What is the Best Fallout 4 DLC? Rating Far Harbor, Nuka-World, and the Rest

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With the recent world of Nuka-World, Fallout 4 is now officially finished. Over the past year, we've seen about a half-dozen DLC expansions ranging from the banal to the truly interesting; and like the game itself, they've received varying reactions. But which ones are actually worth owning?

Here's a look at all of the Fallout 4 DLC, which is sorted into a few different categories. Alternatively, you can go out and get one of the zillions of mods out there, some of which are quite excellent. They might not match the fun of playing an official story; but if your only goal is to expand your wardrobe and your settlements, they are certainly worth a look. Otherwise, here are Fallout 4's best add-ons.

The Essentials

This is the DLC that every Fallout 4 fan should own. Not surprisingly, a good chunk of the story DLC is here, though not all of it. This DLC has a decent shot of restarting your interest in Fallout 4, much like it did for me.

Far Harbor

Here's what I wrote about Far Harbor shortly after it's release, "Ultimately, it was Far Harbor's story that got me back into Fallout 4 in a big way. When I fired it up again for the first time in months, it was with the intention of checking out the DLC and moving on. Instead, I found myself obsessing over how to resolve the conflict between Far Harbor, Acadia, and the Children of Atom that serves as the crux for the DLC. Was it better to go with DiMa's plan against my better judgment? Was it better to nuke the Children of Atom? I spent days wondering how to approach the problem of Far Harbor, killing time by building settlements and completing the Automatron quest (which was great, by the way)."

Far Harbor was everything fans wanted out of Fallout 4 in the first place: It had a great sci-fi story, it built on the backstory of one of the game's most popular characters, and it gave you a lot of choices to make. I had to think long and hard about whether I wanted to pay the price to make peace between the DLC's three factions. Ultimately, I made what I felt was the hard but correct decision. Fallout 4 doesn't have nearly enough of these sorts of moments.

Add in an interesting (and foggy) new area to explore; a host of fantastic sidequests, and a bunch of can't-miss weapons, and Far Harbor is some of the best Bethesda DLC in quite a while.

Automatron

I love this DLC. It's a bit buggy, but the main quest is a real delight, and it gives you the ability to build your own custom robot companions. What's not to love?

When you start Automatron, you come across a robot named Ada, who tells you of the rise of The Mechanist - a mysterious robotics expert who may prove to be a threat to the Commonwealth. The quests that follow are fairly combat heavy, but they make up for that with some terrific dialogue and a great ending. Seeing The Mechanist for yourself makes the journey worth it.

The best part of Automatron, though, is that you can build up your own robot arsenal. I turned both Ada and Cogsworth into killbots worthy of Armored Core, each loaded with missiles, miniguns, and gatling lasers. True, creating a true killbot makes most of Fallout 4's combat trivial, but it's worth it just to walk into a room with what amounts to The Terminator at your back.

The Best Workshop Add-ons

Building settlements is a big part of Fallout 4. As such, several of Fallout 4's DLC packs are focused entirely around building up your settlements. This is the pack that will give you the best bang for your buck. Alternatively, you can go and download any one of the zillion mods if you're an Xbox One or PC player. Sorry, PS4 owners: You're going to have to wait a little bit longer.

Wasteland Workshop

The first workshop pack is also one of the most robust. It includes a host of new signs, wall decorations, and lighting options, as well as fun miscellaneous additions like trucks and trailers (party bus!) For those who want to build an actual castle, concrete is not to be missed, as it allows you to create walls and bunkers.

For those who are a little more engaged (or crazy), it's also possible to build actual stadiums where you can capture Wasteland wildlife and battle it. It's a lot of work, and it's more Youtube fodder than anything; but for those who are really into settlement building, it's a fun way to take the next step.

The Rest

I reviewed Nuka-World last week and... it was okay. For those who want to be anti-Minutemen and run the Wasteland as a Raider, it's kind of neat. And the park looks pretty cool, too. But the story itself is lackluster, and the weapons that it brings with it aren't the best (unless you're keen on getting another Alien Blaster). It's a far cry from either Far Harbor or Automatron.

The Vault-Tec Workshop is similarly disappointing. Sure, you can build your own Vault and run some underwhelming experiments on your settlers, but the actual content is pretty weak. For all the promise of finally being able to build a vault of your own, Vault-Tech Workshop might actually be the worst of the Fallout 4 DLC.

Finally, there's the Contraptions Workshop, which is less about vanity and more about pure utility. Sure, you can finally mount weapons and armor (thank god), but it's much more exciting to be able to build a weapons or ammo factory. For weapons like the Gauss Rifle, the ammo factory is a godsend, and you can sell the excess at a decent value to boot. Ultimately, it's much less essential or interesting than Wasteland Workshop; but for hardcore fans, it adds a fair amount, especially if you want to torture poor Preston Garvey.