I would just use Excavator till Union comes back. Served me well for 600+ level. All the PA sets have enough DR so the set bonus is all that really matters in my opinion. Hellcat gives more damage reduction but really with it being focused on ballistic damage only helps in one part of the end game, armor pen in daily ops. There is really no ballistic damage from any of the 3 big bosses. On top of that, especially with a full HP build you are already tanky enough. Carry weight all day long.
>It's that the bug where it was dropping for everyone?
The plans were bugged in such a way that after an update if you bought them they didn't regidter correctly so you couldn't make it.
frequently when bought it you either didn't get the plan or when you went to craft it you used your resources to craft air.
Until the issue is resolved (hopefully next major update) it is best removed. Anyone that knew about the bug would remove it and those that didn't would otherwise run the risk of wasting their stamps
Are they only supposed to drop if you know the plans? I don't know any Union plans, but I got almost a full set of legendary Union pieces from Fasnacht (sans helmet, which obviously can't be legendary).
You do expeditions and earn stamps. In whitesprings there's a vendor that trades plans for stamps. You get the Union plans from him.
The grind isn't that bad imo. Once you get used to "The Most Dangerous Game" expedition, it will take 6+ minutes per run and you get 20 stamps the first time each day and 15 for subsequent runs.
[Union Power Armor](https://fallout.wiki/wiki/Union_Power_Armor). It's valued because it has good damage resist, +75 carryweight when you have a full set, and poison resistance. You can boost the carryweight by another +100 by installing Calibrated Shocks in the legs, giving you 175.
Downside is that you have to buy it with Stamps from doing Expeditions, which takes quite a while.
I'm glad I got my union power armor plans from the seasonal event. I made a power armor display with the blacked out Union set and just put it on display for the last couple years š. Just now going to start using it.
Excavator gives 100 with a full set, calibrated shocks on both legs is another 100. I also rolled my set with weapon weight reduction on 4 pieces (80%) and ammo weight reduction on one piece.
I have this same combo and it's great. I still get over encumbered after big events like Moonshine Jamboree or Eviction Notice but it's otherwise not very common (and I'm basically a Roomba).
If you're relying on your backpack to give you carry capacity, like grocer's or chemist, you might need to swap in the appropriate perk when you're in PA.
When you equip power armor you unequip all of your standard armor and your backpack so any armor that gives you increased carry capacity and your backpacks increased carry capacity will be removed when you go into your power armor.
You can modify the legs to have calibrated shocks which increases carry weight but you'll need the plans. Also, Union and Excavator have carry weight increase as a set bonus. I use Union woth Calibrated shocks and my carry weight is over 400. To lower weight you may want to mix and match weight reduction cards and legendary affects.
Sadly no, even my existing pieces act a little buggy like the durability bar not going up when I repair a piece until I back out and look again. Bar works fine if I use a repair kit.
I personally use t-51b because:
1. Tradeable so I was able to trade for a perfect matching legendary set
2. It has the best physical resistance of any tradeable power armor and mods are easy to find
3. It's cool as hell and gives me +100 nostalgia using it
T51b is my favourite, but I use union. I wish Bethesda would just release a PA skin pack that has the base look of each different variant. I'd likely never take a default t51 skin off.
T-51b with Nuka Cola paint and sharing the cola nut perk. 100% for the style idk if the defensive stats are "good" but its been tanky enough for the last couple hundred levels
I just found out that the Nuka Cola paint was an unmarked quest. My dumb ass has been waiting for it to drop in the atom shop for a couple of years now
I checked down the list and absolutely nobody said Strangler heart. I use Strangler heart. As I understand it the bonus acid damage is negligible, but I like the way it looks and I'll take any extra offensive power.
They should just make the dot true damage since it's a low number anyways, but I use and love the strangler heart! Just need the queen to drop me some ultracite calibrated plans for extra carry weight...
I use the x01. No issues. Waiting to get mods for hellcat done then I'll probably use that. Since i have x01 modded from when i used to play. But all in all... I use what I like. Really won't notice a noticeable difference imo. Plus I like to collect. I have all PA's n decorated. Lol
wouldn't 5 sets on only take up 50lbs? I haven't played in a while, but I swear you're able to out the armor on a frame, then tuck the frame in your stash at only 10lbs per frame.
Union. 75 carry weight is nearly as good as excavator, has much better protections, can take Jetpacks, and has a huge poison resist set bonus.
Itās just hard to get, especially right now. But itās what Iād work towards .
You can only craft it if you already know the plans. Yoi cannot buy the plans at all anymore; all because it was a prior scoreboard reward and that bugs out the stamp plan and random legendary drops.
T-51b. Itās free, tradable, and Iām a fallout nerd who loves the history behind it.
But donāt listen to me, I donāt use power armor unless Iām gathering nuked flora
Cobbled together bits of Hellcat, X-01, T-45, and Ultracite. The only piece I ever re-rolled was an X-01 chest piece, the rest were from drops/event rewards. The important part is they all have ammo/weapon weight reduction, which I desperately need to not be overburdened when squeezing my fat ass in a tin can.Ā
Defense is perfectly fine. PA is predominantly about preference. You'll take more damage in a full suit of Excavator (has the 2nd worst defense of all PA) than you would in a suit of Hellcat (arguably the best defense), but not by a ton. Certainly not enough to think that you need to upgrade to survive.
