By on
GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.
Are you looking for more tips about The Outer Worlds 2? Your adventures take you all across Arcadia, a system where disparate factions continue to vie for control. Conflict erupts everywhere you go, as you take on man, machine, and marauding fauna, all while hunting down someone who betrayed you. Fortunately, we have a guide that lays out several core mechanics to help you get started.
Our guide is organized somewhat akin to a progression-based system. We start things off by discussing mechanics that you’d encounter as soon as you create your character, such as traits, skills, and perks.
We then move on to how those concepts come together, especially when you come across dialogue checks and companion recruitment quests. Later, we look into other facets that you’d stumble upon while exploring, including collectibles and even drastic outcomes from missions.
An important tip in The Outer Worlds 2 that you should keep in mind is that, outside of one particular instance, you’re actually not allowed to respec your character. That means every decision you make regarding your character’s build becomes very impactful in the long run.
During character creation, you’ll be given a bunch of options, namely your background, traits, and skills (which we discuss in the next entry):
Related guides:
The next panel allows you to pick two skills to specialize in (by default). These include options like Lockpick (i.e. open locked containers and doors), Hack (i.e. decrypt terminal passwords), Leadership (i.e. boost the damage and health of companions), Guns (i.e. increase the damage of firearms), and more.
Related guides:
Flaws are another facet that’s related to how you build your character in The Outer Worlds 2. These will pop up from time to time as you progress through the campaign and meet the unlock conditions.
Flaws will always have a positive effect, but there’s also a negative effect that acts as a drawback. You can either keep this quirk or discard it. Just remember that any flaw that you select can no longer be removed.
Related guide: Best flaws to choose during the campaign
There are numerous moments in the game where you have to make a choice, whether it’s avoiding a battle or just accessing an alternative path. In these instances, it’s good to have the necessary tidbits to help you pull through:
There are six companions that you can recruit in The Outer Worlds 2. However, only a couple of them can be in your active party at any given moment. Here’s what you can expect:
Related guides:
Another tip in The Outer Worlds 2 to bear in mind is that certain weapons and abilities deal elemental/non-physical damage. Continuously attacking an opponent causes the effect to stack until it triggers a stronger status ailment–i.e. chilling and slowing down an enemy until you freeze them completely. This can be further bolstered via the Science skill.
Related guides:
Workbenches can be found in various settlements and bases. In fact, a companion named Niles lets you access a workbench via dialogue responses. These contraptions allow you to craft numerous mods, gear, and materials:
Related guide: How to unlock additional slots for weapons, grenades, and primers
As you explore the planets in the Arcadia system, you’ll gain access to different kinds of gadgets. For instance, there’s the N-Ray Scanner, which lets you see enemies and objects through walls. Likewise, there’s the Gas Energy Deflection Apparatus, a tool that becomes your only means of surviving dangerous Zyranium clouds and fields. The gas itself is poisonous, but the gadget’s shielding offers some protection for a scant few seconds.
Speaking of poisons, you should also check your toxicity meter–i.e. the green bar below your health. The meter usually builds up due to the use of medical inhalers–i.e. health potions or flasks. Popping the inhaler to heal often leads to a toxicity crash, which prevents you from using it again for several seconds. If you desperately need to heal, you can rely on (a) restorative companion abilities, such as those from Inez or Valerie, (b) food and drinks, (c) NPCs that can heal, or (d) AutoDoc contraptions mounted on walls.
Related guide: How to unlock all gadgets
Several factions have taken control of their own territories. Naturally, you want to be on their good side to earn some benefits.
Although your main goal in The Outer Worlds 2 is to hunt down a person who’s betrayed you, it’s still a good idea to explore the wilderness just to meet NPCs and start all sorts of side quests. Most of the time, these side quests offer nifty rewards, including unique gear pieces and collectibles. That said, some missions tend to be difficult, since the items that you need to find won’t be marked on the map.
Related guide:
In relation to the above, exploration in The Outer Worlds 2 tends to be very rewarding once you discover more goodies. For example, you might come across ornate containers known as High Security Lockboxes. Once picked up, these are sent directly to your ship. The only way to open them is if you’ve managed to obtain the required number of Advanced Decryption Keys.
Similarly, there are collectible items known as Pitchball Cards and Tossball Cards. Upon grabbing these, you’ll notice that they offer permanent stacking bonuses to your stats, including your maximum health, critical hit chance, and more.
Related guides:
At the end of it all, The Outer Worlds 2 lets you make crucial decisions that can have wildly different outcomes. Some might lead to varied rewards that are mutually exclusive. Others can have disastrous results, such as the destruction of an entire settlement and everyone in it. That’s why it’s important to keep backup saves in case you make mistakes. Or you can just live with those decisions, paying the price as you role-play your way across the system.
Related guides:
That does it for our The Outer Worlds 2 beginner’s guide. We hope these tips help you as you start your adventure in Arcadia and the lands beyond.
Black market smugglers? Autocratic regimes? Rampaging Raptidons? Invisible cultists that can only be seen if you wear special goggles? These shenanigans need not cause any alarm because we’ve got you covered in our The Outer Worlds 2 guides hub.