Which is The worst quest in Fallout 4?

[Immortalkickass]

All radiant quests?

Seconded. Radiant quests are ridiculously obnoxious in this game. From the moment Preston made you the General, he starts asking you to help settlements. I thought they were Radiant quests, so i stop doing them after saving 1 or 2 settlements. I found it weird that my Minuteman storyline could not progress. Then I found out, I have to save 3 settlements for Preston to give the next quest that is not about saving settlements.

But then again, most of the quests are so uninspiring that it doesnt matter if they are Radiant or not. A rose by any other name is still a rose. In Skyrim, it wasn't so bad, since the Radiant quests only appear after exhausting all the storyline quests. And by then, I was done with the game anyway.

 

[Dr Fallout]

Seconded. Radiant quests are ridiculously obnoxious in this game. From the moment Preston made you the General, he starts asking you to help settlements. I thought they were Radiant quests, so i stop doing them after saving 1 or 2 settlements. I found it weird that my Minuteman storyline could not progress. Then I found out, I have to save 3 settlements for Preston to give the next quest that is not about saving settlements.

But then again, most of the quests are so uninspiring that it doesnt matter if they are Radiant or not. A rose by any other name is still a rose. In Skyrim, it wasn't so bad, since the Radiant quests only appear after exhausting all the storyline quests. And by then, I was done with the game anyway.

Radiant quests aren't stupid (well a lot of them are) just repetitive and boring though.

 

[ZigzagPX4]

This is a very unpopular opinion, but I like the concept of using Radiant quests as a way to progress yourself through a faction rather than pulling random conveniences to get you to high-level positions without bother.

Simply put, with a military faction for example, would have you sign up for duty as the first rank, and Radiant quests would act as the "duty" part. You can do them repeatedly until you are promoted. Or you do that classic New Vegas thing where you do a couple of harder, longer quests and get bumped up, but this way you have the opportunity to get promoted legitimately.

This way, if someone wanted to play a character that served the NCR for real, for example, they could do that. After all, New Vegas made the Courier feel like a mercenary and diplomat for the NCR more than a soldier as part of their army. I feel like we should have the option to be both, and if we pick the army option, then Radiant quests could simulate progression and promotion in an army.

 

[Hassknecht]

I wouldn't mind the quests if you could get out of them easily. But stay in Pesto Gravy's vicinity for too long and he'll just grab your notebook and scribble the new settlement in trouble in it. Even when you're talking to someone else, suddenly Pesto appears and gives you another damn quest, preferably in a settlement you just helped a few minutes ago.
Should have done it like in Skyrim where "get a job" is a misc. quest, and you acitvely have to ask for work. You're the damn General, why the hell are you doing all the work, anyway?

 

[ZigzagPX4]

I wouldn't mind the quests if you could get out of them easily. But stay in Pesto Gravy's vicinity for too long and he'll just grab your notebook and scribble the new settlement in trouble in it. Even when you're talking to someone else, suddenly Pesto appears and gives you another damn quest, preferably in a settlement you just helped a few minutes ago.
Should have done it like in Skyrim where "get a job" is a misc. quest, and you acitvely have to ask for work. You're the damn General, why the hell are you doing all the work, anyway?

A running joke is that Preston Garvey is the true General and he just calls you the General to humour you. However, if you go around with him as a companion, it's him that the settlers give attention to, compliment and thanks for service, and then give him a gift. He's also who the majority of the Minutemen react to.

It would've made much more sense in context to just make him the General. It would be unique for once for the highest rank you could be in a Bethesda faction to not be the leading rank.

 

[Ninja]

It would've made much more sense in context to just make him the General. It would be unique for once for the highest rank you could be in a Bethesda faction to not be the leading rank.

Technically the Railroad and Brotherhood end without promoting you to leader. Brotherhood still makes you Sentinel, but IIRC Railroad doesn't even really promote you. You're still just a Heavy, albeit highly respected.

 

[Dr Fallout]

Technically the Railroad and Brotherhood end without promoting you to leader. Brotherhood still makes you Sentinel, but IIRC Railroad doesn't even really promote you. You're still just a Heavy, albeit highly respected.

And by heavy we mean heavy-weight because you do all the work.

 

[ZigzagPX4]

And by heavy we mean heavy-weight because you do all the work.

Well, to be fair, the Railroad and the Brotherhood are actually well-done in the aspect of "you don't do all the work". The Brotherhood patrols actually show up everywhere, they provide assistance during main quests, and generally have a proper presence.

The Railroad has a functional and self-sustaining espionage network behind the scenes of everything, way before you even get involved. Old Man Stockton, Deacon showing up literally everywhere, plenty of civilians who you wouldn't know were either synths or agents before you joined the Railroad.

It's a somewhat organic system working behind the layers of the game, and while significantly inferior to New Vegas' approach, it was still pretty good for a Bethesda game.

Sure, you still do most of the work for them, but that's only because of the theme-park power fantasy aspect. They needed to make the player feel like a hero no matter what the player does.

If you take that away and make the player character a balanced, realistic wild card like in New Vegas, then the Minutemen is really the only faction that would have zero power over anything. The Institute could continue using Kellogg and Coursers, the Railroad worked just fine with Deacon, Glory and the Heavy units.

