The Outer Worlds

[Art Blade]

nice.

And yes, once your ship is repaired, you'll get access to a galaxy map where you can choose your next destination. There's fast travel within maps and within areas inside the map, and the galaxy map is also some kind of a fast travel hub.

While maps are already nice (and at times a tad dangerous) to explore, the areas re typically densely packed with stuff so that will keep you busy exploring and looting.

[Dweller_Benthos]

I figured as much from what I've seen in videos, so there's a bit to do in the game though some people have said it's a bit short. Eh, that's in how you play the game, you can probably make it as long as you wish, or, 12 minutes hehe.

[Art Blade]

yeah

one warning

From my own experience, regarding "flaws," particularly the one called robophobia (fear of automechanicals)

If you're offered that flaw in exchange for a "free" perk, I strongly recommend NOT to take it, tempting as that free perk may be. Here's why, and it is a minor spoiler.

Spoiler

One of your companions will be a robot and if you've got that flaw like I do, your OWN COMPANION will trigger that phobia so you'll be CONSTANTLY suffering the negative effects of the flaw as long as that robot is on your team. I took him for a very short stint and will have to leave him for the rest of the game because that flaw combined with that companion cripples me significantly. Significantly as in, I've got three flaws and if one triggers, the negative effects of ALL flaws are triggered which causes an accumulative negative value on your affected skills/attributes for as long as the fearful situation exists. That causes "average" attributes to become "below average" and that can be a real pain in the neck like being unable to regenerate health on your own and so on.

Flaws cannot be removed unless you want to start a new career.

[fragger]

Good to know

[Art Blade]

I wish I had known that earlier The problem is that when offered that choice (flaw for perk) they only show you three attributes that will be affected but you can't compare or look up the attributes of your character so you think, yeah, gonna trade that, and only much later will you find out what the hell you've done. The warning in my previous post.. it's not only when I'm out with the team, it's even active on board of my own ship as soon as that thing is moving into my sight and that instantly changes my abilities when I'm standing at the w0#k bench.. crazy. I'm tempted to get rid of the source for good but for now I'll just wait and see.

Anyway, it's a first playthrough.. I don't expect it to be flawless, so to speak

Funny how your own name keeps popping up once in a while. See the description of the weapon

my name on a gun
Guests are not allowed to view images in posts, please Register or Login

[mandru]

Having watched a full play through I've been anxious for TOW to release for PC.  I need to see if the current discount for the extended package is a limited time offer that I need to pounce on now to secure my copy. 

I don't really want the full musical soundtrack that's part of the package offer though.  I see game music as a wart that consumes precious memory space that I would never have reason to access.

And I still haven't figured out what the benefit of the season pass is supposed to provide.

I want to plow into TOW but my plate is fairly full right now.  I enjoy hearing about the game experiences of others but if I were to buy TOW now it would still be a couple months before I'd probably be able to spare enough concentrated effort to give the game the attention it deserves.

[Dweller_Benthos]

Art, when do you get offered these perks with flaws, and can you just refuse them? The situation you've found yourself in does not appeal to me at all. I'll have to be sure to read all the information on perks when the time comes, but usually, you skim that stuff to get back to the game, as in, yeah that sounds cool, I'll take that, but then it comes back to bite you.

Mandru, the current deal sounded good to me, though I also have little use for the soundtrack, I may listen to it once but usually in games I have the music turned way down, I find it distracting for the most part. The season pass if it works like any other season pass will get you all DLC currently planned and maybe more. Right now there's only one DLC but I take it they have more on the way. Usually the season pass gets you enough of them that bought separately would cost you more. If only the base game is what interests you, then that can probably be skipped.

[Art Blade]

mandru, the music part that comes with it doesn't have to be installed, you can just leave that box unticked or delete it afterwards. The season pass includes one current DLC and another one is scheduled for early 2021. The deal is time limited: "SPECIAL PROMOTION! Offer ends 6 November" so you need to get it NOW. Essentially you pay the same as for the base game but instead, you get at least two DLC for free and well, some music you don't even need to install.

