First of all I'd like to say that I really do like the concept of Power Armor in Fallout 4.

The way we can customize it, the way it uses Fusion Cores really adds to an immersive gameplay.

But having used it for the first time, for the first two hours, I really feel like it handicapps you instead of actually helping you.

So here are the points that are annoying

1. It doesn't feel like it has as much radiation resistance as the Hazmat Suit, despite having more resistance on paper.

Walking through water gives you ~2 rad/s, while the Hazmat Suit stays below 1 rad/s

1.5. The fact that you can't swim and do have to walk slowly across the surface, makes crossing rivers very annoying ^^

It's slow and irradiates you for 10-20%

2. You move way slower, than in any other normal armor

3. It needs repairing way too quickly... having played two hours, I was barely hit by a few bullets and some of my parts already lost 30%

What am I supposed to do in mid of the glowing sea, without any power armor workstations within a range of a 10 min walk

so what are actually the reasons to use it? ^^

late game armor already provides a lot of protection and power armor doesn't add too much to it

so what are the advantages that it offers? is it more of a 'just for fun' thing?

I can see that all the disadvantages, that I listed, are somehow realistic and immersive, but I really fail to see the point of power armor as a game mechanic

Really would love to hear some opinions and if you people think it's useful

I haven't used PA since the first time you fight a Deathclaw early on. Mostly it was because I couldn't find fusion cores, so I figured it would be a pain. I never touched it again, even though I now have 30+ cores.

I'm at lvl 43, so I can confirm you absolutely don't need it to move forward.

For that matter, you don't need companions or VATS either.

I have noticed that it gets damaged way too quickly as well. You do move slower but it's heavy so I can get that. But end game is a ways away for me so I really cannot comment on the other aspects that you note here just yet. But as a low level, if you wear it only at places you've had trouble and get killed (since you won't yet have very many power cores yet), then it has it's usefulness. Low levels can just park it at their settlements or wherever and just use it sparingly.

Once you start upgrading it, Power Armour is very effective. Carrying capacity, better protection from radiation/energy/getting punched in the face, the headlamp works much better than the pipboy light and being able to drop long distances without damage.

The jetpack is the clincher though.gives you a lot more options and you can even short cut some areas and find hidden loot. (Sometimes stuff is hidden on inaccessible rooftops. One house in sanctuary as an example)

Radiation protection wise. I'd much prefer to wear it in say the Glowing Sea than a rad suit. Not for the radiation protection as such, but for protection from the hurty things.

yeah PA become a real think after u upgrade it, like T60 is badass when u upgrade it. U can stand Deathclaws attacks w/o problem.

And the whole non swimming make sense, and is funny go walk around the ocean with it it feel super cool

If you run out of things to upgrade I guess you could just repair power armor over and over (I would rather quit grabbing stuff personally cause power armor makes me run like a fat guy)

Power armor is nice in settings there you will take lots of damage, I had one quest to defend summerset, the settlement down next to the glowing sea.

Fast travel into an group of high level supermutants including two warlords with rocket launchers and an bunch of mutated dogs. Died in a second, went back in an fully upgraded X-01 and had an serious fight, first had to use an automatic assault rifle to kill the dogs while walking backward before i could bring out the exploding minigun still took a lot of damage.

Glowing sea its nice mostly because of borrowing radscorpions and the insects both will cause damage to you, deathclaws I'm able to snipe.

Else its nice for high intensity combat where its lots of enemies and set battles where you can not sneak in and take them one for one.

I don't use it else.

You said word for word my view of Power Armor. Since fusion cores are so rare / expensive, I don't even use Power Armor. Which is too bad, because they clearly put a lot of work into the mechanic. It's just that there's such a huge disincentive to using it that I don't want to depend on a certain style of play that is ultimately unsustainable.

I do think it gets tore up too easily. Fusion cores aren't a problem, though. I find plenty.

The jet pack uses far too much power for my tastes. I go with the medic pump, instead. In fact, I wish I could install a medic pump on my combat armor ...

My PA scientist is level 39 and I have over a 100 cores. I think it's great and helps make up my charcter lack of endurance and combat skills.

T-45 is (Sadly) garbage compared to T-60

I used the suit of T-45 in the begining to fight the deathclaw and then immedietly put it away

wait till you get a set of T-60 or x-01 to start using PA

I will admit tho I always wear a T-45 helmet just because it's aesthetic af

I have not made much use of power armor since defeating the deathclaw at Concord. At level 70, I have only gotten into a suit of armor I found in the wasteland twice to move it to a settlement. I never even bothered to research where to get missing parts. I have plenty of fusion core... the random things you find in a trash bin....

as an addition to this thread

I was using a fully upgraded X-01, while having 150+ fusion cores and the 3 nuclear perks

it still gets damaged way too quickly in my opinion and I'm scared of losing parts and getting irradiated, while being in the glowing sea and not able to fix it

we should be able to repair it, without the workstation

just taking a Hazmat Suit with you, some parts that you need to repair it, a tool box and fix it

your overuse of emotes is more annoying than powerarmor

Are you just using the basic t-45 from Concord? That one's kind of terrible at the start, but it's a real fixer-upper. Now that I've modded it and upgraded it to t-45d, it's not so bad. And once you get X-01 Mk. VI Power Armor, you'll be singing a different tune.

Real frustration in power armour is to try to walk underwater at night, especially in places with lots of rocks...it's like herding cats in the dark.

what the hell where you fighting? I got hit by a fatman and took out Quincy and my x-01 armour only went down to 75% although I was playing on normal so maybe difficult has something to do with it?

Anyway without spoiling the location (kind of cool place actually) there is an PA station and a free set of power armour in the glowing sea (fairy safe and non-radiated) and it's somewhat on route to where you have to go.

Although I would take and wear a rad suit under the armour encase you want to get out at some point, there are at least three places that are easier to move about/enter when you aren't in power armour.

Fort Strong has X01 Power Armor or at least so parts.

I ditched it about 20-30 hours in because I really don't like moving so slowly. With radaway and various chems, you can easily keep yourself alive.

Between the PA HUD and walking around with your gun is a semi aim postion blocking 1/3 of the screen I found locating minds and traps next to impossible. I gave up on PA until GECK mods come out to fix this.

A long press on reload puts your gun away.

PA with Overdriven Legs is among the fastest things in the game.

I just modded the power supply to be limitless, I know it's kinda cheating but at the same time my amount of caring is very low. I like being super-amazing bad-ass in games.

I don't use my power armor on a regular basis, which is probably why I've got something like 40 fusion cores stockpiled. (And still in what I'd call "Act 1" of the game, having already completed it once.)

I use it when I travel to a location and get blown into tiny meat chunks by missile-launching Muties or angry Assaultrons. Reload, armor up, and try again.

My main suit is a T-60c, with Atom Catz paint. I've only found one copy of Hot Rodder, so I applied that paint to the T-45 armor from Concord. I keep 'em all on display at my "base". I think I have seven now, without buying any frames from vendors. I've got one that's made of all Raider parts. It looks wicked, but the performance svcks.

As for crossing the Glowing Sea, I did it in my first game using the Hazmat Suit. And tried my best to steer away from trouble. It was unnerving, but I made it.

PA can really vary in protection and durability vastly between sets. With the T-45 and Raider sets being on the lowest of both. The T-51 is only slightly better in damage and durability. These sets even upgraded to their best don't last long at all. Which is surprising as they were used Pre-War. I suppose it's a gameplay balance issue they chose to go with.

T-60 and X-01 are the best sets offering the highest levels of both.