The Outer Worlds 2 may promise a galaxy of choices and consequences, but not all its systems shine as bright as its stars. From uneven character builds to questionable flaw mechanics, Obsidian’s ambitious sequel hides some cracks beneath its polished surface-cracks that every player should understand before diving in.
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How flaws work in The Outer Worlds 2
Flaws in The Outer Worlds 2 are a key part of its character progression system, offering players a mix of challenge and reward. When a character repeatedly fails in certain situations-like taking too much damage from specific enemies or falling often-the game may prompt the player to accept a corresponding flaw. Each flaw imposes a permanent debuff, such as reduced stats or increased vulnerability, but grants an extra perk point in return. This system deepens role-playing and encourages creative builds, letting players decide whether the trade-off between weakness and bonus is worth it.
The flaw system brings a unique set of passive abilities your character can have in The Outer Worlds 2. Although the name implies these abilities represent flaws your character has, their effects aren’t necessarily terrible. (OK maybe just a little.) Every flaw has its advantages and disadvantages. They can make items from vendors cost more, but also lower the amount of money you receive from selling items.
Unlike skills and perks, flaws are unlocked when you meet a hidden condition, which goes from spending too much money to simply looking at the sun for long periods. You won’t know how close you are to unlocking a flaw, but when you do, a screen will appear notifying you that “The Earth Directorate Found a Flaw in You!” along with the flaw’s effects. When this happens, you can either accept or reject that flaw. However, it’s important to note that you can’t remove a flaw you’ve accepted, so be mindful before adding the ability to your character.
Best flaws in The Outer Worlds 2
The Outer Worlds 2, while highly anticipated and praised for its rich storytelling and immersive world, also features some of the best flaws that add depth to its gameplay. These flaws create unique challenges and opportunities for player creativity, encouraging strategic decision-making and giving each character a distinct personality. By embracing these imperfections, the game enhances replayability and fosters a more dynamic role-playing experience.
Every flaw can be good and bad depending on your playstyle and goals in the game. There are some, however, that offer benefits that can be worth pursuing, and that can make your experience with the game less troublesome.
Dependent
By unlocking the Dependent flaw, you receive a damage bonus of 25% whenever you attack enemies hit by your companion. The downside of this flaw is that your damage in general is reduced by 10%. Even so, you are always traveling and fighting alongside companions, so the chances of you keeping this bonus up all the time is high, especially when facing stronger enemies.
Easily Distracted
In The Outer Worlds 2, having multiple skills increases the chances of you finding the solution to a problem and progressing smoothly in the campaign. With the Easily Distracted flaw, you will receive one extra skill point whenever you level up, giving you more points to spend and, consequently, more skills to use. However, you’re forced to only allocate skill points to your lowest-level skills or skills that have no points at all, making it difficult to specialize on a single skill.
Teetotaler
The Teetotaler flaw is a great support ability compared to other flaws as it increases the amount of health you recoverby 25% when using the Medical Inhaler, but the toxicity you gain also increases by 25%. Although you’ll get closer to becoming intoxicated after using your Medical Inhaler, it will also ensure you receive all the healing you need during a fight.
Overprepared
There are many situations where the only solution is to get your gun and start blasting. By unlocking the Overprepared flaw, you’ll increase your gun’s magazine size by 50%, which means the amount of time you can shoot will also increase. However, if you accept it, you will need to manage the number of bullets you have because, if you empty your magazine, you will receive a -40% damage debuff for eight seconds.
Consumerism
This flaw offers a simple 15% discount on items sold by vendors, which is always useful at the beginning of the game when you’re low on funds. Later on, it’ll help you buy the most expensive items like blueprints and even the Advanced Decryption Keys you need to open high security lockboxes. Unfortunately, everything comes with a price and, by having this flaw, you’ll receive 10% less money for items you sell.
List of flaws in The Outer Worlds 2
The Outer Worlds 2, while highly anticipated and praised for its engaging narrative and vibrant world, is not without its flaws. Players have reported issues ranging from occasional performance hiccups and bugs that disrupt immersion, to some uneven quest design and UI inconsistencies. Additionally, certain gameplay mechanics feel underdeveloped compared to its predecessor, which may affect overall player experience. These shortcomings, however, serve as important considerations for both new players and fans looking to navigate the flaws alongside the game’s many strengths.
In The Outer Worlds 2, there are multiple flaws for you to choose from. Since you can’t remove a flaw, learning what they do helps you identify whether a flaw fits your character.
Below, we listed all the flaws we have seen so far in The Outer Worlds 2. In case more are found, we’ll update this list accordingly.
