Trying to keep all Danse, Deacon, and X6 without any mod changing them

[el2mador]

This is my fourth playthrough of the game and I've honestly forgotten how that was possible.

 

I remember my first playthrough, I focused on the Minutemen and got X6 killed.

On my second playthrough, I was Institute, which sorta meant everyone died.

On my third playthrough, I know that Danse simply ended up as a settler.

 

Now on my fourth playthrough, I'd like a good walkthrough on being able to keep all three, and I'm trying to remember the most important decisions:

 

----------------

 

Important:

 

(1) Keeping X6-88:

 

Do NOT get banished with the Institute on your first visit as that will make X6 hostile (since you've yet to recruit him). Later on, once you have X6, just keep him in a settlement if you're out there doing quests that tell you to kill Synths. You can even destroy the Institute while X6 is just chilling in your settlement and he'll remain a companion.

 

(2) Keeping Danse:

 

Complete Blind Betrayal and spare him, but do NOT ever speak to Kells to avoid any progress with the quest Tactical Thinking (makes Railroad immediately hostile).

 

(3) Keeping Deacon:

 

Pretty much just avoid anything that makes you hostile to the Railroad.

 

----------------

 

 

Please note:

 

Right now I'm level 75 and about to do Dangerous Minds (lol yeah, I was exploring and grabbing custom companions, and doing custom quests in the mean time).

 

These are the active quests I have for the major factions:

 

- Minutemen = Old Guns; I have yet to speak to Ronnie Shaw to get the artillery up and running

- BOS = Shadow of Steel; note that I already convinced Brandis to rejoin the BOS

- Railroad = Tradecraft; I have yet to speak to Deacon to start his dialogue

- Institute = Dangerous Minds (main quest), I guess

 

---------------------

 

 

So with all this in mind - does anyone have a detailed list of the quest steps that you need to do in order to keep ALL THREE of them alive and as companions, while still being able to finish the game's main quest?

 

Right now I'm avoiding going forward with any of those quests until I have a 100% guaranteed way to keep all three alive in the end. I've never had a playthrough where all three of them were alive in the ending so, yeah, time to get that done this time around.

 

Thanks.

Edited February 12, 2018 by el2mador

[StarMystyk]

In my Railroad/Institue playthrough I kept X6 and Deacon after siding with the Institute, but that involved a console command to sidestep a quest.

 

If you want to do it without console commands then I don't see how it'd work. One or two of them *will* be hostile to you if you go near them later.

 

If you've done it before, though, then maybe it's possible. I haven't heard of it.

[el2mador]

This is my fourth playthrough of the game and I've honestly forgotten how that was possible.

 

I remember my first playthrough, I focused on the Minutemen and got X6 killed.

On my second playthrough, I was Institute, which sorta meant everyone died.

On my third playthrough, I know that Danse simply ended up as a settler.

 

Now on my fourth playthrough, I'd like a good walkthrough on being able to keep all three, and I'm trying to remember the most important decisions:

 

----------------

 

Important:

 

(1) Keeping X6-88:

 

Do NOT get banished with the Institute on your first visit as that will make X6 hostile (since you've yet to recruit him). Later on, once you have X6, just keep him in a settlement if you're out there doing quests that tell you to kill Synths. You can even destroy the Institute while X6 is just chilling in your settlement and he'll remain a companion.

 

(2) Keeping Danse:

 

Complete Blind Betrayal and spare him, but do NOT ever speak to Kells to avoid any progress with the quest Tactical Thinking (makes Railroad immediately hostile).

 

(3) Keeping Deacon:

 

Pretty much just avoid anything that makes you hostile to the Railroad.

 

----------------

 

 

Please note:

 

Right now I'm level 75 and about to do Dangerous Minds (lol yeah, I was exploring and grabbing custom companions, and doing custom quests in the mean time).

