I do not think I had ever used Power Armor in any previous Fallout before this one. So it didn't really bug me that it is so 'readily' available [no spoilers in this thread please]

Having now messed with it a bit, I find it is a somewhat mixed bag.

The good:

1. You can go up against a lot of baddies at once and survive without too much use of VATs, Chems, etc. Basically you "spend" steel instead of other stuff.

2. Increased carry weight.

3. Radiation, ha!

4. Falling with no risk = nice in some circumstances.

The bad:

1. If you jog, and do not use fast travel, it is extremely boring to slowly plod across the wasteland. I believe I will suspend my Skyrim conviction to "not use fast travel" on the grounds that it diminishes full enjoyment of the game, at lest whenever I'm wearing power armor.

2. Even when you do not use VATs, jog, sprint or do any of the stuff listed in the Help as depleting your fusion core, it nonetheless seems to deplete slowly just from wearing it and walking around . . . or so it seems to me. I just built a settlement not too far from spawn, and my power level definitely dropped a few points despite never running or sprinting or taking any damage.

3. Sneaking is obviously impeded, and peripheral vision seems slightly worsened.

So is it just me or have other folks noticed that your fusion core depletes even when you only walk around? Does absorbing rads or damage reduce the fusion core power supply?

I like the change of PA to a more vehicular style and can see myself using it for things here or there but I do wish it were rarer for fusion cores and suits in general. Just seems odd for both to be in such abundance. I have like 6 suits just set up on display at my base in Sanctuary. I really don't use them.

If you have to go very far in PA it's better to fast travel since it doesn't use Core energy

Well, you are engaging the exoskeletal motors that holds the weight of the armour, so it makes sense walking also drains the core.

And I think its super fun, a great tool to help mix up gameplay, allowing you to be a bit more gung ho.

I use Power Armor for specific tough quests.

I'll store several empty PA frames around various settlements and bring the armor pieces to the frame when I want to use one.

They are absolutely super fun.

I have three in Sanctuary. Meh. I only wear them when required to do so by quest.

The core definitely depletes just from walking* around. I was walking around Concord trying to get the quest to trigger (I killed the raiders before putting the suit on so the game did not tally my kills) My power metter dropped from almost 50% to a bit less than 40%

*I am set to always jog, so that might have been what was depleting it. But, if I have to just Walk, that ain't happening.

As for the Power Armor, it seems the game almost wants you to wear this. I went to the Corvega Factory without it on and if it was not for God Mode, I would have never survived. Most of the issue was I could not see the Raiders to snipe them. This game almost seems to camouflage the NPCs. In past games I could scout the position and find most of the enemies with my scope. Now, I just get hit by shots and never see them until it's almost too late. Even while being fired upon, it is very difficult, compared to past games to see the enemies. Of course I can play it like a shooter and just go full on Offense, but that is not my style.

So, it's wear the Power Armor, which I have never done in any previous games, or use TGM. I only have about 6 hours in the game so far, so maybe I will get this figured out.

I have three- one at sanctuary, one at Red Rocket and one in Tenpines Bluff. Don't really use them yet- might further down the road. I have 10 fusion Cores now, most full, and I picked up some Raider armor for one but found the raider stuff isn't as good as the standard stuff so I scrapped it. I'm vaguely intrigued by the paint jobs and headlamps but haven't messed with it yet.

I'm playing a stealth/sniper character so I can't see a way to have it fit into my plans so far but I figure once stuff for them gets more plentiful and I have more of a sense of how many there are I can se myself placing them around the map tactically and taking them out for special jobs. I don't see them as feasible for doing dungeons/scavenging/random exploring, though. they do seem kind of fun, though.

I do have to say- launch day a lot of people were complaining you got the PA too early and it overpowered you right out of the gate- that was NOT my experience. I got my ass handed to me in that sequence a couple of times before I figured out how to move around, aim, etc. The suits seem powerful but still pretty basic at first. I'm guessing modding them will make them powerhouses later on, though, which seems appropriate.

Where is the sense of achievement if you acquire hundreds of DR so easily? Right now, I use power armor only if I must, such as in radioactive areas, since I haven't found a radiation suit yet.

Haven't used it yet, outside of the one introductory quest. But being reminded of it's rad-resistance makes it very tempting for dealing with those annoying Children Of The Atom I ran into last night.....

I like PA too - it now feels really like power armor. Climbing in and out of the armor is nicely done. In previous versions of Fallout PA was just another armor, with good protection, but not great, without penalties.

Now PA is really _power_ armor in more than one sense: It is powerful, but has disadvantages and it uses power. To limit it with Fusion Cores - especially in the beginning - is a nice touch. (There were people complaining, that PA could be found at the beginning of the game).

I think it is just right. I do not use it yet, but have collected a few suits (Level 17). Several times I used it for heavy lifting, and one time (fun!) I hopped in a power armor when receiving a message to help on of my settlements with raider problems. (This was only possible because I was just standing near one of my suits when it happened).

PA is now something special.

That they have foregone PA training is

1) somewhat logical, since your character has a military past - but illogical, since every dumb raider and your human companions can use it too

2) typical for Bethesda, because in every version of a game they delete part of the game system to make it 'easier accessible'.

