For now, I have decided to take a short break from writing dedicated guides to the various features or companions in the game and go as generic as it gets and share some The Outer Worlds tips and tricks for all players out there.
These will be more random – but extremely useful, especially if you’re just starting to play the game and wondering how to play and what to do to get the most out of it, especially early on.
As you can imagine, The Outer Worlds is a massive game that gets better the more you explore its various planets and side quests… but there are some things that make it a lot better no matter what path you choose. And that’s what we’re going to talk about in today’s guide.
So without further ado, here are my top 25 tips and tricks to help you get better at The Outer Worlds!
1. Don’t shy away from the Dialog skills
There are so many things that you can achieve easily if you have a lot of points invested here that you simply can’t imagine it.
Of course, this could ruin some of the fun (meaning that you won’t get to fight as often, because you can talk your way out of trouble), but still, these skills are really useful.
There is a lot more you can do if you invest points in them, including getting a lot more experience and leveling up faster. So don’t shy away from these, they’re not bad!
2. Understand the Flaws system
I wrote an entire guide to flaws in The Outer Worlds, but in case you don’t want to check it out, have these things in mind: flaws are permanent and there’s no way to get rid of them… and they’re not really worth it in the end.
But if you choose a flaw (getting 3 of them unlocks an achievement, for example), make sure that you understand their effects and maybe choose those that activate only in some particular combat situations.
3. Stealth can take you a long way
It’s not as fun as going all in, guns blazing, but it gets the job done. You can actually take many enemies out from a distance, if you’re hiding in the grass or behind something that keeps you away from their eyes.
If you want to play the stealth game, though, make sure that you give your companions the appropriate instructions (like attacking only when you tell them to), otherwise they’ll jump straight into battle after you take that first shot.
Which is still not a bad thing, because they can stay there up front, soaking up the damage, while you’re crouching behind, hidden from view and scoring those headshots.
4. There are no good or bad choices to make
Although choices in the game do matter in most cases and there will be effects (sometimes unpredictable) of your actions, there’s no “right way” to play The Outer Worlds.
Make the choices that you consider to be correct and just go with the flow. You might upset a faction, you might see a companion leave, you might have to kill an entire settlement… it’s all up for you to decide how to play the game and how to deal with every challenge that pops up.
Trying to figure out the “right way” to play the game comes from an era of linear games which took a lot of fun out of playing. Just be yourself and do whatever you want to do – it’s a game!
5. Work out your inhaler
I will have to admit that I don’t really use it as often as I should (or could), but that doesn’t mean that you have to do the same.
The Inhaler can become a really useful item in your inventory – not just because it restores health, but because it can be used to mix up a bunch of other ingredients: the higher your medical skill, the more you can bring in to the mix.
As a result, you can create some concoctions that will give you all sorts of massive boosts that will help out a ton while in battle.
Just make sure to take advantage of this, come up with the best mix – and make sure that you always buy the required items for it from the vendors, not to ever run out.
6. Mod your weapons and Armor
There aren’t a ton of different types of weapons available in the game – and even armor types are limited, but you do have a lot of mods available to fully customize your equipment.
Make sure you do so, starting low and learning what works best and what doesn’t and taking it up from there.
Constantly improve good weapons and armor in order to stand a chance in the increasingly difficult fights that you’ll have.
7. Select the best weapons
Not all weapons are created equal, even if they look the same. The main difference between weapons is the number of mod slots they have.
That’s why a rifle with 3 slots is always better than one with just 1 slot or 2. The more slots, the better – so make sure to look at that as well when you pick up new weapons.
Apart from that, The Outer Worlds also has a rarity system (rarer weapons deal more damage) and a leveling system, which takes us to…
8. Always level up all equipment!
Tinkering with your equipment is vital if you want to keep up with the damage dealing and armor ratings.
You will basically spend regular currency on leveling up your equipment, making it more powerful. Easy-peasy, just remember to do it!
9. Don’t forget about the companions
Most of your companions (with the exception of SAM) can equip different types of armor, helmets and weapons.
Make sure that you always give them the best equipment available, that you mod that equipment as well (I am not 100% sure mods are taken into consideration, but it doesn’t hurt to do it) and level it up as much as possible.
Companions are extremely useful in the game, but if they die as soon as battle starts because they don’t have the proper equipment, it’s not fun. Plus, it’s not difficult at all to care for their equipment as well!
10. Find the right balance between breaking down items and selling them
Breaking down weapons and armor turns them into pieces that can be used to repair your equipped items.
This saves you a lot of money in the long term, since you don’t have to pay Bits to do this at various vendors.
However, when I reached level 20 I realized that I had over 1,000 bits of Weapon Pieces and almost 800 Armor Pieces… which is a bit too much.
If I continued to break them down, that would’ve been nothing but a waste of money: so instead I started to sell more, making a ton more money fast. So make sure to do the same.
Plus, if you have weapons with a diamond icon and you don’t want to equip them, it would be best to keep those for selling since they will do so at a better price. No point in breaking those down, as they won’t five you more pieces!
11. Light Armor vs Heavy Armor
Now, there are two types of armor in the game, each with its own Pros and Cons. Light armor is usually the one that comes with better boosts to your skills, while Heavy Armor protects you better, but has fewer boosts.
However, in most cases, I prefer to rock a highly modded Heavy Armor simply because it keeps me alive longer and helps me play a better game overall.
You can keep other armor around for the bonuses and just equip that if a skill check is needed.
12. Talk to everybody, explore everything
Most of the side quests and the special items or loot caches in The Outer Worlds can be reached only if you do a bit of digging.
This means that you should talk with all characters that you meet (many quests are hidden within the dialogs), but also explore everything, including more secluded areas like rivers and such – you’ll still find a box with many goodies hidden there!