 

These are the active quests I have for the major factions:

 

- Minutemen = Old Guns; I have yet to speak to Ronnie Shaw to get the artillery up and running

- BOS = Shadow of Steel; note that I already convinced Brandis to rejoin the BOS

- Railroad = Tradecraft; I have yet to speak to Deacon to start his dialogue

- Institute = Dangerous Minds (main quest), I guess

 

---------------------

 

 

So with all this in mind - does anyone have a detailed list of the quest steps that you need to do in order to keep ALL THREE of them alive and as companions, while still being able to finish the game's main quest?

 

Right now I'm avoiding going forward with any of those quests until I have a 100% guaranteed way to keep all three alive in the end. I've never had a playthrough where all three of them were alive in the ending so, yeah, time to get that done this time around.

 

Thanks.

 

 

I would be against using mods for this particular instance, since there's a possibility that it may change their script or conflict with others that also change scripts.

 

Using the console is fine if at the very least if it would close out a quest/dialogue and thus all related scripts to it from firing = less conflicts.

[krwada]

OK ... I will chime in here. It appears as if you, (the OP), got yourself into the same mode of thinking as me.

 

I am currently on my 4th play-through.

 

The play-through are as follows:

1. Almost immediately took down the institute, and remained friends with BOS and Railroad. I used very few MODS. Other than stuff like CBBE, I wanted to experience a "vanilla" playthrough.

 

2. On 2nd play-through, I decided to go a bit further before taking down the Institute ... still remained friends with BOS and Railroad. I used way more MODS this time around. This play-through was a much better experience mostly because of the MODS.

 

As I wandered post-Institute ... I looked at that huge crater which was the Institute ... and got depressed. So ... I decided why not change the game using MODS and play the thing how I want to?

so ...

3. Third play-through, I remained friends with everyone. I tried to figure out how far into each faction plot-arc I can go to remain friends. I discovered the following:

3A. Complete Institute arc through "Mankind Redefined". DO NOT START "Mass Fusion"

3B. Complete BOS "Blind Betrayal". Save Danse and park him by making him a provisioner between Spectacle Island and Castle. DO NOT START "Tactical Thinking"

3C. Complete Railroad main arc. DO NOT COMPLETE "Underground Undercover"

4. Start Nuka World, and get Porter Gauge affinity buff. Then take down all the Raiders in "Open Season"

5. Start the Far Harbor thing, and do the Dima thing, and remain friends with all three Far Harbor factions.

6. Download and install the FallComplete MOD, and find every single place, every bobblehead, magazine and build every settlement including Vault 88

7. Download and install War of the CommonWealth. Turn this MOD preset to "Weekend Warrior" ... anything higher causes too many CTD's

8. Download and install Bountiful Boards. This extends the usefulness of the Diamond City bounty board.

 

Then ... my PC broke. It turns out that the HDD controller on my mother board took a dive. So, this gave me an excuse to purchase a new rig. This time, I ordered up the latest Coffee-Lake processor with 16 GB ram and 1 TB SSD and a bunch of other stuff. I did keep my GTX970 NVIDIA graphics card and the 750 watt power supply.

 

So ... now, I am on my 4th play-through. I am now playing this much the same as my 3rd. Of course it is running much better now that I am not using the 1st generation Broadwell that I had on my vintage old PC.

 

A few more MODS ... and You know what? Fallout 4 is a much nicer experience without having to follow the main arc.

 

Here are the MODS ... primarily meant for open-ended non-linear play:

 

Fall Complete. Go to all marked places, get all holotapes, bobbleheads magazines.

War of the CommonWealth. Turn this MOD preset to "Weekend Warrior"

Bountiful Boards. This extends the usefulness of the Diamond City bounty board.

NPC Level Scaling. This scales ALL NPC's with you. This really extends the game play well beyond 100+

NPC Travel. Adds lots more NPC patrols and interactions. Plus these NPC's respawn!

More Attackers Get Off My Build Zone. Places raid spawns outside of settlements and really increases them a lot.

Uncapped Settlement Surplus. Needed to enable the Attack Reducer. This is a must have if you have the More Attackers MOD

Tier 4 Vendors Protected. All your Tier 4 vendors will die if you are at higher levels.

