In my first run, as soon asI finished with the early-game quest that required me to wear it, I parked the PA in Sanctuary and never looked back. I think it looks incredibly goofy (overcompensating, perhaps?) and is just an overall pain in the patoot to maneuver in. I completed the entire game without EVER using it again.

I'm now about halfway through my second run. The PA is parked in the farthest NW corner of the map. I have no plans whatsoever to retrieve it.

One of the many things that turn me off the PA (aside from looks and mobility) is the fact that the BoS folks use it so much. The sight of a bunch of them lumbering about wearing their Incredible Hulk Wannabe costumes makes me shake my head. Sad sacks, the whole lot of them. And the funniest part is they still need ME to come in and save them.

Oh and for the record, I use no chems, no boosts, no companions (not even the dog) and no big guns or energy weapons. Just me, my .44 (or sniper rifle) and some slightly jazzed-up combat armor. Matter of fact, the other day, just for giggles, I cleared an entire area of Super Mutants (including a couple of Legendaries) wearing my Agatha's dress and high heels. Power armor? Pffft. I'm powerful enough.

My only complaint about PA currently is that I can't customize the color of its HUD, or let the non-PA HUD color translate over to PA. The yellowish orange is a bit off-putting sometimes, makes it a bit trickier when doing persuasion checks and building in settlements (lots of yellows text and items by default in both scenarios). Officially joined the Brotherhood on my newest character last night, so I have a set of T60 waiting for me.

Don't like it don't war it... end of story...

I like the new PA basic mechanics but it is imho way to overused. There are high level pieces/ frames around every corner, I have to constantly repair them (no matter what tier I use) and I need to feed them new cores all the time.

I still try to use the t-45 at level 44 (second character) because I don't like the fact that I can get high end gear like it is nothing. (X-01 spawns at 28)

Would be niece to modify the frames as well. Upgrading them would make a lot of sense. Faster, stronger and quiter ...

Sorry but some of your pointers are more advantages than anything else, like being able to walk on the seabed.

Also like everything else if you want power armor to truly shine then you have to spec into certain perks so you can upgrade it.

bad day?

just wanted to hear some opinions about how people think, how useful it actually is

not complaining here... it's just that all of this mechanics are pretty new, as F4 just released two months ago

If you get science/armorer and upgrade it right, it isn't a liability. It has some limitations, but I've made to level 60+ on survival difficulty without dying on my power armor focused character. I didn't even take Nuclear Physicist, I consider it a waste of a perk with how easy it is to make caps and buy cores.

I've even survived mini-nukes in power armor, it's the best source of easy to access explosive resistance.

You also get to lug an incredible amount of loot around with calibrated shocks.

It also isn't that slow.

Now, eventually, with a great set of regular armor, you'll have enough powerful legendary effects to shed power armor without too much worry. And it can be a good option for movement speed which can get very fast if you stack a couple legendaries with that effect on it.

However, Power Armor also gets a Jet Pack, still making it an appealing choice. A Jet Pack gives you a major advantage wherever there's some vertical structures to use in combat. You also don't take fall damage, which can potentially shed a fair amount of travel time in some areas.

I generally use Power Armor by default, but use regular armor for lower level areas, non-combat stuff where I want charisma bonuses, or for doing stuff around the larger bodies of water.

I think I have 4 sets of PA now that generally hangout at Red Rocket or Home Plate. I find them useful for certain opponents, but a handicap for others. There is one certain quest that I cannot survive without PA for that matter... So I go get it just before hitting that part.

My combat armor (slome legendary, and shadowed and deep pocketed) and a set of Army fatigues allows me to carry just as much as I can carry with the PA, so therre's not much advantage in that area.

As to modding the PA for rads, or for overdriven legs, It seems to me that whatever I mod it for, turns out I need the other or different mod next time. Like modding to reduce radiation, then discovering I'd have been a lot better off modding against explosions...

So, in my estimation PA is a handicap sometimes, and a lifesaver other times. I don't use it often though.

i like the new mechanics of power armor

i wish i could take it with me and keybind it like other pieces of armor , it's annoying to watch the enter / exit animation every time , and not to mention the loading screens ....

I wish there were more unique Power Armors and Combat Armors. Synth Armors too.


More paint options for PA would be great and a way to make Power Cores last longer. My gaming habits won't allow me to enjoy the PA, I've got to save those scores for when I really need them. I will never really need them.


Would love to see coloring and logo options for Power Armor and Combat Armor. RR/BoS/Institute/Minuteman/Gunners, hell I'll take Outcasts and Talon Company too, wouldn't even be bothered by NCR tags.

"WOO YEAH POWER ARMOR" - Bethesda.

Thats why.

I just wish you could apply EVERY paint job to ANY armor.

I'm with the Minutemen, and it's absurd that I'm locked into the weakest torso piece if I want my faction's logo on my PA.

It's just different.

Having finished the main story line I don't use it at all anymore.

When i first started I didn't use it much, probably due to the resource issue.

Around level 70 I started using it because the toughest opponents appeared and resources were no longer a problem.

As i leveled up I got more health and overtook the opponents.

It's a trade off.

In Power Armour you lose suit health which requires junk to repair.

In unpowered armour you lose health which needs replenishing with aid.

In Power Armour you can leap off the highest buildings with impunity but you can't swim.

Also the Deathclaws treat you differently when in Power Armour than when you aren't as illustrated here.

with PA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXhqIDtmGZc

without PA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmCZ5nSXXhQ

Presently, when I play, I like to confiscate suits from the foes in battle, decorate them and display them as trophies.

I really like the pink paint job.

