Following the Wastelanders update, Fallout 76 gives players the choice to align with one of two factions: Raiders or Settlers. This faction choice affects everything from available quests to how friendly certain NPCs will be. It also determines which pieces of faction-exclusive gear you can acquire. The question is obvious: Should you side with Raiders or Settlers in Fallout 76?
Fallout 76 | Should you choose Raiders or Settlers?
For most players, the Fallout 76 faction choice between Raiders or Settlers is determined by loot. Siding with the Settlers will eventually grant access to the Chinese Stealth Armor and the Turbo-Fert Fertilizer. Siding with the Raiders will eventually offer access to the Gauss Minigun and the ArmCo Ammunition Construction Appliance.
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It’s worth keeping in mind that you can be friendly with both factions during most of the events of Fallout 76. Only the final faction quest has you firmly side with one or the other. For what it’s worth, that final quest is the raid on Vault 79, and it’s called “Siding with (faction) to Raid Vault 79.” Otherwise, you can continue to take on quests from both sides without consequences.
And you should. Most of the loot that’s locked to either the Raiders or the Settlers can be gained without making any sort of firm decision. Most players seem to prefer sticking with the Settlers up until they get access to the Chinese Stealth Armor. After that — and particularly toward the end of the game — they’ll side with the Raiders, since maxing out Raider reputation opens up the Gauss Minigun as well as the ArmCo Ammunition Construction Appliance.
Either way, you don’t need to choose between Raiders or Settlers until the final faction quest. All of the faction-specific, reputation-based loot in Fallout 76 can eventually be acquired regardless of your faction choice. Otherwise, you can feel free to side with whichever faction you most prefer.
