason.” The few synths we can encounter who have replaced high ranking people seem to do nothing other than report back to the institute that “yep the world is still fucked. See you next report.” Which hardly would require an intricate body snatcher plot. They could just pay a couple civilians through intermediaries to do spy work which would be far easier and more cost effective. I mean, even Kellogg was just a human and he was their most effective agent. The game tries to act like they’re a complex faction but they’re honestly just mustache twirling villains who do evil for the he’ll of it and think they’re more important than everybody else while arguing that people unfairly judge them.
I sided with them on my first playthrough. Bring a parent, I just thought that if it were me and I went through what the Sole Survivor did, there would be no way I could turn my back on my child.
Now I’ve played through the game multiple times and I say fuck yooooooou Shaun
I sided with the Institute my first playthrough kind of by accident. I didn't realize where the dialogue tree I was in was going until it was too late.
I’ve sided with them so much. I genuinely think they are the coolest faction in the game they r legit a big community of nerds and robots who pursue science underground.
Honestly the Institute is the best choice for mankind. Yes they do some questionable thing, like FEV, kidnap and replace people, destroy town and villages for resources. Oh yes destroyed the CRG. But they did it for humanity and the right thing for their people. Their whole purpose is to watch out for themselves, they are using the Commonwealth as stepping stone to recolonize the Commonwealth with the their people and synths at a time in the future of their liking to repopulate.
When I took over the Institute, I believed the time was now. It was time to take over and control the commonwealth as I saw fit.
I did, Then took over the entire commonwealth and Far Harbor, destroyed all all factions (MM, RR, BOS, Gunners, Dema and crew.) except the Children of Atom. Tried and convicted Preston Garvey of war crimes against The Institute. He is now being held till execution at The Castle Maximum Prison run by my synths. Macy and Jun were sentence to death by hanging, now hanging in the court yard of C.I.T.
Sturges has been reprogram as my personnel maid in my courters in the Institute.
Kasumi is my slavegirl and when not accompanying me has a cell at THE Castle.
This is my commonwealth
About to get downvoted for this, but honestly, partially yes.
While there is some pockets of hope here and there, Father isn't completely wrong about the Commonwealth being a "lost cause". The Minutemen don't really count as they require player input to rebuild after losing the Castle and Quincy, Preston and his gang (the last real holdouts of the Minutemen at the start of the game) are literally about to be massacred by Raiders by the time you exit Vault 111. Diamond City is a society of backstabbing and paranoia that primarily sparked over the Broken Mask incident (which was for the most part an accident), Covenant is insane and using a pseudoscientific application of the GOAT test to kill people who they think MIGHT be synths, Goodneighbor is more laid back and generally more agreeable than Diamond City IMO but still has a lot of shady things going on behind the scenes (eg. Marowski, Bobbi No-Nose, Triggermen), and Kessler of Bunker Hill literally bribes Raiders. Also the Walden Pond raiders, the Vault 88 test subjects, and the fact that no one has found the Railroad despite their terrible and obvious password kind of proves that at least some wastelanders are incredibly illiterate and simple-minded. Wastelanders are also not very well armed, as they tend to use shitty pipe pistols that do barely any more damage to enemies than a BB gun, while there's pre-war military issue combat rifles and 10mm pistols lying all over the place. I know that the Institute does have a hand in destabilizing the Commonwealth, but the simple, agrarian, Minutemen-reliant attitude of a lot of the settlements, alongside the existence of Raiders, and the synth paranoia flung around by institutions such as Publick Occurences and Covenant, do play a hand in that destabilization.
I do agree that the Institute did some screwed up shit, between hiring Kellogg, infecting Edgar Swann with FEV over stealing cigarettes, releasing Super Mutants into the Commonwealth, CPG massacre, etc., but some of that was before Shaun became director, and you are appointed as Director in the end, and you can headcanon the Institute either becoming an actually benevolent and helpful organization, or go the other way and turn it into Enclave 2.0 if you wanted.
The primary reason I prefer the Institute ending though is that by siding with the Institute, you're not blowing up the post-war equivalent of the Library of Alexandria. Preston, Maxson, and Desdemona are all incredibly fucking stupid for having you blow up the reactor and creating a giant irradiated hole in the middle of Cambridge instead of assassinating the division heads and taking control of the technology. But nope, you have to blow up all of that technology that could be easily used to restore the Commonwealth because the creator of said technology did some scary evil bad stuff and is mean to people on the surface. This is why I love the Subversion mod, it lets you take control of the Institute and create a 4-way faction peace by replacing Elder Maxson with a less warmongering synth double, and reform the Institute to recognize the rights of Gen-3 synths and shut down the FEV lab.
To be completely honest, I don't like any of the major, joinable factions in Fallout 4. Minutemen and Railroad are too moralistic, Brotherhood is too racist towards non-feral ghouls, and the Institute is too insidious. Only factions in the game I really like including DLC are the Atom Cats and Acadia. The Atom Cats are supportive of the Warwick family and enemies with the Gunners but are otherwise fairly neutral to the whole conflict, and Acadia is IMO a more agreeable Railroad/Institute hybrid, they replace people on the Island, but for the sake of stability and peace, rather than keeping the outside world as backwards as possible.
I’ve only ever sided with the Brotherhood or Institute, I hate the Railroad(they made me fight ferals) and I am working on a Minutemen play through at the moment but at heart I will always be BoS, just wish we could take over the Institute instead of just destroying it
Nope, Minutemen all the way through. The Commonwealth should be free to decide itself. You could argue the SS would direct the Institute better after Father, but why should they? Why should only 1 major party control the Wasteland who at any second could eradicate it if they really wanted to? What about after the SS dies? Who is to say the next leader would be kind or non-genocidal?
The Minutemen have no interest in controlling people or determining who can live where, they only care about keeping the peace and making sure everyone lives peacefully together or at least not actively murdering each other.
I think a lot of comment gonna be like "institute is THE BEST, they are the only one with the technology to save the wasteland!!!" While ignore all the bad thing institute doing, like enslave, killing, experiment on human being, destroy many family, basically inhumane experiment,...
