Excavator power armor

Excavator power armor is a power armor in Fallout 76.

Background
Developed by Garrahan Mining Co., the "Excavator" class of Power Armor never saw full production, despite being heavily advertised in Appalachia as the future of mining. Formally named the EX-17 Excavator, the power armor project was headed by Harold Frost, siphoned off directly from the United States Army Research Corps in early 2075. Frost welcomed the private sector job, with little oversight and reporting required as long as he showed results. The project made headway at first and Frost was confident he could deliver a prototype within months.

However, the optimism was unfounded. As the Excavator was intended for mining, not combat, durability issues manifested quickly. The extra punishment the arm units took when boring into bedrock caused micro-stress fractures and sheared gear assemblies. By September 2075, the research team settled on using black titanium, native to Appalachia. The material had the necessary tensile strength to keep the arm components from tearing themselves apart. Although too expensive for the T-45 power armor due to the expense of the mining process, it was considered an acceptable choice for a corporate design. Although using titanium solved the durability issues, the suit's extra weight made a more efficient reactor necessary. Although the team continued to experiment with new solutions as late as May 2076, they were already way past specifications on the repurposed T-45 reactor, causing overheating and stability issues. After two months of fruitless experiments, Frost's team had to go for broke.

The solution was to go with an ultracite reactor. Although it took trial and error - including slagged reactors and a near-meltdown - Garrahan Mining Co. believed it necessary, as it had the power output and radiation signature necessary for the project. In exchange, they had to make a decade-long commitment to AMS technology. It wasn't the kind of gift the company wanted to receive on Christmas 2076. However, the choice proved prudent, as it allowed the team to complete the project in February 2077, three months ahead of schedule, hastened by AMS' reveal of Watoga and Hornwright Mining Co. launching the Auto-Miner industrial robot line. The crunch time was almost unbearable, with the research team lead going by on coffee, cigarettes, and stale donuts.

By April 3, three complete Excavator units were operational and proved to be a terrific tool. Not only did they have a spotless maintenance record, with nary a single breakdown over two months of constant use, they were already breaking records for the amounts of ore extracted in a single day. CEO Vivian Garrahan decided to play va banque, challenging Hornwright Mining to a duel where the Excavators and Auto-Miners would compete to mine the most ore in a pre-set amount of time. The challenge was a calculated risk, aiming to raise the profile of the company and the project, while securing lucrative contracts in the increasingly automation-obsessed Appalachia. She had every reason to believe they could win: The Excavators were already distinguishing themselves with revolutionary mineral sensors, on top of other cutting-edge proprietary solutions.

It was the decisive battle of the Hornwright/Garrahan war: 24 hours of non-stop mining. The challenge started on October 18 and lasted the whole day, with Auto-Miners and Excavators effortlessly chewing through the rock at their designated sites. They were a match for one another and by the end of the day, Hornwright won by a thin margin, just 1.85 tons - less than a single truckload - and stood supreme. Hornwright Mining seized on this tenuous victory as an example of machine's superiority to man. What they did not mention is the fact that Hornwright's executives did not play fairly and intervened to ensure that Garrahan would fail. In the end, they succeeded, making Auto-Miners the talk of the region and sending Garrahan's stock into free-fall, making them ripe for a takeover... And folding the groundbreaking Excavator project into the Auto-Miners, creating a fleet of indestructible, autonomous miners capable of pin-pointing mineral deposits with no oversight from human operators.

The Great War ended such ambitions, leaving the Excavator Power Armor for various wasteland parties to recover and put to use, namely the Responders' Fire Breathers Unit and the dwellers of Vault 76.

Characteristics
The Excavator is an unique suit of power armor designed for mining, rather than combat. True to its purpose, completing the suit at the Garrahan Mining Headquarters and unlocking its potential increases yield from any mining nodes tackled.

To use it, the player must reach level 25. It should be noted that while both T-45 and Excavator power armor both require level 25 to use each has its own advantages with T-45 having 10 higher ballistic and energy resistance values and Excavator armor 1 higher radiation resistance and a higher yield on harvested ore nodes as well as what appears to be a much higher carry capacity boost of around 100 lbs more. As such the T-45 may be a better choice for straight combat and Excavator armor for overall day to day activities such as farming.

As with all power armor helmets, the helmet protects against contracting air and waterborne diseases.

Modifications

 * Modification plans can be purchased at random from Responders vendor bots.
 * Tier 1 and 2 mods may spawn at power armor recipe spawns in The Ash Heap. These mods are:
 * Helmet: Internal Database and Sensor Array
 * Torso: Medic Pump, Motion-Assist Servos
 * Arms: Optimized Bracers, Rusty Knuckles, Hydraulic Bracers
 * Legs: Explosive Vent

Material

 * Material modifications are available after purchasing the necessary entitlement in the Atomic Shop. All paints require 2 oil, 2 plastic, and 2 steel per element.

Locations

 * Excavator power armor has to be constructed by the player as part of the Miner Miracles quest. After collecting the recipes, it can be made at any crafting station.