And the Brotherhood seemed pretty alright on its own, with them handling the Mass Fusion quest on their own if you side against them. That was honestly a nice surprise and far more than anything I expected out of Bethesda.

So, all in all, if the entire game treated you less like a god amongst men, then the Minutemen would be the only useless and utterly pointless faction with no exposition or lore behind them.

How factions function on their own without your input in Fallout 4 is vastly superior to Fallout 3's approach. Bethesda definitely learned that from New Vegas. There's at least that, so quarter of a kudos to them I suppose?

 

[Dr Fallout]

Hah, it's still pathetic and not really that well done. You're looking from the more world-view perspective in which the Brotherhood will do anything without you and the Railroad. In game, you're the hero in every way, and they all need you to do anything.

 

[jacob g]

The Railroad has a functional and self-sustaining espionage network behind the scenes of everything, way before you even get involved. Old Man Stockton, Deacon showing up literally everywhere, plenty of civilians who you wouldn't know were either synths or agents before you joined the Railroad.

It's a somewhat organic system working behind the layers of the game, and while significantly inferior to New Vegas' approach, it was still pretty good for a Bethesda game.

Sure, you still do most of the work for them, but that's only because of the theme-park power fantasy aspect. They needed to make the player feel like a hero no matter what the player does.

I don't have much opinion about BoS because I just can't stand them in F4 but I kinda like working for The Railroad. I see logic behind what I have to do for them. You're the muscle, more capable than others and that's why they need you. Rooftoop missions, clearing roads, etc, I can accept that... and spy part.

I like the idea of The Railroad as a Liberation Front with clear objectives. Still they should be more. I'm disappointed that I don't see more politics and fight between leaders (something like that happened at the begining and that's all but I still haven't finished the game).

I think The Railroad is the only faction I like even if they should be something more.

 

[ZigzagPX4]

Hah, it's still pathetic and not really that well done. You're looking from the more world-view perspective in which the Brotherhood will do anything without you and the Railroad. In game, you're the hero in every way, and they all need you to do anything.

Well, no. The Brotherhood as an enemy actually does their own thing throughout the game, whether or not you help them. It sorts of begs the question of why they needed us in the first place, but to hell with that, it's like the smallest problem in the game. What every faction feels like is perfectly capable of doing things by themselves and it feels like they're just humouring you by letting you do everything. Taken seriously, it makes every faction seem condescending. That's why it's hard to judge the faction based on their members' personalities - because they all act the same towards you.

It's like they pretend to be helpless so they can use you without wasting their resources. Which can trick players into thinking it's good writing, making faction leaders attempt to take advantage of the players. But the way it's presented in Fallout 4 is not. The way Mr House and Caesar does in New Vegas, is the right way to subtly convey to you that this leader is taking advantage of you.

Every faction in New Vegas sorts of treats you differently. Sometimes you're a mercenary to them, an outsider, a friend, an ally or that guy/girl who did that thing. To the NCR you're more like either a proxy diplomat or mercenary who sorts of becomes friends with the entire command structure along the way. To the Legion you're basically an outsider that they never seem to fully accept right until the very end. To House, you're made to feel like a business partner but you're simply his means to an end. And to Yes Man, you're his best pal.

If Fallout is looking for a game to emulate, they should look to, say, Deus Ex and their C&C and varying factions, rather than Destiny, which might have pleasing aesthetics and a unique, beautiful art style but in the end is simply just a multiplayer dungeon-by-dungeon loot shooter. Which is fine - Destiny's designed to be that way. People like those sort of games, and it's their own new IP. But Fallout's established to have things that Fallout 4 simply does not have.

Still, what I'm saying is if Obsidian got hold of Fallout 4's final design concept and got to make it instead, the Minutemen and the Institute would be the ones they either had to scrap and start from scratch or transform entirely. The Railroad and the Brotherhood are pretty well-designed on their own, and they only fall apart once you actually start working for them.

It's hilariously ridiculous for that to happen in an RPG game - where the most interesting factions are any of the ones you are not currently working for. That speaks to having vagueness and mystery write the lore on its own - which is either vast underestimation of the power of mystery in writing, or a severe case of laziness. Most likely, the latter.

 

[Spacemunkey]

Still, what I'm saying is if Obsidian got hold of Fallout 4's final design concept and got to make it instead, the Minutemen and the Institute would be the ones they either had to scrap and start from scratch or transform entirely. The Railroad and the Brotherhood are pretty well-designed on their own, and they only fall apart once you actually start working for them.

The RR is not well designed, if you don't spy on the institute the RR tells you they don't have the resources to fight the Institute and tell you to ask the MM. The BOS are the only fleshed out faction in the game and a lot of that is due to we the players directly connecting them to FO3. We see glimmers of depth in the factions, but it never goes anywhere.

 

[Lanfear]

Kid in a Fridge was so bad it gave me cancer.

Hey, guy who designed this quest, what the fuck are the ghouls at the Slog farming for if they don't need food or water? Fun? Forget consistency between games, this steaming pile isn't even consistent with itself.

