The Outer Worlds: Character Building

Fudgemuppet video: 11m 46s

"On the new frontier a person can be anyone they want. The newly formed planets of the Halcyon System offer a fresh start for colonists who made the long and dangerous journey. If you want to survive your adventure on the new planets amongst marauders, corporation agents and fearsome creatures, you're gonna need to level up. This is where character builds come in ... elevating your freshly thawed colonists to anything from a sweet-talking, gun-toting, space cowboy to a corrosive, blade-wielding, silent assassin."

So begins a first-class overview video focussing on the RPG and character building perks and skills of The Outer Worlds. This is a follow-up article to a play-through overview by FM published earlier on 'Call Us Gutsy.'

In The Outer Worlds the RPG experience is not too dissimilar to classic RPGs, offering more deep, stat-based options than recent Bethesda games. Where they've [Bethesda] opted for more streamlined progression, The Outer Worlds looks to return to a deeper skill system.

The places you put your points impact every aspect of your character, but your companion choices also make up a part of the build due to their 'trees,' [branching options development] ... and each have their own proficiencies. Bringing different party members allows you to 'double-down' on your best skills, or fill gaps in your build that don't make any sense for your character.

For example, if you plan on maximizing your charisma and talking your way through the 'World,' you may want to have companion 'Nyoka' as a permanent member of your squad. She can assist you in your lies, and offers a buff to damage against creatures that won't pause their attacks for you to 'charm' them.

In terms of available weapons, they fall into one of five categories: melée (one- or two-handed weapons), and ranged (hand guns, long guns and heavy weapons). As for armour, there are no skills associated with them directly, despite being broken into light, medium and heavy categories. Many however, do offer benefits to your skills, such as armour with bonuses to block or to enhance stealth while wearing that armour piece. The accompanying screen snapshot depicts the character building screen (keep in mind that The Outer Worlds is still a work in progress).

For a more detailed reveal, check out Scott's excellent overview!

Watch Fudgemuppet's video on YouTube