These days I use the ballistic weave for a stylish lightweight look that leaves me vulnerable to damage in sloppy play.

The only way your armor matches/outshines PA is if you invested nothing into PA.

Your combat armor would give 60 CW ( 20 for chest, 10 for each limb) and then the fatigues give 1 strength for an additional 10 CW. For a grand total of 70 CW. Keep in mind though that armor actually has weight to it, which is increased thanks to the deep pockets mod. The weight also varies base on which type of armor you get ( Standard, Sturdy, or Heavy).

As for PA, all variants set your strength to 11. Making your minimum CW 310. The "Calibrated leg" mods add 100 CW ( 50 each) increasing your total to 410. Torso mod "Motion assist servos" adds 2 strength, making CW 430. Lastly, the military or any of the BOS paint jobs adds 1 strength. Making the grand total of 440 CW. What is also great is that the PA weights nothing while it's on the frame. That 440 CW can be devoted to purely equipment/loot. The enhanced strength (14) makes you a formidable unarmed/melee combatant as well.

Modding the PA for more rad resist and overdrive servos ( sprint faster but costs more AP) is, IMO, rather pointless.

You're right, I've invested nothing in the PA, mostly because I don't use it often. That would be because I have an int of 6, and go through fusion cores as if they were tiny tasty chocolate bars. My Str is 3 (I think). Just enough that I can use the armorer's bench. My main SPECIAL investments are Endurance 5 Agility 7 Luck 5. I actually started with a STR of 1...

Really, I'm not at all into melee combat, and I focus on stealth and sniping with ballistic weapons. Automatics other than my sniper weapon. Somehow I feel stupid trying to be stealthy in Power Armor, even when it works. "CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP" "Hey, how'd ya know I was here?"

I used it for farming mats and weapons when I was leveling. The +220 weight makes it worth it. I use it all the time now because I have over 40 Fusion Cores from Scrounger 4/4 and it's nice not having 60 armor weight. I have 1 STR so the 440 weight capacity is awesome. And I'm rich AF now. Also great vs supermutants. PS4 level 73 survival difficulty.

well, PA looks awesome if you display 10+ of them at your village.

other than that i find them pretty useless, because the stats and bonuses i get from my regular gear is far stronger then my fully upgraded X01.

Power armor makes some fights easier. That's the reason to wear it. In other fights it's a nice mental rest to know that you had a more powerful option if things get really ugly. I rarely use power armor but on some occasions it is just nice to have it. I would never go into the GS without it, and if it's just for roleplay reasons.

I cannot understand how you do achieve the same protection from normal armor. Perhaps if you compare with unmodded T-45? I use an X-01 MK IV with T-60 arms and helmet (because I don't like the look of the X-01 stuff) and I have the feeling that I see much bigger DR numbers than from my normal armor. Which is btw modded to be on par with armor + ballistic weave when used alone (because I find ballistic weave silly).

I don't get the argument btw that PA is useless because you don't need it necessarily even on Survival. That's just a good balance/freedom decision by Bethesda.

Long story short: I like power armor in FO4.

1. I never really noticed that?

1.5 Makes complete sense to me. It's bulky and heavy, it's water displacement doesn't compensate it's mass, so it sinks. I'd even like that to be applied to the normal armours, the heavier ones. Although in that case it would mean you'd drown because you won't have a power armour bucket on your head.

2. Makes complete sense to me. It's bulky and heavy. Although it's got servos and actuators and stuff, it's still quite a bit of mass to move around.

3. From what I noticed it gets better as you spend in perks to improve it further. I like how it gets damaged and needs repairing actually. To me it's a lot better then the PA just being a DT boost with nothing to it like it previously was.

In the glowing sea? Just be careful and don't engage every Deathclaw you encounter.

I mostly use PA when I plan or suspect I'm going to be in a heavy fight where I need the extra damage resistance. The only things that keep me from using it all the time are the fusion core consumption and the fact that being inside a PA helmet somehow makes me feel less focussed and more constricted. But I'm fine with that. It makes sense.

point 2 might actually need some thought there are several exo-skeletons in real life and I would expect the engineers in the Fallout world to do something similar ^^

I mean sure, the parts itself are heavy, but you don't carry them by yourself?! They're put on the frame, which is specially designed to be able to move in that thing.

I think they could've designed the power frame, to be able to move faster, than a normal human... just like the exo-skeletons in real life

I am pretty sure the power armor is the same speed as without, but the extra size gives the illusion it is moving slower.

I also play evolve and this same effect is present in the monsters, when you are small you appear to be covering lots of distance relative to your size, but when you get huge even moving the same speed appears slow.

Power Armour is my absolute favourite for unarmed characters. The mods are just great.


I still use it on my main though, especially since I now have an X-01 Mark VI for my level 92. It just absolutely crushes everything else, and Pain Train is actually pretty fun to use against Super Mutants!

That depends on your level when you first go there and the difficulty setting of the game. The Fort Strong PA is one of the "Leveled Power Armors".

You get the same effect in real life. It is basically how far above the ground your eyes are. In a sports car, traveling 30 miles an hour seems quite a bit faster than the same speed in the ol' family sedan. The difference in height doesn't have to be all that great for it to be noticeable, either. Just a couple of inches is enough to give the impression of a difference in speed.

Pity the poor tall people, they live in a slow world.

I rarely wear it either. Trying to get through water is horrible, as you just sink and you can't get out of it. I also can't use my fist weapon with it.

The UI for it is also sub-optimal. I've gotten more used to it over time, but it's still clunky. It's harder to get through doors and to look objects. Feels like I'm walking in slow motion. Maybe some of the armor mods help, I dunno'?