Power armor has been dramatically changed in Fallout 4, and is a weapon in its own right, rather than simply a superior version of a regular armor.
Overview[]
Engaging a group of raiders with a minigun. Good idea.
Engaging a lone deathclaw in close quarters. Bad idea, as deathclaws have a special attack where they kick the power armor operator over and claw at them, dealing heavy damage to power armor components.
The most noticeable change is that power armor training is also no longer needed to wear power armor; human companions can also wear power armor simply by commanding them to do so.
Power armor is not equipped in the usual sense of the word – it is a separate world entity that is entered from the back - the armor unfolds, the operator steps in, and then seals around them. To enter power armor, simply use an empty suit. To exit, hold down the use key (E by default on PC, A on Xbox One, and X on PlayStation 4). The power armor also replaces the standard HUD with its own heads-up display, including a compass and gauges for hit points, action points, radiation, the remaining number of fusion cores available, and an ammunition counter.
The power armor suit is made out of six individual components: the helmet, torso, two arms, and two legs, worn over a power armor frame. Each component can be swapped out and the suit can be as unified or as jigsaw as the player wants it to be. In combat, damage is tracked individually per piece and it is possible for them to be damaged to the point of shattering, requiring them to be repaired. The damage the player takes is reduced by a flat 5% per piece on the frame, while the radiation damage reduced by 14% per piece, so a full set reduces damage by 30% and incoming radiation by 84%. Damage and radiation resistance provided by each piece is then applied to the remaining amount, making power armor the best protection bar none.
Power armor also requires a charged fusion core for its operation and consumes the charge at a steady rate whenever the player is moving. The rate at which the fusion core runs out of charge increases drastically if one sprints in it. If the charge runs out and there are no replacements, movement speed is greatly reduced and the player cannot perform power attacks or sprint. However, it will protect against fall damage regardless of charge, allowing for dramatic escapes. The helmet-mounted flashlight will also continue to work.
If one abandons their power armor, a marker will automatically appear on the Pip-Boy map displaying the location of the armor. However, this marker will only display the most recent suit of power armor exited.
Summary[]
- Advantages
- Greatly increased resistance to ballistic, energy, and radiation damage, both inherent (5% per piece for regular damage and 14% for radiation) and additional provided by the pieces themselves.
- Immunity to fall damage, even allowing one to jump off of Trinity Tower and walk away unscathed.
- Increased physical strength.
- Equipped power armor components are weightless.
- Equipped weapon weight no longer penalizes movement speed.
- Ability to upgrade power armor with additional functionality.
- Head-mounted directional flashlight.
- Sealed armor allows for walking underwater for several minutes before beginning to suffocate.
- Disadvantages
- Power armor has a limited health pool for each component and has to be periodically repaired. Once broken, parts cannot be equipped until they are repaired at a power armor station.
- One cannot use crafting stations or furniture while power armor is equipped.
- When underwater, the operator can only move at a walking pace.
- Wearing power armor without a power armor helmet prevents use of the flashlight.
- Power Armor requires at least one Fusion Core to function properly. Without one, you are unable to sprint, power attack, or fast travel.
List of power armor[]
- Notes
- All stats are given for baseline suits - lowest model, no additional upgrades.
| Type | Piece | Protection | Hit points | Weight | Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballistic damage | Energy damage | Radiation | |||||
| Raider Power Armor | Helmet | 100 | 50 | 150 | 50 | 14 | 50 |
| Torso | 200 | 100 | 300 | 100 | 22 | 110 | |
| Arm | 50 | 25 | 150 | 50 | 16 | 55 | |
| Leg | 50 | 25 | 150 | 50 | 17 | 55 | |
| T-45 Power Armor | Helmet | 100 | 60 | 150 | 50 | 12 | 60 |
| Torso | 200 | 130 | 300 | 200 | 20 | 140 | |
| Arm | 50 | 30 | 150 | 50 | 15 | 100 | |
| Leg | 50 | 30 | 150 | 50 | 15 | 100 | |
| T-51 Power Armor | Helmet | 140 | 90 | 150 | 80 | 12 | 80 |
| Torso | 240 | 160 | 300 | 320 | 20 | 180 | |
| Arm | 90 | 60 | 150 | 80 | 15 | 130 | |
| Leg | 90 | 60 | 150 | 80 | 15 | 130 | |
| T-60 Power Armor | Helmet | 180 | 120 | 150 | 110 | 12 | 120 |
| Torso | 280 | 185 | 300 | 440 | 20 | 200 | |
| Arm | 130 | 85 | 150 | 110 | 15 | 160 | |
| Leg | 130 | 85 | 150 | 110 | 15 | 160 | |
| X-01 Power Armor | Helmet | 220 | 140 | 150 | 140 | 12 | 140 |
| Torso | 320 | 210 | 300 | 560 | 20 | 280 | |
| Arm | 170 | 110 | 150 | 140 | 15 | 200 | |
| Leg | 170 | 110 | 150 | 140 | 15 | 200 | |
Power armor repair[]
Each suit requires a different set of resources to repair. Note that power armor can only be repaired at a power armor station. Outside of it, the player can only swap out individual components.
| Type | Torso repair | Component repair |
|---|---|---|
| Raider Power Armor | 3 Steel | 1 Steel |
| T-45 Power Armor | 7 Steel 1 Circuitry |
4 Steel |
| T-51 Power Armor | 8 Steel 1 Circuitry |
5 Steel |
| T-60 Power Armor | 8 Steel 1 Plastic 3 Aluminum 1 Circuitry |
6 Steel 1 Plastic 1 Aluminum |
| X-01 Power Armor | 10 Steel 6 Aluminum 2 Circuitry |
7 Steel 1 Copper 2 Aluminum |
Power armor locations[]
Power armor has to be found on the world map in order to upgrade one's suit. While it may appear otherwise, there are very few "guaranteed" spawns - most of the time, one will find a power armor frame with randomly generated, level-dependent pieces present. Which pieces spawn is determined by character level and the level of the location cell. In general, T-60 and X-01 power armor spawns are limited to cells which have a high minimum difficulty level set, such as the S. Boston military checkpoint, which has a 25-30 cell level.
Notes[]
- Counting all pieces of each variant of power armor, there are 240 different pieces of power armor that can be used for customization.
- It is possible to hijack power armor by sneaking up on an unaware operator and stealing the fusion core. They will usually abandon the armor in this case. Of course, characters will use empty power armor with a core, if present in the cell. That includes both allies and enemies.
See also[]
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