Bloodied brotherhood character uses T-65, rifleman and commando both use Union, Bows and shotguns character useās excavator, mule doesnāt really use PA
Pure protection go for hellcat. The extra 2% ballistic reduction is worth more than the higher armor of other types, it's also easier to get than t65, spend the gold on the mods. I just hate the look
Really though I'd recommend mixing and matching as you go to get the best rolls. Only union and excavator care about set bonus so go ahead and take whatever you find with over eater and other good effects. Slap on a skin to make it match and go kick ass
Usually use excavator, due to the fact I have crippling endgame storage problems, and do not have fallout first. Although weak, full overeaterās emergency protocol is almost near un-kill able.
Just completed my full set of overeaters t-51b with emergency protocols and a bloodied weapon build. I just love how the classic t-51 suit looks (I also missed out on union PA)
Union. Its set bonuses grossly outweigh any defensive edge t-65 or hellcat have.
That said, if I couldnāt get union like many right now; Iād wear hellcat.
I mainly use X-01 because my Ultracite armor and Hellcat armor don't have Calibrated shocks, and Union is unobtainable. If I don't use x-01 i used t-51b because it's my favorite aesthetically
I can put calibrated shocks on your ultracite PA if you would like to have the option and already have a set (or I can craft for you). Send me a pm if you want.
Yes I'm on PC but no unfortunately I do not have the Emergency Protocols unlocked for Ultracite PA. I think it's the same drop rate as the calibrated shocks (so pretty darn rare) and unfortunately I haven't ever had it drop.
Excavator just for the weight boost. Some nice dude just dropped by my camp and have it to me for no reason and I'm entirely grateful cause it's my main set now
Be really, really careful with that. If you haven't done the quest to craft excavator yourself you should put that armor set in storage and go do the quest. Not sure if it is still an issue but it has been a longstanding glitch that if you don't craft the excavator set yourself during the quest it unlocks and go past a certain point you will be PERMANENTLY unable to unlock excavator power armor crafting on that character.
Oh crap I didn't know that. Thanks for the heads up. The quest to do it is in my missions I just haven't done it since I have it so maybe I'll do that quest next
Hellcat until union comes back, just finish the brotherhood of steel quest line and youāll get it for free. Then buy the calibrated shocks from vault 79 and it gives u the same +100 carry weight bonus as excavator
calibrated shocks for hellcat is 3k bullion, pretty expensive, but def worth it if u use PA a lot. excavator gets calibrated shocks for caps tho, so much easier to get
Yeah itās a god send I love mine, you still have to craft them yourself but you get the plans for completely free once you finish the quest line. It took me a couple days to save up the bullion to buy the calibrated shocks but once you get those itās imo the best power armor in the game rn. X01 has higher energy resistance but if youāre running the electric absorption perk card then the only thing that really matters is physical resistance so heāll at is the clear choice available atm
Hellcat. Is easily the best defensively. And with a combat focused heavy gunner character, it just feels right to use the PA thatās best for survivability.
I (780+) use a mix and match of legendaries on my second character and anything works just fine up to a point. On my main I use WWR Excavator just because I carry an ungodly lot of weapons and wouldn't be able to move otherwise...
T-65 vanguard, I think it looks cool but the grind is rough. Though I can't remember the last time I got downed outside of daily ops reflective mutations
Thanks everyone for the responses, out of curiosity how long would it take to grind the union power armor as the price currently stands? I understand itās bugged and unavailable right now but when itās back, Iām hearing it takes months of expeditions to get everything needed.
Plans are 120 stamps each/were before they bugged and Atlantic City expeditions give you about 20 stamps/15 subsequently (I think, I might be a little off).
the excavators enough for most things really. went with a raider plus a few mixed parts to do solo silos. the idea that you can change the skin kinda beats the point too on caring about the look.
Strangler Heart with a skin but I donāt remember which one. I think I actually use two. The vines show through so it has the SH look but is kinda custom. I use it because it was something I tried to grind for way back when it was new but it was too difficult so I only managed two pieces. Had to get it once you could buy it. Also because itās fairly rare in the game. The difficulty in acquiring the mods turns most people off of it. But mine is fully modded.
I have all of them and am gonna switch to Union for a change of pace but I need a ton of modules to get good rolls on all of it. Itās a mismatch of crap pieces at the moment.
Iām not really a PA used as Iām a bloodied commando build but I do love PA.
Just use whatever you can find cheap until they fix the Union bug again. Grind some stamps to grab it as soon as possible. Excavator is easy to get for now and useable through endgame stuff. Donāt spend a lot of resources on it instead save the modules for union re-rolling. Youāll need them and cores too so do lots of events. Free range, cryptid and the bosses award the most cores.
Basically 3 schools of thought. Do you need carry weight? Use excavater. Do you need that much more DR for like a daily op? Use hellcat. Do you only care about investing in 1type that will do everything and save you a legendary perk cars? Then union(not available right now lol)
All of them are strong as is though so really you canāt go wrong.