Firelance. Brings back the Firelance from FO3. Why? You will need an OP gun when you are at 100+. I only bring this out in emergency.

Special Ammo. I use this to make a minigun which use Hollowpoiints. I give this to the settlers. I call this the Shred-o-matic

In short ... do not finish the main quest. There really is no need to. FO4 plays much better as a heavily modded, non-linear play. Also ... there are tons of Easter eggs and unmarked locations. Bethesda, (just like in Elder Scrolls) ... has lots of things to do.

Plus .. there are the radiant quests, and i if you want more content, there are zombie raider mods, (much like Call Of Duty Nazi Zombies), and other MODS which really extend the FO4 universe.

Plus ... Since I am friends with all four major factions ... (Minute men, BOS, Railroad, Institute) ... With WOTC turned on, I have just crouched back and watched epic firefights and tons of fireworks when the BOS, Railroad and Institute duke it out... I have seen this plus raiders, gunners, deathclaws, mole rats and The Forged ... Talk about total fireworks and mayhem!

[el2mador]

Here's the thing though. I prefer to finish the main quest still even on this playthrough while keeping Danse, Deacon and X6 all alive and as followers - that's something I have not done before in previous playthroughs so this fourth one would mean essentially having a 'perfect run'.

[krwada]

Here's the thing though. I prefer to finish the main quest still even on this playthrough while keeping Danse, Deacon and X6 all alive and as followers - that's something I have not done before in previous playthroughs so this fourth one would mean essentially having a 'perfect run'.

Oh ...

 

Completing the game entails the destruction of either Railroad, BOS or Institute. This "perfect run" you speak of is only available via MODS.

 

The various plot arcs will only allow the following:

 

1. Minutemen coexist with any survivors

2. BOS only

3. Railroad only

4. Institute only

5. Railroad + BOS

 

From what I can tell ... any main quest arc will not allow BOS + Railroad + Institute.

[el2mador]

Yeah my initial playthroughs often focused on a particular faction and thus lost 1-2 other companions at the time, hence I'm looking for a perfect (no companions killed) playthrough.

 

I kinda took note from two posts I saw on Steam - but at the same time, I wanted to get feedback from others if these will work 100%.

 

https://steamcommunity.com/app/377160/discussions/0/496881136924853972/

 

 

Short answer: Yes. But it's complicated.

Complicated answer:

Step 1: Before completing "Reunions," complete all main and both side quests (once each) for the Brotherhood of Steel recon team. Talk Brandis down from being crazy.

Step 2: Complete "Reunions" and "Dangerous Minds." (For proper completion, keep Preston at the Castle.)

Step 3:
(a) You will have received "Tradecraft" and "Shadow of Steel." DO NOT advance in either of these quests.
(b) Focus on the Minutemen as you continue down the main quest line. Use the Minutemen to gain access to the Institute.
© Get yourself banished from the Institute. You can play along and poke around for a bit first if you like, but if you do, you'll have to murder someone to get banished (might we suggest those ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥s down in synth retention?). You may safely complete "Institutionalized," but do not progress any farther before getting yourself kicked out. Don't even speak to Father again after completing "Institutionalized." DO NOT complete "Synth Retention." (Give holotape to Sturges.)

Step 4:
(a) You will have received "Form Ranks" for the Minutemen. DO NOT advance this quest.
(b) DO NOT start "Defend the Castle." Don't even go to the Castle.
© Complete all quests for the Brotherhood from "Shadow of Steel" to "Show No Mercy." DO NOT complete "Show No Mercy." Don't even get on the Vertibird. Grab ALL side quests from the Brotherhood and keep them open.

Step 5: Complete "Form Ranks" and "Defend the Castle." Start "The Nuclear Option" for the Minutemen but DO NOT complete it.

Step 6: Complete all Railroad quests from "Tradecraft" to "Randolph Safehouse 6."

Step 7: Complete "The Nuclear Option."

