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I've joined the BOS, but I have not yet started the Shadow of Steel quest.

Ever since I joined, though, Vertibirds have been appearing, frequently right as I start into an area filled with enemies. Brotherhood soldiers then launch and incredibly unsubtle frontal assault. Not only does this cause the enemies to go hostile (I prefer to approach with stealth, and snipe, assassinate, set traps, etc., before engaging in a "spray-and-pray" finisher for the area), but the troopers frequently kill enemies, seemingly robbing me of the experience I'd gain for killing them myself.

I feel like its detracting from my enjoyment of the game.

How can I get the BOS out of the Commonwealth, or at least stop their troops from ganking my kills? What is the shortest path to accomplishing this?

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  • You can't, until you finish the game and make the appropriate choices.
    – Pierre-Luc Pineault
    Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 1:30
  • Worst case I had: While I was friendly to both the BoS and a faction that the BoS is hostile to, I was speaking to a member of the other faction when a Vertibird dropped a couple BoS nearby. I wasn't ready to be hostile with either faction, so all I could do was step back and let them sort it out. Fortunately the NPC I'd been talking to was essential. Eventually I got tired of waiting. Just for giggles, I popped one of the BoS in their Fusion Core. Turns out that, despite the resulting explosion, somehow that wasn't enough to turn them hostile to me. I didn't press my luck any further, though.
    – Iszi
    Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 15:18
  • The first time I saw a BoS vertibird patrol they dropped their troops on the ground, then decided I was hostile and started chasing me around with a minigun. I was a member of the BoS in good standing, and the guys on the ground were friendly, just the vertibird wanted me dead, but I didn't wnat to risk shooting it and angering the BoS. Was very annoying.
    – Michael Campbell
    Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 22:16

2 Answers 2

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The arrival of the Brotherhood of Steel's Vertibirds and infantry is essentially inevitable, unless you plan to forgo most of the main storyline. According to Nukapedia, this occurs at the end of the Reunions quest.

There does appear to be a bug that can be triggered by the player, which would prevent this from happening. However, it may be patched at a later date as it can break some portions of the game - especially for players who actually want to side with the BoS.

Bug details, from the aforementioned page on Nukapedia:

The Prydwen and BoS vertibirds will only appear if the player character exits Fort Hagen via the rooftop access elevator. If the player character exits the area by backtracking their steps, it will present a "bug" in which the BoS have not entered the Commonwealth, and NPCs in Diamond city will comment on the "Blimp" being at the airport and such but it won't be accessible. To fix this, simply travel back to the Fort and leave the building via the elevator to the roof as intended.

As for getting rid of them after they've arrived, the only plausible option seems to be following any of the non-BoS main quest branches to their conclusion or near-conclusion. However, I have not found reliable documentation (and anecdotes I've seen vary) to confirm whether this is effective or if there are any bugs which may keep the BoS around past the point where they logically should not be.

I'm still working on my first playthrough, and I plan on finishing with one of the non-BoS groups. I'll try to come back and update this with details of my experience once that's done.

Also of note: You may not be losing as much XP as you think while the Brotherhood wipes out enemies for you, if you're losing any at all. Several times, I've noticed the "cha-ching" sound and an XP boost being triggered while I'm out and about - despite me having done nothing at all to earn it, and being nowhere near the combat zone. This usually happens shortly after a Vertibird flys by and/or I hear explosions or gunfights in the far distance, indicating the Brotherhood is hard at work somewhere. So, it seems the player may earn at least partial XP from the Brotherhood's kills.

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  • I think you have to damage the enemies to get the experience, but I can't say for sure. Maybe your companion was over there mixing it up?
    – DCShannon
    Commented Jan 6, 2016 at 23:40
  • @DCShannon Nope. I generally keep my companion pretty close, and the BoS in these cases are pretty far away. This also sometimes happens right after a fast-travel, so I wouldn't have touched the things that were being killed yet - at least not recently.
    – Iszi
    Commented Jan 7, 2016 at 15:20
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I've experienced it a few times without being in the BOS, it seems they just patrol the commonwealth on their own. Does seem annoying but also part of the game, sorry

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  • I'm sorry, but I'm not sure if this answers the question. Are you saying it can't be avoided, and can't be stopped, and this will continue for the rest of my game?
    – Beofett
    Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 0:00
  • I've had it up until I destroyed the Brotherhood, so it stopped then. But it might continue if you're part of them
    – Evan
    Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 0:09
  • @Evan I think I've seen other comments saying that Vertibirds still continue even after the BoS is destroyed. Maybe a bug, though.
    – Iszi
    Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 15:11

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