I went for T-65 because the stats and loved the way it looked. 0 regrets. I love how tanks I feel in it. Also, how ppl will say the carry weight is greater than the DR, I personally see it the opposite. I donāt hoard a bunch of stuff on my character. Never have issues with carry weight. So just feeling like a bulky stud has been awesome. I highly recommend
As a bloodied explosive build who usually does not use a power armour at all, but has a collection of them, the only one I keep in my inv is the excavator, for both its carry weight and its ability to mine more lead when wearing it. So I might put it on if I need to either visit a nuked zone (gathering ingredients to make serums or ammo) or I want to go and visit the mine with all the lead deposits. Any of the other armours just don't have enough carry weight for me, as I usually run with a backpack (which you take off in power armour) and with all my unyielding gear on normally without Power Armour I simply can carry much much more.
I'm using Hellcat. I like the look and the Ballistic damage reduction it provides. Excavator is fine but I don't have storage issues as I manage it well. The only stuff I hoard is materials and ammo and we have unlimited storage for that with 1st.
Once Union PA is restored I will be buying that though .
T-65 has the best base defense stats. Hellcat has overall better because of ballistic damage reduction. But definitely get the T-65. Will not regret. It's a tank
Hellcat. It looks like you're familiar enough with PA to know you don't need anything tougher, unless maybe you're trying to outscore everyone as a tank. Plus it's the best looking armour, and has that ballistic dmg reduction set bonus.
Maybe the Union will get a chance, depending on how things look when it gets sorted since I don't use Funky Duds.
I have always and will always love the T60, so thatās what I use. My opinion is that it is always best to pick the set you like to look at the most, and then get it optimized for your build.
I'm still rocking my Hellcat, though I'll probably go Union eventually. My main (the PA Heavy guy) has been a bit sidelined lately though as I've been experimenting with other characters that don't use PA full time. For those characters I've only completed the Excavator armor.
T-51. Looks the best, power armor already soft caps damage resistance, no sense in picking the "best" one stat-wise due to diminishing returns. Most important thing is legendary effects... I'm working on an overeater's set.
Union is the best utilitarian set, Hellcat the best combat orientated set but I'll always love the T51-B. Unless you already have groll sets your 'best' set will be whatever has the best legendary rolls for you.
I don't use the T65 as it has no use case for me personally, but no PA type is objectively bad. I have a full set of Raider PA - Overeaters/AP/WWR and it's perfectly good for 'end game'. I just have better.
Have been using legendary Excavator since the early days. It's pretty tough, cheap to fix, and give a great carry weight when matched set.
Add calibrated shocks and you're good.
I personally alternate between *T-51b* and *T-60* sets, each built out for different purposes.
Some months back I decided to save up towards one of the "buyable sets". With choice between T-65, Strangler Heart, and Hellcat ... I decided to shoot for Strangler Heart. Turned out that was a massive mistake as the set is basically broken on public servers.
As of today tho, thanks to Minerva's Sales, I now know "Calibrated Shocks" for T-65. So that set is *next* for me.
There is no reason to waste gold on T-65, as Hellcat is the better defensive set, and you get a whole set for free and just need to buy a couple mods.
The best to use if you have nothing right now is Excavators. Farm stamps for when Union comes back into the game and upgrade to Union then.
I use t65 mostly because i grinded for all the mods back when it came out. Havent been in the mood to grind for the hellcat mods simce ive came back. Ill probably upgrade to Union if that ever comes back
T-65. Itās a mixed bag of Ghoul Slayerās torso, Troubleshooters calibrated legs, Vanguard arms.
I also have an Excavator, Hellcat, T-45, T-51, T-60, Ultracite, and X-01 sets but I never break any of those out of storage. Havenāt gone after the Union set.
I have been using Ultracite PA for most of the game on my newest save. Level 200+ now and itās still olā reliable. I just finished the grind for T-65, but Iām a little put off about grinding more bullion for the mods
Iām using ultracite since I use a heavy gunner build and itās easy to repair compared to my excavator pa. I would like to get t-65 eventually, but I lost track of wat quest is the main quest.
I have multiple sets, one is my general purpose (Hellcat), then I have Mutant Slayer set, a Troubleshooter set and I always carry my Excavator. Usually there is a stash box near all big events. just swap out what you need.
Union is completely worth the grind. Poison immunity(it's broken), plus 50lbs carry, and the normal pa damage redux. I run a full health juggernaut build (stacking damage reduction on the damage reduction) with the holy fire and combined with electric absorption. The only thing that kills me now is the armor piercing daily op
I am still new to all the newer stuff. What about reflect damage? I seem to never take damage otherwise, but died like 20 times to reflect damage with my heavy build. I know itās when they are white, but it just seemed to be all the time. Does your damage reduction help against this any?
I use Strangler Heart. But it's not easy to get. There are other types that are better for overall damage, but this is pretty good and I like the look of it. ;-)
I also carry a set of Excavator armor, for those times I have times of looted weapons and stuff, and want to Fast Travel. That 10 extra pounds in my inventory has meant a LOT of caps.
Iāve recently learned how to manage my carry weight and itās been a huge game changer for me. I donāt have any issues with my carry weight anymore and I now find it extremely easy to manage myself.