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Flaw |
Description |
How to unlock it |
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Anger Mismanagement |
Gets 25% power attack damage but receives 50% damage while blocking. |
Use power attacks with melee weapons by holding the attack command. |
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Bad Knees |
50% Crouching Speed, but crouching emits a 10m radius sound that hostiles can hear and investigate. |
Crouch for long periods. |
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Consumerism |
-15% vendor prices and -10% sell value at vendors. |
Must have the Premium Edition. |
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Dangerously Curious |
Gets 100% experience when hacking, but the cost of hacking increases by 1 bypass shunt. |
Hack multiple devices. |
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Dependent |
You cause -10% damage, but your attacks deal 25% when hitting enemies recently damaged by a companion. |
Stay in the backline letting your companions take most of the damage. |
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Drug Addiction |
The amount of toxicity you gain when using the Medical Inhaler is reduced by 40%, but you restore -20% health when using it. |
Use your inhaler constantly. |
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Easily Distracted |
Gain 1 skill points per level, but can only add skill points to the lowest skill or skills with no points. |
Spread your skill points across different skills. |
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Easily Startled |
While your footsteps volume and the NPC awareness detection rate are reduced by 25% each, you receive a debuff that ignores your damage resistance and evasion for eight seconds after being caught by the enemy. |
Get spotted by enemies too many times. |
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Energy Hog |
-25% Energy Recharge Rate, but 50 Gadget Energy Meter max |
Frequently spend all your gadget energy. |
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Flawed |
You gain a perk point every five levels, but you must accept all flaws. |
Accepting two or more flaws. |
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Foot-in-Mounth Syndrome |
You receive 15% experience, but the dialogue options are randomly picked by the game for you. |
Quickly choose dialogue options when talking to NPCs. |
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Gluttony |
Food and drinks restore 15% health, but you have -10% combat movement speed. |
Consume a lot of food and drinks. |
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Hermit |
Vendors sell price increases by 50% but have a 25% chance of receiving double materials when breaking items. |
Avoid buying things from vendors, but break trash to gain craft materials. |
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Kleptomania |
Gets 100% when selling stolen items to vendors, but may automatically steal things. |
Steal many things. |
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N-Radiated |
When taking damage, you have a 5% chance to become invisible to enemies and deal bonus damage, but you always take an additional 5% of your max HP as N-Ray damage. |
Complete the N-Ray Range on Golden Ridge. |
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Overprepared |
50% magazine size, but -40% damage for eight seconds after emptying a gun. |
Constantly reload your gun while still having bullets in the magazine. |
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Profligate Spender |
75% of the acquired bits are kept by Valerie until you’re level 30, but you earn 25% of stored bits on level up as interest; an additional 25% every 5 levels, and at level 30, you receive 150% of your total stored bits. |
Spend large amounts of money buying items from vendors. |
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Reckless Leadership |
Heal a companion and fills their ability gauge when the other goes down, but you can’t revive companions in combat anymore. |
Your companions go down too many times in combat. |
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Snobbish |
The price vendors buy for materials rises by 20%, but you can’t break items anymore. |
Buy materials from vendors. |
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Sungazer |
You suffer permanent damage to your vision (blurs your vision in-game) and receive 100% ranged weapon spread, but your health is recored up to 50% when on the outside during the day. |
Look directly at the sun for a long time. |
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Technophobia |
Deal 20% damage to automechanicals, but you also receive 20% from them. |
Fight automechanicals. |
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Teetotaler |
25% health restored when using your Medical Inhaler, but you also receive 25% toxicity. |
Avoid getting too much toxicity by using your Medical Inhaler frequently. |
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Which flaws give the best perk point rewardsThe flaw that gives the best perk point rewards in The Outer Worlds 2 is “Flawed”. This flaw stands out because it grants you an extra perk point every five levels, retroactively, as long as you keep accepting flaws. Most other flaws only grant you a single perk point upon acceptance, but “Flawed” provides continuous perks throughout your character’s progression, making it the most rewarding for perk points over the course of your playthrough. Details on the Best Perk Point Flaw
Other flaws only give a one-time perk point upon being accepted, so if your goal is to maximize perk point gain, “Flawed” is clearly the best option. However, be aware this also commits you to accepting every future flaw, which can severely impact your character if many undesirable flaws are accrued. -Which flaws grant extra perk points as you levelThe only flaw in The Outer Worlds 2 that grants extra perk points as you level is the Flawed flaw. When accepted, it gives you one additional perk point every five levels, and this effect is retroactive if taken after leveling up. However, the main drawback is that you must accept every future flaw offered. Other flaws in the game only grant a single perk point at the moment you accept them, not as you continue leveling up. No other flaw has been confirmed to provide repeating or ongoing perk rewards linked to leveling. Summary Table
Choosing the Flawed flaw offers the best potential for accumulating perk points over time, but also risks accumulating many negative effects.  |