Brotherhood soldiers are responsible for collecting technology across the Commonwealth and enforcing the will of the Brotherhood. Soldiers who display exceptional loyalty and valor are promoted up the ranks, gaining more formidable gear along the way.[Non-game 1]
The Brotherhood's soldiers come from various backgrounds, uniting under one flag. Their ranks are (from lowest to highest): initiate, aspirant, knight, knight sergeant, knight captain, knight commander, paladin, paladin commander, and star paladin.
Initiates are commonly found at low levels when traversing the Commonwealth, and when the player character reaches higher levels, aspirants begin to take their place as the "low level" Brotherhood ground soldier.
Aspirants are switched out with initiates at lower levels at random. When the player character reaches higher levels, they replace initiates permanently.
Knights are the most commonly found Brotherhood soldier, from guarding checkpoints to acting as drop shock troops off of vertibirds, the Sole Survivor will encounter knights at almost any level.
Knight-sergeants slowly start to replace knights in Brotherhood of Steel areas, such as checkpoints, guarding the Prydwen, Waypoint Echo, etc. With the exception of Gavil during the quest Ad Victoriam, They do not have the appropriate paint for their T-60 power armor, instead having common knight paint.
Knight-captains begin replacing knights and knight sergeants as the Sole Survivor progresses in level. They will almost completely replace knights at level 50-56.
This is a unique Brotherhood knight who is located inside Cambridge Police Station during Precipice of War and must be killed as part of that quest. While unique, they are functionally the same as any other knight and will copy the traits, stats, and inventory of any of the above knight variants, based on the player character's level.
One of the strongest Brotherhood soldier variants in the game. At early levels, paladins will often be found guarding the tarmac surrounding Liberty Prime in a full set of sturdy combat armor of the Brotherhood variant.
A rare and extremely deadly paladin variant, even without power armor they have powerful weaponry at their disposal and may have several pulse or plasma grenades. They level with the player.
Some of the generic dialogue between Brotherhood soldiers on the Prydwen are references to "frequently spoken" things said by voice director Kal-El Bogdanove.[Non-game 2]
↑Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide p.33: "Soldiers Soldiers are responsible for gathering technology and enforcing the will of the Brotherhood. Individuals who demonstrate exceptional loyalty and valor are promoted up the ranks, gaining more formidable gear along the way. Most Brotherhood of Steel soldiers. rely on various laser rifles, but heavy guns such as miniguns, Gatling lasers, and missile launchers are sometimes used to overwhelm the opposition. Higher ranking soldiers sometimes employ T60 Power Armor, allowing them to absorb huge amounts of damage. Use powerful explosives, rifles, or heavy guns to engage from a safe distance, or equip a suit of Power Armor to even the odds in close combat." (Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Groups, Gangs, and Factions)
↑Kal-El Bogdanove on Twitter: "I know I haven't found 'em yet. 😎 But I've heard some of my frequently spoken direction made it into pilot chatter on Prydwen."