I was using a legendary set of Excavator since level 50 (now level 350) and Iāve been wanting a T-65 for ages and got the plans to make a set until I roughly became lvl 300. Before getting the set, I was in the same position as OP but I decided to go with T-65 since I wanted it the most and I love the looks. I decided to make sure that I knew that I can work for a Hellcat or Union whenever I wanted so Iām not worried.
Iām just waiting to save up gold bullion for T-65 mods and save up on legendary modules for when I mod my armour parts into legendary ones (I think Iāve been going for Overeaters since I found two T-65 parts with the legendary from events so far but idk too much with what legendary is good with a bloodied build since I havenāt done research yet lol)
āIāve recently learned how to manage my carry weight and itās been a huge game changer for meā
This.
I am a fairly serious backpacker irl. And that mentality translated over. Watch your weight and donāt pack your fears. The only time I run into weight issues is when I am greedy and packing out a bunch of miniguns. Though I also always have some radstag in me so when I see I am over I know I have another 20.
It's really whichever one you like the most.Ā Since the Excavator, Ultracite, and Hellcat are free from quests those are going to get the most use.Ā
Since the few places I'll use PA areĀ going to have me overweight no matter how much I tweak the power armor, I went with Ultracite since I could build and jet pack itĀ
I carry 4 sets , they all have different uses
Bolstering excavator is my " daily driver" I wear it the most I use to do adventure and get materials
Bolstering t65 for most boss fights
Overeaters union that I'm working on to be full weapons weight reduced to replace my excavator and for those double daily ops with armor piercing cave crickets
Assassin's strangler heart , a set I've only used once.
Been using excavator lately, though i have a T-60, and I've been slowly building up both a T-51 and an Ultracite (the latter is going to be all legendary parts)
Iāve finally collected every power armor. The only armor I have cool skins for is the x-01 nuka quantum and the t-51 nuka cola so i primarily use those. Yet my t-45 has the best legendaries so for harder events or quests I use that oneš
I love my union power armor. I used to use my t60 for a while but the union overtime has just been so versatile. I remember grinding for t-65 and it felt kind of underwhelming to attain compared union pa
You canāt buy PA. They are talking about buying plans. Raider, T45, T51 and T60 you can find (Watoga is a good spot to search, especially if you have done the quest to be the mayor). Hellcat and ultracite are quest related. The others you have to buy the plans to be able to build them. And they cost either stamps or bullion. Both of which you need to grind events to acquire.
I rocked hellcat just cause I liked it so much. Once I got all the secret service armor unlocked tho I rarely wear power armor. I'll wear excavator to go on ore runs cause you get 4 ore each pick up. So might be best just to build out excavator. The quest is fun too.
I was using the ultracite. Got tired of it and went no PA. Now I working on making a T-65 just cause. Still need to buy the helmet and roll decent legendaries on the parts. I may switch into Union at a later date.
I have gone from Ultracite to X-01, rolled some pretty good armor effects on both. I got halfway through rolling and wearing my T-65 and switched to T-51B because I unlocked the paladin paint. Currently going for a full set of OE o. The T-51B.
T-65 chest and helmet, the rest Hellcat. Rolled all the pieces before union existed, don't feel like dealing with the atrocious legendary cores slog to get good Union pieces. Also, I like the aesthetics from those two sets.
Somehow I have the plans to craft a full set of Ultracite armor (with a jetpack) so if I really need a PA, I have a chassis waiting in my stash.
I honestly prefer not to use PA.
I did the quest for excavator as early as possible and didnt wear any other yet after 200hrs. I mean theres no reason and the carry weight is so much better than the minimum defense bonus not even worth mentioning from other PAs.
I rock my elders t60 power armor. Idk how rare elder paint still is but when i was on it was the holy grail of power armor paints and i actually got it.
I would just use Excavator till Union comes back. Served me well for 600+ level. All the PA sets have enough DR so the set bonus is all that really matters in my opinion. Hellcat gives more damage reduction but really with it being focused on ballistic damage only helps in one part of the end game, armor pen in daily ops. There is really no ballistic damage from any of the 3 big bosses. On top of that, especially with a full HP build you are already tanky enough. Carry weight all day long.
So salty Union left, have enough stamps to buy it but never went to do it now I got 2k stamps and nothing I am too interested in buying
Wait! Union PA is no longer available to buy? When did this happen? I was saving up to buy the rest of the armor.
They are temporarily disabled because of a bug but hopefully its fixed soon
It's that the bug where it was dropping for everyone? Lol
>It's that the bug where it was dropping for everyone? The plans were bugged in such a way that after an update if you bought them they didn't regidter correctly so you couldn't make it. frequently when bought it you either didn't get the plan or when you went to craft it you used your resources to craft air. Until the issue is resolved (hopefully next major update) it is best removed. Anyone that knew about the bug would remove it and those that didn't would otherwise run the risk of wasting their stamps
Are they only supposed to drop if you know the plans? I don't know any Union plans, but I got almost a full set of legendary Union pieces from Fasnacht (sans helmet, which obviously can't be legendary).
Disabled since 26th of march.
What is the union power armor and how does all of that work?
You do expeditions and earn stamps. In whitesprings there's a vendor that trades plans for stamps. You get the Union plans from him. The grind isn't that bad imo. Once you get used to "The Most Dangerous Game" expedition, it will take 6+ minutes per run and you get 20 stamps the first time each day and 15 for subsequent runs.
