Fallout 4 is a quality video game. Although initially released all the way back in November of 2015, it is still quite popular. The variety of activities, the branching story, and the replayability in general are exceptional. With all the DLC and a healthy multi console modding community, Bethesda Softworks built the game to last. This comes as no surprise since many fans of the Fallout franchise still play last generation games Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. This, again, is due to the lively modding community for Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout 4. With console compatibility added with the latest game, players are still finding new ways to experience the world of Fallout. That being said, there are many things people get wrong about Fallout 4.
Like most cultural phenomena, Fallout 4 has its own “Han Shot First” equivalents. This is quite understandable, as Fallout lore (purposefully?) leaves a lot of mystery surrounding its history. For instance, we still aren’t sure who fired the first nuke in the Great War and the number of Pre-War vaults still isn’t concretely known. Then there are the misconceptions. A common misconception among many is that the franchise takes place in our future. Most players soon figure out that it’s actually in an alternate timeline. That is just one example of things everyone gets wrong about Fallout. Adding to that theme, here is a list (in no particular order) of 19 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Fallout 4.
20 The X-01 Power Armor Wasn’t Completed Until After The War
The X-01 Power Armor is the most advanced variant of Power Armor in Fallout 4. It has increased protection, a cooler/sleeker look, and is almost impossible to find as a full set in game. The difference between the earlier models and the X-01 is simple: this was a prototype suit. When the bombs fell, it was still in development. It isn’t known which remnant of the US military ultimately constructed the majority of the X-01 suits (although the next entry tells of one such company who made at least one), but what is known is that any person wielding the armor has a significant advantage against soldiers equipped with Pre-War Power Armor.
And it’s of course not surprising that post war factions would keep improving Power Armor. It was, after all, one of the main reasons why the United States was almost successful in capturing Mainland China before the nuclear holocaust. For those players of Fallout 3’s DLC add-on Operation: Anchorage, this is evident. The Chinese stealth suited assassins couldn’t utilize their invisibility to crack the US Army’s power armored soldiers’ suits. Once these mobile tanks were introduced to the battlegrounds of Alaska the PLA had no chance of keeping the largest American state.
19 The Nuka-Cola Corporation Was A US Military Contractor
That’s right, everyone’s favorite soft drink company was secretly part of the military industrial complex! Seemingly not content with monopolizing the beverage industry, Nuka-Cola Corporation teamed up with the US Military to aid in developing what would become the X-01 Power Armor. Although used mainly by the Enclave and Brotherhood of Steel after the Great War, it seems that pre-War executives at Nuka-Cola wanted a shiny turquoise war machine of their very own. The result was the Quantum X-01 Power Armor. Instead of being found in the ruins of an army base or an underground safehouse, the armor can be obtained in a theme park.
Yes, that’s right. Nuka-World’s coolest attraction isn’t a ride, it’s a mobile war machine!
The opening line to most Fallout games seems to get it wrong. After all, war does change. If nothing else, having a soft drink company providing R&D for the military indicates a strange development. Next thing you know there’ll be a Sunset Sarsparilla Mr. Gutsy model! How ridiculous!
18 The Fat Man Launcher Isn’t The Best Weapon In Fallout 4
OK, hear me out on this one. I freely acknowledge the Fat Man launcher is one awesome weapon. I mean, what’s not to love above blowing up your enemies with a miniature sun? That said, mini-nukes are relatively rare as an ammunition type. So what’s the point of blowing up enemies with thermonuclear explosives if you can only use the weapon around a dozen times? That’s why I’d argue that the Gatling Laser is the best weapon in the game. Even though fusion cores are expensive, they are super common. Especially useful in the later game, the ammo can also be shared with one’s power armor which is another plus in the Gatling Laser’s favor. Plus it is under the Energy Weapons category, which means any buffs to the energy weapons skill include the Gatling Laser. Not to mention the fact that it’s easier to aim, has way more modification options at weapons workbenches, and leaves enemies vaporized ash piles.
