To Power Armor or NOT?

[jjb54]

Honestly, from FO 3 - NV to FO 4, I actually find the Power Armor annoying.

 

Case in point:

In the base game, NO PA MODS - even a cue stick can damage PA. Seriously? Take a plate of steel and give it a smack down with a cue stick. The Plate of Steel will indeed win!

 

Not to mention the Fusion Power Core. So let me get this straight, if I can. One FPC can run literally for 200 years with no drain in buildings and such that were fully functional during these 200 years ... and yet they drain like water through a colander when in power armor????? HUH???

 

 

But even with PA - Mods, I still find / found them too Loud - to clumsy - and just plain annoying. Give me some good clothing, over armor and solid weapons and I have a lot more freedom to WIN.

 

So what are your PRO's and CON's for Power Armor?

 

[StormWolf01]

Pro- Big Selling Point. They look really good on the box cover and make everybody think they're gonna rock it in the PA.

So they buy the game.

 

Honestly, for new players who haven't played before, I would say to try it out. Just so that they get the whole.... experience.

 

Spoiler ahead, don't read it if you haven't played this far into the game yet.

 

Personally, I think PA is kinda cool to collect. It makes for much better deco than it does protection.

My biggest gripe is that it overrides your personal attributes like STR and carryweight. I am also the sneaky long distance shooter type, and a big tin can, is definitely NOT sneaky.

Brotherhood look kinda good in it. Ummmm....they can have it.

I'm definitely not a fan of armor that you have to repair constantly. I mean...it's a game mechanic. I've played other games where stuff can break and you completely lose the item, if it breaks. So that's a plus. But...ain't got time for that. I wanna shoot some sh.. uh..stuff.

 

[jjb54]

Pro- Big Selling Point. They look really good on the box cover and make everybody think they're gonna rock it in the PA.

So they buy the game.

 

Honestly, for new players who haven't played before, I would say to try it out. Just so that they get the whole.... experience.

 

Spoiler ahead, don't read it if you haven't played this far into the game yet.

 

Personally, I think PA is kinda cool to collect. It makes for much better deco than it does protection.

My biggest gripe is that it overrides your personal attributes like STR and carryweight. I am also the sneaky long distance shooter type, and a big tin can, is definitely NOT sneaky.

Brotherhood look kinda good in it. Ummmm....they can have it.

I'm definitely not a fan of armor that you have to repair constantly. I mean...it's a game mechanic. I've played other games where stuff can break and you completely lose the item, if it breaks. So that's a plus. But...ain't got time for that. I wanna shoot some sh.. uh..stuff.

 

 

I totally agree w/the COLLECTABLE idea and yes, I do collect and outline Red Rocket ( My Homebase ) with them. :)

 

Like you also, I tend to be stealthy and sneaky too, which as you also pointed out: PA simply is anything but sneaky or stealthy. :P

 

Good post and thanks!

[HeyYou]

Power Armor doesn't override your special stats, but, it seems to assume you are naked while in it. So, any buffs you have from whatever you are wearing, goes away. Including things that you normally WOULD be wearing in your power armor. (like, your clothes......) ( I am not sure if it overrides perks that increase your carry weight, I haven't experimented that far.)

 

I was able to sneak in power armor...... Sneak perked out, (except the last one) and a high agility, and you can actually sneak in broad daylight... A feat I find HIGHLY unlikely. Given its size, bulk, and the noise you make even when you are just walking..... Seems to me you should be able to sneak up on a blind and deaf man......

 

As for Fusion cores..... In buildings, they are plugged into fusion generators..... so, is the core running the building, or is it being charged from the generator. Even Preston refers to them as a 'battery', implying that they don't last forever. But, when you pull them out, lights flicker, but, stay on...... So, is it a mini-fusion generator? Or is it simply a complicated battery?

 

I don't generally use power armor either. I do for the encounter at the Museum of freedom, as that's about the only way you can beat a deathclaw at that low level....... but, aside from that, I would rather wear my armor and clothes. I can actually carry MORE when NOT in power armor. (which seems counter-intuitive as well......)

[StormWolf01]

LOL Oh, I forgot to mention this: It's SLOW!

Walking or running or sneaking is just slow.

Also, there's currently no way of making animations work well for it, so some weapons don't look right while using them in PA.

 

Heh, I've been using an infinite fusion core mod for so long (and not actually worn PA for a seriously long time!) that I'd forgotten about that.

 

10mm pistols look really big and bulky outside of PA. But they look really wuss inside PA.

