The Lost Patrol is a Brotherhood of Steel quest brimming with Fallout 4 lore. The Brotherhood's goals of centralizing the control of weapons and technology has yet to be realized. Enemies like the New California Republic have resisted the Brotherhood's attempts to consolidate power. In Fallout 4, the Brotherhood's forces are spread thin.
There are several ways to initiate the Lost Patrol quest, but the easiest way is to happen upon Knight Varnham's Body. Gamers will pick up a distress signal if they are near the Relay Tower OMC-810. The distress signal will get stronger as players move north. Eventually, they will see a destroyed house. Knight Varnham's body will be next to a turned-over desk. When looting the body, taking the battlefield holotape and holotag will trigger the next steps in the quest.
Finding The Other Brothers Of Steel
Knight Varnham was just one of several voices on the holotape. The other members stated that they planned to fall back to a nearby military base. If sole survivors head north from County Crossing, they will pick up another distress signal. Gamers can follow the road north to the National Guard Training Yard.
The distress beacon is located in the National Guard Recruitment Office, which is on the left side of the road when traveling north. After killing the ghouls, players will find the beacon if they go into the room on the far side of the building. There, Knight Astlin's body rests against the wall in the corner of the room. Her holotape will reveal several clues about the whereabouts of the other members of the brotherhood.
The Satellite Array
Astlin's tape hints that Brandis decided to flee to a satellite array. The only satellite array near the area is even further to the north. To the east of Finch Farm, there is a small array of satellites not too far from the National Guard office. A third distress signal is picked up once survivors are close to the array.
On arrival, Super Mutants and Mutant Hounds will attack. The Super Mutants camp on the satellite arrays and spam rockets from above. Meanwhile, Mutant Hounds will swarm the user. Super Mutant Suiciders make an appearance as well. Lower-level players will have a tough time with crowd control at this point in the quest.
Any long-range weapon will take out the Super Mutants, and a grenade launcher will decimate the Suiciders and Hounds. After killing all of the Mutants, gamers will want to head up the array to the south. There, Scribe Faris' body is sitting in the small shack at the top of the stairs. Survivors should know what to do by now. Faris' holotape reveals that Paladin Brandis likely went to a bunker north of the array.
Paladin Brandis
If players head north to the border of the map from the array, there is a small dirt path carved between the rocky landscape. This path will take survivors to Recon Bunker Theta. Land mines line the path, so people need to be ready to pick them up when they start beeping. Inside the bunker, Paladin Brandis will appear. He will be hostile, and all but one of the dialogue options will force gamers to kill him.
Killing Brandis
Those that choose to kill Brandis are rewarded with two legendary items. The first is the Survivor's Special laser gun, which does 65 damage and can be sold for 384 caps. Survivor's Special deals more damage the lower the character's health bar gets. The Brotherhood of Steel Officer Suit is the second unique item that can be acquired from Brandis. It is the only version of the suit available in the game.
Spare Brandis
The only way to get around killing Brandis is to choose the dialogue option "I followed the distress beacons left by your team. Their holotapes led me here". After he asks what happened to them, survivors must select the option explaining that they are all dead, and offer their dog tags to Brandis. Poor Brandis was holed up in the bunker for three years. He will offer any of the items in the bunker as a reward, but not his gun or suit. The bunker has a fusion core, ammo, and some scrap. Anyone that is a member of the brotherhood can manage to get the Survivor's Special without killing him.
Brotherhood of Steel Members
Completing the quest as a member of the Brotherhood unlocks different dialogue options that quell Brandis' fears. Convincing him to rejoin the Brotherhood will allow gamers to acquire his special weapon later in the game. Brandis can be found in the Prydwen later in the story. He will offer the Survivor's Special as a reward.