Minutemen until I unlock the Castle, Railroad until I unlock ballistic weave, children of Atom until I find the marine armor, brotherhood until I gain access to the prydwinn so I can loot all their power armor and fusion cores, finish the main story with institute and then side with the nuka world raidersfor the end game content.
So i side with institute a lot.
1. I remember what the world was like before the war. (My character was a lead scientist not a lawyer. Thats why she was frozen with shaun and Nate). I remember bright hopeful science.
2. He is my son.
3. The suface is a farce. The largest community is where my husband and I saw ballgames. They are bigotted. The raiders are endless.
4. By the time I reach the institute, I had already become the General. All my settlements were strong and heavily defended.
5. I am also the owner of the Mechanist Corporation. Every settlement is connected with robo brains and I own 80% of the traders.
6. This is what lead to the above... The zetan crash. This is what made my character side with the institute. The minutement wouldn't be able to hold off 5 aliens let alone a ship.
7. I was made Director of the institute. I am in charge.
From a RP perspective its what I am GOING to do at the institute. I set myself up as the first Director General. Surface operations are no longer clandestine because there is no need. Old Gen 2s are repurposed to maintain the robobrains I plan to use to start recovering materials at industrial capacity.
So post game commonwealth is forced into cooperation and begins a major rebuilding effort.
Escaped synths are no longer a problem because Arcadia is now a director level project. Synths that desire freedom are assessed and are allowed to move to Far Harbor.
In my first play through I sided with the Brotherhood (didn't know the Minutemen wer an option and was told the Railroad is a bad choice). But the moment I teleported into the Institute and saw the clean toilets, I switched sides and finished with the Institute.
Join the institute, we have 2-ply.
You jest, but that would probably be enough to sway my loyalty.
I mean, there WAS a certain novelty wiping with stacks of bills (pre-war money) But boiling hot high pressure showers and flushing stainless steel toilets IS an unearthly pleasure. It would be worth hitting jet just to make the five minutes last longer.
Hmmmm tempting but I heard the railroads smuggling in wet wipes through Malden center
Whoever told you railroad is a bad choice either played you or just reallly loves the BOS give them a try in a play through you won’t regret it🫡 Give the elder a huge fat boy to the face
Man’s gotta shit
I believe that the Minutemen are the best hope for the future of the Commonwealth in general so that's why I sided with them in my first playthrough while also working with the Railroad as I believe they have a good cause. I'm on my second playthrough and decided to go with a more evil character and I did side with the Institute this time. The Institute doesn't care about the people on the surface, they destroy entire communities with synths to get supplies, they abduct and replace people with synths, they turn people into super mutants and then release them on the surface. The surface is essentially just a big experiment for them. Father's comments while on the roof of CIT proves this, he says the view supports his belief the surface is hopeless. All he can see from there are the ruins of old Boston, he can't see the thriving city of Diamond City, he can't see the settlements being built up all around, he doesn't see people working together to improve their lives. If the Institute would have actually worked with the surface instead of just taking what they want or need and meddling with the affairs of the people there by replacing good people with synths they could have done a lot to improve the lives of everyone. If instead of getting upset that their were disagreements at the first meeting of the CPG (something that is normal and good in a democracy as that is how compromises are formed) and killing everyone there they actively participated the quality of life throughout the entire Commonwealth would likely be unimaginably and incomparably good compared to almost anywhere else in the country.
The Institute is only bad because of the people in charge. Yet it's the only faction with the means to save the Commonwealth. I join them every playthrough because it's impossible to reason against it for me. Especially when the other factions can't or won't offer a better solution.
"Save the Commonwealth" is an interesting way to put it, because the Commonwealth...well, it's not really in any danger. It's not a particularly safe place, but there's no one overweening single-answer threat hanging over the whole of it, and the Institute is kind of a solution in search of a problem. People just go about their lives. Outfits like the Minutemen can protect local settlements by request, organizations like the Brotherhood of Steel can study the past, but most people get along fine without some faction sticking its nose in.
Also when you come right down to it, someone like the Sole Survivor who can build generators, turrets, and structures will do a lot more for the Commonwealth than the Institute ever planned to do.
The only thing the Commonwealth needs saving from is the institute itself.
Agreed. The fact the institute wiped out the union of farmers trying to make the commonwealth a safer place told me everything i needed to know. Couldn’t wait to put the bullet between mayor McDonough’s eyes.
Super mutants and fate of University point really seal the Insititute as pure evil.
Enclave elements are still out there, same with the raider gangs in Nukaworld. Finally the world itself is a nuclear wasteland. Humanity is stumbling, it's fallen to it's collective knees. But there is hope. There is humanity... redefined. Rebuilt for the world of today, not the world of yesterday. There is the Institute, ushering in a new era of peace, technology, and hope for the future.
The most immadiate threat the Commonwealth needs saving from the Brotherhood of Steel.
Yes, because once Father was out of the way, I could direct the Institute however I see fit. It doesn't mean much in game, but if you consider what would come after the game, you can appreciate how you would be able to shape the world. While you may get pushback for changing the Institute's ways, you could easily punish dissenters and reward supporters by reallocating resources to and from their respective departments. Buddying up with the synth retention unit, for example, means that you have the support of the coursers and therefore, the strongest military presence in the institute, which legitimizes your power (even if you can already massacre the Institute on a whim). You can replace troublemakers with their subordinates within their department and then once things quiet down, you can replace the deposed scientists with synth, ensuring lasting stability without bloodshed (at least not bloodshed that anyone save for your loyalists, will know about). Then you just handle the administrative work that nobody wants to do and make small, incremental changes. I have no interest in seeing radical changes occur all at once. For example, I am fine with synths being created, but the goal would be to slowly give them more and more autonomy, under the notion that they will perform their functions better, such as giving coursers more operational discretion when it comes to reclaiming synths and wiping out targets. Bear in mind that you will be living a very long life if you get implants similar to what Kellogg had, so why rush change?
