Fallout 4

When Freedom Calls

This mission is part of the main story and is unmissable.



Having hard time with that certain enemy?:

enter the follow command into the command console, (it's the '@ key on my board)

setstage 001a001c 200

easy peasy

This quest nearly made me give up the whole game in less than an hour. The problem is that the quest giver, Codsworth, and an important quest NPC, Preston Garvey, won’t give you required dialog.

There are a lot of Reddit threads about this, one helped with Codsworth, but none seem to give clear answers on Preston. Here’s what worked on my Series S with no DLC or mods, starting from Vault 111 (if you’ve already entered Sanctuary, load an earlier save before you left the vault, or start the game over):

Codsworth - try to talk to him once outside your house. Loot the magazine (on table in kitchen) and SPECIAL book (under dresser in Shaun’s room).

Note all the houses in Sanctuary are in a big loop. Go to the next house CLOCKWISE. Trust me, I went counter-clockwise the first time and it didn’t work. Kill any bloatflies or radroaches, loot a few items (even seemingly useless ones, you can use them to craft), then move on to the next house clockwise in the loop. If the house is completely destroyed you can skip it. One house has a cellar in the back, I didn’t go in there yet.

If the house has a safe or locked suitcase, pick it and take all items. One house has a terminal, hack it and read all entries. One of the houses has a toolbox outside that may have more bobby pins.

Once you get back to Codsworth, he should talk to you now. He’ll send you to Concord. On the way, go to the rocket icon on the map and get the dog.

Preston Garvey - keep going to Concord, kill the raiders. Preston will tell you to pick up a dropped gun, do so. Enter the Museum of Freedom and complete the quest as normal. When done, go back outside and fast travel to Sanctuary. When Preston and crew arrive across the bridge, don’t talk to him yet. Open the workbench and build everything you need to turn the requirements at the top of the HUD green: power, water, beds, defense (build a turret). There are melon and gourd plants behind the house with the workbench, but even if you harvest and re-plant them you won’t have enough food. That’s ok for now.

Preston should be parked near the workbench by now. Talk to him until he says he’s glad you’re there and then draws a total blank. Press the left stick backwards to walk away. Then, open the map and set a marker east of you, just west of a squiggly line on the map. This is Tenpines Bluff, a small settlement.

Walk there and there will be several tato plants you can harvest. There are settlers present but they don’t mind you stealing for some reason. Buy armor from Lucas the caravan guy if you wish then fast travel back to Sanctuary.

Plant tatos somewhere until your food counter in the HUD turns green. Now go back to Preston. He’ll ask if you’re ready to help and then FINALLY continue his dialogue, completing the When Freedom Calls quest .

Hope this helps someone, I wasted hours on this.