Fallout DLC Ranked

“Fallout 4” (2015)

It’s right at the bottom of our list not just because it’s the shortest, and the only DLC that doesn’t add an entirely new region for players to explore, but also because it’s a complete rehash of a quest from “Fallout 3”. Yes, the Canterbury Commons side-quest with the wannabe superheroes was one of the most popular in the game, but it still seems lazy to see Bethesda redo it and then charge $10, especially since “Automatron” only has the Mechanist in it, and NOT the AntAgonizer. But we have to give it credit for adding the robot crafting system and Ada, because those fun mechanics can be used throughout the rest of “Fallout 4” once you’ve beaten the DLC.

“Fallout 3” (2008)

It’s one of the most derided DLCs in “Fallout” history, and for good reason. While “Fallout” always has plenty of absurdity built-in, “Mothership Zeta” takes things just a bit too far, by taking the fun Easter egg of finding a crashed alien ship and turning it into an entire, hours-long ordeal. You’re abducted by a UFO and then have to navigate it, collecting a large number of boring audiologs while fighting off aliens – and remember, they’re bullet sponges. While it does have its highlights, like walking along the exterior of the flying saucer and getting lots of powerful energy weapons, it’s very repetitive and there’s no reason to actually use the new companions because they die so easily.

“Fallout: New Vegas” (2010)

This one was definitely disappointing. We had a few references to Ulysses near the beginning of “New Vegas”, and then a lot more throughout its DLCs, all building up to the grand finale of the whole game, “Lonesome Road”. The DLC takes you to the Divide, a dangerous but crucial trade route between the NCR and the Mojave. It’s also a key part of the Courier’s past, before they lost their memory after being shot in the head. We learn a lot about the Courier and about how they inadvertently destroyed the communities living there. But most of this lore comes from Ulysses himself leaving cryptic and extremely long holotapes, with the entire DLC blaming YOU, the player, for events you had nothing to do with.

“Fallout: New Vegas” (2010)

Another misfire from “New Vegas” was “Honest Hearts”, which sent the Courier on an expedition to Zion National Park in Utah. “Honest Hearts” gave us one of the most beautiful maps in the franchise, with much of Zion remaining largely untouched by nuclear war, and now occupied by tribes, one of which is led by Morman missionary Joshua Graham. We hear about Graham a lot in the base game, as Ceasar’s former legate who was covered in pitch, set on fire, and thrown into the Grand Canyon – but little do the Legion know that Graham survived. Unfortunately, though, the characters and story weren’t actually interesting enough to carry the DLC to the great heights of some of the others.

“Fallout 3” (2008)

The Brotherhood Outcasts are investigating a pre-war military base in the Capital Wasteland, but to unlock a cache of powerful equipment they need to go through a military training simulation – and lo and behold, it requires a Pip-Boy. So, you’re drafted in to complete the simulation for them, and it’s a recreation of the “Anchorage Reclamation”, in which American forces took Alaska back from Chinese control in early 2077. Despite providing you with some great weapons and armor, however, “Operation: Anchorage” is painfully linear and not very interesting, as all you do is walk through snow and bases for a few hours. Worse, to convince the Chinese general to take his own life, it just requires passing ONE speech check.

“Fallout 4” (2015)

Though it’s far from perfect, we think “Nuka-World” sometimes gets a raw deal. While the actual gameplay consists of going to an area and clearing it of enemies – far too many enemies, really – the level design is enough to make it worth playing. Bethesda really built a mostly believable theme park, including functioning rides, with areas themed around outer space, the Wild West, a safari, and more. It’s definitely interesting to explore, but the actual story about the raiders all vying for power and you being made their leader for beating one boss isn’t that great. And it’s a little odd for you to suddenly be on the side of the raiders, whether you want to be or not.

“Fallout 3” (2008)

There are good things and bad things about “Broken Steel”. For a start, it fixed the fact that the game just ends when you beat the main story, finally giving players the option to keep free-roaming in the post-game. But it also removed all the stakes from the ending, as no matter what happened at the Purifier, you’ll always survive. It was still a fun few hours, though, with much of it focused on the Lone Wanderer helping the Brotherhood develop a Tesla Cannon, a devastating energy weapon that remains massively popular with fans. Plus, the Enclave is finally defeated – only a mere thirty years after they were defeated for good that other time, in “Fallout 2”.

“Fallout: New Vegas” (2010)

It’s definitely the most divisive “Fallout” DLC, that’s for sure. The fans are split between those who love “Dead Money’s” hostility and emphasis on survival gameplay, not to mention high difficulty even on lower settings, and those who find it too frustrating what with the enemies that come back to life, the laser-shooting holograms, and environmental hazards. Regardless, story-wise, “Dead Money” is a cut above the rest. It explores the greed and decadence of the Old World, as well as developing the subplot about Father Elijah. Everybody wants to get into the Sierra Madre and recover the gold from its vaults, in a tale about how greed will destroy us all if we let it.

“Fallout 3” (2008)

One of the biggest moral dilemmas in the franchise is in “The Pitt”, when you finally reach Asher and find out what’s going on. You’re sent by a guy called Werner away from the Capital Wasteland and into the ruins of Pittsburgh, where people are enslaved, brutalized, and suffering from a strange illness. Eventually, you discover that the “Cure” for the disease everyone has – the very thing Werner wants you to retrieve – is not what you think. Along with the story being phenomenal, “The Pitt” gives you a lot of interesting weapons, including the unique Auto-Axe and its many variants. It’s also got an arena to test your mettle and a unique set of power armor.

“Fallout 4” (2015)

We’re leaving the Commonwealth and heading to Maine, sent along with Nick Valentine to find a missing girl. What unfolds is a huge, detailed story that, like the best “Fallout” stories, is full of gray areas and moral problems. As well as the story being fantastic, so is the world design, with heavy nautical theming and brand-new enemies – including a giant, mutant hermit crab living in a bus. There are more and more layers added to the synth story, too, not to mention providing tons of backstory for “Fallout 4’s” best companion AND exploring the Children of Atom in more detail. The only bad parts of the DLC are the baffling, DiMA memory puzzles, which is why it doesn’t rank higher.

“Fallout 3” (2008)

In a lot of ways, “Far Harbor” was an attempt to recapture the magic of “Point Lookout”, which was undoubtedly “Fallout 3’s” best expansion and perhaps even better than the base game. The Lone Wanderer embarks upon a riverboat and sails to Maryland’s swamps, where they’re promptly lobotomized and then sent to resolve a centuries-long feud between a pre-war ghoul and a Robobrain. It’s got some great side quests, too, including one where you trace the footsteps of a Chinese spy infiltrating Point Lookout back before the bombs fell – which lands you one of the game’s best weapons, the Backwater Rifle, provided you survive a deadly encounter.

“Fallout: New Vegas” (2010)

“New Vegas’s” second-to-last DLC, “Old World Blues” goes to the Big Empty in Colorado, to explore a state-of-the-art but dangerous research facility. We find out that the group of scientists who ran it before the war put their brains into robots, called Think Tanks, and have now gone completely insane and removed YOUR brain, heart, and spine. Through their experiments, they’ve been wreaking havoc on the southwest for centuries, and are now trapped in the facility by the villainous Doctor Mobius – a fellow Think Tank who understands how deadly his former colleagues truly are. “Old World Blues” is also hilarious, parodying 1950s B movies to the extreme and boasting some of the funniest dialogue in a video game ever.