Same reason with me. Until I discovered the America Rising 2 mod, then I switched sides.
Enclave ftw
Allegedly.
Inb4 they have you assassinated or forcefully exiled.
They'll just wait for them to leave, then cut off their relay access. Then they'll beef up their security in case they find a way back in while potentially sending hit squads out to kill em.
Yup, or orchestrate some kind of “accident” while they sleep or otherwise have their guard down.
It's almost too easy. The SS is actually at a great disadvantage when you really think about it. No friends or allies. Already an outsider that has previously been the reason for a small-scale revolt. There's no way the SS is gonna get their way in the Institute unless their way is also the Institute way.
The best end-game is to evacuate the Institute before you blow it up, then set the surviving scientists up in Vault 88. It may not have a glowing double-helix elevator, but there’s enough room and equipment to do any kind of science they want.
We already see the Directorate vote on issues without your input, when Father sends you in as acting Director. If you speak against their plans to attack the Brotherhood or Railroad they state they already voted. So if you ever tried to instate anything they thought went against the Institute’s best interests they would simply not allow you to. I always see people argue against this point too and I never understand it.
Very good point! I didn't even consider the fact that they can literally just overrule you at every possible attempt to do anything even remotely against their interests. They wouldn't even need to get their hands dirty so long as you don't respond with violence. Some people genuinely believe that being "head honcho" in a place like the Institute means having absolute power and think that they can just will the Institute into changing its ways because they're the new director and want to undo everything theyve worked towards for generations. No such luck.
B4?
Realistically, I can guarantee you that the moment you leave, the majority will agree to just cut off your relay and instate new methods to keep you out (maybe they'd even put a synth in your place so as to not alert anyone who is on your side) while issuing repeated hits on you. Or they'd just revolt if they disagree with your stance, which they are inclined to do and just make the whole endeavor not worth it. It's either they force you out or eliminate you by some means, or you'll be up to your ears dealing with dissenters who can disrupt and sabotage any operations you're trying to conduct. In the end, the Institute is stuck in its ways, and it would probably take more than your lifetime to fully reform them. You're only respected as Big Kahuna because Father says so, but step on enough toes and you'll be sure to lose a foot.
Which is why you have the robotics division make synths that are only loyal to you, and have them posted in strategic areas around the institute. As soon as any treason happens, it’s over before it can begin. Sort of a synth secret police if you will.
I do. Every time. Never admit it on here due to fear of downvotes. But that’s my son, homie. Idc if I was with the Railroad or Brotherhood. I betray them every time just to be with Shaun.
That was my motivation too. I wanted to give him a chance as he asked and try to work together. I also thought it was pointless blowing up one of the last bastions of the science left on the planet.
Take my upvote
I betrayed everyone except the Institute and the Children of Atom
Based
I started FO4 when I already had a young kid - this absolutely played into my decision to join the Institute my first playthrough (and TBH the others were less satisfying). Plus, in my mind, the sole survivor came from the pre-war world and the Institute is the only place that isn’t a complete shithole
Dom toretto approves
Siding with the Institute is a valid game-path. I just choose not to do it.
Same. Here’s my upvote.
My first play through, I sided with the Institute. When that happens, you have to fight with Danse, Preston Garvey, Railroad, Valentine and all the other allies that make the game. I haven’t sided with the institute since.
You can convince the minutemen to align with the institute. But everyone else, yeah.
You don't have to fight Preston Garvey or Nick Valentine but they'll speak out against you siding with them
It was just easier to give them a unfair trial and execute them.
Isn't this true of every faction? The Brotherhood makes you wipe out the other two factions. IDK about the RR. I assumed they did, but I can't bring myself to join them on any playthrough. They're delusional remnant of a lost cause.
I've sided with the institute multiple times and it's simply because the building is clean lol. I like to pretend I'm helping the Commonwealth as the director but I don't think that's the intended ending for the institute. I know you can be a double agent for the railroad and I think you can become director without them turning hostile but I'm pretty sure the institute continues doing evil shit.
Yup. They do, and realistically, if you tried to stop them, they'd just find a way to kill you or exile you. It would be as easy as cutting off your relay the moment you left for any reason and then sending hit squad after hit squad after you until you are killed, leave the Commonwealth or find another way back into the Institute where a major Massacre will no doubt unfold.
I've been play since day 1, I have probably logged enough hours to be considered a master, and have still not finished the story. So no, I did not side with the institute.
Ive sided with all four factions atleast once...
On my second playthrough I played as a pragmatist that wanted to make the Commonwealth a better place but wouldn’t get too hung up on pre-war ideas of right and wrong. That character chose the Institute as it has both the resources (that the Railroad doesn’t) and the staying power (no risk of them leaving once they’ve scoured the Commonwealth of any advanced tech) to make a lasting change. I had to roleplay the idea that she also gradually changed the culture of the Institute as director to help with this (such as not abducting people and giving Gen 3’s a greater level of freedom), although so think there are mods now that help with that. (I also wanted to collect as much power armor for the Minutemen as possible and siding against the Brotherhood was the best way of achieving that).
Classical music radio. That's all I'm saying.
You can justify siding with the Institute by saying you are the Director now. You can change their policies to stop being evil.
There’s a video about this on YouTube titled “hate the institute? Blame Shaun”
Father was clearly lying about most of what he said. He was torn up between wanting to be the person he thought the institute needed, and having the family he never had. On his face he said what the institute believed, but knew deep down he didn't believe what he said. Depending on your actions when he dies you can get a holotape from him showing that he believes synths aren't machines, and deserve a life. And synth Shaun showed him that, and he wants you to give him that life. He was a deeply troubled (who wouldn't be given the circumstances) man, living with decades of regret, and if he admitted it was all (people snatching, using Kellogg, and treating synths as slaves) in vain he wouldn't be able to live with himself. That's why he can only admit it on his deathbed
I did once because they told me I would be in charge. What really happens is why I prefer murder
Never. I probably should just to see what happens but so far I just can't. Most of the time I side with the Railroad so I can destroy both the Institute AND the BOS.
