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People of the Commonwealth. Do not interfere. Our intentions are peaceful. We are the Brotherhood of Steel.The Prydwen arriving in the Commonwealth

Shadow of Steel is a Brotherhood of Steel main quest in Fallout 4.

Quick walkthrough[]

Brotherhood of Steel main quest: Shadow of Steel 
Listen to Military Frequency AF95. 
Report to Paladin Danse at Cambridge Police Station
Attend the debriefing. 
Speak to Lancer Captain Kells
Attend Elder Maxson's address. 
Speak to Elder Maxson. 
Report to Paladin Danse. 
Reward: 350+ XP
Rank of Knight
Full set of BoS II T-60b power armor
Danse as a companion 
Leads to: Tour of Duty 

Detailed walkthrough[]

After observing a huge Brotherhood of Steel airship pass overhead, the Sole Survivor's Pip-Boy radio receives a transmission. Listen to it for further instructions before heading to the Cambridge Police Station and following Paladin Danse to the roof.

After a short Vertibird flight to the Brotherhood of Steel's flagship, the Prydwen, disembark onto the flight deck and speak with Lancer Captain Kells.

The Sole Survivor is ordered to attend an address being given by Elder Maxson. Speak to Maxson after listening to his speech. Regardless of the earlier rank in the Brotherhood, Maxson now bestows the title of Knight on the Sole Survivor and awards them a new suit of power armor, which can be found in bay 3 of the main deck.

Check in with Paladin Danse on the main deck to complete the quest.

Quest stages[]

Quest stages
StageStatusDescriptionLog Entry
10 Listen to radioAfter observing a huge Brotherhood of Steel airship pass overhead, my Pip-Boy radio is receiving a transmission. I should listen to it for further instructions.
20 Talk to Paladin Danse
30 Board the vertibirdNow that the Brotherhood of Steel's reinforcements have arrived, Paladin Danse has ordered me to accompany him up to their flagship, the "Prydwen."
90 Exit the vertibird
100 Debrief scene
110 Speak to Lancer Captain Kells
120 Attend Elder Maxson's addressThe Prydwen's captain, Lancer-Captain Kells, has ordered me to attend an address being given by Elder Maxson, the supreme commander of the Brotherhood of Steel.
140 Speak to Elder Maxson
150 Report to Paladin DanseElder Maxson has promoted to the rank of Knight and awarded a full suit of Power Armor which I can find on the Prydwen's Main Deck.
255Quest finishedQuest CompletePaladin Danse has become my sponsor and offered to accompany me as a guide as I travel around the Commonwealth.
355Quest failedQuest Failed

Companion reactions[]

EventCaitCodsworthCurieDanseDeaconHancockMacCreadyPiperPrestonStrongValentineX6-88LongfellowGage
Disagree with Maxson's motivations for coming to the CommonwealthLikeLikeNo reactionNo reactionLikeLoveLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeNo reactionDislikesLove
Agree with Maxson's motivations for coming to the CommonwealthDislikesDislikesNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionDislikesDislikesDislikesDislikesHatesDislikesDislikesNo reactionHates
Don't express an opinion of Maxson's motivations for coming to the CommonwealthNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionDislikesNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reaction
Be impressed at the level of forces brought to the CommonwealthLikeNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionLikeDislikesNo reactionHatesDislikesNo reactionDislikesNo reaction
Be wary of the level of forces brought to the CommonwealthNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionDislikesNo reactionNo reactionLikeNo reaction
Disapprove of the level of forces brought to the CommonwelathDislikesNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionNo reactionDislikesLikeNo reactionLikeLikeNo reactionLikeNo reaction

Notes[]

  • The player character must complete the Act 1 quest arc of the main quest line for this quest to begin. Semper Invicta must also be completed as a part of the Brotherhood of Steel quest chain. Upon leaving Fort Hagen during the Reunions quest, the Prydwen will appear above and signal the start of this quest, otherwise, it may trigger a series of bugs.
  • Talking to Maxson after the address (stage 150) unlocks ownership of the Boston Airport workshop.
  • The Vertibird usually found on the landing platform at the airport will not be accessible until after the completion of this mission, preventing the player from accessing the Prydwen before accompanying Danse on the flight from the police station.
  • Certain companions will have unique dialogue when speaking to Paladin Danse at the beginning of the quest depending on what the player character says.

