Highlights
- Power armor in The Outer Worlds could bridge the gap between different armor types, offering a combination of the best attributes without compromising on defense.
- The Fallout franchise's power armor offers additional bonuses beyond defenses, such as increased inventory and bonus yields for harvesting minerals.
- While power armor has its advantages, such as increased survivability, it also has downsides like being noisy and requiring a fuel source to operate.
The Outer Worlds already has a heavy armor type, but these sets generally offer high-damage resistances with no extra bonuses. The lighter armor set alternatives on the other hand have the added benefit of providing buffs and skills to the players' stats. Heavy armor is some of the best armor in The Outer Worlds when it comes to survivability, and this also rings true for power armor in the Fallout franchise. What sets heavy armor and power armor apart is that power armor can offer many more benefits to players, even beyond superior protection, skills, and buffs.
With a class of armor inspired by the Fallout franchise's power armor, The Outer Worlds 2 could mix up the current meta by bridging the gap between clothing, light, medium, and heavy armor sets. Power armor could be an opportunity to give players a combination of all the best parts of the different armor types in The Outer Worlds without compromising on defensive attributes. Otherwise, there are many other benefits and features that power armor could also explore in The Outer Worlds 2.
Power Armor is a Staple Throughout the Fallout Franchise
Part of what makes Fallout’s power armor so impactful is its additional bonuses beyond defenses, and sometimes the offensive utilities. Take Fallout 76's Excavator power armor for example, which significantly increases players' inventory and gives bonus yields for harvesting minerals on top of great defenses. Excavator power armor is just one of many different unique sets of power armor in Fallout 76 that The Outer Worlds could take inspiration from.
While there are many different positive benefits to wearing Fallout 76’s different sets of power armor, there are also plenty of downsides that make it a balanced alternative to standard armor sets. One of the biggest disadvantages of wearing power armor in Fallout 76 is that it is one of the noisiest types of armor, which means that it isn’t very effective for stealth encounters. Another negative aspect that power armor forces upon its users is that it requires a fuel source to operate.
Not only could The Outer Worlds 2 draw influence from the Fallout franchise, but this connection could potentially go both ways in the future. Leading up to the release of Fallout 5, power armor in the Fallout franchise is currently in an awkward state. Many highly divisive changes to power armor in the Fallout franchise have somewhat tarnished the reputation of power armor, and Fallout 5 is expected to once again overhaul parts of how power armor functions. With the outside perspective that The Outer Worlds 2 could offer, it might be worth using this as a mutual learning opportunity for both franchises.
What Power Armor Could Look Like in The Outer Worlds Games
The Outer Worlds 2 doesn’t have to be littered with Power Armor variants like Fallout 76 necessarily, but it could still benefit from having a few landmark sets. Even for players who prefer to use the lighter armor sets in The Outer Worlds, power armor could still provide some worthwhile offhand benefits. On Supernova difficulty, companions in The Outer Worlds can permanently die, and on the lower difficulties, they instead become temporarily unconscious if they take too much damage. With something as strong as power armor, companions would be more likely to stay in the fight for longer.
With The Outer Worlds' sci-fi humor and overall setting, the franchise has plenty of room to experiment with new original features for how power armor could function and its unique benefits. Considering how silly and powerful the Science weapons and other unique weapons in The Outer Worlds are, it’s time that armor sets explored the same kind of silliness. Following in the footsteps of the original The Outer Worlds, the sequel has a lot of potential to explore, and it shouldn’t miss the opportunity of adapting power armor from the Fallout franchise.
The Outer Worlds 2 is currently in development.