 

[Dr Fallout]

Kid in a Fridge was so bad it gave me cancer.

Hey, guy who designed this quest, what the fuck are the ghouls at the Slog farming for if they don't need food or water? Fun? Forget consistency between games, this steaming pile isn't even consistent with itself.

Not to forget... Cabot House... ugh.

 

[ZigzagPX4]

Back to my other point - how well would Radiant quests fare as a rank progression system? You could do Radiant quests to get promoted up the ranks of NCR legitimately and through dedicated service. Or, you could work for them as a mercenary, New Vegas style, but you would never be a direct part of them. Or there's a side quest you could do involving plenty of skill checks and corruption that ends with you getting you high in the NCR rankings. Plenty of potential.

The only disruption in immersion would be the timeframe. Too many Radiant quests and you have a boring journey to becoming a high-ranking officer, which is realistic but unnecessary in a Fallout game. Too less, and it would seem like three missions in service makes you a goddamn hero, which would be nearly as ridiculous as Fallout 4's approach.

I don't know. I just want a method to feel like I'm actually working as a part of the faction, and not as a mercenary who simply agrees with their ideals. Actually joining their ranks. See, I never liked the New Vegas approach to the NCR - you never feel like you earned the path to being part of them like every single soldier in the NCR you meet.

Simply put, let us join a faction and get promoted through the ranks. I'm just tired of playing the outsider-who-helps. Sure, it would be difficult to impossible for isolated factions like the Brotherhood. But for that, the old approach of doing quests here and there to gain loyalty is just fine. See, we've already added variety!

 

[Lanfear]

I guess these stupid quests are supposed to be jokes? Maybe? But then why the hell do they play them all so damn straight? Why is there hamhanded moralising and a sappy emotional reunion in a joke quest? Why are all your writers so bad, Bethesda?

 

[Spacemunkey]

Back to my other point - how well would Radiant quests fare as a rank progression system? You could do Radiant quests to get promoted up the ranks of NCR legitimately and through dedicated service. Or, you could work for them as a mercenary, New Vegas style, but you would never be a direct part of them. Or there's a side quest you could do involving plenty of skill checks and corruption that ends with you getting you high in the NCR rankings. Plenty of potential.

The only disruption in immersion would be the timeframe. Too many Radiant quests and you have a boring journey to becoming a high-ranking officer, which is realistic but unnecessary in a Fallout game. Too less, and it would seem like three missions in service makes you a goddamn hero, which would be nearly as ridiculous as Fallout 4's approach.

I don't know. I just want a method to feel like I'm actually working as a part of the faction, and not as a mercenary who simply agrees with their ideals. Actually joining their ranks. See, I never liked the New Vegas approach to the NCR - you never feel like you earned the path to being part of them like every single soldier in the NCR you meet.

Simply put, let us join a faction and get promoted through the ranks. I'm just tired of playing the outsider-who-helps. Sure, it would be difficult to impossible for isolated factions like the Brotherhood. But for that, the old approach of doing quests here and there to gain loyalty is just fine. See, we've already added variety!

I don't mind a radiant quest system peppered throughout a faction/guild quest line and then added again as optional endgame content. In FO4 specifically the BOS radiant quests actually make some sense, collect tech, clear an area, or escort a scribe; the problem becomes when they have you collect the exact same mcguffin again and again or start you clearing the same area again. What I would like to see is if I clear a factory for instance, and I go back it's now occupied by BOS Knights not respawning raiders.

 

[ZigzagPX4]

I don't mind a radiant quest system peppered throughout a faction/guild quest line and then added again as optional endgame content. In FO4 specifically the BOS radiant quests actually make some sense, collect tech, clear an area, or escort a scribe; the problem becomes when they have you collect the exact same mcguffin again and again or start you clearing the same area again. What I would like to see is if I clear a factory for instance, and I go back it's now occupied by BOS Knights not respawning raiders.

I get that. That's more towards an open-world shooter thing aimed more for solid gameplay. Shouldn't be there.

Still, Radiant quests or not, primarily I just want to be able to earn my place in a faction in a one-of-them kind of way. In every Fallout game you've always felt like an ally or friend, or hired gun, or paid diplomat. But never a part of the actual faction.

 

[Lanfear]

I don't mind a radiant quest system peppered throughout a faction/guild quest line and then added again as optional endgame content. In FO4 specifically the BOS radiant quests actually make some sense, collect tech, clear an area, or escort a scribe; the problem becomes when they have you collect the exact same mcguffin again and again or start you clearing the same area again. What I would like to see is if I clear a factory for instance, and I go back it's now occupied by BOS Knights not respawning raiders.

But then the game would eventually run out of places to spawn its neverending supply of bad guys, and the player might be at risk of feeling as though they'd made some sort of a difference to the sandbox.

 

[ZigzagPX4]

But then the game would eventually run out of places to spawn its neverending supply of bad guys, and the player might be at risk of feeling as though they'd made some sort of a difference to the sandbox.

Speaking of that - has there actually been an open-world RPG in history where your choices actually affect the world post-ending? Apart from "this NPC's not there anymore" or "different guards in this city".