The Fat Man launcher arguably isn’t even the best explosive weapon type. I’d say the Missile Launcher, while weaker, is superior. It can be modded to include target tracking features, is more common, and its ammo is relatively cheap. While not quite as fun as the Fat Man, the missile launcher packs a hefty punch and the ammo is cheap and plentiful enough that you can blow up everyone your heart desires!
17 The Brotherhood Of Steel Is A Direct Successor To The US Military
Ever wonder how the BoS seem to field so many badass armored troops? How exactly have they mastered the lost art of the gatling laser? From whence did the resources to build the Prydwen come? The answer to all of those is simple: the US military is very good at what it does! Even its remnants, such as the Brotherhood of Steel. Thanks to Roger Maxson, a former US Army Captain, the art of Power Armor combat wasn’t lost. In 2077, he was second in command of a military unit stationed at the Mariposa Military Base near Mariposa, California. He and his troops discovered the FEV testing facility there. They also found the atrocities committed there. After finding out what happened, he attempted to desert the Army, but upon transmitting this via radio, he didn’t get a response. Maxson then found out about the Great War. Immediately afterward Maxson rounded up all the people in nearby Mariposa and took over the Mariposa Base.
Through Maxson’s leadership, this community became the Brotherhood of Steel. Due to the many soldiers and scientists which founded the BoS, a tradition of both preserving technology and utilizing it to defend against the scourges of the Wasteland was developed. So by Fallout 4 the Brotherhood has kept alive many of the pre-war US military and scientific traditions. So if you’re feeling nostalgic, join up with the Brotherhood of Steel and serve Uncle Sam! Or whatever the 2287 equivalent is!
16 The Sole Survivor Might Be A Synth
Conspiracy theories are fun to think about, as long as you don’t take them too seriously. Paranoia can be healthy, especially while living in a surveillance state. But the difference between Watergate and Pizzagate is an important and substantial one. So don’t get too carried away with the NASA faked the moon landings nonsense. That all being said, here’s a conspiracy theory that is harmless but interesting: what if Fallout 4’s player character is actually a Synth? It’s not exactly a secret among Fallout gamers that there are many Synths who believe they are human. Plus, how plausible is it that the Institute would take Shaun and make a Synth version of him, without his mother or father Synth to take care of him?
What better way to infiltrate the Railroad, Brotherhood of Steel, and the Minutemen at the same time than to have the Sole Survivor as a synth agent?
The Far Harbor DLC is what really gives this theory some credibility. DiMA poses some legitimate questions, such as what your first memory is (as a player it’s right before the Bombs drop, nothing before that). He queries as to whether the Sole Survivor recalls their childhood friends, the first kiss with their spouse, etc. Sure, this can easily be explained away as Bethesda screwing with the player. But what if DiMA has a point, and the Sole Survivor really is a Synth? Eery!
15 The Map Is Not To Scale
Fallout 4’s world is a big place. Like, really big! It covers a whole swath of territory, and not just Boston! It has suburbs like the fictional Sanctuary Hills, and even the irradiated leftovers of the bombs that fell near Boston in 2077. However, the map isn’t as large as the real Boston, not even including its suburbs. Just like Fallout 3 before it, Bethesda chose to cherrypick the parts of Boston and its surroundings they wanted in the game, and those they wanted to ditch. After all, recreating a whole city plus suburbs is a huge responsibility. The map is large enough as it is without adding in a crap ton of possibly irrelevant sections of town.
The article linked above mentions several things that Bethesda changed from real life Boston. Bethesda downscaled almost everything. For instance, Faneuil Hall is much larger in real life. It isn’t just a single building, but a whole section of town The Boston Common is also drastically curtailed. Plus whole sections of town are missing. Granted, it’s not likely the Financial District could bring much to a Fallout game, but it’s missing nonetheless. So even though many parts of the Greater Boston Area are represented more or less accurately, much artistic license was taken when constructing the world of Fallout 4. Which isn’t a bad thing.
