Following the release of Fallout 76, we thought it was a good time to look back at the previous Fallout game: Fallout 4. The Fallout 4 map isn't as big as 76's, but it's still packed with interesting and memorable locations, many that are part of quests but a few that you'll just stumble across at random. Some of these great spots aren't even marked on your Fallout 4 map at all, which makes them even more intriguing.
Here are our favorite places on Fallout 4's map, in no particular order.
The Rocket Shed
There are bigger and more important locations in Fallout 4—and I'll get to them in a minute!—but I'm going to start with a simple yet great one.
In Fallout 4 the world has gone to hell, everything has been destroyed, and there are mutants and monsters and radiation everywhere. What's a survivor to do? Well, if someone had a little shed on a cliff and also had a bunch of gas tanks and a lot of free time on their hands, they could build a few ramps to launch those tanks. Just to do it. Just to let off some steam and see some explosions, because why the hell not? There's no law, no environmental concerns, no sound ordinances. Let's just blow some shit up for no reason, because reason died along with everything else when the bombs fell.
This shed near Relay Tower 0BB-915 is just that spot. It's unmarked on the map. It's just there because it can be and, in the post-apocalypse, probably would be. Shoot the tanks and then watch them sail off the ramps and eventually explode. It's the end of the world, so why the hell not?
The USS Constitution
It's hard to miss this one: it's a massive three-masted frigate sitting on a building near Bunker Hill. The ship, built in the 1700s, is populated with friendly robots who are desperately trying to sail the Constitution again, which seems impossible since it's filled with holes. It does have, however, massive rocket engines, because this old ship sails a bit differently than she used to.
By lending your repair skills and fighting off packs of ravenous raiders, you can make the robots' wishes come true and see the Constitution take to the skies—at least for a little while. The USS Constitution is one of the more memorable and surprising quests in the game, and its re-re-launching is a hell of a thing to witness. Plus, you can walk away with an awesome weapon when you've completed it: a hand-held cannon called the Broadsider.
The crashed UFO
Your encounter with a space traveler can begin randomly, and seemingly anywhere on the map once you're level 20 or higher: you'll hear and possibly see a ship passing overhead and then crashing in the distance. The UFO always crashes in the same spot, however, near Oberland Station. Prior to this event, there will be nothing at this location, but after the crash there will be the remains of an alien ship, some underground tunnels, and the pilot who is not quite dead and certainly not happy to meet you.
The Fallout series is no stranger to close encounters: an entire add-on for Fallout 3 took place aboard an alien spacecraft. While the UFO encounter in Fallout 4 is brief, it's still fun, a reminder that there aren't just violent assholes in the Commonwealth but among the stars, too. Plus, you walk away with a nifty alien blaster that can melt your enemies into ash.
Prost Bar
Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. Prost Bar isn't that place because everybody is dead, but it's a pretty wonderful unmarked location if you watched TV in the 1980s (or if you watch '80s TV today). Prost Bar is a replica of the bar from the TV show Cheers, and the gang's all here if a wee-bit skeletonized. You'll find the corpses of Sam Malone, Cliff Claven, Norm (Norm!) and others at their usual spots.
There are some baseball posters (and baseball grenades) in Sam's office, celebrating his once-promising ballplaying career. You'll even find the rarely-shown pool room in the back, and you can collect Cliff's postman hat and take it with you. Prost, by the way, means "Cheers" in German.
The Yangtze-31
The Constitution isn't the only interesting ship in Fallout 4: there's also a Chinese ballistic submarine in the waters south of Boston airport. During the Great War is launched its nukes at the US but then struck a mine, ultimately stranding it in Boston Harbor. As happens with radiation, some of the crew is still ghoulishly alive even 200 years later.
The sub is a really cool thing to come across and explore both inside and out, and in addition to a sweet sword you can acquire from the sub's ancient Captain Zao, you can also walk away with a few homing beacons—useful if you want Zao to launch a few nukes on your behalf.
Cabot House
What's this? A mansion that's somehow not filled with skeletons and rotting wood and garbage and monsters? It's terrible to say, but nothing sets off warning bells (and security bots) like a clean, tastefully decorated and completely intact dwelling in the post-apocalypse. When nothing seems to be wrong it's a good indication that something is definitely wrong.
And yes, there's some weird and far-out shit going on with the Cabots and their house, including alien artifacts, a 400-year-old man, and a pretty tricky choice you have to make that may result in the downfall of the entire family.
Hallucigen, Inc.
As a Vault Dweller you've been subjected to an unethical experiment without your consent, so maybe you'd enjoy doing the same to others? If you visit Hallucigen, Inc, a chemical testing facility, you'll get your chance. There's been a gas leak that's driven all the NPCs into a murderous frenzy, but if you survive long enough to reach top floor you'll find a special room and an invitation to test out some new products.
A control panel will let you push buttons, releasing experimental gases into a number of rooms below that are filled with trapped Gunners. It's a bit cruel, sure. But isn't it nice to be the one pushing all the buttons for a change?
Hubris Comics
This appears to be just a four-story building filled with ghouls, but it contains something very special. It's part of a quest that introduces you to The Silver Shroud, a fictional pre-war costumed crime-fighter. Listening to recordings of the Shroud's radio show will lead you to Hubris Comics where you can find The Silver Shroud's costume (a trench coat and hat) and a prop of his iconic submachine gun (which you can later exchange for a working one). There's also a number of comic books you can collect, but the real treat here is all the Silver Shroud gear.
Fully upgraded, the Silver Shroud costume will buff agility and perception, plus it just looks really cool and other NPCs will sometimes comment on it. Even better, when encountering the goofy 'supervillains' in Fallout 4, they'll have some unique lines of dialogue if you're dressed as the Shroud when you meet them.
Milton Parking Garage
Sometimes the best locations don't even show up on your map. The Milton Parking Garage is one such spot, though it's still hard to miss thanks to all the helpful arrows painted at the entrance, pointing you toward the front door. Hm, nothing suspicious about that, is there?
Inside you'll discover the garage has been transformed into a deadly maze full of traps and puzzles, plus the remains of other unfortunate wanderers who were lured inside to perish. If you solve and survive the maze you'll be able to reach the top floor, where you'll find two prison cells each containing some sweet loot. Is there a final trap? You bet there is. Who designed this nefarious house of horrors? We still don't know.
Old Gullet Sinkhole
It's not easy making friends in Fallout 4. After a few weeks in the Commonwealth any trust you might have for man, woman, and beast is sure to have been chipped away by thousands of bullets, bludgeons, and bite-marks. But it doesn't hurt to hold your fire in Old Gullet Sinkhole because it's home to a friendly (or at least indifferent) deathclaw.
The Sinkhole is basically a crater, the remains of a town swallowed up by the earth. There are caverns to explore and loot, but the highlight is an oddly pacified deathclaw. If you don't attack it, it won't attack you. It'll just sit there watching as you go about your business (seriously, its head will turn and it'll keep its eyes on you at all times). If any other creatures wander nearby, the deathclaw will leap into action, but only to kill them, never you. It's probably just an unfixed bug, but who cares? It's always nice to have a friend.