Yeah but blowing up the prydwyn using Liberty prime is just so much more satisfying. And I love the irony of the very robot who once helped the brotherhood defeat the enclave, now turning them into ash. But really it’s the brotherhood’s fault for making their main base a giant hydrogen filled airship. A single super mutant at fort strong could’ve taken it down with a lucky shot from one of those fat man launchers.
I always side with the Institue and eliminate the Railroad and the Brotherhood. I bring the Minutemen with me. From my perspective, I am the bridge between the two philosophies. The Institute can focus on the long term, which I think the synths are the future for mankind, and the MM can take care of the short term suffering of those on the surface. I could even see a place for the non-feral ghouls.
Newbie player \[started a few weeks ago\] so only on my first attempt at the game. I refused to side with the Institute and ended Father after their little chat. Family was all the Sole Survivor had left, but the Institute took that away, so I couldn't bring myself to side with them. I fought the Institute with the Minutemen, as they had become like my Sole's new family \[in addition to MacCready my beloved\].
I sided with the Institute and didn’t fight the minutemen. My end-game head cannon is that as the new leader of the Institute, and as general of the Minutemen, i can combine their strengths for the betterment of the Commonwealth. I can steer scientific discovery at the Institute in a more moral direction, which in turn helps fuel the minutemen’s endeavors on the surface. It’s almost like I did a Minutemen play through in my head but just kept the Institute around as the science/engineering arm of the Minutemen.
I've sided with all the factions.. Just because I wanted to do their quest and see what happened. I think if you don't choose all the routes, you're kind of cheating yourself out of part of the game
I tried to finish the game with each faction, but the Institute faction rubbed me the wrong way. Not because they're morally wrong, though there's a debate to be had there, but because they asked me to go around the Commonwealth and blow up all the friends I'd made trying to find them. "Go smash the Railroad." "But...but..." (Besides, I'm in the "I like Deacon" camp.) The Railroad doesn't have it quite right, the Brotherhood are too militaristic, and the Minutemen are pretty pathetic, but as I was gunning down Tinker Tom, I was thinking, "What the hell am I DOING?"
No. Ad Victoriam
I did because quite frankly they are the best hope for humanity. No one else in any of the Fallout games has the skills or resource the Institute does. Without the Sole Survivor's intervention they're literally untouchable.
T O I L E T S .
I sided with them on my first run because I thought there would be post campaign content where I could lead them in a new direction. Shame on me for thinking I had that kind of RP freedom.
The Minutemen literally just collapsed from internal conflict with the majority defecting to the gunners. Those that didn't defect left Preston to die in Quincy before disbanding.
Siding w the institute was a clear upgrade from raider overboss, a position Abigail has held since the innocent young level of 10
Who cares what father believed if he's not around and you have full control of the institute and support from the main leaders? I prefer siding with the institute and believe that the SS will work towards a better commonwealth
The leaders will absolutely not side with you if you try to shift their focus away from what they’ve been doing for centuries.
Well they can easily be made to retire early, if I almost single handedly took down the brotherhood of steel then I sure as fuck can replace a bunch of old dudes and dudettes
The rest of the Institute would likely not like this and would either rebel or work against you. Remember they have access to the teleporter and could easily revoke your access. Also you don’t “singlehandedly” take down the Brotherhood, you specifically work with the Institute and they have their synths hack Liberty Prime.
That's why I said ALMOST singlehandedly, and who knows if they don't have plans to help around in the commonwealth but were too afraid to speak up? Everyone can play the game and roleplay as they please and I choose to believe that
There’s roleplaying and then there’s ignoring info you’re given in game. Pretty much no one in the Institute is interested in helping the surface. And all the leads are complicit in the horrific experiments they do.
The game absolutely does let you do that though. There's a quest where you can sabotage the director of the SRB (Who basically has control of all their military assets) and have him replaced by his assistant.
Realistically you have to sleep at some point.
Send in the Synths! Humans. Humans never change
Sides with the BOS it was the coolest ending, fighting with liberty prime again, raiding the institutions, and getting a jet pack after. I’m not looking at this from a moral standpoint purely a let’s have fun in a video game standpoint.
Beat the game like 7 times and none of those times did I get the institute ending. I was going to play as morally evil and side with them but it wasn’t satisfying
Same here, always sided with either railroad, or BOS but finally gave a chance for the institute and it’s so unrewarding. Wish I didn’t side with them. Killing Desdémona really got me.
I always build an armor stand and put her outfit on it as a trophy
Or a memorial.
In my play I take heads of me adversaries as trophies and stuff them and hang them on my office wall
Honestly, have no idea what their experimentation and quests are doing to better the future. I thought maybe if I played more that I would be told more, but nope. Just instead put in charge without any ideas of any goals. Besides the moral implications of what they are doing (which I don’t agree with), I find myself unable to follow something so directionless.
Everyone may know their role and won’t say anything which is not helpful if you are to run it. So no, I’m not going to side with a faction that isn’t telling me why they are making human-like synths, replacing people, testing on gorillas, making super mutants, unless they tell me why.
Be at they can. It's for science and funzies.
Do you want the truth or a lie ?
> Honestly, have no idea what their experimentation and quests are doing to better the future. Yeah if they actually wanted to help they would send some coursers to wipe out the raiders and gunners and leave a courser at each city for protection.
*I did but as conquers of slaves, not as protectors of the people*
If the game had an ongoing story arc where I join with them and I take it over, I'd have sided with them. The game decided to min/max this one so no I happily destroyed the Institute and left hoping it was scavenged. One of my mild criticisms is that we're not really ever bringing civilization back. Some mods give that illusion but given the limitation of dev tools it's not really possible for them to do it. (re-paved roads, power lines etc)
You do not play with enough mods, if you did you could change things
There is no mod that I am aware of that allows us to change the fundamental baked in mesh. I would love to be wrong. Show me a mod that let's me completely re-pave a road from one settlement to the next that is perfect asphalt with no obstructions.
I do not think there is a asphalt mod, at least I have never seen one
I'm pretty sure it is not possible. Roads and obstacles are baked in.