14 Radaway Shouldn’t Work
Even though our world does have a Rad-X called Ex-Rad (no joke), we don’t have a Radaway. The aforementioned Ex-Rad does increase survivability for those exposed to lethal amounts of radiation. However it doesn’t negate the affects of radiation entirely. So unlike Radaway, Ex-Rad wouldn’t restore your HP. It would just give you a Rad-X like bonus and possibly give you 1 HP instead of 0 HP is hit by a radiation based weapon. Granted, radiation doesn’t end you outright. While a great game mechanic, the rads exposure wouldn’t necessarily work by decreasing your overall health. It would debilitate you, make you sick, cause cancer, and in many cases make you perish. The victims of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are accurate but horrific tales of what radiation exposure can do to human beings.
Unfortunately, radaway is not an option. So unlike in Fallout, us humans most likely would not survive a nuclear holocaust. Plus we don’t have vaults. Yes, Vault-Tec was extremely unethical in its treatment of vault dwellers. Its screwed up and nonconsensual experiments led to whole vaults dying off. However, the Vault-Tec corporation did allow their residents to survive. Well, most of them. But all these probably wouldn’t be possible without Radaway. So, in conclusion, the real world sucks just as much as the Fallout world.
13 Nuclear Fallout Doesn’t Last 200 Years
Yes, as depicted in some links provided above, nuclear winter would cause massive climactic shifts. Mass species extinction (again quite possibly including humans) would occur. Whole forests would burn from the nuclear fire or die off due to lack of UV rays. But the nuclear fallout would have decayed after over 200 years since the nuclear apocalypse. After just 30 years, Chernobyl’s wildlife is thriving. So even the site and surroundings of a nuclear meltdown are being reclaimed. If it takes decades, not centuries, for fallout to decay to non lethal levels, then how could any harmful fallout survive in 2287? The answer: it couldn’t.
Remember those radaways that shouldn’t work? Well maybe they wouldn’t be necessary for the Sole Survivor. Granted, the landscape still might be as devastated as shown in the above photo. But that isn’t due to nuclear fallout making plant growth impossible. That would be due to nuclear winter, mass species extinction, etc. But, like many things in Fallout, science just detracts from the fun of the games. So reinforce your suspension of disbelief when seeing that Geiger Counter tick. After all, the world of Fallout would be much less fun without fictional nuclear freaks such as radscorpions and radroaches. Not to mention Super Mutants! Speaking of which…
12 Super Mutants Weren’t The Result Of Nuclear Fallout
You read that correctly. Despite their green appearance and giant size, Super Mutants weren’t the result of genetic mutations caused by nuclear fallout. In both real life and Fallout lore, super mutation cannot be caused by gamma rays. So not even in Fallout 4 could the Hulk happen. Instead, a pre-War creation caused the birth and spread of the super mutation. This agent, called the Forced Evolutionary Virus (or FEV) was made to counteract hypothetical Chinese biological weapons. The American military contracted out antiviral and other biological immunizations to the private sector. West Tek started this endeavor as the Pan-Immunity Virion Project. However the results were not as expected. Instead of insulating the subjects from viral agents, they were turned into the prototypical form of Super Mutants. When the US military learned of this, they supercharged the project and renamed it the FEV.
The gruesome work continued until just before the Great War, when Roger Maxson was spurred to resign from the US Army and eventually form the Brotherhood of Steel after learning about the atrocities committed in the name of the FEV. After the Great War, the based was abandoned by the nascent BoS and fell silent for a time. Around 2102, an expedition from New California went to the base to investigate the source of mutated wildlife. Members of the expedition were then exposed to the FEV, creating the first Super Mutants. At the same time, on the East Coast, the Institute created its own Super Mutants using the FEV. Thus, the green menace was born!