Don't even get me started on pipe guns.

 

Hrm. I'm almost always maxed out on sneak perk (yes...I cheat) and it sends my detection factor thru the roof. And in my game, yeah...it does change my carry weight. [Edit] Nope, it's because I use a ring to change my weight limit. Ring. Clothes. Doh! [/edit]

 

Pro And Con - when you shoot somebody wearing it, in the head. Sometimes you can see that helmet just blow apart into fragments. Which is pretty cool. But makes you seriously wonder what the point of it is, as far as protection.

 

Big complaint about the mechanics. If it's going to take damage during combat, it should actually be absorbing the damage that you're taking, rather than just dropping the value of damage.

 

Downside for collectors, you need a pretty large house to store them all in. Which, most of the houses in the vanilla game, are not.

Also that if you happen to have settlers, they'll steal your collection during attacks and not put them back where they found them! AND get them damaged if a fly farts on them!

Edited February 10, 2020 by StormWolf01

[HeyYou]

If there aren't any fusion cores available, will settlers still use power armor? (I HAVE seen some folks in PA without a FC....... but, they weren't settlers....)

 

I leave a suit of T-45 at sanctuary.... Basically, I park it there after using it to rescue preston and company. Fix it, and leave it. I keep the FC though. I don't think anyone has ever ran off with it. (but, I use a mod that pretty much assures I don't get ANY settlement attacks......) Still and all, there are various critters even around sanctuary that the settlers occasionally go after.

 

I generally build my own base to operate out of, and the first floor is dedicated to crafting stations, workbenches, and power armor. :) I think the most I have collected is around 30 suits.... not all complete. Lately though, I have been holding out until level 28 or so, when X-01 starts becoming the predominate find. :D

[StormWolf01]

That's an interesting question about if there is no core in the armor, will they still use it. It's been so long since I've played with settlements and settlers that I can't remember.

 

At one point in time, I had made an effort to move every single "special" PA into my base. (PokePA? Gotta have em all?)

Yeah, that was too much work moving them all back and forth. Gave up on that.

Some of the mods that let you autopilot, or install an AI into the armor to make it a functional (unoccupied) combatant have looked pretty cool, and I've wanted to try some of those.

Especially the mod that airdrops your last suit to you.

[Frogzilla82]

I think how they set up fallout 4, you can almost start out with power armor. And there are plenty of mods to change it up in the game. Like being able to sneak while wearing power armor. So you can play however you want.

[AeonsLegend]

PA's that the player can use have a fusion core. An enemy wearing the PA has the fusion core equipped so it will not show in inventory. I think killing them destroys the PA and also the fusion core.

 

If you don't put a fusion core in a settlers inventory or in a PA they cannot and will not enter it. If you find a settler has a PA in your settlement you had a core left in there by mistake. You should find the core in their inventory when they exit.

 

Anyways, PA's are weaker than normal armor and have to many detrimental effects to be considered useful armor. Sneaking is not one of them. Vanilla game allows sneaking in PA just fine as long as you have the sneak perks.

 

Not really sure how PA's armor protection works. I feel I take the same or more damage in a full T-60F PA with 1580 armor as I do when I have ~300 armor from clothes.

[HeyYou]

PA's that the player can use have a fusion core. An enemy wearing the PA has the fusion core equipped so it will not show in inventory. I think killing them destroys the PA and also the fusion core.

 

If you don't put a fusion core in a settlers inventory or in a PA they cannot and will not enter it. If you find a settler has a PA in your settlement you had a core left in there by mistake. You should find the core in their inventory when they exit.

 

Anyways, PA's are weaker than normal armor and have to many detrimental effects to be considered useful armor. Sneaking is not one of them. Vanilla game allows sneaking in PA just fine as long as you have the sneak perks.

 

Not really sure how PA's armor protection works. I feel I take the same or more damage in a full T-60F PA with 1580 armor as I do when I have ~300 armor from clothes.

I have seen folks wandering around in PA, that DIDN'T show a fusion core in the armor. There was a hole where it should be, and you could see the NPC inside....

 

That is good to know. :)

 

That was my experience as well.

 

I think it boils down to max damage reduction. The game will only allow up to 85% reduction, regardless of what your armor rating is. One would think with a rating of over 1000, small arms would simply bounce off. (which is the way it SHOULD work.....) But no, even a lowly .22 pistol can damage you even when you are wearing X-01 armor, upgraded to the max. That's just idiotic.