As Father mentioned in the previous quest, go see Doctor Watson and he’ll let Rosalind explain the plan (which is, frankly, awesome): you are going to relay just outside the Airport and fight (or sneak) your way in. From there you are going to take out their EMP generators to bring in your own Synth allies and then (get this) one of your Synths is going to upload a virus into Liberty Prime and have it take out the Brotherhood’s Airship and Airport.

If you plan on being more stealthy for this mission, you may want to send your companion away and bring some Stealth Boys. This is far from necessary though. Alternately, you are going to be facing a number of Power Armor enemies in this fight, so a suit of your own Power Armor may be a good idea as well. Again, it is all up to you. Once you are ready, head to the Relay Room and you will be warped just outside Boston Airport.

Boston Airport¶

You’ll arrive in a warehouse just north-east of the airport. Your first goal is to take out the three generators, but just getting to them is half the battle! First things first though: there is a squad of Brotherhood soldiers that may be patrolling nearby, so look for them to the left of your starting point. From here, head forward towards the Airport and you’ll see their position is very well defended: Machine Gun Turrets, Knights and Knight Commanders patrolling in Power Armor and even Scribe or Initiates with Missile Launchers on the ramparts.

You are of course free for a direct assault if you wish (which is quite fun) but that is a rather tall order. You can use the husks of the airplanes here for cover, but you can also consider an alternative: use these airplane husks to head to the left and into the warehouse away from the guarded entrance. Inside are a number of spreadout scribes and soldiers that you should take out one at a time with a suppressed weapon (including Proctor Quinlan, who drops the special “Quinlan’s Outfit” ). Note that there is also a locked door [Master] down here that you can open that leads to a Steamer Trunk and various other goodies, including a second locked door [Master] that leads to the beach front nearby. From the warehouse entrance though, you want to make your way to the right to find the stairs upwards.

Up here there is a Vertibird that will take off once you are seen, so if you can, put some bullets into its engine with a sneak attack and then use your VATS to take it out. Its explosion will hurt nearby enemies and cause you to go into full [Danger] mode, but stick to the stairs and wipe out everything that comes over. The first Generator is actually behind the Vertibird (to the east) that you can take out to call in your Synth allies. The other end of this platform to the west has the other generator, but it is much more guarded so go after the eastern generator first, then work your way south taking out the Brotherhood enemies and turrets guarding the generator. In fact, it is a good idea to rush in, target the generator quickly (to destroy it and call in more allies), then rush back so you can get that distraction and take down the enemies easier. This western path leads to a hallway overlooking Liberty Prime by the way and has Proctor Teagan over here as well (who again drops the special “Teagan’s Outfit” ).

The third generator is up in the aircraft controller tower, but before you go up there note that to the left of the stairs (to the north) is a locked security door [Expert] you can pick that leads out to an airplane walkway. This is a perfect sniping spot for taking out the northern security point. You can hide here and snipe away at the many soldiers guarding the gate and they will never see you, as you don’t go out of the “Caution” phase. They will fire at your position though, but you can easily back away just a bit for secure protection from the missile and laser blasts.

Now then, the third generator. Head to the south and down a small hallway (guarded by a Knight) is an elevator leading up to the control tower. Take him out and head up the tower. Up here is a patrolling Protectron you should take out as well as a turret on each side. The generator is up here as well, so take it out and head back down. You will undoubtedly see the “Synth Virus” ally nearby once you take the elevator back down (he is the only Synth that looks like a generation one) and head towards Liberty Prime.

You now need to escort the Virus Synth to the top of the Liberty Prime platform. Proctor Ingram is up here protecting it, but kill her off (target her arms) and everyone else who may be around, then head up to the top and the Synth Virus will do its thing and start to infect the giant robot.

You need to hold out for several minutes while the virus does its thing. This is where your companion and allies come in very handy, as several Brotherhood foes appear from the lower western and eastern entrances, as well as the hallway down below. Kill them off as fast as you are able, taking time to heal whenever you need to (seriously, stay on top of your health) and using the top platform for cover. A Vertibird will show up soon so be sure to take out its engines as soon as you can to take it out for good (VATS helps a ton with this). Finally, near the end, Scribe Haylen and Elder Maxson will come out to fight. Haylen comes from the hallway and attempts to stop the Synth Virus while Maxson arrives in a second Vertibird (he is in Power Armor of course). Take out the Vertibird and Maxon will be grounded, after which you’ll just need to cut the head off the serpent, figuratively speaking. After he’s dead, loot his remains for his awesome coat ( “Maxson’s Battlecoat” ) and his special legendary weapon, “Final Judgement” .

Once the Synth Virus has uploaded the virus, it will be destroyed (and even if it dies before then, another one will warp in so don’t worry too much). Liberty Prime is now yours and will identify the Airship as the new “Communist Threat” and will use its eye lasers to take it down. The airship will come directly at you but, as Rosalind promised, you will be warped away just in the nick of time! You are even taken just outside the blast zone so you can see and appreciate the crash landing you just caused. This officially completes the quest “Airship Down” and gives you a very nice chunk of XP. Wait a few moments and the next Institute quest, “Nuclear Family” , will begin.