11 Most Power Plants Wouldn’t Work In 2287
Sure, it technically is possible with the generators in the settlement creator. Even if there wasn’t a shortage of petroleum pre-War, power plants wouldn’t be working after 200 years unattended. Regardless of fuel, large power plants would stop working without human maintenance and monitoring well before 2287. According to this article, without human intervention, most power plants would go inoperative after around a day. Even with hydroelectric dams, whose fuel is theoretically inexhaustible, humans are needed to maintain the plants.
Unless there were armies of intact and sane Mr Handys operating the power plants, they would fail due to lack of maintenance and monitoring.
So the issue of fuel really isn’t the issue as much as facility upkeep is. Electrical generation is a very complex process even in small cases. Moreover, supplying power to one of the Northeast’s largest cities requires a ton of maintenance and constant vigilance. Massive blackouts have occurred as recently as 2003 in the US. So even with constant monitoring, power outages are still easily possible. So again, unless the processes were automated, the only electrical power in the Wasteland would be provided by post-War means, not stations that remained functional unattended.
10 The Brotherhood Of Steel Has Factions
Despite what they’d like everyone to believe, even the powerful Brotherhood of Steel has internal divisions. Primarily due to the decentralized nature of the organization, the different branches of the BoS have developed distinct identities and philosophies. For instance, the Capital Brotherhood seems to be more flexible in its ideology and ways. They are much more willing to let non members join in their activities and don’t seem very hesitant in allowing the Lone Wanderer to join their ranks. Plus they just seem really friendly.
What’s not to like about an organization that’s willing to out its existence on the line to provide free clean water?
Contrast that to the much more insular organization that is the Mojave Brotherhood. Not only do they actively hide themselves away from the rest of society, but they are hostile to outsiders. It takes the player character in Fallout: New Vegas a ton of missions in order to even gain a fractional trust from the organization.
The Commonwealth branch is a bit more inclusive in its ranks, but is dogmatic in their beliefs. In order to keep the Brotherhood of Steel from unleashing its wrath on the Railroad and/or Minutemen, you need to take a very complicated route of quest completion. Even if their goals are praiseworthy, the Commonwealth BoS’s complete intolerance of synths makes them a somewhat problematic organization. So even though the organization as a whole has many aspects that are altruistic and good, the different factions have different and sometimes problematic ideas of how to implement their goals.
9 Many Hairstyles Are Unrealistic
no matter how cool that beehive looks, how could you possibly maintain it in the Wasteland? Unless you found an intact and full hairspray factory, this elaborate coiffure is impractical in the extreme. The chances of the volume persisting while you run across the swamps of Far Harbor while fighting mire lurks seem pretty slim. The reason why most militaries require strict regulations as to hair is due to the practicality of maintaining it in combat. So even though long hair isn’t forbidden per se, many servicemen and servicewomen choose to cut their hair short. It’s easy, practical, and doesn’t give an extra handhold to crazed ghouls.
Who knows, by 2287 hairstylists might have found a way to maintain hairstyles indefinitely.
If 2077 science could perfect sentient robots and nuclear fusion, who’s to say they couldn’t create indefinitely lasting hairspray? It would make a bit of sense. Since fashion trends hadn’t changed much for over 100 years in the Fallout timeline, people in the workplace would need more hi tech easy to maintain their appearance. After all, with the inevitable opening of typically male professions to women in both timelines, more physical labor intensive jobs were opened up to women. However, due to the inexplicable unchanging fashion. bouffants on construction sites might not have been uncommon in pre-War America. So maybe robot barbers used some sort of new chemical in setting hair? That’s certainly one solution. However, I have another theory.
8 The Sole Survivor Loves Wigs
Apparently Cardi B isn’t the only one who can rock a beehive wig like a champ! The Sole Survivor, although obviously not confirmed, must use wigs for their constant hairstyle changes. From short cuts, to long locks, the player character of both genders must utilize wigs quite extensively. That would certainly explain the last entry. Instead of hairspray, a fiber such as ballistic weave might be able to utilized in creating indestructible wigs. Well, at least wigs that hold their style even after power armor usage and extensive combat. Wigs are canon after all. So how much of a stretch is it to say that, due to practicalities of unchanging fashion but changing job openings, sturdier wigs were invented.
