Welcome lone traveler! I see you have your eyes set on the Halcyon colony at the edge of the galaxy. Before you descend into The Outer Worlds, you’ll want to strategize what type of character you’ll be. Your starting build and playstyle will dramatically impact your experience uncovering the secrets of Halcyon’s corporate-owned colonies.
As a veteran of over 500 hours in The Outer Worlds, I’ve mastered all sorts of character builds from silver-tongued diplomats to head-bashing tanks. In this guide, I’ll cover the top 5 starter builds for new players and break down exactly how to spec your attributes, perks, skills, and gear from the start.
The Jack of All Trades
To start, I always recommend new players try a flexible build allowing sampling the full range of Outer Worlds gameplay. Being able to mix up your playstyle on the fly will let you discover what you most enjoy doing.
For the Jack of All Trades, focus attribute points equally across strength, dexterity, intelligence, perception and charm with a slight favoring of intelligence and perception. You‘ll also want at least average constitution to give you enough health.
Suggested Attribute Distribution
- Strength: 18
- Dexterity: 18
- Intelligence: 23
- Perception: 23
- Charm: 18
- Temperament: 18
- Constitution: 20
You’ll also want to pick up the following perks as soon as possible:
- Pack Mule – Increases carrying capacity by 50% so you can loot to your heart‘s content
- See the Sights – +10% experience from discovering locations to help you level faster
I‘d recommend grabbing Pack Mule first since running out of inventory space is incredibly annoying early on. Then See the Sights can accelerate leveling up to open up more perks.
In terms of skills, make sure to put at least 20 points into each weapon skill (handguns, heavy weapons, melee, long guns) and support categories (leadership, stealth, lockpick, hack, persuade, lie) by level 12.
Recommended Skill Upgrade Order
- Stealth (for avoiding fights)
- Persuade (for peaceful solutions)
- Lockpick
- Hack
- Whatever weapon type found so far
This will allow smoothly transitioning between different weapons and technical abilities. For gear, swap between using handguns, heavy weapons and your fists depending on the situation. Carry a good mix of science weapons too for explosive effects. Make sure to equip at least medium armor for protection as well since health is limited.
You’ll be able to seamlessly switch between dialogue, stealth gameplay, ranged combat and melee brawling with this balanced approach. Experiment to discover your favorites then redistribute points into stronger specialization!
I took this route on my first playthrough years back. It taught me that I loved wiping out enemies from a distance with sneak attack headshots. So afterwards I respec‘d into a sniper specialist build described next.
The Sniper Sharpshooter
For patient marksmen who revel in surgically precise long-distance takedowns, this sniper build is the perfect choice. You’ll be able to clear out full marauder camps before they have a clue what‘s happening.
Let‘s start with attributes. You want to focus all points into Perception, Intelligence and Temperament.
Suggested Attributes Distribution
- Strength: 5
- Dexterity: 18
- Intelligence: 23
- Perception: 23
- Charm: 5
- Temperament: 23
- Constitution: 18
High Perception is crucial for maximizing headshot accuracy at a distance while Temperament boosts your precision when engaging Tactical Time Dilation to enter focused slow motion.
Some key perks you’ll want to grab are:
- Precision Killer – +25% weak spot damage and -10% weapon sway
- Steady Aim – +5% weak spot damage per rank
- Tactical Master – +100% TTD duration
- Grim Reaper’s Sprint – Killing shot refills 20% of TTD meter
- Pack Mule – Increases carrying capacity by 50%
Combined, these perks mean you’ll be able to chain tactical time dilation headshots together clearing out whole squads before they can react. I like prioritizing Tactical Master and Steady Aim first. Then grab Precision Killer once I have a good sniper rifle.
Let’s discuss skills:
- Max out Long Guns for optimum damage output
- Pour points into Stealth for enhanced sneaking capability
- Remaining into Lockpick, Hack, Persuade, and Engineering as needed
Suggested Skills Upgrade Order
- Long Guns (for weapon damage)
- Stealth (avoid detection)
- Lockpick
- Engineering (for boosting weapons/armor)
- Persuade (sometimes talk way out)
Now gear-wise, you want to focus on high accuracy, weak spot boosting sniper rifles. The MSI Ultimate Sniper Rifle found in Roseway and Nebula both offer excellent precision and perks.