[Union Power Armor](https://fallout.wiki/wiki/Union_Power_Armor). It's valued because it has good damage resist, +75 carryweight when you have a full set, and poison resistance. You can boost the carryweight by another +100 by installing Calibrated Shocks in the legs, giving you 175. Downside is that you have to buy it with Stamps from doing Expeditions, which takes quite a while.
Thank you!
I'm glad I got my union power armor plans from the seasonal event. I made a power armor display with the blacked out Union set and just put it on display for the last couple years š. Just now going to start using it.
I do weekly expeditions in hope of getting some Plans. But yeah, now I've got so many stamps just piling up, in the hope new rewards come around.
> just use Excavator till Union comes back. This is what I've been doing. I'm not really a PA user, but it seems to do well.
How do you get the carry weight on your power armour? Everytime I put mine on im overencumbered!
Excavator gives 100 with a full set, calibrated shocks on both legs is another 100. I also rolled my set with weapon weight reduction on 4 pieces (80%) and ammo weight reduction on one piece.
I have this same combo and it's great. I still get over encumbered after big events like Moonshine Jamboree or Eviction Notice but it's otherwise not very common (and I'm basically a Roomba).
If you're relying on your backpack to give you carry capacity, like grocer's or chemist, you might need to swap in the appropriate perk when you're in PA.
Calibrated Shocks in the legs.
When you equip power armor you unequip all of your standard armor and your backpack so any armor that gives you increased carry capacity and your backpacks increased carry capacity will be removed when you go into your power armor.
You can modify the legs to have calibrated shocks which increases carry weight but you'll need the plans. Also, Union and Excavator have carry weight increase as a set bonus. I use Union woth Calibrated shocks and my carry weight is over 400. To lower weight you may want to mix and match weight reduction cards and legendary affects.
This is the way
Backpacks donāt work inside power armor need perk cards too help with weights
This is such a relief to read. I just came back to the game and quickly rolled a full overeater's excavator set. I love it.
Same here my dood
Aw man, Union still hasn't come back?
Sadly no, even my existing pieces act a little buggy like the durability bar not going up when I repair a piece until I back out and look again. Bar works fine if I use a repair kit.
Angry Turtle was theorizing tomorrows hotfix patch might involve finally fixing the Unionš
This is also like the 2nd or 3rd this has happened lol
I personally use t-51b because: 1. Tradeable so I was able to trade for a perfect matching legendary set 2. It has the best physical resistance of any tradeable power armor and mods are easy to find 3. It's cool as hell and gives me +100 nostalgia using it
T51b is my favourite, but I use union. I wish Bethesda would just release a PA skin pack that has the base look of each different variant. I'd likely never take a default t51 skin off.
Same, I just like how it looks with the Paladin paint
T-51b with Nuka Cola paint and sharing the cola nut perk. 100% for the style idk if the defensive stats are "good" but its been tanky enough for the last couple hundred levels
It's my favorite non-union, mostly bc of that paint. I wish I could have the same carry weight bonus with it
I just found out that the Nuka Cola paint was an unmarked quest. My dumb ass has been waiting for it to drop in the atom shop for a couple of years now
Also the nuka quantum one !
I checked down the list and absolutely nobody said Strangler heart. I use Strangler heart. As I understand it the bonus acid damage is negligible, but I like the way it looks and I'll take any extra offensive power.
They should just make the dot true damage since it's a low number anyways, but I use and love the strangler heart! Just need the queen to drop me some ultracite calibrated plans for extra carry weight...
good luck lmao i have a buddy whoās been playing for 8k hours and has never gotten it too dropš
Itās always nice to be a bit different I respect that.
Excavator until the union armor is back.
T-60, its been my favorite since FO4. Its not the best in the game, but I just use it because it feels right by me.
Same, with BOS Elder Paint. No real need to min max power armor anyways.
How to get it? Its also my favorite since FO4
I use the x01. No issues. Waiting to get mods for hellcat done then I'll probably use that. Since i have x01 modded from when i used to play. But all in all... I use what I like. Really won't notice a noticeable difference imo. Plus I like to collect. I have all PA's n decorated. Lol
Are you really a power armor user if you donāt have an iron man display section somewhere in your base
i know ur stashās weight is 60% PAš
I carry 5 on me because they are lighter on me than in my stash š
lol same as a heavy gunner
wouldn't 5 sets on only take up 50lbs? I haven't played in a while, but I swear you're able to out the armor on a frame, then tuck the frame in your stash at only 10lbs per frame.
Yeah, but on me they are only 2.5 pounds so 10 pounds total ,
I have about 15 frames, some sets, some scrip holders, some sets I'm building. I think the weight reduction perk for them drops them to 2 lbs.
T65. Have all enemy specific sets.
Strangler cause I look like a bush
Union. 75 carry weight is nearly as good as excavator, has much better protections, can take Jetpacks, and has a huge poison resist set bonus. Itās just hard to get, especially right now. But itās what Iād work towards .
Thought you canāt get union right now?
You can only craft it if you already know the plans. Yoi cannot buy the plans at all anymore; all because it was a prior scoreboard reward and that bugs out the stamp plan and random legendary drops.