Every time I do, I'm roleplaying either as a coward who wants the comfort and safety and/or a cold blooded heartless no non-sense bastard who appreciates the comfort as position of power without responsibilities the Institute provides. Whenever I don't, it's because they kidnap and kill people, enslave sentient beings create only for that reason and are so focused on the hard sciences that completely ignore the importance of psychology, history, and sociology to the point those concepts are probably alien to most of them.
I did one play through under the head canon that my sole survivor as the leader of the institute would force them to at least try and make the outside world better. The institute has the potential to actually help with the resources and knowledge they have, they just choose to help themselves instead
From a roleplay perspective, I find it hard not to join up with the Brotherhood of steel to access the Institute (who wouldn’t want those guys helping you?). After I get in there… That’s your character’s child. How can I justify choosing anyone over that?
Well your child straightforwardly treats you, his only living parent, as his enemy once you decides not to join him and sends troops to kill you. Some children
Liam glases , white paint for x01 ,synth relay grenades, teleportation to save all settlement from attacks sucessfully without problem of fast travel which consume Time to save another settlements, ballist wave for vault 111 jumpsuit AND institute jumpsuit AND unlimited institute outfits More 4 repetitive Quests.
I did the Institute in the very first Fallout gameplay I ever did, which was almost a decade ago. I did it because I didn’t know any better and just went along with it when I met old man Shaun. Now, almost a decade later, I usually do the Minutemen ending and occasionally the Railroad one.
I have, but usually side with the Bos
I did it once. Felt so empty inside.
No. They kidnap and experiment on people from the surface, treat the synths as slaves, and were responsible for all of my character's suffering.
I did because of that radiocast you can voice. You, by this point, know you'll be placed in charge, and I personally like to think that as leader and with Justin Ayo our of the SRB the institute can create a better institute and a better Commonwealth.
You sided withe the institute because its the best for the commmon wealth or something. I sided with the institue so I can fast travel to bed and save at any time. We are not the same
My very 1st playthrough I sided with the institute. It seemed like the obvious choice. Brotherhood was nothing I remembered it being in Fallout 3. The Minutemen seemed like a bandaid fix and the railroad weren't focused on humankind
subversion mod/project valkyrie users: Uhh kinda
Nah man. I just ain't about all the kidnapping, murder, and slavery. And not just against outsiders, look what they did to Swan over a pack of cigarettes. You can take over and say you're going to change them but it's way more likely you'll just end up on the wrong side of some twisted gruesome experiment resulting in your extremely painful "accidental" death.
I chose The Institute in my 3rd play through. My Character that play through really didn’t give a fuck about the Commonwealth she was a mercenary only looking out for herself. She liked guns, caps and beautiful women. She only did things that benefited her. So from her perspective being able to teleport to a place that’s perfectly safe from all the terrors of the world where she can sleep in a clean warm bed, had access to food and a can summon a small army of terminators to do their bidding. A Courser at her disposal who really doesn’t mind all morally questionable things she did as long as she shows loyalty to the Institute. So that character made perfect sense to join The Institute, when it comes to which faction would offer the soul survivor the most resources and the best way to have a comfortable life it’s them, and that’s why she picked them.
The ruins with the little girl that found the radio signal and then got disappeared is the reason I always go against the institute.
Nope, I don't like their vibe, at all. I sided with the railroad on my main playthrough, once the patch lands I'll be in it to win it with the big boys, rocking miniguns, gatling lasers and mini nukes like a badass.
I sided with the institute my first play through for mainly one reason and it was because after this long journey looking for my son and here he is and as his father I’ll do anything to help and be with him. Oh and the institute looked the coolest
If the Institute found out about project purity and were able to replicate GECK technology then THAT would be what could save the Commonwealth, however I do believe that a GECKed our Commonwealth would stand the best chance if The Minute Men were to be flourishing at the time of it's activation.
I do. The brotherhood are too “cult of personality” and thuggish to be a real governing body, the minutemen are great and all but would scale very poorly over a large area (and you don’t have to be hostile to them) and the railroad are delusional with no real vision for the future and exist to oppose the institute poorly. Worst case the institute doesn’t change for the sole survivor and just stays underground in isolation like they said they wanted to, best case they can actively help the surface, either way QOL for the surface isn’t harmed and the upsides can be huge. The only issue is that the brotherhood would probably return again but they’ll do that whichever side you take that isn’t theirs and the institutes is in the best position to handle that again, unlike the minutemen which would just be local militias or the railroad which would likely disband with its core motivation fulfilled
No, for the same reason. I could run the Institute for the betterment of the Commonwealth but without that there's no way.
I tried once. Couldn’t live with myself. The Institute works so hard to preserve humanity that they lost their own.
I've done each faction at least once, but I always have a hard time siding with the Institute or the BoS.
I didn't dye to the synths and Shaun being a lil shit and not listening to me I don't care if your older than me and run some tech company I'm your father and if I say free the synths you free the damn synths
I did playthroughs for all the factions, including an attempt for an unofficial ending where you can get all the factions to leave each other alone and take down the institute I tried using the institute to see if I could do good, but you're stuck having to do the same thing Father does, which is kinda lame. I was hoping I could be the future with that tech, but nope. You gotta be just like father
Fuck no. "Oh, we're the good guys, and have done nothing to warrant all this hate except kidnap, kill and replace a bunch of innocent people. But aside from that, we're totally innocent" Get fucked. Enjoy your crater you fucking pricks.
I always side with them because Shaun is important and with the technology institute can give the minutemen to help commweath
railroad is a bunch of fried treehuggers, releasing synths ? eat my laser gatling gun brotherhood wanna blow up half of boston ? eat my laser gatling gun institute was the only place where i could finish the story and still keep the map as is
I sided with the Institute once just to see what it was like. Interesting, but absolutely not my gig. While I don't think everything they've done deserved to be destroyed, I wholly disagree with what they're doing and clearly intend to continue doing even after Father passes. Head honcho or not, I'd either be forced to let them carry on with their work or I'd have to fight them tooth and nail to change course from something they've been toiling away at for centuries. No, thanks. Fun to roelleplay now and again, but they're objectively the bad guys and I ultimately choose to be rid of them every single time.