For armor, stay light allowing you to relocate quickly when needed. I‘m a big fan of the Leather Duster early on combined with the Moon Man Helmet for precision skills.
Here‘s an example of average damage output from some top sniper options:
| Weapon | Average Weak Point Crit | Average Headshot |
|---|---|---|
| MSI Ultimate Sniper | 890 | 520 |
| Nebula | 430 | 340 |
As you can see, the MSI Rifle crits for nearly 1000 damage – enough to one shot even most elite enemies on Supernova!
Now let’s get into tactics and gameplay.
When tackling enemy locations, secrecy is your friend. Find a hidden perch with view over the area then crouch for enhanced stealth. Engage Tactical Time Dilation and proceed to systematically land lethal headshots through the slowed down time.
With a high enough Long Gun skill and Perception, you can wipe out even Primal Beasts and Automechanicals before they can retaliate. I‘ve cleared out the entirety of High Ground station this way without taking a single hit!
However, watch out for melee only creatures like Raptidons that can quickly close distance. Always plan an escape route down the back just in case!
The Unstoppable Tank
If charging straight into the midst of combat exhilarates you, this two-handed melee tank build turns you into an unkillable warrior plowing through enemies like a semi-truck.
You‘ll be an unstoppable force of nature able to go toe-to-toe with the deadliest foes while shrugging off their blows and delivering your own crushing counters.
Let‘s start with attributes. You want to push all points into Strength, Constitution and Temperament:
Suggested Attribute Distribution
- Strength: 23
- Dexterity: 18
- Intelligence: 18
- Perception: 18
- Charm: 18
- Temperament: 23
- Constitution: 23
Strength powers the devastating blows from your two-handed melee weapon while Constitution provides a massive pool of health to soak damage. Temperament gives the precision necessary to consistently land crunching hits.
Some key perks for this build include:
- Heavy Handed – +25% melee weapon damage
- Reaper – +50% melee damage versus low health enemies
- Steady Hand – +5% Armor Rating and -5% Sway per rank
- Pack Mule – Increases carrying capacity for heavy armor
I suggest grabbing Pack Mule first so you can immediately start equipping heavy sets without being overloaded. Then prioritize damage boosting melee perks before rounding out defense with Steady Hand.
For skills, you‘ll want to max out Melee Weapons, Defense, and Leadership followed by Intimidate:
Suggested Skills Upgrade Order
- Melee Weapons (melee damage)
- Defense (protection)
- Leadership (companion bonuses)
- Intimidate (aggro enemies)
This combination unlocks powerful attacks allowing you to draw fire onto yourself. Your armor, enormous health pool and self-healing should mitigate practically all incoming fire.
Now let‘s discuss gear. You want heavy armor pieces granting defense, elemental resistances and carrying capacity such as:
- Iconoclast Duster
- Regulator Helmet
- Modified Infantry Breastplate
For weapons, nothing satisfies like the Prismatic Hammer, Thunder, or Static Cloud. These unique science weapons drain your TTD meter per attack but deal insane damage.
To leverage this build in combat, charge straight at the largest cluster of enemies and smash them into pulp with overwhelming strikes. Trigger Execution attacks on staggered/low health foes to completely delete them from existence!
Against ranged attackers, use cover in between gap closing charges then Pulverize knockdowns if they try keeping distance. With your mountain of health and armor, you‘ll power through everything before retaliating with earth-shaking force!
I once took on the Rogue Knight 3v1 by myself as a tank on Supernova – one of the hardest fights in the game! But I weathered their assault then executed them one by one. Feel that rush yourself!
The Smooth Talker
Want to experience The Outer Worlds on the easiest difficulty possible? Try a speech focused build able to convince enemies to lay down arms instead of fighting. You‘ll complete missions without firing a bullet or spending a single bit.
This means dumping points into Intelligence, Perception, Temperament and Charm:
Suggested Attribute Distribution
- Strength: 5
- Dexterity: 18
- Intelligence: 23
- Perception: 23
- Charm: 23
- Temperament: 23
- Constitution: 18
High Intelligence and Perception help unlock dialogue options and pass skill checks. While Temperament and Charm make NPCs more receptive to your crafty words.
