During your travels through The Outer Worlds, you’ll add laser pistols, stun batons, and something called a Mandibular Rearranger to your war chest.
They all look tempting, but, just like any good Xbox RPG game, you’re going to have to add skill points for the ones you like the best. That’s where our shortlist of the best Outer Worlds builds comes into action!
Throughout The Outer Worlds, a well-built character will easily slay Mantisaur Queens and take out tyrants; what with your trusty companions by your side. So the question then becomes, should you add skill points to handguns for barroom shootouts, or to heavy weapons for mass crowd control?
Let’s find out! 👇
Top 6 Best Outer Worlds Builds
In The Outer Worlds, as long as you’re looting the latest weaponry (and using your companions as human shields), you’ll survive the base game even with all your points in Persuasion or Medicine.
It’s not the most challenging of games, yet, some of you may be wondering what the best builds are in The Outer Worlds to absolutely destroy your foe.
The top 6 best Outer Worlds builds are:
As always, load-outs are subjective and you may have a slightly different opinion. So, go easy in the comments but drop us a comment when you’re finished nonetheless! 👇
Close Combat Build
Shovels, Shotguns & Fisticuffs
If you don’t have the time or patience to assassinate each enemy one by one, then go loud with some heavy weaponry.
Early on, melee weapons can be unwieldy and underpowered, but a good suit of armour, and a big gun will make up for it. Your skill points are for melee, heavy armour, heavy weapons, while Toughness, Cheetah and Harvester are the key perks here.
This build usually has abysmal reload times, so you’ll want to switch your shotgun or Shock Stick when your LMG runs dry. Downing Fish Stix and shooting up Adrena-Time before a rampage work too– Just watch out for the hangover.
Build Attributes:
- Body: +3 Strength
- Body: +2 Dexterity
- Mind: -1 Intelligence
- Mind: +1 Perception
- Personality: +1 Temperament
Melee Skills:
- 1 Handed Melee: 35
- 2 Handed Melee: 31
Defence Skills:
- Dodge: 26
- Block: 35
Long Ranger Build
Snipers & Scopes
When you spot a den of Canids and you don’t feel like getting your boots wet, you take out your hunting rifle and locate their skulls. The long ranger build is perfect for Outer Worlds gamers who like to get up close and personal… but from a distance.
Dexterity, Intelligence, and Perception help you keep a steady bead on your prey, and knowing their weak spots will make for a quick (and potentially painless) death. Confidence, Scanner, and Quick and the Dead are the three major perks for this build.
The only trouble you’ll have is when a location forces you into close quarters with the enemy, then your best bet is either stealth or to send your companions in as a buffer while you use TTD to line up a shot.
Build Attributes:
- Body: +1 Dexterity
- Mind: +3 Intelligence
- Mind: +2 Perception
Ranged Skills:
- Handguns: 26
- Long Guns: 35
- Heavy Weapons: 23
Tech Skills:
- Medical: 28
- Science: 28
- Engineering: 23
The Commander Build
Let Your Companions Catch Bullets
After a few minutes in Edgewater, you’ll have Parvati and Vicar Max as your companions (and bodyguards). Whilst they might not look like they’ll last long in the interstellar wilderness, boost your Leadership skill, unlock their special attack, and take out some relevant perks then see how they fight!
Nyoka the hunter and S.A.M. the mech make even better enforcers, and the Don’t Go Dying On Me! perk means you can revive them during battle. With this build, you’ll feel less like a captain of an unreliable crew, and more like a mob boss, siccing your goons on the competition with a flick of your wrist.
Build Attributes:
- Body: -1 Strength
- Body: -1 Dexterity:
- Mind: +2 Intelligence
- Mind: +2 Perception
- Personality: +3 Charm
- Personality: +1 Temperament
Ranged Skills:
- Handguns: 8
- Long Guns: 8
- Heavy Weapons: 6
Dialog Skills:
- Persuade: 24
- Inspiration: 35
- Intimidate: 19
Galactic Gunslinger Build
Wear Bullets & Shoot Quickly
Lawless frontier towns, sheriffs, and bandits all set the stage for a cigarillo-smoking troublemaker to roll into town. It’s not an easy build, you’ll take a lot of bullets and have to shoot quickly and use TTD often, but it’s a flashy one.
Perception, Dexterity, and Intelligence will buff your heads and handguns. The Quick and the Dead, Harvester, and Run and Gun perks will be your three amigos. And you’ll want to hunt down the Certified Explorer’s Hat too if you’re wanting to look the part.
Build Attributes:
- Body: -1 Strength
- Mind: +2 Perception
- Personality: +3 Charm
- Personality: +2 Temperament
Ranged Skills:
- Handguns: 23
- Long Guns: 23
- Heavy Weapons: 20
Dialog Skills:
- Persuade: 28
- Lie: 35
- Intimidate: 25
Stellar Sneak Thief Build
Backdoors & Backstabbing
While the game’s pickpocketing system is pretty pitiful, a high Sneak skill is awesome. Most buildings have air vents or back rooms to slink around in, and if you meet a pesky guard, just subdue them with your Hammer of Olympus.
The Lone Wolf and The Reaper perks will turn most of your sneak attacks into insta-kills, and a silencer on your pistol will mean you can use TTD to quietly clear a room. Hacking can largely be ignored, while lockpicking is a must, and don’t forget the skill bonuses that armour and food can add in a pinch.
Build Attributes:
- Body: -1 Strength
- Body: +3 Dexterity
- Mind: +2 Intelligence
- Mind: +2 Perception
- Personality: +1 Charm
- Personality: -1 Temperament
Defence Skills:
- Dodge: 25
- Block: 25
Stealth Skills:
- Sneak: 25
- Hack: 26
- Lockpick: 35
The Experimental Arsenal Build
Shrink, Freeze & Sky Launch Foes
If you want to control the minds of your enemies or shrink down Mayor Tobson, you’d best start investing your points into the Science skill. The science guns are five unique weapons that are scattered around the solar system, with the first science gun you’ll find being the Shrink Ray.
Once your ship’s space worthy, you can get this over at Phineas’ Lab. And if only five guns sound paltry, know that the Weird Science and Wild Science perks double their damage. Not to mention that a high Science skill makes it cheap to tinker with their damage numbers.
Yes, that’s right. It’s time to put on your mad scientist act.
Build Attributes:
- Body: -1 Strength
- Mind: +3 Intelligence
- Mind: +3 Perception
- Personality: +1 Temperament
Tech Skills:
- Medical: 31
- Science: 28
- Engineering: 31
Leadership Skills:
- Inspiration: 13
- Determination: 31
Final Tips For Outer World Builds
What you will often find is that the best Outer Worlds builds are those which multiply your stats. For example, your attributes, skills and aptitude all work together to make your character a force to be reckoned with when it comes to a specific task.
Similar to life, while blending the best builds in Outer Worlds creates diversity across your gameplay, they are nowhere near as strong as a dedicated build. So, when choosing your build, take into consideration whether you want to be super dominant in a single area or dabble across multiple skills.
In addition, take into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of your companions to create a force to be reckoned with!
What’s your favourite build in The Outer Worlds?
Drop a comment below with your recommendations and once you’re done, don’t forget to check out some of my other roundups, game reviews and technology deep dives:
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