FO3 -> FO4 kill all skills, and karma, no prosttutes anymore. FO4 -> FO5 (?) no more perks, no more bad language, suitable for ages over 8?, FO5->FO6 browser game or pure shooter?

They did the same to their own Elder Scroll system...

But with the new PA they did right, I think. I like it.

Used it for the glowing sea...that's about it...I like finding/modding my own gear, and be able to sneak around...I also don't really care for the hud inside power armor...

Wow ... Corvega. I love the playground.

Seriously, though, the first time I went I died a lot. Burnt through all my stimpaks and other aid. And it wasn't just the Raiders, it was the turrets. Last night I went for the second, maybe third, time and cleared it easily.

I don't think the game camouflages NPCs, but I'll tell you the game does hide them. And there are a number of NPCs hidden in Corvega (around corners, in rooms and other areas). I can give you some examples but I don't want to spoiler you:

EDIT: Added spoiler tips (had to test the BB code). Don't read it if you don't want to spoilered.

i think it's awesome in every way except maybe for the energy cells, fusion cores, good protection against all damage types, more weight capacity, it looks great too, and it's great that the companions can wear it too

It's basically god mode for survival. I stopped using it.

it's pretty neat but seeing as the game now has to be balanced to give a challenge to you when you have 500 DR when you normally walk around with 100 DR on a good day. I keep chems for surprise legendary deathclaws and should probably use PA more often than i do.

Used it only 2 times. Have 2 sets at my base at Red Rocket and I just hit level 34

I actually did Corvega in one straight run through at around lv. 10-12. I did also find it really hard to find targets, especially in the outdoor/roof section, but didn't run across anything particularly tough. It took a while wandering up and down all those stairways and catwalks mopping up. I also found that REPAIR BOBBLEHEAD up there, btw., hope folks are catching that.

I did get my ass handed to me in the first dungeon I did- the USAF facility close to the junkyard east of Sanctuary, but I was like lv. 5 at the time. The "boss" with the minigun shot me to ribbons the first time I went in there but I brained them with a stealth critical after reloading.

I was level 7 when I started and 8 when I was done. I was using a 10mm that I got in the starter dungeon and a bolt action pipe sniper rifle. I also grabbed another rifle from a dead raider to fill in the blanks and because I had like 400 rounds of .38 ammo.

I think Corvega sold me on Fallout 4. I wasn't feeling it until the first time I went there. Watching the sun rise from atop the highest catwalks, overlooking the Commonwealth, the maze-like design ... the little details like the small flashing lights atop the smoke stack.

It's also my favorite place to stock up on some much needed early game rarities like circuits and gears.

I think the new power armor is awesome, because it really does make you feel powerful, but I think the fusion cores are a really lame way to give it a downside, because really the only thing stopping you from using it at all times is the threat of not being able to use it when you really need it. To me that's not really a good gameplay element. There is nothing specific I can do to earn the ability to continuously use it, no specific way I can play with my power armor on to preserve its function, and ultimately just no interesting gameplay.

The whole idea of "How do I get a steady supply of power and bullets?" is an extremely interesting dilemma in a post apocalyptic setting, and unfortunately Fallout 4 answers it by simply saying "They are available in infinite quantities from ammo boxes and NPCs", rather than letting you build your own bullet farm, or having your power armor run off the grid you establish in your towns or anything like that.

Personally I would much rather have the downside to power armor be something gameplay specific, rather than just having to find batteries for it which I will come across completely regardless of whether I focus on power armor or not. A limitation that poses an interesting gameplay challenge would be something like being able to overheat the armor if you continuously run. jump and jet with it, so in a firefight you'd periodically have to find cover just so you can stand still and vent heat for a bit, or you'd get out if it gets too hot and continue the fight on foot, but then the armor is ready for you when the fight is done. That's interesting gameplay, and you could still have consumables that drive down the heat with extra coolant canisters or something. Simply watching a meter run down till you need another battery on the other hand doesn't change how you play at all. You simply get those batteries without actually having to do anything specific or interesting.

I absolutely love it. It feels exactly how power armor should be. A human tank. No fall damage is probably my favorite part because it's always epic when you smash into the ground. Never have a problem with fusion cores as I have plenty of them to spare.

I didn't use it at all after Concord until I came across a set of T-51b in the middle of no where and I couldn't resist. At the same time I was involved in a Brotherhood quest that led me to fight some super mutants. Had I not found that armor and used it, I would not have survived the encounter and definitely would not have been as epic as it was. Spent the rest of the quest in the armor because it felt fitting. Definitely plan on using it in the future when I find the advanced power armor. I will be painted in mutie blood when I get that.

Too much babysitting of it, I don't get why it deteriorates when other stuff doesn't. Don't like the fusion core thing, that put me off right away when it ran out during my first fight with the Deathclaw in Concord. Also I don't ever find anything but t45 power armor, and I don't have the perks to make it look pimpin' or perform badass. I only use it if I find some sitting somewhere or if I think I'm going to get shot at a lot. Which is hardly ever cuz I'm pretty sneaky.

I don't use it. Of course I could since I have so many cores now!

Just too clunky for me.

Maybe on my melee build Gideon.

I must remember to try it out again after that first time in the early quest.

I think it's better personally, i've enjoyed modding it and finding and using the different types, got the x 01 now, PA is Fallout to me.