The Outer Worlds Tips To Know Before Playing

The Outer Worlds--out now on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and through Xbox Game Pass on the latter two platforms-- is all about the freedom to choose your destiny. There are so many ways to build your character and different outcomes in quests to encounter, that even if you mess up and things go wrong, you'll probably still get a satisfying result. There's no right way to play, but that said, there are some basic things we recommend you do to get the best experience possible in The Outer Worlds.

To help you in your riveting journey across the galaxy, we've gathered several tips that'll ensure you have the most optimal time in The Outer Worlds. Despite having several RPG systems, the game is rather straightforward. However, the advice we've detailed below will aid in your navigation of the opening hours. You can pick what you want to see from the table of contents below:

Table of Contents

• Enhance Your Leadership
• Put Points Into Dialog To Be The Most Charismatic/Dishonest Space Farer
• Prioritize Tech For Useful Bonuses
• Respec! (Find Out What It Means To You!)
• Use Companions to Fill Out Your Weakness
• Start On Normal and Then Maybe Switch To Hard (And Back To Normal)
• Contrary to Popular Belief, Melee Isn't For Chumps
• The Master Of Lockpicking
• Turn All The Cool Things On/Off In The Options

For more on The Other Worlds, check out our guide detailing the best perks. Be sure to check back often as we put up more guides and features in the coming days.

In our review of The Outer Worlds, GameSpot editor Edmond Tran gave the game a 9/10 and said "I finished The Outer Worlds wanting more, eager to jump back into the world to see extra things. It's not a short game, but it's one packed with such a steady stream of wonderful characters to meet, interesting places to explore, and meaningful, multi-layered quests to solve, that it didn't feel like there was any room to get tired of it. I wanted to rewind the clock and do everything in a completely different way. The Outer Worlds is consistently compelling throughout, and it's a superb example of how to promote traditional RPG sensibilities in a sharp, modern experience."

Got any input on what you can do to ensure you have the best experience in The Outer Worlds? Let us know in the comments below!

Of all the skills you can put points into an easy one to overlook is Leadership, which is actually very important. Leadership gives a nice boost to companions in combat, a bonus that's especially useful on higher difficulties. But even more critical is the companion's combat abilities, which don't unlock until you invest 20 points into Leadership. These abilities are handy in combat and are fun to watch. Want to see Felix do a sick dropkick on an unsuspecting bandit? Leadership is your way of unlocking his potential, so make sure you prioritize Leadership for some of that much-needed combat flair.

Where The Outer Worlds truly shines is in its witty conversation options, so to better experience everything it has to offer, we suggest putting points into the Dialog skill to unlock more responses. Aside from the perk of being genuinely hilarious, Dialog skills can also net you extra cash when bargaining for quest rewards and help you learn more about your companion characters. Having the option for more responses is always lovely, and you're given plenty of points that let you spec high into Dialog while still being a monster in most combat situations.

If you're looking for a useful skill to spect into, then the Tech skill is well worth it for its Engineering branch alone. A handy early unlock is the ability to repair weapons and armor in your inventory, which is much better than having to go back to a workbench to fix stuff. And later on in the branch, you also get unlocks that increase your chances of extracting mods upon breaking down your gear. If this sounds like your cup of tea, then the Tech skill's Engineering might be for you.

If you ever regret your skill point distribution or perk selections, remember that you can reset them in your ship, The Unreliable. Keep in mind that you can only reset your skill points and not your character altogether, so you still need to make sure you think carefully about how you want to shape your character's progression at the beginning of the game. Repec'ing also costs money, which goes up each time, so make sure to create a back-up save before you do so to protect yourself from wasting your hard-earned cash.

When picking companions, you might choose them for their combat skills, or their intriguing narrative backgrounds. While these are good reasons, you may want to consider selecting a companion to balance out your weaker skills. Each companion has two skills they're proficient in, and having them in your party will boost that skill for you. For example, if you created a character who's weak in hacking, you can strategically choose to bring Vicor Max or Sam along to boost your hacking skills. It's also possible to stack their skills, as bringing them both can give you an even more substantial boost to hacking. If you're not already thinking this way, then we highly recommend making it a part of your decision-making process.

In our experience, The Outer Worlds' default difficulty can be pretty easy for the average player, and combat becomes rather trivial later on. However, the jump from normal to hard can be jarring, and you might find yourself in trouble early on. Thankfully, you can change the difficulty any time you want. Our best advice is to start on normal to help yourself get used to the game and how it works, and then switch over to hard once you feel it's getting too easy. But there's no shame in switching back, as things get pretty tough on hard during the first five to ten hours.

Don't underestimate the power of melee weapons. While guns are good, a strong melee weapon can help you clear out basic enemies in short order without sacrificing ammunition. And for the tougher encounters, it can be vital to have enough supplies to come out mostly unscathed--so why not knock off the weaker foes with a well-placed swing with your melee weapon? We also suggest putting some points into Melee as the higher unlocks can drastically increase your attack power, as well as your ability to stun or knockdown enemies.

When you're strapped for supplies, sometimes the best way to stock up is to rob them from locked chests and storage containers. It should go without saying, but we recommend putting points into lockpicking, as you never know when you'll need to break into a locked crate or safe for some much-needed supplies. Lockpicking proficiency comes recommended even if your companions have it because you're likely to encounter a locked chest that even you can't get into alone.

The Outer Worlds has a bunch of neat options in the Settings Menu you can tweak to better cater to your most optimal experience, so take a moment to check it out. You can turn on Companion outlines if you find yourself losing track of them in combat. You can turn off dialogue skill checks in conversations if you'd rather not see it. You can remove showing off player and companion helmets. And if you're interested in a more cinematic experience, you can even set conversation subtitles to minimal, so it only shows the last line of dialogue said before player dialogue is displayed.

If you want, you can turn off the whole HUD, but honestly, we wouldn't recommend that. Information like health, companion ability cooldowns, and the crosshair are all pretty necessary to have. However, don't let us rain on your parade: the choice is up to you.

If you'd prefer to watch along, check out our video roundup of beginner's guide tips for The Outer Worlds above.