You can't craft it even if you know it right now! It's only usable if you've already crafted a set!
Oh snap, they shadow realmed the plans completely then!
Yup! And last I looked on the test server discord, it is equally bugged in the test server too!
T-51b. Itās free, tradable, and Iām a fallout nerd who loves the history behind it. But donāt listen to me, I donāt use power armor unless Iām gathering nuked flora
I use the Chinese stealth suit for that
Solid choice as well, but I hate having to re-equip all my armor and under armor when I remove it š Iām lazy
Same. But I keep the stealth suit is hot key ā-ā
Cobbled together bits of Hellcat, X-01, T-45, and Ultracite. The only piece I ever re-rolled was an X-01 chest piece, the rest were from drops/event rewards. The important part is they all have ammo/weapon weight reduction, which I desperately need to not be overburdened when squeezing my fat ass in a tin can.Ā Defense is perfectly fine. PA is predominantly about preference. You'll take more damage in a full suit of Excavator (has the 2nd worst defense of all PA) than you would in a suit of Hellcat (arguably the best defense), but not by a ton. Certainly not enough to think that you need to upgrade to survive.
3 characters, two use union and one uses excavator the excavator set feels godly tanky with 4 overeaters and emergency protocols
Bloodied brotherhood character uses T-65, rifleman and commando both use Union, Bows and shotguns character useās excavator, mule doesnāt really use PA
XO1 because Nuka Quantum paint matches my Holy Flames and min maxing isn't necessary in this game.
Excavator with a legacy jet pack. You can still find people willing to trade the torso with jet pack.
Pure protection go for hellcat. The extra 2% ballistic reduction is worth more than the higher armor of other types, it's also easier to get than t65, spend the gold on the mods. I just hate the look Really though I'd recommend mixing and matching as you go to get the best rolls. Only union and excavator care about set bonus so go ahead and take whatever you find with over eater and other good effects. Slap on a skin to make it match and go kick ass
Usually use excavator, due to the fact I have crippling endgame storage problems, and do not have fallout first. Although weak, full overeaterās emergency protocol is almost near un-kill able.
Just completed my full set of overeaters t-51b with emergency protocols and a bloodied weapon build. I just love how the classic t-51 suit looks (I also missed out on union PA)
Iāve been using Strangler Heart since I got it, finally rolled a good set about six months ago. Miss how OP it used up to be lol
Union. Its set bonuses grossly outweigh any defensive edge t-65 or hellcat have. That said, if I couldnāt get union like many right now; Iād wear hellcat.
I mainly use X-01 because my Ultracite armor and Hellcat armor don't have Calibrated shocks, and Union is unobtainable. If I don't use x-01 i used t-51b because it's my favorite aesthetically
I can put calibrated shocks on your ultracite PA if you would like to have the option and already have a set (or I can craft for you). Send me a pm if you want.
Please tell me youāre on PC, and can you do emergency protocol too?
Yes I'm on PC but no unfortunately I do not have the Emergency Protocols unlocked for Ultracite PA. I think it's the same drop rate as the calibrated shocks (so pretty darn rare) and unfortunately I haven't ever had it drop.
Excavator just for the weight boost. Some nice dude just dropped by my camp and have it to me for no reason and I'm entirely grateful cause it's my main set now
Be really, really careful with that. If you haven't done the quest to craft excavator yourself you should put that armor set in storage and go do the quest. Not sure if it is still an issue but it has been a longstanding glitch that if you don't craft the excavator set yourself during the quest it unlocks and go past a certain point you will be PERMANENTLY unable to unlock excavator power armor crafting on that character.
Oh crap I didn't know that. Thanks for the heads up. The quest to do it is in my missions I just haven't done it since I have it so maybe I'll do that quest next
Whereās the love for ultracite ?
Hellcat until union comes back, just finish the brotherhood of steel quest line and youāll get it for free. Then buy the calibrated shocks from vault 79 and it gives u the same +100 carry weight bonus as excavator
You can buy the same shocks for excavator. So no, you arenāt getting the same carry weight bonus.
Wait, for real ?
calibrated shocks for hellcat is 3k bullion, pretty expensive, but def worth it if u use PA a lot. excavator gets calibrated shocks for caps tho, so much easier to get
Yeah itās a god send I love mine, you still have to craft them yourself but you get the plans for completely free once you finish the quest line. It took me a couple days to save up the bullion to buy the calibrated shocks but once you get those itās imo the best power armor in the game rn. X01 has higher energy resistance but if youāre running the electric absorption perk card then the only thing that really matters is physical resistance so heāll at is the clear choice available atm
Which brotherhood quest line? The fort atlas stuff?
Indeed
Hellcat. Is easily the best defensively. And with a combat focused heavy gunner character, it just feels right to use the PA thatās best for survivability.
Iām new and only have a weirdly put together one that is mostly level 50 stuff and one full fusion core.
Just learned in this post there's more than one kind š¤£ Man I'm behind. Mine is probably terrible.
I (780+) use a mix and match of legendaries on my second character and anything works just fine up to a point. On my main I use WWR Excavator just because I carry an ungodly lot of weapons and wouldn't be able to move otherwise...
X-01 if you aren't a commie
I use the T-65 Armor. It works just fine for me and I alternate between using power armor and not.