Who has time to style their hair when deathclaws could attack at any moment?
So it’s a distinct possibility that having a meticulously styled mane while exploring the wasteland is possible. That would also explain why every hairstyle looks exactly the same, even when changing up one’s locks in the barber. What if in fact there is no barber, but a wig selector instead? As fan theories go, I doubt it’s the most outlandish. I personally think it’s a fun one.
7 The Institute Practices Slavery
I feel like this is hardly a controversial statement, but nonetheless one that few people consciously realize. Sure, the Railroad is named after the famous Underground Railroad that smuggled escaped southern slaves to the north and ultimately Canada. However, the dialogue with the Railroad’s membership really only seems to hint at the synths being slaves. They are treated more as victims of circumstance and abuse than literal commodities to be traded. Synths are arguably the ultimate slaves. They aren’t bred, they are made.
Sentient beings being held captive and forced into labor without their consent is typically considered slavery. It’s clear that all Mark 3 synths are sentient and sapient, if not earlier models. The Synths are manufactured by the Institute and are never given a choice as to what they do. They aren’t compensated for their work and can’t quit. Sounds a lot like slavery to me. The fact that the synths don’t rebel is a testament to the effectiveness of the mental manipulation of the Institute’s scientists. Convincing a sentient being that involuntary servitude is natural and good is an impressive feat.
No matter their political ideology, most people naturally value the general freedom to choose their fate. Synths are clearly people. Which makes the Institute even more deplorable yet also powerful. They willingly practice slavery, and are so effective at it because their mental programming is incredibly advanced.
6 Fallout 4 Is A Lot Like The US Civil War
Another fact that is somewhat obvious, but often times goes unacknowledged. Sure, it’s fairly obvious that many aspects of Fallout 4 are inspired by the American Revolution. Heck, the Minutemen consciously embrace their imagery as a later day Sons of Liberty. But Fallout 4 doesn’t just draw parallels from early American history. Many aspects of the game echo another cataclysmic war that forever changed the course of US history. That of course would be the Civil War. There are obvious parallels, such as the central conflict of the game being about slavery. Despite the fact that many Confederate apologists claim the Civil War wasn’t about slavery, the founders of the CSA clearly disagreed. So with that out of the way, we can explore further parallels.
A lesser known fact is that even though the Union and Confederacy had standing armies, they were tiny. Therefore, most of the forces employed by the both sides were made up of state militias. This is no surprise, as the Founders of the US were famously wary of standing armies. So, the Minutemen of Fallout 4 are a clear parallel to the militia of the Civil War. The Railroad of course are an obvious parallel to the Underground Railroad, so not much needs to be said on that subject. The Brotherhood of Steel can also be seen as parallel to the Union’s clear technological advantage over the Confederacy. Also, although most Northerners in the 1860s were anti-slavery, many were still racists by today’s standards. So that’s another parallel the Brotherhood of Steel has to the North since they are also so anti-Synth.
5 The Children Of Atom Should All Be Gone
Although the nuclear fallout wouldn’t even persist as explained above, this entry still makes sense within the world of Fallout. Assuming all the radioactivity persisted in the Wasteland, those who purposefully subjected themselves to its harmful presence would die. Almost everyone today knows that exposure to high levels of nuclear radiation and/or fallout is fatal. It causes mutation, disease, and cancer among many other maladies. So the fact that the Children of Atom aren’t all dying of radiation poisoning, cancer, etc. is frankly a miracle. They should all have died out years ago from radiation exposure. Their hair falling out would be the least of their problems.