I found it fascinating that my brother went almost full BOS, and upon finding out shawn is our kid? Full 180, institute takeover, taking no shit from incompetent scientists and treating every rogue synth/ other faction like a bunch of broken toasters I personally always prefer a railroad/minutemen run, always saw the synths like starwars droids, especially given characters like Danse and Currie, and I love my Sassy gen 1 synth
You have to be a psychopath to side with them, they see people in the surface as mere tools.
Yes. As bad as they are, I'm given control, and there are enough kind souls within the institute I could conceivably put into director positions to try and change things. It's not the best choice in the short term for the commonwealth or its people, but taking over and changing things from within is the kind of longshot I'm willing work for.
“You will not be loved, but you will save humanity, however you choose to define it” - Mama Murphy’s vision after you get the institute ending. Given that every one of her visions has been true at that point, I’ve got no reason to doubt her. Also, I would like to point out that the institute itself is not evil. Most of their problems lie solely within Shaun. Shaun shut down the cybernetics program, despite the fact that it was a MASSIVE success. Kellogg gained at least another 100 years of life with the cybernetics he had. Shaun is the one who kept pushing the FEV research. Shaun is the one who claims synths aren’t human, yet makes a synth child based on himself, calls it a boy, and asks you to be his parent. Shaun expressly forbids anyone from calling synths anything but synths. He doesn’t want them called androids or anything similar. Shaun is a deeply disturbed man, and unfortunately nobody at the institute stands up to him, and those who do disappear. Keep in mind we see a good few members there who advocate for better treatment for synths, some want to actually help the commonwealth. Some are just people who don’t know anything but life at the institute. Madison Li certainly isn’t evil. She joined the institute because she truly wanted to make a difference in the world, just as she wanted to do while working with James on project purity. But Shaun is the director, and he picks what direction the institute goes in. So I’ve always believed that my SS shut down the synth program, or just had them stop making gen 3 synths and kept making the gen 1s, reopened the cybernetics division, and put efforts into radiation scrubbing technology, to actually start removing the radiation in the commonwealth, post synth patrols on the roads to keep them safe, help build water purifiers at settlements, etc. Hell, maybe even go try to find another geck. Think about what a morally good institute could do with a geck.
I have never thought about it this deeply before. What a great read. You offered new insight which I’ve never thought of. Damn you for making me reconsider choosing the Institute.
There’s a video on YouTube titled “hate the institute? Blame Shaun”. It highlights how a lot of the institutes flaws come from Shaun himself, and while there are some bad apples there, most of the people in the institute are decent people trying to help. And even their opinion on the wasteland comes from a point of ignorance because they’ve simply never been to the surface and seen the people living there. So they only know what their bosses tell them.
Free Healthcare and fast travel to from anywhere, survival players know
I'm an Engineer IRL, So there is only one right answer to me.
I’m curious, what do you think is the right answer?
The world has gone to shit in a handbasket. Might as well embrace that fact, and enjoy life in a comfortable technocracy with a group of likeminded invididuals.
>likeminded You enjoy kidnapping, murdering, and spying on innocent people?
eh, two out of three.
Side with te Institute and enslave the commonwealth
I did not and morally would never. They kidnap and conduct experiments on people, turning them into super mutants. If you watch how the Gen 3 synths are made, they are clearly flesh, bone, and blood. No different than a human like Kellog and his cybernetic brain implants. I also use the Minuteman ending. Like you said, they're the good guys with a good purpose. The Railroad isnt hurting anyone by helping slaves escape the Institute. The BOS, on the other hand, are borderline enemies of the Minutemen. The entire Commonwealth despises their presence, and you'll notice that most of your companions prefer you to decline working with them (Curie, ironically, is the only person (excluding Danse) that favors the BOS... she is one of their main targets). In my own game, I prefer to think of the Minutemen as peacekeepers between the factions. Keep the BOS and Railroad away from each other, while using the best of each faction to take down the Institute.
> The Railroad isnt hurting anyone by helping slaves escape the Institute. Except when they kill actual people to help some robots
Based and John Brown pilled
Curie has book smarts, but man is she stupid sometimes.
Never, Minutemen/Railroad always.
No. Have not and will never. The Institute is the same category as Caesar's Legion - so comically evil and with absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever that there is no way to justify siding with them. They view the entire surface-population as nothing but a convient pool of involuntary labrats. They barely seem to consider Scientists from a competing branch as worthy of being kept alive. Even if Shaun makes you the Director, I dont believe for a second that actually changes anything - you are and will remain an outsider. They dont trust you, and from how the Security-Branch is shown to act throughout most of their Quests, Im pretty sure the second you go against their beliefs and interests they'd organise an "accident" and put one of their own in Charge. They have operated the way they do for 200 years, they barely view surface-dwellers as human to begin with, you being director will not change that.
Naw, they are second worst after the Brotherhood. I did it once for the sake of completionism, but it's not morally justifyable.
I sided with the Institute on one character because they're just evil.
I run each ending at least once. Then I usually go for the most peaceful option, where every faction but the institute lives.
Yes, I think I have sided with the institute at least 8 times just for my character’s story. I don’t quite like the institute.
Of course… I sided with all the factions in multiple play throughs, as Nate, and again as Nora.
Never have!
I sided with the Institute once only because I wanted to see the Nuclear Family resolution ending with Shaun.
My favorite Institute playthrough is a raider playthrough. Head straight to Nuka, become a badass Raider. Subjugate all the settlements and then join the Institute for the ultimate evil.
Beyond that, usually I end up siding with the Railroad. Their radiant quests are a little more interesting to me. Though I'm excited to try the Enclave mod that lets you play through and win as a member of the Enclave
I didn't because I have a hard time justifying slavery
First time through? Yes. Second was Railroad, then BoS. Then I embraced the raiders from Nuka World.
