Wasteland wanderers and Vault-Tec visionaries alike, I welcome you to come and take a deeper look into Fallout 4’s Diamond City, the Jewel of the Commonwealth. Shining bright and deep in the rough, Diamond City is the capital city of the Boston area. Etched within the very fabric of this article are some truly unique facts about the gem that only superfans know about. So, I invite you to join me on a trip to Diamond City to unearth some of the craziest facts imaginable!
From the history and lore behind Fallout’s Diamond City, to the real-world counterpart it’s built upon, it’s not just Diamond City we’re visiting. We’ll be looking at the city of Goodneighbor, Diamond’s waste depot for the citizens that don’t fit their theme and a safe haven for crooks, thieves, and Ghouls. There are also some special items that need to be mentioned and where you can find them. Furthermore, we’ve got a book full of dates and key events that you can truly wrap your head around: from the Protectron Takahashi to the gates of Diamond City and how to close them.
Without any doubt, the locations of Diamond City and Goodneighbor are indeed packed to the rafters with a monopoly of facts and figures, but rest assured, these facts are the real gems of the Commonwealth! So, whether you’re new to the franchise, haven’t played Fallout 4 yet, or are looking to refresh your facts, welcome aboard! Be mindful, this list contains tiny spoilers, but nothing major.
25 The Super Mutant Uprising
In 2180, the Minutemen of the Commonwealth helped defend the City from an attacking horde of Super Mutants. According to the game’s loading screen, this is when their fame became paramount. As stated on the loading screen, “the Minutemen first rose to prominence in the year 2180, when they defended Diamond City against a horde of Super Mutant attackers.” Super Mutants are considered one of the greatest threats to life in the Wastelands, and the Minutemen’s efforts must have been valiant to come out on top!
24 Broken Mask Incident
In 2229, the Diamond City citizens saw the Broken Mask Incident occur. This incident first began when a man calling himself Mr. Carter, appeared at the Diamond City gates. At first, the citizens warmed up to him, but eventually, something happened.
Mr. Carter flipped while drinking at a bar and hurt several residents.
It was only after being taken down by security that the residents discovered he was a Synth. It was briefly after this that the Institute’s reputation became the infamous shadow seen within Fallout 4. This fear spread beyond Diamond City and into the entire Commonwealth.
23 Ghouls CAN Enter Diamond City
Despite the order brought in by Mayor McDonough, a select couple of Ghouls can enter Diamond City. For a start, Edward Deegan can actually be found inside the Dugout Inn to initiate the Special Delivery quest. On top of Edward, the player can bring one of the two companions into the city. If either John Hancock or Billy Peabody are brought into Diamond City, they won’t be attacked and are very much allowed inside. This is an interesting detail about Diamond City, considering their strict no-Ghouls-allowed attitude. Psssst, by the way, the password is “Goodneighbor Sucks.”
22 Institute Control
Following the entry “Populating Diamond City With Factions,” we’re now going to look into the Institute’s control over Diamond City. First of all, the Institute’s flag will now be seen flying proud, this raises questions over the people now considering the Institute friendly.
Guards will comment, saying the Synths appeared out of nowhere, but since they aren’t a threat, they let them stay.
Gen 1 Synths will be seen walking around the marketplace. If the player interacts with them, they confirm they’re there to spread the presence of the Institute. Some Synths will be making armor and weapons, whereas others will be browsing stores. Speaking of which, the previously paranoid, Synth-hater, Myrna, will no longer comment on her displeasure and Synths will browse her store.
