There’s plenty of karma options when traveling out in the Capital Wasteland. But is it better to have good or bad karma in Fallout 3?
It’s better to have neutral karma in Fallout 3. The Regulators will hunt you for having bad karma, and the Talon Company Mercs will hunt you for good karma. Neutral karma also offers flexibility in obtaining karma-locked followers.
Having neutral karma will provide a more anonymous existence in the Capital Wasteland.
Good or Bad Karma in Fallout 3
Without neutral karma, you’ll be hunted down by two different groups: The Talon Company and The Regulators.
If you have good karma, Talon Company Mercs will hunt you. They’ll be added to a deck of random events, and may appear while exiting buildings or subway stations. They’ll fire on sight, allowing the player to collect a note from their corpse.
The note states that Talon Company is hunting you for your good deeds. They will continually spawn throughout the Wasteland so long as you maintain this karma.
Regulators, the opposite of Talon Company, will hunt you for having bad karma. The Regulators act as a vigilante group instead of a mercenary group, and they’ll have a similar note that explains their reasons for hunting you.
Maintaining neutral karma will also allow more flexibility in followers. Many of Fallout 3’s followers require a predetermined karma level. Jericho requires evil karma, Fawkes requires good karma, and Butch requires neutral, for example.
Other followers like Clover and Charon can be purchased, regardless of karma. Still, it is advantageous to maintain neutral karma so that you can easily slide back and forth between followers by raising or lowering your level slightly.
Once a follower is gained, they will not leave you if your karma changes. Jericho requires evil karma, but he won’t abandon you for doing good deeds after that. He’ll say he didn’t come out to the wastes to “play Santa Clause,” but he won’t really leave you.
So that’s the answer. It’s better to have neutral karma instead of good or bad karma in Fallout 3.