How to Get The Best Ending in Fallout 4
Decide which ending offers the best outcome for you in our guide to the best endings in Fallout 4.
In Fallout 4, players must decide the fate of the Commonwealth by siding with one of four competing factions. Each faction holds a certain ideology with regard to the fate of the Commonwealth, and in this Fallout 4 Best Ending guide we'll walk you through the steps to take in order to get the best ending in Fallout 4.
If you were instead after how to get the best ending for Fallout 4: Far Harbor, then head over to out Fallout 4 guides walkthrough hub, containing a wealth of information on quests, areas, and the best items in the game.
After Act II, players must choose which faction they would like to support. This initiates a series of events that eventually lead to the end of the game. Warning: we will be describing the events that take place after siding with each faction in order to explain their impact on the state of affairs in the Commonwealth.
There are major spoilers ahead regarding the conclusion of Fallout 4. If you have not yet sided with a faction and do not wish to know what happens upon doing so, then you should not read this article just yet. Consider yourself warned. If you would like a spoiler-free overview of each faction’s beliefs and intentions instead, then check out our guide on choosing the best faction in Fallout 4.
Fallout 4: The Minutemen Ending
The Minutemen essentially want a chance to rebuild their communities and thrive in the Commonwealth. Thus, the Minutemen faction is considered mostly neutral, as no other faction seems to have an issue with them throughout the game. However, if you choose to side with the Minutemen after completing Act II, you will become allied with the Railroad faction, forcing you to take up arms against both the Institute and the Brotherhood of Steel.
To side with the Minutemen, you must establish eight settlements throughout the Commonwealth. Preston Garvey will offer intel to help guide you in the right direction. Once the settlements are built, the Minutemen suddenly feel the need to wipe out the Brotherhood of Steel by destroying the Prydwen airship. This came as a bit of a surprise, considering the Minutemen ultimately desire peace for the people of the Commonwealth, and attacking the Brotherhood seems a bit too warlike for this faction.
Siding with the Minutemen leads to a planned attack on the Prydwen airship, shooting it down with artillery from multiple directions. Though the Prydwen gets destroyed, the Brotherhood of Steel refuses to go down without a fight. As the Prydwen falls, several hostile Vertibird gunships come straight toward the Castle. You must take up arms with your fellow Minutemen to defeat what remains of the Brotherhood once and for all.
Once the Brotherhood of Steel is defeated, the Minutemen focus their attention on destroying the Institute. This involves betraying Father and planting a charge on a nuclear reactor that will destroy the Institute from the inside. Since the Minutemen become allied with the Railroad faction, several Synths are recovered from the Institute in the process. Afterward, the Railroad quests remain available, and the Commonwealth is free to settle their communities peacefully. Although this doesn’t seem to be a very ‘neutral’ way to go about these events, siding with the Minutemen may nevertheless be the easiest ending to achieve.
Fallout 4: The Railroad Ending
The Railroad faction is primarily sympathetic towards Synths, and will go out of their way to ensure the safety and integration of Synths in society. Similar to the Minutemen ending, siding with the Railroad faction will pit players against the Brotherhood of Steel and the Institute.
To destroy the Brotherhood of Steel, the Railroad sends you to infiltrate the Prydwen airship with Tinker Tom in order to plant explosive charges on the ship’s hydrogen gasbags. Once the two of you clear the blast radius of the Prydwen on a stolen Vertibird, the charges detonate, sending the Prydwen plummeting to the ground.
Defeating the Institute mostly involves the same methods for each of the factions that aim to destroy it. For the Railroad ending, players must remain on the Institute’s good side long enough for an undercover Railroad spy to access the inner workings of the organization. The spy helps you and the other Railroad members to infiltrate the building long enough to plant an explosive on the Institute’s nuclear reactor. After clearing the area, you’re given the go ahead to detonate the charge and nuke the Institute from a distance.
