Fallout 4 Endings [Guide]

Fallout 4, wasteland, endings, game guide, Minutemen, Brotherhood of Steel, Institute, Railroad

Updated:

15 May 2020

If you haven’t gotten the chance to playthrough the many wonderful endings of Fallout 4- we do warn you about spoilers up ahead!

The game offers four different endings that are mostly faction oriented. Please keep in mind though for most of the faction endings will require at least one if not all three, other factions to be destroyed to secure your favored ending.

All of these endings are considered ‘main quest’ ending missions- you still get to play afterward. But, some locations will be completely blocked.

1. The Minutemen Ending

Often considered one of the better-received endings; your men will put you at the front of their army and you decide the other factions fate. If pledged to the Minutemen, you will no longer be able to complete quests or contact allies of other factions. While this ending results in the death of the Institute, you also may have to destroy the Brotherhood of Steel as well.

If you do, then you will have to eliminate the Prydwen with the heavy artillery you receive from the Castle, then defend the said Castle from the Brotherhood when they attempt a full-scale assault in response. With the Institute, you will have to destroy the HQ with the Minutemen. This will block all institute locations going forward.

While this is considered to be the ‘good guy normal’ ending that results in the least amount of karma based decisions and killing factions, it can still lead to a decent climax for your character.
If you want to pretend you are roleplaying throwing a bunch of tea to the harbor- this would be the ending for you. You’ve defeated the Institute, and now are the hero of the Commonwealth.

How to get the Minutemen ending:

Break back into the institute after you have been banished.
Plant the device and issue the evacuation order (Optional! - Yes/No)
Once inside, follow the prompts to blow the Institute to space.
Preston will ask you to tie up any loose ends before you leave, the next bit will be your ending cutscene and the spoils of war. The only thing that actually changes.

Mission List:
-Taking Independence
-Old Guns
-Inside Jobs
-Defend the Castle
-The Nuclear Option
-With Our Powers Combined

2. The Railroad Ending

Does choosing this ending mean you think synths deserve human rights? Or do you think there should be a better way to test if they are synths- before you torture good people? Or what if- the synth in front of you is supposedly a better ‘human’ than those ‘real’ around it? What makes you qualified to decide the fate of another who believes it is alive?
Whoa, getting a little too deep there with this ending! For the Railroad ending, just like the Minutemen or Brotherhood, you will no longer be able to do missions or interact with allies from other factions. Though unfortunately, if you side with the Railroad, you will have to destroy the Institute and the Brotherhood both.

This ending was a bit more fun compared to endings like the Minutemen and had the most secretive ‘spy’ feel to the endings. Though this is very similar, it seems that just the overall dialogue and credits are primarily the same.

How to get the Railroad ending:

Follow the Trail to the Old North Church.
Join the faction and follow the steps to start missions…
Plant the device and issue the evacuation order (Not Optional. Only Yes)
Once inside, follow the prompts to blow the Institute to space.
Deacon will ask you to tie up any loose ends before you leave, the next bit will be your ending cutscene and the spoils of war.

Mission List:
-Underground Undercover
-Precipice of War
-Rocket’s Red Glare
-The Nuclear Option

3. The Brotherhood Ending

With one of the most action-packed endings you can get, where you can literally unleash a giant robot to fight against your enemies! Several missions beforehand, you will be sent out to destroy the Institute and your old friends at the Railroad. When you decide you will side with the Brotherhood, no synth or synth-sympathizer will be left alive.

After you complete your task of lining all sorts of bombs inside the Institute, Elder Maxon will give you the honor of pushing the red, shiny nuclear button. Unfortunately, you will not have the option to evacuate people/synths like with the Minutemen. While the Railroad, you have to activate the evacuation call; the Brotherhood will not allow it.

While the Minutemen feel like they are the ‘best’ option while fighting on foot for the common good, the Railroad makes you feel like a secret agent breaking into places and saving synths… the Brotherhood wants you to wage war against the Commonwealth to serve future generations. Not that all of these factions have their faults… you’ll have to decide which one you can live with.

How to get the Brotherhood of Steel ending:

The same way you would manage the Minutemen and Railroad endings, except you would go to the Prywden and join the Brotherhood.
Plant the device and issue the evacuation order (Not Optional. Only No.)
Once inside, follow the prompts to blow the Institute to space.
Afterward, you’ll be promoted to the rank of Sentinel, a jetpack for your power armor, and anyone apart of the BoS will have a great deal of respect for you. Even buy you drinks/say something nice to you in Diamond City.

Mission List:
-Shadow of Steel
-Show No Mercy
-From Within
-Outside the Wire / Liberty Reprimed
-Blind Betrayal
-Tactical Thinking
-Spoils of War
-Ad Victoriam
-The Nuclear Option

4. The Institute Ending

You woke up two hundred and some years out of time. Only to find your wife/husband murdered horribly in front of you… and your son stolen from their arms. Now you’ve tracked the killers and kidnappers to their base of operation. Only to find your son after all these years to be leading the group of people you have vowed to take revenge on!

Like all of the other faction endings, you will not be able to interact with quests/allies from other factions. And both the Railroad and Brotherhood of Steel will be eliminated. (And the Minutemen too if you irritate Father enough.) Once both are dead, you will return to the Institute and make a recording for the broadcast to the Commonwealth. You now take over as the Institute’s official leader.

From a roleplay standpoint, this makes the most sense in the idea of a parent that would never give up on finding their child. You went full circle, you avenged your spouse, reclaimed your son if only briefly, and now you are in charge of the future. Did you have to get so bloody along the way? Could you have done anything different? What if you could go back in time and make a few changes to what you did. Or maybe you found out that war never changes?

How to get the Institute ending: