Who wins an Enclave vs Institute 'tech off'?

[JackTrenton]

What side has superior technology?

 

Advanced power armor vs coursers and synths

 

Plasma weaponry vs Institute rifles/pistols

 

Orbital nuclear satellite vs molecular relay

 

[Ethreon]

There is no enclave anymore. There you go.

[JackTrenton]

Technically there's no Institute either :P

 

I meant with both factions in their prime.

[RattleAndGrind]

The Institute has:

• Synths. Lots of synths. But most are not combat models, and; except for the Coursers; are unprepared and untrained for a fight. I also seem to remember that all synths have electronic components which would be susceptible to EMP discharges. That means an untrained trooper could simply carry a EMP discharge device and stroll almost unmolested into the heart of the Institute.
• Laser Weapons (albeit blue lasers). These weapons are pretty much ineffective against advanced Power Armor. I know, I attacked in X-01 Power Armor and my armor took very little damage, and I took none.
• A teleporter. One. Destroy it and Institute reinforcements are not coming quickly. There is also no quick evacuation once this device is disabled.

The Institute does not Have:

• Military training. In a firefight, the Institute defenders would be hard pressed to mount a cohesive defense. Pockets of resistance would be swept up by trained troopers.
• Detailed Intelligence. The Institute has no advanced knowledge for the Enclaves weapons and tactics.

The Enclave has:

• Advanced military training. The Enclave has seasoned and bloodied troops. These troopers have trained and work as a cohesive unit. They will not be distracted by the fog of war.
• Laser and Plasma weapons. Like the Institutes lasers, these weapons are pretty ineffective against heavily armored targets. But the Institute Synths are not heavily armored. So these weapons should be effective.
• Power Armor. As has been demonstrated before, Power Armor is susceptible to EMP. So if the Enclave comes in wearing Power Armor, they cannot use their most advantageous weapon, an EMP pulse device. Unless they send in troops with EMP pulse devices first to disable the bulk of the synths and then send in the Power Armor troops to deal with the institute synths in detail.

What the Enclave does not have:

• Advanced intelligence of the Institute interior. The Enclave has no understanding of the interior paths and structures within the Institute. Because of the design of the interior, advancing troops could get disoriented and lost.
• Advanced intelligence of Institute military capability. Up until the actual encounter, the Enclave is working from the seat of their trousers. They have virtually no knowledge of the quantity or type of training the inhabitants of the Institute may have.

With advanced intelligence, the Enclave has a definite advantage. But they do not have that intelligence. And a lack of intelligence breeds doubt. Doubt breeds fear. Fear causes even the best trained troops to hesitate.

 

Since the Enclave does not have the requisite intelligence, its a toss-up. Got a coin.

[JackTrenton]

All of that is true. But don't forget about the synth replacement/infiltration factor. All they have to do is swap a few Enclave commanders with gen 3s and they've got the Enclave by the balls.

 

Edit- Also you give the Enclave the initiative in launching an attack on the Institute,but I think it would more likely be the other way around with the Institute attacking the Enclave. The Enclave would be much easier to find than the Institute. It's 210 years after the bombs and no one knows where the Institute is, while the BOS was able to locate Enclave strong holds quite easily in Fallout 3.

 

So in the scenario with the Institute attacking the Enclave, I think you have to give the Institute a definite advantage. Their synths can appear anywhere at any time with the relay, which should help them catch the Enclave by surprise and get to their flanks or surround them. Then there is also the fact that the synths are machines. They are disposable assets which are mass produced, whereas every Enclave casualty is a non-replaceable person. The Institute would eventually overwhelm the Enclave with sheer numbers.

Edited June 29, 2016 by JackTrenton

[RattleAndGrind]

So @JackTrenton, you did not want other ideas; just validation of yours. Sorry I wasted my time formulating a thoughtful response and wasting your time as you read it.

Edited June 30, 2016 by RattleAndGrind

[Bhanqwa]

So @JackTrenton, you did not want other ideas; just validation of yours. Sorry I wasted my time formulating a thoughtful response and wasting your time as you read it.

Seems like he asked the question while having an idea of his own, and tried to get an argument going. The argument has been going and I for one enjoyed reading it (hooray for your signature!), I don't consider it a waste just because he ultimately hasn't agreed with you.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Bhanqwa

[solartris]

Based purely on technology I would say the Institute has the Enclave beat.

 

Synthetic beings who are indistinguishable from normal humans pretty much takes the cake. Also, the molecular relay.

 

The Enclave has advanced power armor and energy weapons, but these things have been around since pre-war.

[ElectricBrony1]

I'm not sure that everyone else is gonna agree with this but the Institute clearly has the upper hand. Firstly they have machines which can replace any human being, also, last I checked since they both run on energy if someone in the Enclave set off a EMP in the middle of the battle then it would disable both the synths and the power armor, so if they disabled they're power armor then the Institute can just send in more synths.

[JackTrenton]

I was just giving the counter-argument. Don't get miffed when people disagree with you. It happens.

 

Obviously a lot of the outcome rides on who has the initiative. If its the Enclave attacking the Institute then I think your points are right on. But like I said, I think it would be the other way around. No one has discovered the Institute's location since the great war.

Edited July 1, 2016 by JackTrenton