Best skills and perks in The Outer Worlds 2. Keep them in mind when planning your build

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In The Outer Worlds 2, you’ll have a lot of control over how your character grows. Besides earning skill points to improve abilities, you’ll also select perks. The game adds even more depth with traits and flaws, which create a balance between advantages and disadvantages. We’re going to highlight some of the most helpful character options to consider when you start playing Obsidian’s new RPG.

Best traits

In The Outer Worlds 2, Traits are special abilities you pick when you create your character. They each offer a unique playstyle and give you powerful advantages. We think the most noteworthy Traits are:

  1. Brilliant – allows you to choose an additional specialization when creating a character. A useful trait offering an easier start.
  2. Witty – the character’s relations with factions will never drop below neutral. This allows you to avoid penalties associated with a bad reputation and helps in establishing contacts with representatives of different groups.
  3. Nimble – provides +25% speed to movement while crouching and sprinting during combat. Useful for players who enjoy mobile characters that stay in the shadows.

You get to pick one positive trait without any cost. However, if you want two positive traits, the game will require you to also select a negative trait to keep things balanced. Think carefully about which negative trait you choose, as it could make the game more difficult or less enjoyable.

Best skills

Once you’ve picked character traits, you’ll select two (or three if you have the Brilliant trait) specializations from the 12 available skills. These specialized skills begin at level 2, and there’s no need to worry about making a ‘wrong’ choice. Focus on choosing what best matches how you like to play.

  1. We highly recommend at least moderate development of Guns or Melee. These skills are your main method of scaling damage, and each point increases the damage dealt by 10%. Although maxing them out shouldn’t be necessary, completely ignoring these skills will drastically prolong fights.
  2. If you enjoy direct combat, it will be worth investing in Medical to improve healing.
  3. A character operating from the shadows will definitely benefit from high Observation and Sneak skills.
  4. Players who like charismatic, talkative characters should definitely invest in Speech.
  5. If you enjoy discovering and exploring, consider Observation, Observation, Hack, and Engineering skills.

The Observation skill is a bit different from others. While you’re playing, a special marker will sometimes pop up, pointing out hidden items. These could be resources, collectibles, or even secret passages and explosives. If you enjoy finding hidden treasures while exploring, this skill is for you.

Having high stats in certain areas can help you overcome challenges. For example, a good Hack skill lets you get important information from computers, while strong Speech can help you avoid fights through conversation, and Engineering can unlock shortcuts. But remember, you can’t be good at everything, and some options will always be unavailable. When creating a character, focus on what you enjoy and build a style that’s fun for you.

If you’re unsure where to focus your efforts, we’ve found these skills are generally valuable in almost any situation:

  1. Lockpick;
  2. Speech;
  3. Engineering;
  4. Hack;
  5. Observation.

Best perks

As you level up every two character levels, you’ll get to pick a perk – a special ability that changes how you play. You need to improve a specific skill to the right level before you can use each perk. Here are some of the perks we think are the most fun:

  1. Pickpocket (Lockpick 1) – allows you to steal from NPCs if you remain outside their field of vision. This ability often allows you to obtain key items such as access cards without bloodshed.
  2. Commando (Guns or Melee 1) – a simple but very useful perk that unlocks an additional weapon slot.
  3. Space Ranger (Speech 1) – increases damage dealt by 2.5% for every Speech level. A must-have perk for a charisma-focused build.
  4. Trophy Hunter (no requirements) – a universal perk that increases critical hit chances by 5% and by 15% against strong opponents and bosses.
  5. Wholesale Spender (Speech 4) – frequent use of a particular merchant’s services reduces prices by 10% and increases the value of sold items by 20%. In our experience, “activating” this perk is quite easy and usually involves selling unnecessary junk to the merchant.

Best flaws

In The Outer Worlds 2, Flaws are the last piece of how you build your character. The game will occasionally let you choose a special effect – usually a benefit that also comes with a drawback. You’re free to take or leave these Flaws, but once you choose, you can’t change it, so think carefully before deciding.

Among the most interesting flaws are:

  1. Overprepared – magazine capacity increases by 50%, but damage decreases by 40% for 8 seconds after completely emptying the magazine. This is a very useful skill if you develop the habit of reloading just before emptying the current magazine.
  2. Energy Hog – your gadget’s energy increases by 50 points, but its regeneration rate decreases by 25%. This flaw allows you to use gadgets for a much longer period. A properly used gadget can end a fight very quickly, and your energy should fully regenerate before the next encounter begins.
  3. Bad Knees – the character moves 50% faster while crouching. However, the hero generates noise while crouching, that can be heard within a 10-meter radius. This flaw can be useful for those focused on a stealth-based build, who do not plan to change stance frequently in threatening situations.

See also:

  1. The Outer Worlds 2 review: Finding value in the flaws

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2025-11-04 16:37