Dweller, the game is kind of checking on you when you get into the same bad situation several times. My first flaw was offered after I was encumbered several times. The next was after running into those gorillas several times and got wounded often. The third was after battling it out with robots several times and got wounded a lot. And yes, you can refuse them, hence my warning (otherwise it would have been useless to warn you and recommending NOT to take it )

[mandru]

OK, thanks for the info guys.  I'll need to pick it up now. 

[Art Blade]

mandru, I'm sure you're going to love it

[Art Blade]

It occurred to me that my two enemy-related flaws might stack so I tested it by taking the robot on my team and we went to the gorillas. Phew, it doesn't stack more than it already did. So whatever your negative aspects of the flaws might be, one phobia triggers them all (including the encumbrance one) but it won't get worse.

[Art Blade]

I think I just found the ultimate safe.. the planet is Monarch and there are so many marauders and dinosaurs that I actually managed to go from level 17 to level 18 doing nothing but killing and exploring. Remember this when you've reached level 17 and by then know what a ton of XP you need to level up to 18

In the meantime I came across so many cool weapons and (in-game) mods that I think all the stuff comes in three tiers. Like from "weapon" to "weapon Mk2" to "weapon Ultra." Also apparently some new weapons and armour types and mods start to pop up along with reaching that Mk2 tier. I've only now found my first couple of guns rated "ultra" so I can't say much about that tier. Only that each jump to the next higher tier is quite remarkable regarding the increase of damage and so on. Add a few nice mods and you're starting to get a feel for how cool that stuff can be

So far, I've kept Parvati all the time and settled with Felix as my other companion. Those two are a funny and effective combo for me

the ultimate safe.
You actually need a skill of 150 (the max) to open it.
I've "only" got 66 right there.
Guests are not allowed to view images in posts, please Register or Login

[mandru]

Congrats on hitting level 18. 

About that safe.  It looks like you need 100 lockpick level and there's a armor item called the Safecracker Jacket that kicks you up to the needed level 150.  There's some conversation about that safe on another forum but no one has opened it to see what's in it.

I wonder if there is a key for that safe hidden in some obscure location.

[Art Blade]

cheers, mandru

And no, no key needed. The safe would "tell" you if there was one. I'm going to show you how it will w0#k.. quickly back to my game and taking a stats screenie, hold on..

here, that's what you need to see/know. To the left in grey is my actual skill level at "safe cracking" which is 40. Next to it in green is how certain effects change that value, in my case it's been cranked up to 75 (other than in the safe pic where I got 66) so that means I can crack anything that's locked up to level 75.

To the right you see the outlined bit which is 150 (max) so you could crack anything. It doesn't matter how you get that level, either the grey (all by yourself) or the green value with help of certain effects simply has to get to 150.

click the pic to magnify for better readability
Guests are not allowed to view images in posts, please Register or Login

[Art Blade]

Gear and Companions affect your stats

Something that at least to me isn't clear at all is how your companion's armour attributes affect your own skills. I found out that it does affect your skills. Apparently for every "5" of the gear's attribute, the companions put "1" of that on your stats. But sometimes they don't. And the companions may also show in their own skill sheet something like "science 50 (43)" or "science 50 (67)" or some such without an explanation anywhere how to read that (those values inside the brackets) and where that is coming from. I couldn't change those values by giving them armour with or without attributes. And no, in my case they can't be related to perks.

There is body armour and head gear which may come with attributes such as +5 lockpick or +5 stealth and a few may come with a double like a heavy body armour may come with "+5 heavy guns, -5 stealth." So sometimes, depending on your companion's "internal" (read, unknown to the player) stats, that gear adds to or subtracts from your own skill values. Interestingly, armour mods that you can find and buy, do have an effect on the companion and thereby on your own skill values.

I suggest you test early on to observe changes and maybe find out what helps you and what doesn't when picking armour for your companions.

I managed to change my lockpick value quite significantly depending on my own gear, which companions I chose, and what gear I put on them. My value ranged from 66 to 89, only by experimenting with different gear on me and the same companions (Felix and Parvati) and changing companions again had a massive effect because some affect lockpick while others don't.

That's really annoying that there is no way of telling which changes do what. Just keep it in mind.