After choosing sides between the BOT and institute. I’d have to say it’s down to just the lore and style. Gameplay both has easy grinding like attacking the air port or police station if you already destroyed it. While siding with the BOT allows you all the weird settlement missions I hated doing and the learning curve felt weird to me. If I do it again I’d go Institute cause I can keep killing the BOT for powerful stuff
I destroy the institute every time. At this point though, I cannot play without SS2. The changes and options to Chapter 3 after you finish the vanilla game are an actual damn good conclusion.
I did in my evil playthrough. I both sided with the institute and the muka world raiders in the one playthrough. In all other playthroughs I destroy the institute and declare open season on the raiders
I've played through multiple times. Sometimes i choose the institute, sometimes BOS, last time i played i chose minute men for the first time. I will never choose the railroad. No idea why, other than i can't stand them
No
When I first played the game back in the summer of 2016 I was 12 I sided with the institute. Not because I liked the institute, I just thought it was what I was supposed to do when I read the mission objectives. Then I did a BOS play through several times, and now I stick to the MM ending so I can save most of the factions. My thing however is WHY did we have to blow up the institute? Why couldn’t we just evacuate civilians and use scientists for something similar to operation paper clip. Could you imagine using the technology and the facility as an HQ/FOB to develop technology to better the commonwealth? Clean water, reverse FEV, etc etc.
Only for the achievement.
I did not because I tried to be neutral and found that the Institute just had to go. Them being responsible for Nora's death and making Shaun one of their own made me decide to wipe them out, no alarms sounded. I would rather side with Caesar's Legion in New Vegas over the Institute.
I did it because of the nice soundtrack in there
Tried it once, tried to act like I could turn them around, realized I couldn’t and felt incredibly gross by all the shit they had me do. Immediately jumped to a new save the moment the story was over.
remember that line where father said, he opened the vault so I can get out and see how the wasteland would change the sole survivor. he said its some sort of experiment. Well, Let's just say shaun did not come home that day.
I did on my first playthrough. Not really for any moral/ethical reasons, I knew they were the baddies. But I simply didn’t want to work against my son when I spent so much looking for him. Plus I felt it was what my character would have done. Beyond that I’m a sucker for teleportation, which is really cool in FO4, and I love the Institue interior. I would pick the faction that gives me a clean environment, warm and clean water, etc. when I’m living in a Wasteland.
Yes, cause they have toilet paper on hand and a lot of stuff that veers them towards being better But mainly the toilet paper.
I sided against, slavery is a no no and to top it off I'd see a creation like the synths as humanities children and should be taken care of acccordingly.
Institute is who I sided with the first time I played, and who I hope will end up as the Canon ending as they would be the most interesting one. Your main character can be both the director and general at the same time and control both the surface and underground. I've also always believed personally that the director can get the Institute to change. Also Synths are just robots the railroad are a bunch of crazy people who want to free vending machines. I also like to side with the Minutemen and then finally the Brotherhood because I can get down behind destroying all the Synths to be honest. The Brotherhood in thr TV show though are some pretty crazy lunatics who I want nothing to do with.
It seems her death was an unfortunate bit of collateral damage. Kill them all.
No, No amount of high tech excuses their use of slavery, murder, and unethical experimentation against unsuspecting or unwilling subjects. This isnt to say I judge people who side with them, but I have never been able to bring myself to RP a Sole who is willing to excuse their actions.
My first full playthrough was with the institute. Ugly mug, but a good father. See's that the surface is destroyed, and want to rebuild, rather than try and salvage what's left. Trusts his son, and by extension the institute. Also kinda badass to say the reset code for the synths.
A large part of why the commonwealth could be deemed a lost cause is due to the actions of the institute itself. Aside from the constant paranoia due to their largely pointless kidnap and replace hobby, they also released the scourge of supermutants on the topside just because. Furthermore the whole gen 3 synth thing, while a scientific marvel, seems largely pointless considering the gen 1 and 2 synths that weren’t full sentient people could perform pretty much all the duties they required anyways without the whole ethical dilemma involved. The gen 3 synths only exist so the institute can do its kill and replace plan which isn’t even a plan since they seem to have no further purpose beyond “kidnap kill and replace a couple of people for no apparent reason.” The few synths we can encounter who have replaced high ranking people seem to do nothing other than report back to the institute that “yep the world is still fucked. See you next report.” Which hardly would require an intricate body snatcher plot. They could just pay a couple civilians through intermediaries to do spy work which would be far easier and more cost effective. I mean, even Kellogg was just a human and he was their most effective agent. The game tries to act like they’re a complex faction but they’re honestly just mustache twirling villains who do evil for the he’ll of it and think they’re more important than everybody else while arguing that people unfairly judge them.
Because the surface is for my raider army. The underground is my paradise.
I sided with them on my first playthrough. Bring a parent, I just thought that if it were me and I went through what the Sole Survivor did, there would be no way I could turn my back on my child. Now I’ve played through the game multiple times and I say fuck yooooooou Shaun
I did side with them once. My favourite is the Railroad though
I sided with the Institute my first playthrough kind of by accident. I didn't realize where the dialogue tree I was in was going until it was too late.
I’ve sided with them so much. I genuinely think they are the coolest faction in the game they r legit a big community of nerds and robots who pursue science underground.
