War Never Changes

War Never Changes is a quest and a trophy in Fallout 4.The quest takes place on October 23, 2077, in the player character's pre-war home in the suburban Sanctuary Hills, and begins immediately after the player starts the game.

Quick walkthrough

 * 1) Complete Character Creation.
 * 2) Speak to the Vault-Tec rep.
 * 3) See to Shaun.
 * 4) Watch the TV announcement.
 * 5) Get to Vault 111.
 * 6) Step into the pod.
 * 7) Exit Vault 111.

Detailed walkthrough
The player character begins in front of the bathroom mirror, preparing to go out for a Veterans Hall meeting alongside their spouse, Nate/Nora. Upon finishing character aesthetic customization by the mirror, the player character goes out of the bathroom to answer the door. Within the house, the player character can interact with a variety of objects and goods, such as bottles of Nuka Cola, boxes of Salisbury Steak, their infant son (Shaun), and the house's resident Mister Handy (Codsworth). Opening the door, the player character encounters a Vault-Tec rep, who states that the player character has been selected to enter the area's nearby Vault (Vault 111). During this speech sequence, the player character can choose and customize the following: Once this customization is done, the player character returns to find that Shaun is still crying, despite Codsworth's attempts to clean him up. The player character then enters Shaun's room and tries to calm him down by spinning the mobile; upon activating the mobile, Codsworth rushes in, and calls the player character to the television. The reporter on the television, in a distressed manner, proclaims that nuclear detonations have hit New York and Philadelphia, and that one warhead is inbound for Boston, before abruptly signing off. The player character and their spouse then rush towards the vault alongside other Sanctuary Hills residents, as U.S. Army vehicles block the streets. Upon reaching the Vault gate, they find the Vault-Tec rep, who is refused entry and threatened by the U.S. Army officer on duty. The player character then approaches the officer, who checks their credentials--one male, one female, and one infant son. The player character is then granted clearance to enter Vault 111, and is instructed to step on a platform that would lead them into the vault.
 * Name
 * S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points

Just moments before the platform begins to lower, a bright flash is seen, followed by a loud noise and a blast of smoke; a nuclear detonation has occurred within the Boston area, and the platform rapidly lowers down, just in time as the blast hits Sanctuary Hills. The platform then lowers down into Vault 111's entrance, where the player character and a few other Sanctuary Hills residents pass through.

Once inside the vault, the player character and the rest of the Sanctuary Hills survivors are screened by the Vault overseer and Vault-Tec staff; the player character is given a Vault 111 jumpsuit and is directed through a passageway. Within the vault, other residents show anxiety and fear at their new home, as Vault-Tec staff try to reassure them with the features of Vault 111's amenities. The player character continues along the passageway to a room filled with several chambers, where a Vault-Tec doctor is standing. The doctor claims that the chambers are for decontamination purposes, and the player character is instructed to enter one of the chambers, with the spouse and Shaun taking another. Inside the chambers, the doors seal shut as an automated voice begins a countdown, with the player character's vision going white.

The player character is then jostled up by the automated voice: the room outside is dark, with the rest of the Sanctuary Hills residents still inside the chambers. It is revealed that these are cryo-chambers--another part of Vault-Tec's myriad societal experiments as part of "Project Safehouse". Two mysterious figures, a man and a woman, enter the room. They open the chamber holding the player character's spouse and Shaun, with the spouse suddenly waking up from cryo-sleep. Confused, the spouse asks what the two individuals are doing there, as they demand that they take Shaun. The spouse refuses, and tries to hold onto Shaun; in an instant, the mysterious man shoots the spouse with a revolver, and takes Shaun away from their lifeless arms. The player character suddenly re-enters cryosleep as everything fades to white once more.

Waking up again as the automated PA system announces a malfunction, the player character falls out of the chamber, and stands up, shivering, to the now dark vault room. Vowing to avenge their dead spouse (the spouse's wedding ring can be looted from their mummified corpse), the player character then wanders around the Vault, discovering that most of its cryogenically suspended residents have died in their chambers as a result of a malfunction. Moving into the Vault's main hallways, the player character then discovers the skeletal remains of other Vault 111 residents and staff, suggesting that a violent confrontation took place. The player character also encounters a Radroach within the Vault's power room, to their shock and disgust. Upon entering the living quarters and overseer's office, the player character soon discovers the purpose of the vault, as well as the reason for all the skeletal remains--a mutiny had occurred in the vault, with Vault-Tec staff members rebelling against the Overseer. The player character then can hack into the Vault terminal or search for the password to open the entryway to the vault door chamber. Upon entering the exit chamber, the player character finds a Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV stuck to the skeletal remains of a Vault-Tec scientist, which the player character promptly removes and connects to the vault door control system. The vault door opens, and as the player character enters the elevator, they are given one last time to customize their appearance/stats before heading out into the wasteland(The Commonwealth).

Quest stages
Information acquired from using the console command 'showquestobjectives'. Even though it doesn't show up on the pip-boy it's still technically a quest as far as the game is concerned.

Bugs

 * Achievement does not unlock after leaving the vault and entering the wasteland.
 * Spouse stuck outside of cryo-chamber after initial wake-up, preventing progress. Can be bypassed on PC by opening console(~) and entering 'SetStage MQ101 805', wait for screen to go white, then enter 'SetStage MQ101 900' in the console(~).