Preston Garvey



Preston Garvey is the leader, and later second-in-command of the Commonwealth Minutemen and heads a group of people living in The Commonwealth. He is also a possible companion of the Sole Survivor.

Background
Preston Garvey was originally part of the Minutemen under Colonel Hollis. Preston joined the Minutemen at age seventeen. The date of Col. Hollis’ arrival at Quincy is unknown but his presence was requested by Sturges, a Quincy resident who can be found in Sanctuary Hills.

After hearing one of Mama Murphy’s visions -- which entailed everyone in the town being surrounded and fired upon -- Sturges requested the aid of the Boston Minutemen. When the Minutemen arrived they found the "Gunners" (a ruthless mercenary organization) just outside of Quincy poised to strike.

The Gunners were subsequently locked in an engagement with the Minutemen and eventually retreated. Afterward the Minutemen helped to fortify Quincy; but it proved not to be enough, as -- according to a termainal in the northwestern part of the town attests -- the Gunners relentlessly probed the town's defenses for weeks. The last recording in the terminal indicates that an ex-minuteman officer named "Clint" eventually revealed himself to Colonel Hollis as the leader of the invading force to establish terms of surrender for Quincy and its defenders; these terms were summarily refused. While the following events are not recorded in text, the outcome for the Minutemen is broadly established by dialogue with Preston Garvey and various other wastelanders: the Minutemen requested support, which did not arrive; the Gunners overwhelmed the defenders; and murdered nearly all the civilians, executing the Minutemen as well Col. Hollis. This caused the remaining Minuteman settlements to fall apart, setting the stage for the arrival of the Sole Survivor.

That event is known as the Quincy Massacre. As a result, Preston gathered the remaining civilians and loyal Minutemen and fled to Lexington (regrettably, Preston testifies, Lexington was filled with feral ghouls; the hardships of the town gradually whittled the group's numbers down to just over ten). Eventually they moved to Concord where they took shelter in the Museum of Freedom with only eight survivors. By the time the Sole Survivor arrives to help Preston, their numbers are five.

With aid from the Sole Survivor, Preston hopes to rebuild the Minutemen. After appointing the Sole Survivor as the new General of the Minuteman, he assigns quests that slowly rebuild the Minutemen by capturing new territory and defending the settlements already loyal to the cause.

Once the Sole Survivor reaches a high enough level of prestige with the Minutmen, Preston notifies the Sole Survivor of an old Minutemen stronghold known as "The Castle". Taking the Castle will finish the quest line for the Minutemen.

Quests

 * When Freedom Calls: Preston asks of the Sole Survivor to equip properly and clear out Concord so he and his people can move away to a safer place.
 * The First Step: Preston asks the Sole Survivor to help out a settlement. If this quest is completed, Preston will become available as a companion.
 * Taking Independence: Preston asks the Sole Survivor to help take back The Castle (Fort Independence) previously occupied by the Minutemen.

Effects of player's actions

 * Maximizing approval with Preston Garvey grants the United We Stand perk, which increases damage dealt by 20% as well as increasing damage resistance by 20 points when facing 3 or more enemies at once. Maximum affinity can be achieved after attaching 67 weapon modifications; read the United We Stand perk page for more information.
 * He will instantly leave if the Sole Survivor attacks a Minuteman.

Appearances
Preston Garvey appears in Fallout 4 and Fallout Shelter.

Bugs
Sometimes if there is any weapon near Preston even if it is weaker than his laser musket he may equip it.
 * There is a known bug where after the quest to reclaim the Castle it becomes impossible to get him as a companion.
 * This can be fixed on PC by opening the console, selecting Preston Garvey and inputting.
 * A possible fix for this is to have Preston as a companion while initiating the assault on the Castle.
 * Another possible fix is if the Sole Survivor sides with The Minutemen against The Institute in the endgame. After activating the bomb in The Nuclear Option, Preston will talk to you and can be asked to follow you.
 * If the Survivor chooses to side with the Railroad and eliminate the Institute, speaking to Garvey after having him as a companion will bug the dialogue to repeat over and over.
 * When destroying the institute with the Brotherhood of Steel and when you talk to Preston, he will keep saying the that the Institute is gone and you could have helped the innocent unless there is a settlement in need or reporting that you helped that settlement.
 * Preston may become unavailable to recruit before the siege on the Castle. If the Castle is then retaken, he will no longer engage in dialogue past a greeting or a settlement quest.
 * It's possible to bug his quest exchanges so that he continues to give a quest complete marker with no xp and the quest stays in your log. The only way to fix this is to reload.