Before diving headfirst into Obsidian’s newest sci-fi epic, knowing which skills to prioritize can make all the difference between surviving Halcyon’s chaos and getting vaporized by it. In The Outer Worlds 2, your first skill choices shape not only how you fight but how you talk, sneak, and thrive-so choose wisely.
Best combat skills in The Outer Worlds 2
Mastering the best combat skills early in The Outer Worlds 2 can significantly enhance your survivability and effectiveness in battles. Prioritize skills that boost your weapon accuracy, critical hit chances, and stealth capabilities to gain an edge over enemies. Investing in abilities that improve your health, armor penetration, and energy weapon efficiency will also provide vital advantages in diverse combat scenarios, helping you dominate hostile encounters throughout the game.
Many skills in The Outer Worlds 2 upgrade your combat prowess in some form, but some do it better than others. As a new player, it’s best to level Guns first, followed by the other three skills listed here (as long as they suit your playstyle):
Guns
Improves your ranged damage and armor penetration, which makes it the number one skill to get for early game combat. Although Melee isn’t bad, The Outer Worlds 2 feels far more gun-focused, as you’ll receive way more guns (with way more damage types) than melee weapons. Even if you focus on your Gun skill, you can still alternate between high-range rifles and short-range shotguns – melee won’t offer that kind of versatility.
Sneak
Unlike the Guns skill, which is suitable for almost any kind of build, you should only pick sneak if you prefer a stealthy playstyle. Most quests will likely take a bit longer to complete since you’ll have to be more careful, but if that’s what you like, the Sneak skill is absolutely essential (without a high Sneak skill, sneak damage is quite horrendous). It’ll boost your sneak damage insanely fast ( 35% per skill point), but the difference in the enemy’s detection range only becomes noticeable after four levels or so.
Explosives
The best combat skill to quickly dispose of minor enemy gangs. The 1% damage resistance against explosives is pretty useless (it’s not that hard to avoid grenades in this game), but the 10% explosive damage per skill point will quickly turn you into a bombing menace. If you choose this skill, beware that it’s very important to recycle junk and buy additional parts early on, so you don’t run out of crafting materials for new explosives. Visit the vending machine and workbench upon your first visit to Fairfield!
Speech
This isn’t your obvious combat skill, but since Speech increases the damage dealt against human enemies, it’s surprisingly useful. In my experience, I run into hostile humans far more often than creatures and automechs, so I prefer it over Medical (improved damage against creatures) and Hacking (improved damage against automechs) for that reason.
Best exploration skills in The Outer Worlds 2
When starting out in The Outer Worlds 2, prioritizing exploration skills can significantly enhance your experience. Skills like Survival and Engineering improve your ability to navigate hazardous environments, craft useful gadgets, and repair equipment on the go. Investing early in Perception will help you detect hidden caches and environmental clues, making exploration more rewarding. These skills not only boost your survivability but also unlock new paths and secrets, allowing for a richer and more immersive adventure.
To benefit the most from exploration, it’s useful to circumvent obstacles and enter restricted areas. It’s best to level Hacking first, with Lockpick as the secondary priority.
Hacking
No other skill pops up quite as often as the hacking skill while you’re out exploring the world – private terminals, power circuits, security systems – none of them will stop a pro hacker. Hacking also increases damage against automechs, which is an excellent secondary benefit, and, with the corresponding “Restricted Access” perk unlocked, adds additional items to every vending machine. Without spoiling anything, the Hacking skill is incredibly helpful during one of the “big choices” in early game.
Lockpick
Without upgrading your lockpick skill, you’ll run into many closed doors, which can be quite annoying. When it comes to prohibited areas stocked with loot, the Lockpick skill check appears more often than the engineering one (which can open “jammed” doors), and on top of that, Lockpick unlocks the “Pickpocket” perk, which provides a handy shortcut to unlimited ammo – if you’re willing to resort to theft. Lockpick also offers 1% evasion chance per skill point, but that’s negligible in early game.