You‘ll need speech-boosting gear too – focus exclusively on equipment buffing social skills like:
- Moonman Helmet
- Administrator Set
- Purpleberry Lunettes
The key perks to grab are:
- Lie, Intimidate – Unlock special speech options
- Confidence – +10% dialogue skill bonuses
- Soliloquy – Unique final persuade solutions
Then max out Persuade, Lie, Leadership and Intimidate skills. Here‘s how speech checks tie to skill levels:
| Skill Level | Easy Chance | Average Chance | Hard Chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 20% | 0% | 0% |
| 40 | 100% | 15% | 0% |
| 60 | 100% | 70% | 10% |
| 80 | 100% | 100% | 50% |
| 100 | 100% | 100% | 90% |
As you can see, 100 skill makes even Hard speech checks likely to succeed!
Now let‘s get into tactics. In dialogue, explore all branches to uncover orange/red Difficult persuasion options. Quicksave first then attempt these low percentage choices.
I once convinced the Iconoclast leader Sanjar to step down with an impossible 13% speech check! He peacefully departed allowing me to install a more friendly successor.
You can convince enemies to hand over belongings, offer support, even turn on former allies if your silver tongue is skilled enough! The pen truly is mightier than the plasma sword.
Just beware failed speeches may close off paths or make factions hostile. But with enough Charisma, you‘ll leave witnesses begging for mercy instead of bracing for combat.
The Hacker Overlord
If direct combat isn‘t your speed, outsmart enemies through hacking instead. You‘ll disable systems before they ever realize you infiltrated their secure base.
To start, place all attribute points into Intelligence, Perception and Technical Ability:
Suggested Attribute Distribution
- Strength: 5
- Dexterity: 18
- Intelligence: 23
- Perception: 23
- Charm: 5
- Temperament: 23
- Technical Ability: 23
Intelligence/Perception empower hacking skill checks while Technical Ability reduces their difficulty tier.
You‘ll rely heavily on these perks:
- Head Codebreaker – Auto pick Normal locks & +20% hack XP
- Light Step – No longer trigger traps/alarms
- Quick Fingers – +30% enemy item stealing
I suggest prioritizing Head Codebreaker and Light Step first. Being able to open locks and sneak past alarms from the start enables easy access to restricted areas early.
Then max out Hacking, Lockpick, Science Weapons and Engineering skills ASAP:
Suggested Skills Upgrade Order
- Hacking (electronic infiltration)
- Lockpick (physical entry)
- Science Weapons (non-lethal take downs)
- Engineering (boost gear)
Here‘s how the technical skill tier impacts hacking difficulty:
| Skill Level | Easy Locks/Hacks | Average | Hard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Green | Yellow | Orange |
| 40 | Green | Green | Yellow |
| 60 | Green | Green | Green |
| 80 | N/A | Green | Green |
| 100 | N/A | N/A | Green |
As you can see, 100 technical skill renders even the hardest hacks trivial!
Now for gear, focus on equipment buffing technical abilities like:
- Moonman Helmet
- Veronica Custom-Fit Body Armor
- Breathe-Eez Inhaler
With these specialized hacking bonuses, no system stands a chance against your infiltration prowess!
For combat tactics, infiltrate bases through backdoors and vents to avoid confrontation. Shut down camera systems so no one detects your presence. Reprogram automechanicals to become allies drawing fire for you.
If enemies do appear, cripple them with the shrink ray‘s microscopic projectiles before disappearing back into the shadows!
You‘ll be an invisible spectre, infiltrating the most secure complexes completely undetected to rob enemies blind!
Hopefully these starting builds provide inspiration for your own dream gameplay style. Mix and match across attributes, skills and gear to create unique hybrids catered to you.
Just be sure to retain some versatility vs pure min-maxing. Carry backup weapons allowing flexibility if needed. And don‘t neglect defensive perks/armor even in specialty builds to avoid frustration.
Most importantly, embrace the journey of trying new solutions with each character beyond just chasing "the best build". Storytelling and roleplaying your way through Halcyon could be even more memorable than any min-maxed damage numbers!
Now get out there and leave your mark however you desire! Once you start reshaping corporations to your will, this little colony won‘t know what hit them. Happy hunting, captain!