 

 

https://steamcommunity.com/app/377160/discussions/0/135512305404827890/

 

 

At the Molecular Level, choose to build the teleporter with the Railroad. This will give you Underground Undercover, allowing you to remain neutral with both the RR and the institute until very late game

Complete Underground Undercover up until it asks you to "Continue working for Father". Complete the institute's quests until you receive Mass Fusion--Stop progressing with Mass Fusion (either before or after speaking to Allie). This will give you access to both Deacon, and X6-88, allowing you to get both perks at max affinity

Carry on with the Brotherhood of Steel's quest line until Blind Betrayal. Here's the part that is often vague--Completing Blind Betrayal is necessary to reach maximum affinity with Danse, though doing so will automatically start Tactical Thinking which, if continued, will make the Rail Road hostile. The trick here is do not speak to Kells once you get this quest. At this point, only PAM will be locked down, though if you completed the Railroad's quests before hand, this will not significantly impact your playthrough

[krwada]

 

Yeah my initial playthroughs often focused on a particular faction and thus lost 1-2 other companions at the time, hence I'm looking for a perfect (no companions killed) playthrough.

 

I kinda took note from two posts I saw on Steam - but at the same time, I wanted to get feedback from others if these will work 100%.

 

https://steamcommunity.com/app/377160/discussions/0/496881136924853972/

 

 

Short answer: Yes. But it's complicated.

 

Complicated answer:

 

Step 1: Before completing "Reunions," complete all main and both side quests (once each) for the Brotherhood of Steel recon team. Talk Brandis down from being crazy.

 

Step 2: Complete "Reunions" and "Dangerous Minds." (For proper completion, keep Preston at the Castle.)

 

Step 3:

(a) You will have received "Tradecraft" and "Shadow of Steel." DO NOT advance in either of these quests.

(b) Focus on the Minutemen as you continue down the main quest line. Use the Minutemen to gain access to the Institute.

© Get yourself banished from the Institute. You can play along and poke around for a bit first if you like, but if you do, you'll have to murder someone to get banished (might we suggest those ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥s down in synth retention?). You may safely complete "Institutionalized," but do not progress any farther before getting yourself kicked out. Don't even speak to Father again after completing "Institutionalized." DO NOT complete "Synth Retention." (Give holotape to Sturges.)

 

Step 4:

(a) You will have received "Form Ranks" for the Minutemen. DO NOT advance this quest.

(b) DO NOT start "Defend the Castle." Don't even go to the Castle.

© Complete all quests for the Brotherhood from "Shadow of Steel" to "Show No Mercy." DO NOT complete "Show No Mercy." Don't even get on the Vertibird. Grab ALL side quests from the Brotherhood and keep them open.

 

Step 5: Complete "Form Ranks" and "Defend the Castle." Start "The Nuclear Option" for the Minutemen but DO NOT complete it.

 

Step 6: Complete all Railroad quests from "Tradecraft" to "Randolph Safehouse 6."

 

Step 7: Complete "The Nuclear Option."

 

 

https://steamcommunity.com/app/377160/discussions/0/135512305404827890/

 

 

At the Molecular Level, choose to build the teleporter with the Railroad. This will give you Underground Undercover, allowing you to remain neutral with both the RR and the institute until very late game

 

Complete Underground Undercover up until it asks you to "Continue working for Father". Complete the institute's quests until you receive Mass Fusion--Stop progressing with Mass Fusion (either before or after speaking to Allie). This will give you access to both Deacon, and X6-88, allowing you to get both perks at max affinity

 

Carry on with the Brotherhood of Steel's quest line until Blind Betrayal. Here's the part that is often vague--Completing Blind Betrayal is necessary to reach maximum affinity with Danse, though doing so will automatically start Tactical Thinking which, if continued, will make the Rail Road hostile. The trick here is do not speak to Kells once you get this quest. At this point, only PAM will be locked down, though if you completed the Railroad's quests before hand, this will not significantly impact your playthrough

 

 

 

 

Both of these play-through will work.

 

I have tried both of them.