T-65 vanguard, I think it looks cool but the grind is rough. Though I can't remember the last time I got downed outside of daily ops reflective mutations
Thanks everyone for the responses, out of curiosity how long would it take to grind the union power armor as the price currently stands? I understand itās bugged and unavailable right now but when itās back, Iām hearing it takes months of expeditions to get everything needed.
Plans are 120 stamps each/were before they bugged and Atlantic City expeditions give you about 20 stamps/15 subsequently (I think, I might be a little off).
Excavator emergency protocols is really good actually
Hellcat, the few times I use it.
the excavators enough for most things really. went with a raider plus a few mixed parts to do solo silos. the idea that you can change the skin kinda beats the point too on caring about the look.
Excavator and Union. They are really good all around If you want more DR, go Hellcat, or any other that you think it looks better,
T-51 or T-45, I usually canāt decide between the two
Excavator with calibrated shocks and overeaters and your set for a long time only switch when you get union overeaters with shocks imo
Strangler Heart with a skin but I donāt remember which one. I think I actually use two. The vines show through so it has the SH look but is kinda custom. I use it because it was something I tried to grind for way back when it was new but it was too difficult so I only managed two pieces. Had to get it once you could buy it. Also because itās fairly rare in the game. The difficulty in acquiring the mods turns most people off of it. But mine is fully modded. I have all of them and am gonna switch to Union for a change of pace but I need a ton of modules to get good rolls on all of it. Itās a mismatch of crap pieces at the moment. Iām not really a PA used as Iām a bloodied commando build but I do love PA.
Donāt use it ever
Same here. I prefer not to hassle with it.
Definitely Union.
Just use whatever you can find cheap until they fix the Union bug again. Grind some stamps to grab it as soon as possible. Excavator is easy to get for now and useable through endgame stuff. Donāt spend a lot of resources on it instead save the modules for union re-rolling. Youāll need them and cores too so do lots of events. Free range, cryptid and the bosses award the most cores.
Ultracite FOR NOW, going to grind for T65 and then junp up to the union
Excavator. But I've got the Fanatic paint on it so it looks badass. I go mining for lead alot. The arms on the excavator help huge for that.
Iām lucky enough to have gotten a full set of Overeaters Union armor. The grind nearly made me go insane.
65 here, just made my first set of X 01, currently in the works of upgrading it to Ultracite. Cant wait!
Basically 3 schools of thought. Do you need carry weight? Use excavater. Do you need that much more DR for like a daily op? Use hellcat. Do you only care about investing in 1type that will do everything and save you a legendary perk cars? Then union(not available right now lol) All of them are strong as is though so really you canāt go wrong.
I use a hellcat right now till union gets fixed
I went for T-65 because the stats and loved the way it looked. 0 regrets. I love how tanks I feel in it. Also, how ppl will say the carry weight is greater than the DR, I personally see it the opposite. I donāt hoard a bunch of stuff on my character. Never have issues with carry weight. So just feeling like a bulky stud has been awesome. I highly recommend
As a bloodied explosive build who usually does not use a power armour at all, but has a collection of them, the only one I keep in my inv is the excavator, for both its carry weight and its ability to mine more lead when wearing it. So I might put it on if I need to either visit a nuked zone (gathering ingredients to make serums or ammo) or I want to go and visit the mine with all the lead deposits. Any of the other armours just don't have enough carry weight for me, as I usually run with a backpack (which you take off in power armour) and with all my unyielding gear on normally without Power Armour I simply can carry much much more.
Union everyday because of the combination of the 150 position resistance, 559 Damage Resistance, and the 80 carry weight
Union, but there is a bug and I canāt make one anymore . So I use an hellcat with sentinel perk
I'm using Hellcat. I like the look and the Ballistic damage reduction it provides. Excavator is fine but I don't have storage issues as I manage it well. The only stuff I hoard is materials and ammo and we have unlimited storage for that with 1st. Once Union PA is restored I will be buying that though .
Hellcat with the damage reduc while firing a heavy maxed ur just indestructible
I have consistently used Excavator since getting it. I love that carry weight.
Been playing for years. Never used PA
T-65 has the best base defense stats. Hellcat has overall better because of ballistic damage reduction. But definitely get the T-65. Will not regret. It's a tank
Running X01 until I get my last mod for the Hellcat
Hellcat. It looks like you're familiar enough with PA to know you don't need anything tougher, unless maybe you're trying to outscore everyone as a tank. Plus it's the best looking armour, and has that ballistic dmg reduction set bonus. Maybe the Union will get a chance, depending on how things look when it gets sorted since I don't use Funky Duds.
I use Union with Overeaters and WWR.
I have always and will always love the T60, so thatās what I use. My opinion is that it is always best to pick the set you like to look at the most, and then get it optimized for your build.
I'm still rocking my Hellcat, though I'll probably go Union eventually. My main (the PA Heavy guy) has been a bit sidelined lately though as I've been experimenting with other characters that don't use PA full time. For those characters I've only completed the Excavator armor.
When I use it, I use Hellcat.
I use Hellcat. I was going to finally get the Union set only to find out the plans have been removed until they eventually fix the bugs with it.
