Outer Worlds 2 best build: Best traits, skills, and perks to pick
By Ryan Woodrow
The many character-building opportunities in The Outer Worlds 2 is arguably the best thing about it. However, it means that when you’re setting your character up at the start of the game, you might feel a little paralyzed with all of the choices you can make. We’ll break down the traits, skills, and perks on offer so you can work out which ones will be best for the kind of character you want to make.
Contents
The best traits in The Outer Worlds 2
Positive traits
Trait | Bonus 1 | Bonus 2 |
|---|---|---|
Brawny | Sprinting into enemies knocks them down | Can opened jammed doors without Engineering skill |
Brilliant | Specialize in 1 extra skill | Occasionally get extra dialogue checks |
Heroric | -20% Companion ability charge time | N/A |
Innovative | Craft double ammo, throwables, and resources | N/A |
Lucky | +5% Critical Chance | More skill checks are available to perform certain difficult feats |
Nimble | +25% Crouch speed | +25% Combat sprint speed |
Resilient | Become innvulnerable for 3s the first time you take lethal damage in combat | N/A |
Suave | 10% discount at stores | Double bounty threshold before you become an outlaw |
Witty | Faction reputation never drops below neutral | Occasionally get extra dialogue checks |
Out of these, Lucky is by far the best trait. While specialized builds will benefit from specific traits, there's really no reason not to take Lucky regardless of what kind of character you're going for. The boosted critical chance is always nice, but it's the extra skill check options that you want more than anything else, as the Lucky skill will keep coming in handy throughout critical moments in the game's story.
As for a second trait, there are a few good options. Resilient is good for a run-and-gun build as it will stop you from getting instantly shredded if you're caught out in combat, while Brawny will help get you into a lot of extra secret areas without needing to invest in Engineering or Lockpicking skills. Stealth builds should be looking mainly at Nimble, and Innovative can be helpful too, as you'll be able to craft lots of distraction devices and the like.
Negative traits
If you want to take two positive traits in character select, then you'll also need to take one of the following negative traits:
Trait | Effect |
|---|---|
Abrasive | Faction reputation never grows above neutral |
Dumb | Must lock 5 of the 12 skills, making them unavailable for the whole playthrough |
Sickly | -15% Base health, -15% Toxcitiy crash threshold |
All of these sound like big downsides, but depending on your build, you can avoid needing any of these. As long as you don't plan on being a criminal, Abrasive is really a very minor downside. Not getting vendor discounts is a shame, but there are other ways to get shop discounts, like investing in the Speech skill.
Similarly, stealth players will rarely need to worry about the downsides of Sickly. If you're not getting into combat very often, then you won't need extra health, nor will you need to heal as often, so it's not a problem.
Even though Dumb is definitely the worst of the three, even that's not as bad as it seems. You don't get a huge amount of skill points in The Outer Worlds 2, and you are heavily encouraged to specialize as much as possible. So consider your build, and you'll quickly realize that there are several skills that don't matter to you.
The best skills in The Outer Worlds 2
At the start of the game, you’ll get a few skill points to invest in a selection of your choice. Here is a list of all the skills, what bonuses they confer, plus what extra things they do out in the field:
Skill | Stat bonus | Field abilities |
|---|---|---|
Engineering | +1% Damage resistance | Can fix broken machines/systems |
Explosives | +10% Explosive damage, +1% Explosive damage resistance | Can blast through some obstacles and locks |
Guns | +10% Ranged damage, +1% Armor penetration | Can attempt to intimidate in dialogue |
Hack | +5% Damage to automechanicals | Can hack locks, machines, and computers |
Leadership | +8% Companion damage, +4% Companion health | Can occasionally pass extra skill checks when talking to companions |
Lockpick | +1% Evasion chance | Can pick locks |
Melee | +10% Melee damage, -2% Damage recieved while blocking | Can attempt to intimidate in dialogue |
Medical | +7% Toxicity crash threshold, +5% damage to creatures | Can craft unique chemicals and medicines at certain stations |
Observation | +15% Weakspot damage | Will be prompted to spot certain hidden items in the world |
Science | +7% Gadget energy, +10% more stacks of non-physical damage types | Can occasionally pass science speech checks and craft unique items at certain stations |
Sneak | +35% Sneak attack damage, -2% NPC awareness detection | N/A |
Speech | +5% Damage to humans | Can pass skill checks to convince key characters of the outcomes you want during major quests |
Of these, Lockpick and Hack are two that you’re going to want regardless of your build. There will always be safes or doors leading to hidden goodies that you’ll need your lockpicking skills to get through. The same goes for hacking, although often it’s important quest information that is locked behind this, so you’ll want a reasonable degree of investment in one or both of them. Engineering also falls into this category, but less so, as very few things locked behind Engineering checks don’t have some sort of alternative solution.
As for the rest, it depends on what kind of build you're going for. We recommend you choose one out of Gun and Melee fairly early on and stick to it, rather than trying to balance them both. Meanwhile, some are very niche, for example, Sneak is vital for a stealth build, but basically useless for everyone else. Similarly, if you intend to try and solve all of your problems peacefully, Speech should be your biggest investment, but if your plan is to shoot all your problems away, it’s not necessary.
The rest are all nice to have in different ways, but none are central to a build. The unique opportunities Science and Medicene are nice, but you won’t be hugely missing out if you skip them. The same goes for things like Leadership.
Ultimately, you need to remember that The Outer Worlds 2’s system isn’t designed for you to be a jack of all trades. You should pick about 3 main skills to focus on, and only invest in any others when you really need to.
The best perks in The Outer Worlds 2
Here are our picks for the best perks in The Outer Worlds 2, along with the skill requirements to unlock them:
Perk | Effect | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
Trophy Hunter | +5 Critical chance, +15% Critical chance against strong enemies | None |
Pickpocket | Gain the ability to pickpocket characters when undetected | Lockpick 1 |
Commando | Unlocks an additional weapon slot | Guns 1 OR Melee 1 |
Restricted Access | Unlocks restricted goods at vending machines | Hack 1 |
Connoisseur | +25% health from food and drink, +25% Inhaler charge from drugs | Medical 1 |
Space Ranger | +2.5% damage for every skill point in Speech | Speech 1 |
Through the Keyhole | See what's in a locked container before opening it | Lockpick 2 |
Wholesale Spender | +10% discount and +20% sell value from vendors | Speech 4 |
Assassin | +100% move speed for 5s after stealth killing an enemy | Sneak 1 |
Tinkerer | +10% bonus damage to modded weapons, +2.5% more for every Engineering skill point. | Engineering 5 |
Face Reader | Conversation options that reduce reputation are highlighted, +20% damage to humans | Observation 5 |
Busy Bodies | Companions will gather crafting materials while you're away from the ship, based on how much XP you earn | Leadership 2 |
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