 

In style #1 ... which is a complete playthrough ... Both the Railroad and BOS remain friendly to you. As a matter of fact ... you can take this play-through quite a bit farther and still have BOS and RR support. The Institute, however, is destroyed and X6-88 will shoot you on sight.

 

In style #2 ... this is NOT a complete play-through. The OP wants a complete play-through.

 

One must be mindful that FO4 is merely a software program. And as such, has absolute constraints placed on it by the game designer and the sw engineers. In order to break these constraints ... one can use the console. For example ... Take down the Institute go to X6-88 ... (usually roaming around Croup Manor) ... Toggle his AI using the "tai" command. Then boost his alignment towards you and the Minutemen ... then toggle the AI back.

 

But ... that would not be under the constraints of the vanilla game or any of the MODS.

 

Perhaps one day ... some enterprising soul will come up with a MOD where you can destroy all factions, (RR, BOS, Institue and Minutemen), and have all companions still be friendly to you.

[el2mador]

So essentially the best way to go about this is to use the first example for the playthrough - Minutemen, Railroad, BOS friendly. Minutemen focus to getting Nuclear Option.

 

AFAIK - focusing on Railroad means X6 will remain a companion since you won't get banished (the trigger for X6 becoming hostile).

 

Focusing on the Minutemen however will get you banished an a hostile X6.

 

I'm guessing that example would mean that I need a mod to get X6 removed from the Institute faction and keep him as a companion to prevent him from going hostile. Danse/Deacon are totally fine.

[krwada]

So essentially the best way to go about this is to use the first example for the playthrough - Minutemen, Railroad, BOS friendly. Minutemen focus to getting Nuclear Option.

 

AFAIK - focusing on Railroad means X6 will remain a companion since you won't get banished (the trigger for X6 becoming hostile).

 

Focusing on the Minutemen however will get you banished an a hostile X6.

 

I'm guessing that example would mean that I need a mod to get X6 removed from the Institute faction and keep him as a companion to prevent him from going hostile. Danse/Deacon are totally fine.

1. X6-88 will become hostile if you turn the Institute into a smoking crater.

 

2. Deacon will become hostile if you kill Desdemona or the Dr.

 

3. BOS will become hostile if you shoot down the Prydwin.

 

Any of the above will be an outcome if you play the main ARC to its final conclusion. There are no ifs ands or buts about it. This is the way the software for FO4 is designed.

 

The only "good" outcome, (most factions preserved) ... is to do the following:

1. Turn Institute into a smoking crater

2. Remain friends with BOS

3. Remain friends with Railroad.

 

From what I can tell ... Unless you want the post-arc Radiant quests ... There really is no reason to turn the Institute into a smoking crater.

 

With the MODS provided in the Nexus ... You can pretty much turn FO4 into any kind of game you want ... with FO4 assets of course!

 

If you decide to NOT complete the main ARC...

 

The Institute radiant quests are all available. With NPC leveling and WOTC turned on ... these quests become very deadly.

Appropriation, (BOS lets you simply take the blueprints since you are in good standing with them)

Hypothesis, (Super Mutant hunt)

Pest Control, (Ghoul hunt)

Political Leanings, (easy ... just talk to DC mayor)

Reclamation, (usually Raider hunt)

 

The BOS radiant quests are available ... the two important ones are:

Cleansing the Commonwealth, (NPC hunt ... various kinds)

Quartermastery, (Easter egg hunt)

 

Now ... the RR radiant quests usually entail taking down the Institute in some fashion. You can do these without affecting your standing with the Institute.

 

The Minutemen radiant quests are also available ... However, there is NO cool-down. This makes you totally Preston's b*tch if you do this ... it really is a never ending chain. The only way to break this cycle is to move the Minutemen radiant quest to where you need to "talk to Preston". Then what you do is NEVER talk to Preston, and NEVER go to the Castle, and NEVER turn on Radio.Freedom.

 

Of course ... you can explore every nook and cranny of the FO4 universe. I am on my 4th play-through ... and I thought I explored it all.

 

I have not explored it all. There are lots of things to see and do ... especially if you have all the DLC's installed.