13. You can steal everything you see
If you’re not seen stealing, you’re a honest man (or woman). This is how the game works, meaning that as long as there are no NPCs around you when you steal items marked with red, there’s no problem.
You will not lose any points in your relations with the various factions if you steal those items, so feel free to stock up when you have the chance.
Just make sure that there are no NPCs around as that will trigger a dialog and maybe even a fight. Remember to close the doors behind you as this will save you from a lot of trouble and allow you to loot in peace.
14. Take advantage of the Tactical Time Dilation
Similar to Fallout’s mechanics (or the Bullet Time introduced by Max Payne), the Tactical Time Dilation allows you not only to slow down time in order to aim at various weak points to cause more damage to your enemy, but also to see more info about the said enemy and take them out faster.
The TTD is extremely important overall as it gives you a big advantage, but it doesn’t last long by default, so make sure to increase it using perks and put it to good use afterwards.
Battles are a lot easier if you use TTD, since you can cripple your enemies, blind them or inflict various effects that otherwise can’t be inflicted.
15. Focus on headshots and weak points
To continue with the above tip, it’s extremely important to focus on two parts of your enemies: their heads (because headshots deal more damage and can also give you bonuses if you have perks related to that unlocked); and their weak points to… well… make your enemies weaker!
16. Lockpick and hacking skills are also really important
If you invest all your points in the weapon skills, you won’t get far in the game. Or at least it won’t be as fun, because many of the obstacles in The Outer Worlds are created to be passed by other means rather than force.
Lockpicking and hacking are extremely important (but I would still say that not as important as speech ones), as they give you access to better or more loot in most cases.
So make sure to invest there as well and always keep around companions and items that boost their numbers.
17. Always fast travel
If you are sure that you have explored everything in an area – and unless you have solid reasons to come back, there’s absolutely no way to visit completed areas again.
From what I saw, enemies don’t respawn and loot doesn’t do that either so once you have destroyed enemies in an area, there won’t be anything left for you to do.
So thoroughly go through each area in the game, make sure that you haven’t left any stone unturned… then forget about it!
18. Get full control over your companions
Don’t forget that you can control your companions’ behavior, from making them more defensive or offensive, to instructing them who to attack and activating their special abilities in battle.
Always keep an eye on those shortcuts in the bottom left side of the screen and use their abilities as soon as possible in order to have a much easier life in the game (and up the entertainment value a little).
19. Switch out companions and explore the world with different people
I won’t go too much into details as I don’t want to spoil things up too much, but some of your companions will interact with some NPCs in the game’s world differently, maybe even sparking a bit of a romance or whatnot.
This means that you should try to change the companions that follow you every now and then, especially when visiting settlements where you expect to interact with many people. You never know what will happen next!
20. Remember that you can change your skills & Perks
If you are not completely satisfied with the character you have built and you want to reset and reassign Perks and Skills, you can do so for a small fee that increases fast.
In order to reset your skills, simply visit the machine on the Unreliable that allows you to do so. It’s up the staircase to the left of the entry, somewhere to the back side of that level – you can’t miss it.
Just have in mind that each new reset will cost you more and more money, so try to get the numbers right sooner rather than later (and remember that you can’t get rid of flaws here or anywhere else).
21. Prepare for a tough fight by consuming items
If you anticipate that a tough fight is coming, you should prepare in advance by using some items to give you a boost beforehand.
Ideally, you should put the items you want to use in the inhaler: not only that you will get them all at once, but you will also get a boost to the time they’ll be active, based on your Medical skill.
Don’t forget to replace the healing bits into the inhaler afterwards… and head into battle with increased power!
22. Mark items you want to sell as Junk
If you want to make the entire item selling process a lot easier and faster in the game, simply mark the weapons and armor (and any other items) that you don’t need as junk.
You can do so from the inventory menu, and then when you meet a vendor, simply sell all junk by pressing a single button. Fast and easy!
23. Don’t ignore the side quests for too long
I am that type of player who likes to complete all possible side quests before even touching the main story, but I know that other players prefer it the other way around.
If you want to explore everything there is to be explored in the game – and especially get the chance to complete as many quests as possible, it would be better not to ignore those side quests for too long and focus only on the main story.
Eventually, you could end up aligning yourself with a specific faction or upsetting another and simply closing all potential quests with that particular faction or in a particular place.
I can’t say too much about this without spoiling some things in the game, but have in mind that it’s usually better to complete side quests as soon as you get them if your main goal is not rushing through the main story.
24. Use armor and other boosts to beat skill checks
I talked about this a bit in the armor section, but I still feel that it deserves a tip on its own.
When you have some skill checks (like a minimum lockpick level, hacking level or anything like that) and your character doesn’t have the minimum skill required, you could still get past that obstacle by equipping items that give you a boost in the said skill.
This is why it’s good to always keep armor and helmets that boost these skills around: you never know when you might need them. Plus, your companions can also boost some of those skills, so have them in mind as well!
25. Turn off the helmets to see your characters’ faces!
One of the most annoying things in RPGs are helmets: they are useful to protect your characters from getting their heads bashed by angry enemies, but they also hide their faces, which is something we generally dislike.
Fortunately, Obsidian allows us to see the faces of out companions in The Outer Worlds by simply disabling the helmet visuals from the game (while still keeping their beneficial effects active).
In order to disable the helmets and see the faces of your companions, simply head over to the settings menu and under the “Gameplay” menu tick off the box near Show Companion Helmets.
And this would be it! 25 The Outer Worlds tips that will hopefully help beginners out and make it easier for you all to get the most out of the game, be more successful and have more fun.
If you have additional tips that you would like to add (or maybe questions related to the game), don’t hesitate to let us all know by commenting below!