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DISCLAIMER: I'm fully aware that Bethesda Executive Todd Howard has stated that he does not consider Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel or Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel to be canonical to the Fallout Franchise as of the Bethesda Game Studios release of Fallout 3; which took over as the primary continuation of the Fallout Franchise in place of the cancelled "Fallout 3" title codenamed "Van Buren" originally created by Black Isle Studios prior to being bought out by Bethesda.   However my theories ignore the statements made by Todd Howard on the grounds that the minor conflicts in continuity are no worse than some of the alleged retcons posed by Bethesda Game Studios in recent years with the release of Fallout 4 and fallout 76. This is a personal opinion of mine that in spite of Todd Howards claims there are numerous references to the events of these games featured in properties approved by or directly influenced by Bethesda themselves. Please remember this is a theory and has no impact on the official source material.

Back in 2017 I posted a theory comparing the Power Armor from Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel belonging to the Chicago Chapter aka the "Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel" with that of the Enclave's Advanced Power Armor aka the X-02 Power Armor from Fallout 3.

In that theory I gave an explanation of the history of the Chicago contingent as well as a brief summary of the history behind the Enclave's move from the New California Poseidon Energy Off-Shore Oil Platform facility to the Raven Rock facility in the Capitol Wasteland. The official theory from back in 2017 can be found here: www.deviantart.com/greatdragon… .

I'll admit I left a few holes in my theory by failing to acknowledge the original Enclave's armor.  Rather more specifically I failed to compare it to the Midwestern and Capitol Wasteland armors. Above I have rectified this situation and moreover I've taken the liberty to show them in each generation of game that they have appeared, either by being included through DLC or through Mods. In the case of Fallout 4 it's a combination of Both for the X-02 due to Nexus Mods and Creation Club as I can deem Creation Club not only as officially sanctioned Mods but DLC as they have been approved by Bethesda for inclusion through their Creation Club shop.

Top Row: As you can see from left to right we have the Sprite of the Enclaves Power Armor as seen in Fallout 2 from the original generation of Fallout games.   In the Middle we have the "Remnants" Power Armor worn by Arcade Gannon and the Enclave Remnants in Fallout: New Vegas which was crafted using Bethesda's game engine and forged by the hands of Obsidian Game Studios which was comprised of the individuals who had previously created the original Fallout games. On the right we have the X-01 Power Armor as featured in Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.

Middle Row: On the left hand side we have the Midwestern Power Armor as worn by the Brotherhood of Steel in "Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel. This is just one version of the game sprite from the base game and was the best choice to see the armor in the best clarity. The middle depiction is of the Nexus Mod Manager "Midwestern Power Armor" which resembles the original but is bulkier more similar to how some of the power armors are seen in Fallout 4. The Right hand side of the middle row is the "Midwest Power Armor Enhanced" which is virtually the same as the middle image however is more true to the original base design from Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, even including the ability to have an optional Hood or Cape.

Bottom Row: Starting off we have the Enclave's "Advanced Power Armor" from Fallout 3.   The middle column image is the Nexus Mod Manager version of the X-02 Power Armor modeled loosely off of the Fallout 3 design. On the right side we have the officially licensed Creation Club version of the X-02 which is more polished and officially sanctioned by Bethesda.

When we compare not only the Midwestern Armor but the X-01 and X-02 versions together we can better see where my initial theory came from.    Each suit of armor has its own unique touches and feel, but as we progress left to right and top to bottom we can slowly see how it's very plausible (and considering what we know from Fallout 3 through Elder Lyon's on how his was just one of a few contingents sent away from the Hidden Valley chapter to explore further east to either gather technology or to be exiled) that much as the Brotherhood migrated West to East between the events of Fallout 1 and Fallout 3 making stops in various cities along the way to gather resources & scavenge for technology, the Enclave while fleeing from their failed operations in New California made stops along their way to refuel their Vertibirds and gather resources from former military or government outposts before making their way to Raven Rock.

While there is no canonical evidence to officially back up or prove my theory if we presume that on their way East one of the stops they made was the Chicago area (which is where Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel takes place), and while there used their superior technology and aerial superiority to outflank and overrun the Brotherhood chapter forcing them into hiding or outright eliminating them as a threat.    In either case upon their "Victory" the Enclave would see no reason to leave technology behind when it can be repaired & reused, or otherwise stripped studied & repurposed.    The Brotherhood of Steel uses the same operational procedure in order to repair or otherwise enhance their own technology, in addition to reclaiming more advanced tech so that it does not fall into the hands of groups they deem unfit to control it.

