Combat | The Outer Worlds Wiki


Combat in The Outer Worlds is first-person and in real-time, except when players use Tactical Time Dilation to slow it down. Players will aim much the way they do in other shooting type games, like Fallout, trying to hit the weakest parts of each Enemy. Players can swap Weapons on the fly, by using the Weapon Wheel, which is a departure from Fallout games and more akin to Mass Effect. 

 

The Outer Worlds Combat and Exploration

 

The Basics

  • Basic Movement: Use the Left stick to move your character.
  • Sprinting: Press the Left analog stick to start sprinting.
  • Crouching: Press the Circle button on the PS4 or B button on the Xbox to go underneath obstacles and to sneak.
  • Jumping: Press the X button on the PS4 or A button on the Xbox to jump over obstacles.
  • Dodging: Press the X button on the PS4 or A button on the Xbox twice to dodge left, right, or backward.
  • Weapon Holstering: To put away your weapon hold down the Square button or X button on the Xbox.
  • Weapon Switching: Press the Triangle button on the PS4 or Y button on the Xbox to rotate the weapons you have equipped.
  • Falling Damage: Falling from high platforms causes damage to your character.
  • Hunger: If you've chosen to play the game in Supernova difficulty, you must eat every few hours to prevent starvation. Without eating, your hunger will get worse over time in 4 stages: reducing your Strength, Charm, and Perception at each stage before eventually... death.
  • Leap Dodge: Once you've unlocked Leap. Double-tap jump when you are moving straight to leap forward, this is a great tactic to close the distance on an enemy.
  • Resting: In Supernova difficulty, you can only rest in your bed on your ship. Resting relieves exhaustion and moves time forward. 
  • Sleep Deprivation: In Supernova difficulty, you must rest to avoid exhaustion. Without sleep, your exhaustion will get worse over time in 4 stages: reducing your Temperament, Intelligence, and Strength at each stage before eventually... death.
  • Thirst: In Supernova difficulty, you must drink to avoid dehydration. Without drinking, your dehydration will get worse over time in 4 stages: reducing your Dexterity, Perception, and Intelligence at each stage before eventually... death.

Combat

  • Combat Dialog Abilities: Once you unlock a dialog combat skill, attacking the correct type of target will automatically debilitate the enemy.
  • Critical Hits: All weapons have a random chance to cause a critical hit with each successful attack. Critical hits cause extra damage and can ignore the tartet's armor with a high weapon skill.
  • Damage Types: There are 5 damage types - physical, plasma, corrosion, shock, and n-ray. Some enemies will be vulnerable or resistant to it.
    • Physical - Weak against armor
    • Plasma - Good against flesh, weak against Mantisaurs
    • Corrosion - Good against Armor, including Automechanicals, Mantisaurs, and Heavy Armor.
    • Shock - Good against Automechanicals.
    • N-Ray - Bypasses Armor, weak against non-organic enemies.

  • N-Ray Damage: Once you've taken too much N-Ray damage, the damage bypasses your armor, does damage-over-time to you and your companions who are standing close to you, the damage further increases if you continue to take N-Ray damage.
  • Emergency Medical Inhaler: Pressing the L1 button on the PS4 or LB button on the Xbox will prompt your character to use the inhaler to heal. Each activation consumes 1 Aderno.
  • Grazes: Low damage weapons are ineffective against heavy armor. Switch weapons if you see your damage numbers float downwards.
  • Melee Attacks and Blocking: All melee weapons can block and most melee weapons can perform a 3-swing combo.
  • Melee Power Attacks: By holding down the attack button, you can charge up an overhead Power Attack that inflicts significant extra damage. Dong this charge up during a standard attack will prepare a strong Sweep Attack that can hit multiple enemies in front of you.
  • Quick Melee: Press R3 on the PS4 or right analog stick on the Xbox button to knock back enemies with your ranged weapon.
  • Perfect Blocks: If you time your blocks just as an enemy melee attack arrives, you can cause stagger on the enemy, allowing you to follow up with a ferocious counter-attack!
  • Weakspots and Headshots: All enemies have weakspots that inflict extra damage when hit. On humans, shots to the head are extra harmful, but Weakspots can be in different places on the exotic animals and automechanicals of the Halcyon Colony.