Assuming the Glowing Sea or similar areas do in fact last for over 2 centuries, then their radiation would affect humans normally. That being pain, deterioration, and perishing. Sorry, fans of the One True Atom, your religion is even more fatal than the cultists of Jonestown. In some ways, Jim Jones was kinder than the leaders of the Church of Atom. At least he ended his followers quickly and relatively painlessly. Personally, I’d prefer ending by Kool-Aid to ending by radiation poisoning.
4 Mini Nukes Are Possible In Our World
For our final entry, we have quite a tasty truth here. While the fascination with nuclear power and weapons might have faded in our world, it was still quite present. Like in the world of Fallout, the military applications of tactical nuclear weapons was readily apparent. The ability to take out buildings, instead of cities, was naturally appealing to the US military. Before the invention and proliferation of missiles, tactical nuclear munitions were thought to be the next big thing in military weapons technology. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the M-28/29 “Davy Crockett” was successfully tested. Although not a handheld weapon at the time, it’s easy to see how another century of development could create a smaller version of the Crockett.
Nuclear rocket launchers could easily be a reality if the US Military put in the effort.
Even though the idea of a nuclear rocket launcher is awesome, it isn’t the most effective weapon. Both in game and in real life, there are better conventions weapons that do the tactical nuke’s job just as well. Surgical strikes of medium explosive power were created with our rapid advancement in rocket and missile technology. Plus there is the MOAB. With that weapon and other similar ordinance, the same explosive power as a mini-nuke can be deployed without any nuclear fallout or the EMP generated with nuclear explosions. So ultimately, no matter how cool nuclear rocket launchers are, they are impractical and aren’t needed.
3 Fallout Tech Isn’t More Advanced Than Ours
Yes, that entry header isn’t entirely accurate. Our Earth in the year 2018 doesn’t have fusion power. Sentient robots aren’t clipping hedges and serving us ice cold Nuka-Colas along with our tv dinners. However that’s not simply due to an additional half century plus of technological development. The gap in tech level is due to the timeline divergence.
The point of departure is sometime after between 1945 and 1947. 1947 was the year in our universe the transistor was invented. This seminal piece of technology has allowed all of our modern computer software technology.
In the Fallout universe, scientists devoted more time to the development nuclear and robot technology.
So although the transistor was eventually invented, it was developed much later than in our timeline. That’s why there are no smartphones in Fallout. Since the transistor didn’t have more than 70 years to develop, the world of Fallout 4 has computers at around 1970s or 1980s level sophistication.
Although nuclear powered robots and power armor were relatively common in 2077, smartphones and other complex portable computers were nonexistent. The US Military had access to orbital weapons platforms, but couldn’t control them with anything more sophisticated than laser rangefinders. So even though the world had another half century plus of technological development, there is a strong argument that the militaries of the Fallout Universe would actually lose a war against their real-world counterparts.
2 The USSR Still Existed In 2077
Due to the timeline divergence, the Soviet Union did not fall in 1991. Well, in the Fallout universe that is. There are many theories as to why this is so. One is that when the Sino-Soviet Split occurred in the Fallout timeline, the US softened its stance towards the Soviets. In our timeline, the US remained hostile with both China and the USSR until Richard Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972. Then things got better between China and the West. Something else occurred in the Fallout universe.
When the monolithic Communist Bloc broke up in the 60s, the US adopted a less adversarial stance towards the USSR. This had precedent, as the two powers were allies during World War 2 and at least cordial towards each other in the 1930s. As a result, the Richard Nixon of the Fallout timeline never went to China since the US never let up its complete hostility towards Mao and his successors.
Without the strain on its economy due to the arms race with the West, the odds of the USSR surviving increased.
Other things, such as a theoretical earlier implementation of policies like Glasnost and Perestroika, the West would come to see the Soviets in a more positive light. A freer Soviet Union also would breed much less unrest. Additionally, with less pressure from the West Glasnost like policies in the Fallout world might have worked in keeping the USSR alive until the bombs fell in 2077.
