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When you reach the Arcadia system in The Outer Worlds 2, you’re given a quick mission before falling into ten years of cryo-sleep. After all that time, you’re probably confused about what’s happened, what makes sense now, or who the factions are at this point. It throws you right into the deep end.
What’s key to understand about The Outer Worlds 2 is that it’s a reactive game. It encourages you to play through multiple times to see all the different outcomes and storylines. Every decision you make is important, so it’s best to choose carefully and make your moves count.
### Plan Your Perks
As with many role-playing games, you’ll unlock perks as you level up that can give your character an edge. In The Outer Worlds 2, you can pick a new perk every two levels, but once you choose one, it’s permanent and can’t be refunded. Some perks require you to have invested points into specific skills, or to have previous perks unlocked. This makes picking perks more complicated than it looks.
To make it easier, start by favoriting the perks that interest you most and plan your build around those. This way, instead of sifting through nearly 100 perks every time you level up, you can focus on your favorites and work toward them.
### Pick Up Those Decryption Keys
Before stepping off the ship into Paradise Island, Valerie will mention High-Security Lockboxes and Advanced Decryption Keys. These are collectibles scattered across the planets in the Arcadia system. Decryption Keys are more common, but they’re small and easy to miss. The Lockboxes contain unique items that cannot be found anywhere else, making them highly valuable for every playstyle.
Lockboxes don’t reveal their contents when you find them, but examining them in your inventory shows what’s inside. You can then check their contents in the ship’s hold, which displays the item’s stats and how many Decryption Keys are needed to open it. Usually, the better the item, the more keys it costs to unlock.
A helpful tip—cycle through your High-Security Lockboxes on the ship by pressing the blue arrows next to them to keep track of what you’ve collected, especially if you end up with lots of unused items.
### Don’t Be Afraid To Be Flawed
A signature mechanic in The Outer Worlds series is Flaws: disadvantages you accept in exchange for positive effects. In this sequel, Flaws also grant permanent positive effects but no longer give bonus perk points. Plus, there’s no longer a limit on how many Flaws you can have at once, allowing for a more customized, flawed character.
Some Flaws aren’t purely negative. For example, if you tend to sneak around a lot, you might get Bad Knees, which makes you emit a loud cracking sound when you crouch or stand up. But if you’re skilled at stealth, you can move quickly while crouched, which can negate the flaw entirely.
Be aware that if you decline a Flaw when offered, you won’t get it again. It’s a one-time choice. Also, don’t be afraid of the Flawed Flaw—it forces you to accept all Flaws offered, which can actually make your character more unique.
### Change Your Loadout Frequently
The game offers an extensive selection of weapons and plenty of slots to equip them. Initially, you only have two slots, but you can increase this up to four by adding Mods like Extra Holster Slots to your armor or unlocking a perk that grants a permanent extra weapon slot.
There are many types of weapons, from melee to ranged. The stats that matter are Guns and Melee; your skills in these areas will boost your weapon effectiveness. This makes it easy to switch up your weapons and adapt to changing circumstances, perks, or Flaws. There’s no worry about weapon levels or durability—try out what you find and see what works best for you.
### Spread Your Skill Points
In the base game, there’s a level cap of 20. Each level grants two Skill points, enough to fully upgrade two Skills or improve a third to level 18. Many players max out their main focuses, but you don’t have to. Distributing points into multiple Skills can open more options and paths.
Certain scenarios require specific Skills; if you don’t have the right one, you’ll get locked out of doors or conversations. For example, no Engineering means locked doors; no Science means you can’t decode certain puzzles. Since most Skill checks cap around level 17 or 18, spreading your points early can help you access more opportunities.
### Be Careful Where You Bring Your Companions
There are six companions available in The Outer Worlds 2, all of whom you can recruit early on. Each has unique abilities that help in combat and other game parts. They also offer passive bonuses that can influence your experience.
For example, taking Marisol on certain missions allows her to chime in during discussions, which can provide helpful insights or sway conversations your way. But some companions can be obstacles—Aza, for instance, will attack cultists at sight, making diplomacy impossible.
Think carefully about which companions to bring on each mission, as some will make situations easier, while others might complicate things.
### Always Try To Find Another Way
The game gives you many options to approach problems. Some choices are straightforward, but you can often find alternative paths through exploration and investigation. Being curious and uncovering information before characters tell you can give you an advantage in conversations.
On the other hand, acting without full knowledge can cause you to miss critical details—such as which factions characters belong to or how to recruit certain allies. Always be observant and consider if there’s a different way to complete your objectives, such as pickpocketing someone beforehand to bypass speech checks instead of fighting or brute force.
Finding hidden solutions often means thinking creatively, exploring thoroughly, and keeping your options open.
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