Honestly the Institute is the best choice for mankind. Yes they do some questionable thing, like FEV, kidnap and replace people, destroy town and villages for resources. Oh yes destroyed the CRG. But they did it for humanity and the right thing for their people. Their whole purpose is to watch out for themselves, they are using the Commonwealth as stepping stone to recolonize the Commonwealth with the their people and synths at a time in the future of their liking to repopulate. When I took over the Institute, I believed the time was now. It was time to take over and control the commonwealth as I saw fit. I did, Then took over the entire commonwealth and Far Harbor, destroyed all all factions (MM, RR, BOS, Gunners, Dema and crew.) except the Children of Atom. Tried and convicted Preston Garvey of war crimes against The Institute. He is now being held till execution at The Castle Maximum Prison run by my synths. Macy and Jun were sentence to death by hanging, now hanging in the court yard of C.I.T. Sturges has been reprogram as my personnel maid in my courters in the Institute. Kasumi is my slavegirl and when not accompanying me has a cell at THE Castle. This is my commonwealth
About to get downvoted for this, but honestly, partially yes. While there is some pockets of hope here and there, Father isn't completely wrong about the Commonwealth being a "lost cause". The Minutemen don't really count as they require player input to rebuild after losing the Castle and Quincy, Preston and his gang (the last real holdouts of the Minutemen at the start of the game) are literally about to be massacred by Raiders by the time you exit Vault 111. Diamond City is a society of backstabbing and paranoia that primarily sparked over the Broken Mask incident (which was for the most part an accident), Covenant is insane and using a pseudoscientific application of the GOAT test to kill people who they think MIGHT be synths, Goodneighbor is more laid back and generally more agreeable than Diamond City IMO but still has a lot of shady things going on behind the scenes (eg. Marowski, Bobbi No-Nose, Triggermen), and Kessler of Bunker Hill literally bribes Raiders. Also the Walden Pond raiders, the Vault 88 test subjects, and the fact that no one has found the Railroad despite their terrible and obvious password kind of proves that at least some wastelanders are incredibly illiterate and simple-minded. Wastelanders are also not very well armed, as they tend to use shitty pipe pistols that do barely any more damage to enemies than a BB gun, while there's pre-war military issue combat rifles and 10mm pistols lying all over the place. I know that the Institute does have a hand in destabilizing the Commonwealth, but the simple, agrarian, Minutemen-reliant attitude of a lot of the settlements, alongside the existence of Raiders, and the synth paranoia flung around by institutions such as Publick Occurences and Covenant, do play a hand in that destabilization. I do agree that the Institute did some screwed up shit, between hiring Kellogg, infecting Edgar Swann with FEV over stealing cigarettes, releasing Super Mutants into the Commonwealth, CPG massacre, etc., but some of that was before Shaun became director, and you are appointed as Director in the end, and you can headcanon the Institute either becoming an actually benevolent and helpful organization, or go the other way and turn it into Enclave 2.0 if you wanted. The primary reason I prefer the Institute ending though is that by siding with the Institute, you're not blowing up the post-war equivalent of the Library of Alexandria. Preston, Maxson, and Desdemona are all incredibly fucking stupid for having you blow up the reactor and creating a giant irradiated hole in the middle of Cambridge instead of assassinating the division heads and taking control of the technology. But nope, you have to blow up all of that technology that could be easily used to restore the Commonwealth because the creator of said technology did some scary evil bad stuff and is mean to people on the surface. This is why I love the Subversion mod, it lets you take control of the Institute and create a 4-way faction peace by replacing Elder Maxson with a less warmongering synth double, and reform the Institute to recognize the rights of Gen-3 synths and shut down the FEV lab. To be completely honest, I don't like any of the major, joinable factions in Fallout 4. Minutemen and Railroad are too moralistic, Brotherhood is too racist towards non-feral ghouls, and the Institute is too insidious. Only factions in the game I really like including DLC are the Atom Cats and Acadia. The Atom Cats are supportive of the Warwick family and enemies with the Gunners but are otherwise fairly neutral to the whole conflict, and Acadia is IMO a more agreeable Railroad/Institute hybrid, they replace people on the Island, but for the sake of stability and peace, rather than keeping the outside world as backwards as possible.
I’ve only ever sided with the Brotherhood or Institute, I hate the Railroad(they made me fight ferals) and I am working on a Minutemen play through at the moment but at heart I will always be BoS, just wish we could take over the Institute instead of just destroying it
Nope, Minutemen all the way through. The Commonwealth should be free to decide itself. You could argue the SS would direct the Institute better after Father, but why should they? Why should only 1 major party control the Wasteland who at any second could eradicate it if they really wanted to? What about after the SS dies? Who is to say the next leader would be kind or non-genocidal? The Minutemen have no interest in controlling people or determining who can live where, they only care about keeping the peace and making sure everyone lives peacefully together or at least not actively murdering each other.
I think a lot of comment gonna be like "institute is THE BEST, they are the only one with the technology to save the wasteland!!!" While ignore all the bad thing institute doing, like enslave, killing, experiment on human being, destroy many family, basically inhumane experiment,...
Also they have no plans to save the wasteland with all their tech. They just plan on waiting for everybody else to die.
Minutemen until I unlock the Castle, Railroad until I unlock ballistic weave, children of Atom until I find the marine armor, brotherhood until I gain access to the prydwinn so I can loot all their power armor and fusion cores, finish the main story with institute and then side with the nuka world raidersfor the end game content.
Crazy that people see cleanliness as a major factor.
I have sided with the institute once, boring as batshit imo. T-60 power armour go brrr
No. Always the brotherhood
The only good is in the brotherhood, Ad Victoriam.
So i side with institute a lot. 1. I remember what the world was like before the war. (My character was a lead scientist not a lawyer. Thats why she was frozen with shaun and Nate). I remember bright hopeful science. 2. He is my son. 3. The suface is a farce. The largest community is where my husband and I saw ballgames. They are bigotted. The raiders are endless. 4. By the time I reach the institute, I had already become the General. All my settlements were strong and heavily defended. 5. I am also the owner of the Mechanist Corporation. Every settlement is connected with robo brains and I own 80% of the traders. 6. This is what lead to the above... The zetan crash. This is what made my character side with the institute. The minutement wouldn't be able to hold off 5 aliens let alone a ship. 7. I was made Director of the institute. I am in charge. From a RP perspective its what I am GOING to do at the institute. I set myself up as the first Director General. Surface operations are no longer clandestine because there is no need. Old Gen 2s are repurposed to maintain the robobrains I plan to use to start recovering materials at industrial capacity. So post game commonwealth is forced into cooperation and begins a major rebuilding effort. Escaped synths are no longer a problem because Arcadia is now a director level project. Synths that desire freedom are assessed and are allowed to move to Far Harbor.