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 is unknown for Col. Hollis’ call to Quincy but he was requested by Sturges, a Quincy resident, who can now 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 quickly requested the Boston Minutemen. When the Minutemen arrived, they did indeed find the "Gunners", a ruthless mercenary organization, just outside of Quincy ready to strike.

The Gunners were locked in an engagement with the Minutemen and eventually retreated. After this moment the Minutemen helped fortify Quincy but it wouldn't be enough, as the Gunners were rebuilding their strength. When they returned they murdered nearly all the civilians, a large chunk of the Minutemen and Col. Hollis. This caused the remaining Minutemen to fall apart with all Minutemen except those loyal to Preston Garvey to desert.

That event is known as the Quincy Massacre and is the reason Preston gathered the remaining civilians and loyal Minutemen to flee to Lexington. Lexington was filled with feral ghouls and brought the group's numbers down to just over ten. Eventually they moved to Concord where they would take 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 possibly recovers from his near suicidal depression after the losses suffered on his journey to Concord. After appointing the Sole Survivor as the next Minuteman General, he will slowly rebuild the Minutemen with assistance from the Sole Survivor. Preston notifies the Sole Survivor of an old Minutemen stronghold known as "The Castle" which is the last mission they will undertake together to obtain prominence as a faction in the Commonwealth.

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.