With that in mind since the Midwestern Power Armor is so drastically different from the T-45 and T-51 units utilized by Brotherhood Knights & Paladins respectively, and is unique to the Chicago area there would be plenty of reason for the Enclave to salvage as much as they could to study it and integrate it into their own technology so that they could improve upon the X-01 armor.    Additionally we know that before moving to the East Coast the Enclave had a temporary station in what would eventually become "The Divide" in Fallout: New Vegas where the Eyebots were being developed using what they called "Duraframe Technology".    Furthermore the logs found in The Divide connect to the East Coast chapter of the Enclave as they mention cancelling the Eyebot project in order to refocus the Duraframe research towards creating what would become the X-03 Hellfire Power Armor (another unique Enclave armor featured in Fallout 3, Nexus Mods, and the Creation Club shop).

As I originally stated as our eyes move left to right and top to bottom we slowly can see how the X-01 armor and Midwestern Armor have features in common with the X-02 armor.   This makes the likelihood that the Enclave merged the best qualities of both armors together to create a new type that was as powerful as the X-01 but had the superior mobility and freedom of movement of the Midwestern Armor.    Stat-wise we know the X-02 armor is almost identical to the X-01 in Fallout 4.    We also know that the X-01, X-02, and Midwestern armors all have "Advanced" or Tesla variations that give them additional benefits above their base models.

The fallout games would not officially add Tesla features to any model of power armor beyond the X-01, X-02, or Midwestern armors until Fallout 4 where a special mod could be earned that could convert almost any other power armor to have Tesla components. Prior to Fallout 4 the last time we see a Tesla Power Armor design is in Fallout New Vegas as the "Remnants Tesla Armor" is a unique variation of the Remnants armor that can be achieved either by chance at a Vertibird Crash Site or by making the right choices with Arcade Gannon.

Is this enough evidence to confirm the Enclave stole the technology for the Midwestern Power Armor from the Brotherhood of Steel's Chicago Chapter?    That dear readers is entirely up to you.    As for me you already know my feelings on the matter, but in the end it's simply another entry in my ever growing book of "Lore, Myths, and Theories".

Description
DISCLAIMER: I'm fully aware that Bethesda Executive Todd Howard has stated that he does not consider Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel or Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel to be canonical to the Fallout Franchise as of the Bethesda Game Studios release of Fallout 3; which took over as the primary continuation of the Fallout Franchise in place of the cancelled "Fallout 3" title codenamed "Van Buren" originally created by Black Isle Studios prior to being bought out by Bethesda.   However my theories ignore the statements made by Todd Howard on the grounds that the minor conflicts in continuity are no worse than some of the alleged retcons posed by Bethesda Game Studios in recent years with the release of Fallout 4 and fallout 76. This is a personal opinion of mine that in spite of Todd Howards claims there are numerous references to the events of these games featured in properties approved by or directly influenced by Bethesda themselves. Please remember this is a theory and has no impact on the official source material.

Back in 2017 I posted a theory comparing the Power Armor from Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel belonging to the Chicago Chapter aka the "Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel" with that of the Enclave's Advanced Power Armor aka the X-02 Power Armor from Fallout 3.

In that theory I gave an explanation of the history of the Chicago contingent as well as a brief summary of the history behind the Enclave's move from the New California Poseidon Energy Off-Shore Oil Platform facility to the Raven Rock facility in the Capitol Wasteland. The official theory from back in 2017 can be found here: www.deviantart.com/greatdragon… .

I'll admit I left a few holes in my theory by failing to acknowledge the original Enclave's armor.  Rather more specifically I failed to compare it to the Midwestern and Capitol Wasteland armors. Above I have rectified this situation and moreover I've taken the liberty to show them in each generation of game that they have appeared, either by being included through DLC or through Mods. In the case of Fallout 4 it's a combination of Both for the X-02 due to Nexus Mods and Creation Club as I can deem Creation Club not only as officially sanctioned Mods but DLC as they have been approved by Bethesda for inclusion through their Creation Club shop.

Top Row: As you can see from left to right we have the Sprite of the Enclaves Power Armor as seen in Fallout 2 from the original generation of Fallout games.   In the Middle we have the "Remnants" Power Armor worn by Arcade Gannon and the Enclave Remnants in Fallout: New Vegas which was crafted using Bethesda's game engine and forged by the hands of Obsidian Game Studios which was comprised of the individuals who had previously created the original Fallout games. On the right we have the X-01 Power Armor as featured in Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.