21 Timeline Errors Of A Parallel Universe
Okay, before we talk about the differences starring the Boston Red Sox between our timeline and Fallout’s, let’s make sure you’re up to speed on the Divergence. Basically, Fallout’s timeline branched off from ours in an alternate universe. The laws of science are different, and that’s why everything looks like a “world of tomorrow” from a 50’s perspective. Anyway, in the Boston City Bugle building, there’s an article stored on the terminal that says the Boston Red Sox were to play Game 7 of the World Series. Unfortunately, it’s dated to the exact day the bombs fell (October 23rd, 2077), although it was optimistic about them breaking a decades worth of losing sprees. There are lots of differences in the Boston Red Sox between our timelines, though. I urge you to check the Diamond City ’s behind the scenes section of the Wiki to learn all about them.
20 Power Noodles
In the year 2272, the Protectron Takahashi took up residence in the Diamond City Marketplace’s old bar. Although the site where Power Noodles was constructed is the same place where the Broken Mask Incident took place, having this Protectron in place helps people feel more at ease. Despite only understanding the word yes, this doesn’t stop every companion you bring to Diamond City trying to interact with him: most notably, Robert Joseph MacCready. This companion will sample noodles and ask for more!
19 McDonough’s Decree
By the year 2282, Diamond City had found itself under the rulership of Mayor McDonough. McDonough’s controversial election campaign revolved around expelling the Ghouls from Diamond City. When McDonough rose to power and the people of Diamond City acted upon his decree, a purge was undertaken to expel the Ghouls forever. The majority of these Ghouls went on to establish the area of Goodneighbor and the citizens of Goodneighbor’s distaste towards Diamond City; its citizens and Mayor McDonough are well understood.
18 Goodneighbor Attitude
The attitude that Diamond City residents have towards the inhabitants of Goodneighbor is pretty one-track minded. They can be heard saying that “they come from well-pressed suits and the Tommy gun school of thuggery.”
“In Goodneighbor, two things count: style and body count.”
The misconception that Diamond City has of ALL Goodneighbor residents is most likely caused by the Triggermen group. However, one thing is clear between Diamond City and Goodneighbor’s main thoughts: they despise the Institute with a ferocious passion!
17 Mary Goodneighbor
Just like Fenway Park, the smaller area of Goodneighbor takes inspiration from reality, too. In our world, Mary Goodneighbor was a burlesque performer who was filmed performing at the Old Howard Theater. Although it has never been confirmed that Mary is the main inspiration behind Goodneighbor’s name, it’s highly likely; especially when we consider that the in-game location of the Memory Den in Goodneighbor is owned by Irma, who is named after and styled exactly like Mary Goodneighbor! Also, Mary’s stage name was Irma the Body.
16 Goodneighbor’s Bugs
As is commonplace with all games of this scale, they’re usually littered with more bugs than the development team can account for, and Goodneighbor is no exception to this rule. On the Xbox One, when aiming at a Triggerman in the warehouse with a full VAT bar, the game may break or glitch unexpectedly. On the PlayStation 4, jumping while entering Goodneighbor will force your character to remain in a suspended jump motion. However, one common glitch among all formats is the issue with Bobbi’s safe, both the safe and the terminal remain inaccessible.
15 Populating Diamond City With Factions
If the player completes the main story of the game’s determined factions, then flags belonging to that faction will be seen flying throughout Diamond City and faction members will walk the streets.
If you destroy the Institute with the Minutemen, then their flags will fly throughout Diamond City and two Minutemen will now be seen walking through the Market: commenting on the goodwill they’re spreading. Likewise, if you destroy the Institute with the Brotherhood of Steel, their flags will now fly and a scribe and knight will be seen in the Marketplace.
14 Festive Cheer
Considering the importance of Diamond City, it’s not hard to believe there are a few easter eggs hidden in the jewel! One such egg is found on the 31st of October and the 25th of December. Yes, you guessed it, Fallout 4’s in-game clock allows for seasonal events! On Christmas, the lights will be replaced by fairy lights and guards will sometimes comment on the season. Just remember that this only happens with the in-game clock, so don’t expect to fire it up on Christmas expecting to see it. For example, only if it’s December 25th in the game will this easter egg activate.