Cait dialogue[]

Provoking a War
"What else is the Brotherhood supposed to use? Sticks and stones?" [Cait disliked that.]
Quick War
"You're damn right. The more guns, the faster the problem vanishes." [Cait liked that.]

Curie dialogue[]

Provoking War
"And war is the last thing the Commonwealth needs."
Quick War
"Who could stand against that?"

Codsworth dialogue[]

Quick War
"Yes, hopefully through presence alone..."
Diplomacy
"Yes, or at least sending a very strong message."
Provoking War
"With a show of force that large, I fear for the innocent of the Commonwealth."

Nick Valentine dialogue[]

Diplomacy
"It sure as hell ain't gonna be taken as a gesture of good faith from the other forces in the Commonwealth."
Provoking War
"No one brings that much firepower without plans to use it." [Valentine liked that.]
Who is Maxson?
Valentine will call Maxson a lunatic.
Quick War
Valentine will ask "Yeah, for who?" [Valentine disliked that.]

Hancock dialogue[]

Diplomacy
"Ain't no one in the Commonwealth wondering about your intentions now."
Provoking War
"Folks don't usually appreciate having a floating fortress blocking their view."
Quick War
"Sure know how to make an entrance, I'll give you that."

Piper dialogue[]

Diplomacy
Piper will exclaim "What have you done?"
Provoking War
"You're right. There's no way this doesn't lead to more death." [Piper liked that.]
Who is Maxson?
"He's a dangerous man, that's what he is."
Quick War
"You two can't be that naive. That thing, it's just gonna escalate everything. You can't honestly believe it will stem the bloodshed?" [Piper disliked that.]

Bugs[]

  • PCPC If you did not complete Call to Arms before the Prydwen appears after Reunions, this will trigger a glitch where Brotherhood Vertibird patrol teams will not spawn correctly.[verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 4Playstation 4 If an NPC clips through Paladin Danse while you are reporting to him, the dialogue options may disappear and cannot be pulled back up. When you try to talk to him again, he will only say "I'll be in the mess hall if you need me. Good luck with Maxson," making the quest impossible to complete, and will leave you unable to talk to most of the other Brotherhood of Steel members. Dismissing any companions before talking to Danse may fix the issue.[verified]
  • PCPC If the Greenetech Genetics cell causes crashes, when reaching this cell in the vertibird the game will crash so you can never reach the Prydwen. [verified]
    • Do not mark the quest Shadow of Steel as active. Instead go to the airport and jet up or use tcl to one of the 6 appendages of the Prydwen (where the vertibirds dock). You will then get the "Discovered Prydwen" message and be able to continue as normal. However, if you've done missions at Far Harbor you are forced to reveal the location of the synths and DiMA. To bypass this, use the console command setstage bos201 120.
    • Using coc to move to the Prydwen will disable fast travel completely.
  • PCPC If you do not leave Fort Hagen via the elevator at the end of Reunions, the Shadow of Steel quest won't trigger. You need to exit through the elevator door.[verified]
    • To fix this, simply fast travel back to Fort Hagen, enter through one of the other doors, and exit through the elevator.
  • PCPC This quest will show up before Reveille in the completed section of your quest log, even if you received it afterwards.[verified]
  • PCPC Xbox OneXbox One The Vertibird may not take off of the Cambridge police station roof, and Danse may talk as if the Vertibird is in the air. The option to interact may not appear at all. Using console command SetStage BoS201 35 will allow the quest to progress. [verified]
  • PCPC Xbox OneXbox One You may not be able to board the Vertibird on the Cambridge police station roof (there will be no option to interact with the Vertibird). Using console command SetStage BoS201 2 will complete Semper Invicta, place you on the Prydwen and allow the quest to progress.
  • PCPC If you have completed Far Harbor missions prior to starting this quest then you will be unable to complete the "Speak to Lancer Captain Kells" objective, as the moment you approach, the miscellaneous "Inform the BoS about the synth refuge" dialogue will automatically be triggered (trying to end that dialogue will just cause it to retrigger). Leaving the location and returning should fix it.[verified]
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