Middle Row: On the left hand side we have the Midwestern Power Armor as worn by the Brotherhood of Steel in "Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel. This is just one version of the game sprite from the base game and was the best choice to see the armor in the best clarity. The middle depiction is of the Nexus Mod Manager "Midwestern Power Armor" which resembles the original but is bulkier more similar to how some of the power armors are seen in Fallout 4. The Right hand side of the middle row is the "Midwest Power Armor Enhanced" which is virtually the same as the middle image however is more true to the original base design from Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, even including the ability to have an optional Hood or Cape.

Bottom Row: Starting off we have the Enclave's "Advanced Power Armor" from Fallout 3.   The middle column image is the Nexus Mod Manager version of the X-02 Power Armor modeled loosely off of the Fallout 3 design. On the right side we have the officially licensed Creation Club version of the X-02 which is more polished and officially sanctioned by Bethesda.

When we compare not only the Midwestern Armor but the X-01 and X-02 versions together we can better see where my initial theory came from.    Each suit of armor has its own unique touches and feel, but as we progress left to right and top to bottom we can slowly see how it's very plausible (and considering what we know from Fallout 3 through Elder Lyon's on how his was just one of a few contingents sent away from the Hidden Valley chapter to explore further east to either gather technology or to be exiled) that much as the Brotherhood migrated West to East between the events of Fallout 1 and Fallout 3 making stops in various cities along the way to gather resources & scavenge for technology, the Enclave while fleeing from their failed operations in New California made stops along their way to refuel their Vertibirds and gather resources from former military or government outposts before making their way to Raven Rock.

While there is no canonical evidence to officially back up or prove my theory if we presume that on their way East one of the stops they made was the Chicago area (which is where Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel takes place), and while there used their superior technology and aerial superiority to outflank and overrun the Brotherhood chapter forcing them into hiding or outright eliminating them as a threat.    In either case upon their "Victory" the Enclave would see no reason to leave technology behind when it can be repaired & reused, or otherwise stripped studied & repurposed.    The Brotherhood of Steel uses the same operational procedure in order to repair or otherwise enhance their own technology, in addition to reclaiming more advanced tech so that it does not fall into the hands of groups they deem unfit to control it.

With that in mind since the Midwestern Power Armor is so drastically different from the T-45 and T-51 units utilized by Brotherhood Knights & Paladins respectively, and is unique to the Chicago area there would be plenty of reason for the Enclave to salvage as much as they could to study it and integrate it into their own technology so that they could improve upon the X-01 armor.    Additionally we know that before moving to the East Coast the Enclave had a temporary station in what would eventually become "The Divide" in Fallout: New Vegas where the Eyebots were being developed using what they called "Duraframe Technology".    Furthermore the logs found in The Divide connect to the East Coast chapter of the Enclave as they mention cancelling the Eyebot project in order to refocus the Duraframe research towards creating what would become the X-03 Hellfire Power Armor (another unique Enclave armor featured in Fallout 3, Nexus Mods, and the Creation Club shop).

As I originally stated as our eyes move left to right and top to bottom we slowly can see how the X-01 armor and Midwestern Armor have features in common with the X-02 armor.   This makes the likelihood that the Enclave merged the best qualities of both armors together to create a new type that was as powerful as the X-01 but had the superior mobility and freedom of movement of the Midwestern Armor.    Stat-wise we know the X-02 armor is almost identical to the X-01 in Fallout 4.    We also know that the X-01, X-02, and Midwestern armors all have "Advanced" or Tesla variations that give them additional benefits above their base models.

The fallout games would not officially add Tesla features to any model of power armor beyond the X-01, X-02, or Midwestern armors until Fallout 4 where a special mod could be earned that could convert almost any other power armor to have Tesla components. Prior to Fallout 4 the last time we see a Tesla Power Armor design is in Fallout New Vegas as the "Remnants Tesla Armor" is a unique variation of the Remnants armor that can be achieved either by chance at a Vertibird Crash Site or by making the right choices with Arcade Gannon.

Is this enough evidence to confirm the Enclave stole the technology for the Midwestern Power Armor from the Brotherhood of Steel's Chicago Chapter?    That dear readers is entirely up to you.    As for me you already know my feelings on the matter, but in the end it's simply another entry in my ever growing book of "Lore, Myths, and Theories".