When players first emerge from Vault 111 and make their way to Concord, they'll come across Preston Garvey, the last surviving Minuteman. That all changed with both the loss of their headquarters, and the Quincy Massacre, which saw the majority of Minutemen either dying or becoming raiders themselves. The Commonwealth Minutemen is a ragtag militia with colonial-era inspiration that once operated everywhere and was a force to be reckoned with. All of these factions have pros and cons (some more than others), but siding with the Minutemen is generally considered to provide the best possible outcome for the Commonwealth. Each has their own ending depending on who players ultimately side with, as they become the dominant force of the region.
In in Fallout 4, there are four main factions fighting for control of the Commonwealth: the Minutemen, the Railroad, the Brotherhood of Steel and the Institute.
