The story of the Sole Survivor in Fallout 4 can end in multiple ways, depending on who you ally with. For most of the game, you can freely help out the major factions of the wasteland, regardless of what they think of the others. However, at a critical point in the main story, you must decide whether to side with your family or protect your new world.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Fallout 4.]

Technically, only two main endings correlate with a main quest: Nuclear Family, in which you side with the Institute and Shaun, the Sole Survivor's son, or The Nuclear Option, where you work with either the Minutemen, the Brotherhood of Steel, or the Railroad to destroy the Institute. However, since The Nuclear Option can vary depending on who you ally with, fans consider Fallout 4 to have four different endings.

All Endings You Can Get

The Four Major Factions

For most of the main story, your decisions and interactions may change specific details but don't result in a different ending. Eventually, you will complete the "Institutionalized" quest, reuniting with Shaun and exploring the Institute. Upon completing the quest, you have a few options for proceeding. The ending you want depends on the quest you choose to follow and who you choose to ally yourself with.

The quest associated with a non-Institute faction will automatically activate if you worked with that faction during "The Molecular Level" to access the Institute. While you will always get the Institute's quest, you can ignore it and follow the quest line for your chosen faction instead. While the unmemorable story can be a harsh reality of playing Fallout 4, helping your favorite faction can be an exciting ending to the game.

The Minutemen Ending

Although the Minutemen could have been cooler in Fallout 4, their ending represents hope for the ordinary people. If you work with the Minutemen to take down the Institute, you'll first complete "Inside Job," where you'll collect a holotype from the Institute.

If you've officially shown your hand to the Institute as an enemy, you'll have to "Defend The Castle" from the Institute. Afterward, you'll complete the Minutemen's version of "The Nuclear Option," where you destroy the Institute once and for all. This quest only unlocks if you have eight settlements established.

Minutemen Ending Variants

The Brotherhood of Steel can survive if you play your cards right and don't draw their anger. It's best not to talk to them about the Institute or the holotape from "Inside Job." If you make the Brotherhood mad, you'll the Minutemen in a full-scale attack on the Prydwen in "With Our Powers Combined."

If you complete this quest before "Defend the Castle," you'll have to fight off Brotherhood soldiers during the assault as well as the Institute. At least pissing off the Brotherhood could get you one of the best armor sets in Fallout 4.

Your relationship with the Railroad also depends on whether you call the evacuation order during "The Nuclear Option" or not. This is an optional task, but failing to do so will turn the Railroad hostile against you and anger many of your companions. You can activate the evacuation order at Father's terminal.

The Brotherhood of Steel Ending

The power and authority behind the Brotherhood of Steel makes them a worthy (albeit evil) ally in Fallout 4. When you pick up "From Within," it'll be your job to convince Madison Li to return to the Brotherhood. You'll also need to complete "Outside the Wire," the Brotherhood's variation of the "Inside Job" quest. Talk to Elder Maxson about both quests.

Following the Brotherhood's quests can lead to one of the coolest Fallout 4; "The Lost Patrol."

After those quests, you'll go through "Liberty Reprimed" and "Blind Betrayal." Completing "Blind Betrayal" locks down any future Railroad quests as you go into "Tactical Thinking," in which you destroy the Railroad and kill all its , including companion Deacon. You'll complete "Spoils of War" following this extermination of the Railroad, officially cutting you off from the Institute if you have not angered them already. From there, it is onto "Ad Victorium" and the Brotherhood's "The Nuclear Option" variation.

Brotherhood Ending Variants

If you become enemies with the Institute and don't win Li over in "From Within, "Liberty Reprimed" will involve a new scientist named Scara instead. The player has two main opportunities to grab a serum for Virgil in this playthrough, either during "From Within" from Li's desk or during "The Nuclear Option" upon emerging into the Bioscience department of the Institute. Choosing to kill or spare Danse will not affect the result of "Blind Betrayal," so you can continue to side with the Brotherhood and achieve their ending if you like this Fallout 4 companion.

While the Railroad will be no longer if you follow this path, the Minutemen will still be around as their path does not typically cross with the Brotherhood. However, you can betray the Brotherhood at any point following "The Nuclear Option" and trigger "With Our Powers Combined," destroying the Prydwen and getting the Brotherhood out of the Commonwealth.

The Railroad Ending

If you work with the Railroad, your first quest to destroy the Institute is "Underground Undercover," where you meet a in the Institute to help a few Synths escape. If you fail "Underground Undercover" or anger the Institute too soon, you'll move into "Burning Cover" and must play through the Minutemen ending. This quest locks off the Railroad, ending in Fallout 4.

Save frequently during "Underground Undercover". If you fail the mission, restart at your last save point. This way, you can continue toward the Railroad ending.

Next, you must take down the Brotherhood in "Precipice of War" and "Rockets Red Glare." Upon completing those quests, you'll raid the Institute in "The Nuclear Option" and finish the main story. Interestingly, this ending allows you to end the game with all 13 main game companions alive, although they will not all be available as companions.

To do this, play through the Institute's quest line until "End of the Line," where you warn Desdemona about the Institute's plans, and she asks you to start "Underground Undercover." This will keep X6-88 happy.

You can even keep Danse alive as a settler by completing "Blind Betrayal" before pissing off the Brotherhood. Just make sure to become the Brotherhood's enemy immediately after to appease the Railroad again. Do not talk to Lance Captain Kells to avoid triggering more of "Tactical Thinking."

The Railroad Ending is the only ending in Fallout 4 without unique faction variants. In this ending, the Railroad does not have a relationship with the Minutemen and always destroys the Institute and Brotherhood.

The Institute Ending

The Institute has its charms as a high-tech faction of the pre-war lifestyle. Their ending can be easy to follow, so long as you complete each Institute quest in the way Father and the Directorate approve. There are various moments where you can back out and side with another faction in Fallout 4, such as "The Battle of Bunker Hill" or "End Of The Line," but if you want to complete Fallout 4's unique "Nuclear Family" ending, you'll need to play along with each of the nine quests.

Institute Ending Variants

The Institute's entire plot involves the destruction of the Railroad and the Brotherhood of Steel. Their relationship with the Minutemen depends upon the player's actions during the Institute quest "Pinned." During this quest, the player must convince the Minutemen forces guarding T.S Wallace to stand down rather than fight the Institute. Failing to convince them will result in poor relations between the Institute and Minutemen as you kill their soldiers.

This interaction can be avoided if the player has not completed "Taking Independence" before "Pinned." The Minutemen will be replaced by the Gunners, who can be killed without any issue. This makes it easy for the Institute and Minutemen to be the only remaining factions at the end of Fallout 4.