Siding with the Railroad ultimately helps save Synths from a life of servitude. Upon leaving the Institute building, there is also an opportunity to save a Synth boy who believes you to be his parent. If you feel Synths deserve an equal chance at living amongst humans, then the Railroad faction ending is your best option.
Fallout 4: The Brotherhood of Steel Ending
The Brotherhood of Steel is vehemently against anything involving Super Mutants, Ghouls, or Synths. In their mission to bring order to the Commonwealth, the Brotherhood of Steel aims to ultimately take down the Synth-loving Railroad faction, as well as the tech-savvy Institute. While the Brotherhood believes that advanced technology primarily caused the world’s problems, they incidentally depend on technology to achieve their objectives. Although the Brotherhood holds this somewhat inconsistent viewpoint, they make up for it with end-game activities that happen to be quite entertaining.
After choosing to aid the Brotherhood of Steel in their cause, you will become an enemy of the Railroad and Institute factions. You are instructed to retrieve a holotape program from the Railroad HQ, eliminating all Railroad members in the process. Report back to Lancer-Captain Kells to continue onto the next phase of the Brotherhood’s plan of attack.
With the Railroad out of the picture, the new objective is to get the massive, patriotic mech Liberty Prime functioning again. Upon retrieving a holotape with intel from the Institute, you will begin working with Proctor Ingram and Dr. Li to rebuild Liberty Prime. Dr. Li instructs you to gather materials to reconstruct the required components needed to get Prime working again. After retrieving an Agitator to power the robot, Liberty Prime is ready for action.
Once the anti-Communist robot is back online, it will be programmed to head straight to C.I.T., and you are told to escort the robot in its patriotic trek toward the Institute. When you arrive, Liberty Prime will blast a hole in the ground allowing the Brotherhood to infiltrate the Institute. Once inside, the plan is the same as the other factions: plant an explosive on the nuclear reactor, and watch the Institute go boom.
Upon successful completion of the Brotherhood’s end-game tasks, you are promoted to the rank of Sentinel, and receive a new jet pack for your Power Armor suit. With the Railroad and Institute destroyed, the Brotherhood of Steel is one step closer to bringing order to the Commonwealth.
Fallout 4: The Institute Ending
The Institute is despised by the other factions for various reasons. However, Father maintains a hopeful outlook for the future of the Commonwealth that can only come about through technological advancement. Father claims that the work of the Institute will return the Commonwealth back to the way it was before its destruction, only if you stick around to help.
Supporting the Institute is fairly straightforward, and simply involves completing various quests given to you by Father. Father eventually reveals that he is dying, and would like for you to take up the mantle as leader of the Institute. He will have you record a speech to be broadcasted throughout the wasteland, informing people of the Commonwealth about the Institute’s endeavors. Siding with the Institute will pit you against both the Railroad and the Brotherhood of Steel factions. The Minutemen, of course, are spared from the Institute’s wrath.
After meeting with the Institute Division heads and officially becoming allied with the faction, Father requests that you eliminate all of the Railroad leaders, starting with Desdemona. You will likely find the leaders in the Old North Church, but if there are any stragglers who have wandered out into the Commonwealth, they should be marked on the map.
Next, you must infiltrate Boston Airport and destroy several generators, allowing an Institute Synth to hack the Liberty Prime weaponized robot. When the hacking is complete, Courser will quickly warp you to a safe location as Liberty Prime unleashes a powerful blast on the Prydwen, bringing the massive Brotherhood of Steel airship crashing to the ground.
Once you’ve eliminated both enemy factions, you will have one last conversation with Father before he passes on. Father will die regardless of the ending you choose. Choosing to side with the Institute will alter the final cutscene slightly, replacing the nuclear explosion with Father’s hospital bed instead. The Institute will remain as a travel location after the final cutscene.
Choose your faction carefully, as this will determine which faction is available after the conclusion of the main story. Players can return to the remaining factions to complete Miscellaneous and Radiant quests upon finishing the game.