13 Homerun!
Remember how Diamond City was based on Fenway Park? To compliment this factor, there are four baseball bases with numbers on each. Running over each base in chronological order will force the Homerun! trophy/achievement to pop. Bethesda Game Studios really wants players to go for this trophy and have worked hard to make it easy for them to understand. Even if you’re not a baseball fan, guards will prompt the player to try it out, saying it will be “worthwhile.” Furthermore, you will notice how each street is named after corresponding bases. For example, one street is called Home St.
12 Bounty Hunter
There are two Bounty Boards in Diamond City: one next to Swatters, and the other in the Dugout Inn. Despite there being two boards, they both give out the same random quest, asking the player to eliminate a marked Raider, Ghoul, or Super Mutant.
A glitch may prevent future bounties spawning and there’s been no workaround for this, yet.
Although the game delivers no reward (on the surface), apart from keeping the loot you find, the quest will also give a small XP bonus for completion. Once you’ve finished the bounty, you can pick up another right away!
11 Closing The Diamond City Gates
A lesser-known easter egg regarding Diamond City is that the gates to the city can be closed! Once you reach the hidden diner above the junkyard, head west and keep going until you’ve reached the upper part of the gates. At the top, you’ll find the switch on one of the beams holding up the structure — although, it should be mentioned everything is easier to access with the Jetpack mod. Don’t fret about locking yourself out after hitting the switch, once the gates have closed, you can open them again from down below by hitting the interaction button.
10 One-Time Crops
One particularly strange and random factoid you may not have known about is the crops in Diamond City. Once you pick them, they won’t respawn. Knowing this fact before-hand will divide players between those who like immersion, and those who like to collect it all. These crops aren’t really rare though, so collecting them once won’t have such a major impact on gameplay. Do you want the fields to bare something or not? It’s really that simple.
9 Attention To Detail, More Easter Eggs
Aside from the Green Monster being an obvious placement similarity, there are a couple more that deserve to be mentioned. Right off the bat, the Red Seat in the stands, dedicated to Ted Williams’ longest Homerun ever hit in the stadium, can be seen in Diamond City.
The Nuka-Cola billboard in Diamond City is placed almost exactly where it is at Fenway Park. Likewise, the Mass Fusion billboard at the back of The Wall is positioned in the same spot as the Citgo sign. If a Homerun were to happen, the sign is programmed to read C, IT and then GO, or rather, “See It Go.”
8 Diamond City Bugs
Just like the bugs in Goodneighbor, you can bet your life that Diamond City has just as many strange ones. On the Xbox One version, after completing the Unlikely Valentine quest, two Triggermen may spawn in the city, with the player having to deal with them alone. On the PC and PlayStation 4, whenever you put items inside a mailbox and then close the dialogue box, these items now appear as owned and you have to steal them back. Finally, on Xbox One and PC, occasionally, whenever a player tries activating the elevator’s second button half way down or up the elevator’s track, the guardrail will open and you can even run out onto it.
7 Pied Piper Of Goodneighbor
Having looked at how bringing Ghouls into Diamond City is actually allowed, we can now have a quirky companion treat in the neighboring Goodneighbor. If the player brings Piper Wright to the Goodneighbor area, the Neighborhood Watch will comment and say “she’s the dame that writes Publick Occurrences, right? Good Stuff. I always did appreciate good investigative journalism.” If you’re after another good companion to bring to Goodneighbor, consider Deacon, he’ll dress like the mobsters in town.
6 Hidden Deacon
If players take it upon themselves to venture to Goodneighbor before they join the Railroad, they can see Deacon as a drifter roaming around Kill or be Killed.
He can also be found in the Memory Den and he will partake in Hancock’s speech.
This is humorous because we see Deacon in all sorts of places and in all sorts of disguises throughout any play-through. Other notable appearances include Deacon as a Caravan Worker at Bunker Hill, and dressed as a member of security during the confrontation between Piper and Mayor McDonough.