Best dialogue skills in The Outer Worlds 2
Mastering the best dialogue skills in The Outer Worlds 2 is crucial for shaping your character’s story and influencing outcomes. These skills allow you to navigate complex conversations, unlock unique responses, and gain advantages without resorting to combat. Prioritizing dialogue skills early can open new quest paths, improve relationships with companions, and provide alternative solutions that reflect your playstyle.
Why choose violence if you can opt for tactical manipulation? To gain more dialogue options and convince or deceive your enemies more successfully, it’s best to level Speech first, followed by either observation or leadership.
Speech
This is probably obvious, but Speech is a great skill to focus on if you’d like to unlock unique dialogue options. No other skill seems to get as many dialogue-based skill checks as Speech. The added 5% damage against humans per skill point is a lovely bonus.
Observation
As this skill also unlocks unique dialogue options, it’s a good alternative to Speech. On top of that, Observation increases weak point damage (headshots on humans and creatures and “glowing part” hits on mechs) by 15% for each skill point. Beware that it takes good aim to make full use of this effect.
Leadership
Which starting skills create the best stealth build
The best starting skills for a stealth build in The Outer Worlds 2 are Sneak, Lockpick, and Hack. Sneak significantly reduces your chance of being detected while moving in stealth, Lockpick opens up opportunities to access locked areas and loot quietly, and Hack grants control over terminals and mechanical enemies for non-lethal or silent takedowns.
Stealth Build Skill Priorities
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Sneak: Reinforces your ability to move undetected and increases sneak attack damage.
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Lockpick: Enables access to restricted areas and hidden loot, supporting stealthy exploration.
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Hack: Lets you bypass security systems and disable robots silently, fitting a stealth approach.
Useful Supporting Skills
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Observation: Reveals hidden objects and weak points, letting you find covert routes and spot enemies.
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Guns/Melee: Improves your damage for silent takedowns, crucial for clearing enemies quietly when needed.
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Speech: Occasionally offers dialogue-based ways to avoid combat or resolve hostile situations without raising alarms.
Prioritizing Sneak first, then Lockpick and Hack, with some investment into Observation and non-loud weapon skills, creates an effective and flexible stealth build in The Outer Worlds 2.
Best early perks to prioritize for a stealth-focused character
The best early perks to prioritize for a stealth-focused character in The Outer Worlds 2 are Ghost, Assassin, and Pickpocket. These perks enhance your ability to remain undetected, increase your damage from stealth, and grant unique utility for stealth-oriented playstyles.
Essential Early Stealth Perks
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Ghost: Makes you temporarily invisible when an enemy starts investigating near you, making it easier to avoid detection and disengage safely.
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Assassin: Doubles your movement speed for a few seconds after each stealth kill, helping you reposition quickly and chain stealth attacks efficiently.
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Pickpocket: Lets you steal from unaware NPCs, giving access to extra loot, keycards, and quest items without raising suspicion.
Powerful Secondary Stealth Perks
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Light Step: Prevents you from triggering traps and mines, which is vital for undetected movement in hazardous zones.
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Point Blank Artist: Increases sneak attack damage significantly, making silent takedowns much more effective.
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Suppressionist: Greatly reduces weapon firing noise and further boosts sneak attack damage, essential for using silenced guns or quiet firearms.
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Stalker: Drastically increases sneak attack damage, excelling in one-shot eliminations of unaware foes.
Tips for Stealth Perk Progression
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Choose movement and detection perks (like Ghost or Light Step) first to secure consistent stealth, then select high-damage perks (Point Blank Artist, Stalker) as your build develops.
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Utility perks like Pickpocket provide both income and alternate quest solutions, so they are a valuable early choice.
By focusing on these perks, a stealth-focused character in The Outer Worlds 2 gains strong survivability, lucrative opportunities, and the ability to neutralize enemies quietly and efficiently.