Tactical Time Dilation

  • Tactical Time Dilation in The Outer Worlds works similarly to Fallout's V.A.T.S. This special ability slows time and displays Enemy information including their classification, armor level, hit points and their associated Faction. Aiming during Tactical Time Dilation is 100% manual, and the restrictions on use can be eased by investing in Perks and Skills.
  • TTD Location Hits: Hitting enemies in different locations maims or cripples those body parts- try different locations to see the different effects. Hits to the chest produce different effects when using different weapons.
  • Time Dilation Scanner: While in TTD, look at the character to scan and gather information about them. You will be able to see their Health, Faction, Armor Rating, as well as tactics they prefer to use, their strengths, and their weaknesses. 

Weapons & Armor

  • Workbench: The workbench allows you to repair, upgrade, and modify your gear, keeping you combat-ready and tip-top shape at all times! You can choose to repair it, break it down for parts, modify it with Mods, or Tinker to upgrade it.
  • Armor Management: To wear an armor or helmet item, navigate to the item and then select it. You can also manage your armor here: Break them down, inspect them, Compare to other pieces, tag them as Junk, repair, or drop them.
  • Weapon Management: You can have up to 4 weapons equipped at a time, by navigating to the weapon, then selecting the weapon slot at the top of the screen. You can also manage your weapons here: Break them down, inspect them, Compare to other pieces, tag them as Junk, repair, or drop them.
  • N-ray Weapons: These weapons bombard enemies with N-rays. When an enemy takes enough N-ray damage, they start damaging those around them!
  • Science Weapons: Science weapons are unique weapons that have strange and powerful effects. Science weapon damage and the strength of their effects both increase as your Science skill is increased.
  • Charge-up Weapons: Some Energy Weapons can charge up for a bigger attack. Hold the attack button to build up energy, then release to attack.
  • Special Weapon Effects: Some weapons can apply special effects to enemies which are listed within the weapon's tooltip. Most weapon special effects are applied by using TTD Location Hits while rare weapons have a chance to apply the effect in regular use.
    • Weapon Special Effects:
      • Acid
      • Bleed
      • Burn
      • Execute
      • Knockback
      • Knockout
      • Stagger
      • Stun
      • Weaken

  • Item Broken: One of your Weapon or Armor items is broken and has reached minimum effectiveness. You should find a Workbench and repair it.
  • Item Degradation: Weapons and Armor degrade with excessive use, inflicting or preventing less damage as the gear's durability decreases. Repair them yourself or have a vendor do it.
  • Item Repair: You can repair weapons or armor at a Workbench by using Weapon and Armor Parts which can be obtained from breaking down unwanted items. On the go? No problem! Players with the Engineering skill can repair their gear without the need for a workbench. Repairing an item returns it to 100% Durability and full effectiveness.
  • Pristine Items: A small percentage of weapons and armor you may find are considered "Pristine". They have more durability and are worth more to vendors. To identify a Pristine Item, a diamond icon is indicated near its condition meters.
  • Tinkering: With the Science skill, you can upgrade armor and weapons at a Workbench, raising the gear level by 1 each time. This increases the Armor Rating or damage. The price of tinkering increases each time an item is improved, and items cannot be tinkered more than 5 levels above the player's level.

 

Exploration

  • Destructible Hazards: Some objects explode when hit. Shoot them when enemies are nearby for an explosive surprise. Just don't be too close - explosions can cause concussions!
  • Fast Travel: You can fast travel to locations you have unlocked by opening your map and selecting your destination.
  • Objective Markers: Objective Markers in your HUD and on the compass help you navigate to your current Quest Objective.
  • Quest Dependencies: Some people may require completing another quest before they will assist you. You can check your Quest Log for dependencies.
  • Quest Screen: On the quest screen, you can see information on your active and completed quests, as well as change your currently active quest.
  • Quest Tracking: The Quest Tracker displays objectives for the active quest. You can change your active quests in the Quest Log of your Ledger.

Loot

  • Looting: Corpses and containers hold items that you can take. You can take one or take them all.
  • Consumables: Players can use various items to gain a variety of boosts or simply drop them. 
  • Encumbered: Once you've exceeded your weight limit of carrying items, players won't be able to sprint or fast travel while encumbered. Sell, Drop, or Break Down items in your inventory to reduce the weight. The Carry Weight is displayed on the top left of the Ledger.
  • Hacking and Lockpicking: Your skills in hacking and lockpicking help you get into places you're not meant to be! Mag-Picks are used to break open locks, while Bypass Shunts are used to break computer encryptions.
  • Junk: Items in your inventory that you don't want can be flagged as "Junk" You can quickly break down all of your junk items at a Workbench or sell in bulk to a vendor.
  • Merchant Skill: Your "Merchant Skill" is equal to the value of your best Dialog skill, and is used to negotiate prices when buying or selling from vendors.
  • Restricted Stock: Some vendors and vending machines have special items that are only for sale to VIPs. You must have a positive Reputation to be able to purchase those items or a high Hack skill of 20 or higher can bypass the restriction and allow purchasing of these items from a vending machine.
  • Vending Machines: Vending machines offer a variety of items to purchase, mostly from one company.
  • Vendor Sceens: Vendors buy and sell items. The bits gained or spent for the whole transaction keep updating as you add items to each side. Each vendor have different specialties and items available, and their stocks will update every few days. The player's Reputation with the vendor's faction, perks, and merchant skill all affect the final prices.

