Author: Simulacrum  <nub>    99.67.112.42 Use this link if you want to link to this message and its entire thread of discussion. Post a Msg
Date: 6/2/2021 10:41:55 AM
Subject: RE: Outer Worlds impressions so far

All right. On to my character build.

In Outer Worlds, you have a group of six attributes that somehow govern a bigger list of skills. The six attributes are:

Strength
Dexterity
Intelligence
Perception
Charm
Temperament

None of these attributes does anything important. Nor do they have any connection with their names. For example, Strength determines how pretty you are. Temperament seems to be about cows. The higher your Temperament, the more cows you can have.

No, I'm kidding. There are no cows. Temperament isn't connected to anything. You can put points into it, but they just fall into a bucket on the other side of the UI. Therefore, I just set all Attributes to Average, which gave each attribute 12 points.

One reason I know that Attributes are useless is that once you set them, you never see them again. From then on, you worry about skills, which claim to be connected to attributes, which I will pretend to accept at face value. Never mind that the skills are divided into seven groups, as opposed to six, with specialized foci in each group:

Melee -- 1-hand / 2-hand melee
Ranged -- handguns, long guns, heavy weapons
Defense -- dodge, block (note: neither of these does anything)
Dialogue -- persuade, lie, intimidate
Stealth -- sneak, hack, lockpick
Tech -- medical, science, engineering
Leadership -- inspiration, determination

Special notes: the tech skills are generally pointless except for science, which you need for upgrading so-called science weapons, which also don't do anything with rare exceptions; also the game neglects to mention that sneak governs pickpocketing, which is omitted from the specialized skill list; also, I said that dodge and block don't do anything, which is not entirely true, but nobody uses them, so they might as well not do anything

Now, my character completely ignores the melee and ranged categories because they don't affect much except critical hits, which I take care of in another way. Instead, I put most of my points into inspiration and determination. Following a wonderful guide by FudgeMuppet, I am using companions for all offense and heavy lifting during combat. All I do is start fights, and the companions wade in and destroy everything.

My function is to use dialogue skills, as well as pick locks, hack computers, and generally make money. Also, as the guide makes clear, everything the companions do generates copious XP for the entire party, so I'm constantly leveling. We have lots of money, pretty good gear, and can kill anything without much ado.

It's a nice system, and the companions never seem to figure out that I'm abusing them.

So anyway, I would give Outer Worlds a solid 7.5 out of 10. It's pretty engaging, and I don't regret getting it at half-price. Full retail is a bit much.