OK, the elder makes you a member of the BOS (without a ceremony) but it's hollow. You can only wear the old armor he gives you or everyone will kill you, no one seems to recognize you as a BOS member in the BOS bunker, they still call you outsider and wonder why you don't have a guard. On the outside no one knows you're a member and the armor when you put it on says you're posing as BOS (I'm supposed to be one for heavens sake). The only perk you get is that you can purchase the better stuff. This svcks.

There should have been a way to make it more realistic and let the other BOS recognize you once you are a member, you should be able to wear the good armor without getting your head blown off, and the wasteland should be able to accept you as you but also accept you as a member of the BOS.

So far, joining is only worth the purchases, you can cheat to wear power armor.

You can get some power armor that doesn't disguise you as a BOS member. I do agree that it does seem hollow. I kind wish that you could extend the grasp of the BoS a bit. i know that not much would happen in the short term but it would of been cool if they could send out some diplomats or something to the strip.

You do get to wear T-45 power armor without friendly factions, namely NCR, firing on you. They also have an ammo crate that you can check daily for FREE energy weapon ammo.

IMO, that's kinda worth not getting a big ceremony for joining the BoS.

Yes, the elder gives you the T-45d (old armor) that doesn't have a faction attached to it. But just put on the armor off of a dead BOS and everyone shoots at you and it says you have the armor of a faction on.

If I'm a member I should be part of that faction without everyone shooting at me, they should recognize me, and only the PC with only that membership should be scripted that way. Guess it was too much trouble to script the other factions friendly with one member of the BOS faction.

Come to remember when you became a member in Broken Steel no one recognized you as one either, although the elder made you part of the BOS. Hollow scripting. Should have more depth. But that's just my opinion, might have made the game buggier than it is already.