Stealth

  • Awareness: The Awareness meter over enemy heads tell if you if the enemy is unaware, suspicious, investigating, or alerted.
  • Cover: While sneaking, use tall grass, or any other cover to hide from enemies. Use this to sneak past enemies or sneak up on them to initiate combat.
  • Holographic Shroud: The Holographic Shroud projects a disguise on you and your companions that gives you access to Restricted Areas, provided you have the correct ID Cartridge for that area. Restricted Areas are off-limits to unauthorized personnel, and otherwise, result in being attacked on sight.
  • ID Cartridge: If you've found an ID cartridge, use it with the Holographic Shroud which automatically disguises you and your companions when entering restricted areas.
  • Sneak Attack: A successful sneak attack inflicts extra damage to the enemy. While a higher Sneak skill increases the bonus damage.

Companions

  • The Companion Ledger: The Companion Ledger shows you everything you need to know about your companions. You can see their skills, stats, status effects, perks, and gear. In conjunction with gear, you can select and swap the compatible weapon and armor for your companion. On top of that, players can also change the companion's behavior in combat such as their distance, preferred weapon, and aggressiveness.
  • Companion Movement Commands: Press the down button on the controller's D-pad once to send them to a location or hold to call them back.
  • Focus Fire: Press the up button on the controller's D-pad once to order your companions to ATTACK.
  • Companion Abilities: You can command your companions to use their Special Abilities on the enemy you are targetting by pressing the left or right arrow of the controller's D-pad.
  • Companion Down: Some things you can do to make your companions tougher: give them better gear, increase your Determination skill, give them Companion Perks that improve health or toughness.
  • Companion Perks: Your companion has leveled up and can be granted a new Perk. Companion Perks grant passive buffs to the specified companion, the player's character, or the party.
  • Companion Skills: Companions' skills add to your skill checks. Increasing your Leadership skills increase the bonuses they give.
  • Companion Wants to Talk: Occasionally, companions may have something on their mind. When you see a thought bubble above their head, try talking to them. They may have something important to say or give to you.

Skills & Reputation

  • Character Respecification: Choosing to "Respec" refunds all your spent skill and perks points which allows you to spend them in a different way. At first, the price of to respec is 500 bits and further increases each time you use the machine.
  • Criminal Activites: Trespassing, lockpicking, hacking, and murder are all considered illegal activities and are frowned upon by society. Avoid being seen if you want to engage in those activities without consequences.
  • Dialog Skill Checks: Some dialog choices require skills of a certain level, which are shown in brackets before the response. Examples include Lie 1 or Intimidate 20. Meet or exceed the required skill to use the dialog choice.
  • Flaws: Flaws are permanent negative effects that are obtained from the player's actions in exploration and combat. If a flaw is triggered, you will have the option to accept or reject it, accepting it rewards the player with a perk point.
  • Leveling Up: Leveling increases the health points, gives points to upgrade skills and perks. Keep leveling and you'll be upper management material in no time!
  • Perks: Perks are benefits that both players and companions can acquire to further increase a Skill or to gain various buffs You get a Perk Point for every 2 levels.
  • Skills: Skills are used by the player to determine the outcome of combat or certain events within the game. Every time you level up, you earn skill points to spend on improving your skills. At first, spending a skill point on a Core Skill (e.g. Melee) improves all of the Specialized skills in that group up to Rank 50. Once you've reached Rank 50, players will have the freedom to directly add the skill points to the Specialized Skill (e.g. 1-Handed Melee) up to Rank 100. Each specialized skill has a bonus that can be acquired for every 20 points.
  • Reputation Change: Your reputation with a faction can change depending on your actions. If enemies are hostile but your reputation ins't "Kill on Sight", leaving for a few days will calm things down.
  • Reputation & Factions: Attacking members of a larger Faction will hurt your Reputation. Choose your enemies wisely.

 

The Outer Worlds Combat Symbols

Damage Types

  • physical_icon_1_the_outer_worlds_wiki_guide_50pxPhysical damage that is weak against armor.
  • plasma_icon_1_the_outer_worlds_wiki_guide_50pxPlasma damage is good against flesh and can apply Burn. Most creatures are weak to plasma, but it is notably ineffective against Mantisaurs.
  • corrosion_icon_1_the_outer_worlds_wiki_guide_50pxCorrosion damage is good against armor, including Automechanicals, Mantisaurs, and heavy armor. Can apply the Acid effect.
  • shock_icon_1_the_outer_worlds_wiki_guide_50pxShock damage is good against Automechanicals.
  • n-ray_icon_1_the_outer_worlds_wiki_guide_50pxN-Ray attacks cause internal damage to a target, which then radiates more N-rays to surrounding targets. N-Ray bypass most armor, but are weak against non-organic entities.

Buffs

 

Debuffs

  • Sensitive: Increases incoming damage after being blocked with a Perfect Block.
  • Stagger: Pushes the target back a short distance, reducing Melee, Ranged, and Defensive Skills, and increases the amount of Physical Damage received.
  • Knockdown: Knocks the target to the ground, making them unable to take any action for a short time.
  • Scramble: Automechanicals will slowly attack enemies for you.
  • Terrify: Flee from combat after witnessing a friendly die.
  • Stun: Unable to attack for a short time.
  • Cower: The target cowers in fear, unable to flee or fight. It only affects Human targets.
  • Glooped: Lifts the target into the air for a short time, incapacitating them, dealing Shock Damage and applying Weaken.
  • N-ray-diated: A radiating pulse of N-ray energy that damages every enemy around the afflicted. Not effective against Automechanicals.
  • Bleed: Deals damage over time and reduces Body Attributes. Does not apply to Automechanicals.
  • Hacked: Automechanicals are turned off.
  • Extra Paranoid: Charm and Temperament are reduced while crouching and while wearing a disguise inside a Restricted Area. This effect is the result of a chosen Flaw.
  • Alcohol Addiction Withdrawal: Reduces Dexterity, Perception, and Temperament. Different addiction withdrawal effects can stack.
  • Drug Addiction Withdrawal: Reduces Dexterity, Perception, and Temperament. Different addiction withdrawal effects can stack.
  • Food Addiction Withdrawal: Reduces Dexterity, Perception, and Temperament. Different addiction withdrawal effects can stack.
  • Smoke Addiction Withdrawal: Reduces Dexterity, Perception, and Temperament. Different addiction withdrawal effects can stack.
  • Blind: Reduces vision range of targets, and reduces ranged weapon accuracy.
  • Concuss: Reduces all attributes and slows the weapon attack rate.
  • Cripple: Reduces Movement Speed, Melee Attack Speed, and Rate of Fire.
  • Maim: Reduces the target's damage output.
  • Phobic: Reduces Dexterity, Perception, and Temperament when near something that is frightening.
  • Encumbered: Reduces Movement Speed, unable to Sprint and Fast Travel.
  • Fatigue: (Supernova Difficulty only) Temperament, Intelligence, and Strength are lowered until you rest in your bed on your ship. The more fatigued you are, the worse this effect gets.
  • Exhaustion: (Supernova Difficulty only) Severely affects Temperament, Intelligence, and Strength, and will continuously take damage until you rest.
  • Hunger: (Supernova Difficulty only) Strength, Charm, and Perception are lowered until you eat. The hungrier you are, the worse this effect gets.
  • Starvation: (Supernova Difficulty only) Severely affects Strength, Charm, and Perception, and will continuously take damage until you eat.
  • Thirst: (Supernova Difficulty only) Perception, Dexterity, and Intelligence are lowered until you drink. The hungrier you are, the worse this effect gets.
  • Dehydration: (Supernova Difficulty only) Severely affects Perception, Dexterity, and Intelligence, and will continuously take damage until you drink something non-Alcoholic.
  • Weaken: Lowers all skills a moderate amount and target takes increased Plasma, Shock, Corrosion, and N-Ray damage.
  • Burn: Deals damage over time.
  • Knockout: Knocks the target to the ground, rendering them unconscious for a few seconds.
  • Adrena-Time Crash: Decreases all Attributes and Walk Speed. Can stack up to 3 times. Automatically applied when Adrena-Time High wears off.
  • Nicotine Low: Increased Ranged Weapon Spread and Ranged Weapon Sway.
  • Hangover: Reduced Dexterity, Perception, and Charm.

 




Tired of anon posting? Register!
Load more
⇈ ⇈