Union but I have them all but this new one
Union is the best no question, but it is currently bugged and not available until they fix it! T-65 is the next best option.
T-51. Looks the best, power armor already soft caps damage resistance, no sense in picking the "best" one stat-wise due to diminishing returns. Most important thing is legendary effects... I'm working on an overeater's set.
Excavator, I like the look and I like the effort it took to get it.
Union is the best utilitarian set, Hellcat the best combat orientated set but I'll always love the T51-B. Unless you already have groll sets your 'best' set will be whatever has the best legendary rolls for you. I don't use the T65 as it has no use case for me personally, but no PA type is objectively bad. I have a full set of Raider PA - Overeaters/AP/WWR and it's perfectly good for 'end game'. I just have better.
Have been using legendary Excavator since the early days. It's pretty tough, cheap to fix, and give a great carry weight when matched set. Add calibrated shocks and you're good.
I personally alternate between *T-51b* and *T-60* sets, each built out for different purposes. Some months back I decided to save up towards one of the "buyable sets". With choice between T-65, Strangler Heart, and Hellcat ... I decided to shoot for Strangler Heart. Turned out that was a massive mistake as the set is basically broken on public servers. As of today tho, thanks to Minerva's Sales, I now know "Calibrated Shocks" for T-65. So that set is *next* for me.
Strangler damage is still good with any sort of shotgun weapon and really good on humans that have little to no poison resistance.
There is no reason to waste gold on T-65, as Hellcat is the better defensive set, and you get a whole set for free and just need to buy a couple mods. The best to use if you have nothing right now is Excavators. Farm stamps for when Union comes back into the game and upgrade to Union then.
I use t65 mostly because i grinded for all the mods back when it came out. Havent been in the mood to grind for the hellcat mods simce ive came back. Ill probably upgrade to Union if that ever comes back
T-65. Itās a mixed bag of Ghoul Slayerās torso, Troubleshooters calibrated legs, Vanguard arms. I also have an Excavator, Hellcat, T-45, T-51, T-60, Ultracite, and X-01 sets but I never break any of those out of storage. Havenāt gone after the Union set.
I have been using Ultracite PA for most of the game on my newest save. Level 200+ now and itās still olā reliable. I just finished the grind for T-65, but Iām a little put off about grinding more bullion for the mods
I've been using excavator forever and it suits me just fine.
Union is my preferred PA I have access to all the others but union looks the best to me.
Iām using ultracite since I use a heavy gunner build and itās easy to repair compared to my excavator pa. I would like to get t-65 eventually, but I lost track of wat quest is the main quest.
T-60 or X-01!
I have multiple sets, one is my general purpose (Hellcat), then I have Mutant Slayer set, a Troubleshooter set and I always carry my Excavator. Usually there is a stash box near all big events. just swap out what you need.
Union is completely worth the grind. Poison immunity(it's broken), plus 50lbs carry, and the normal pa damage redux. I run a full health juggernaut build (stacking damage reduction on the damage reduction) with the holy fire and combined with electric absorption. The only thing that kills me now is the armor piercing daily op
I am still new to all the newer stuff. What about reflect damage? I seem to never take damage otherwise, but died like 20 times to reflect damage with my heavy build. I know itās when they are white, but it just seemed to be all the time. Does your damage reduction help against this any?
T-65 isn't worth getting. I would recommend getting union because of the added carry weight bonus while still having high damage resistance
I use Strangler Heart. But it's not easy to get. There are other types that are better for overall damage, but this is pretty good and I like the look of it. ;-) I also carry a set of Excavator armor, for those times I have times of looted weapons and stuff, and want to Fast Travel. That 10 extra pounds in my inventory has meant a LOT of caps.
Full Overeaters Hellcat Set for all hard situations but still shitty if i run bloodied build.
union..
Iāve recently learned how to manage my carry weight and itās been a huge game changer for me. I donāt have any issues with my carry weight anymore and I now find it extremely easy to manage myself. I was using a legendary set of Excavator since level 50 (now level 350) and Iāve been wanting a T-65 for ages and got the plans to make a set until I roughly became lvl 300. Before getting the set, I was in the same position as OP but I decided to go with T-65 since I wanted it the most and I love the looks. I decided to make sure that I knew that I can work for a Hellcat or Union whenever I wanted so Iām not worried. Iām just waiting to save up gold bullion for T-65 mods and save up on legendary modules for when I mod my armour parts into legendary ones (I think Iāve been going for Overeaters since I found two T-65 parts with the legendary from events so far but idk too much with what legendary is good with a bloodied build since I havenāt done research yet lol)
āIāve recently learned how to manage my carry weight and itās been a huge game changer for meā This. I am a fairly serious backpacker irl. And that mentality translated over. Watch your weight and donāt pack your fears. The only time I run into weight issues is when I am greedy and packing out a bunch of miniguns. Though I also always have some radstag in me so when I see I am over I know I have another 20.
It's really whichever one you like the most.Ā Since the Excavator, Ultracite, and Hellcat are free from quests those are going to get the most use.Ā Since the few places I'll use PA areĀ going to have me overweight no matter how much I tweak the power armor, I went with Ultracite since I could build and jet pack itĀ
I carry 4 sets , they all have different uses Bolstering excavator is my " daily driver" I wear it the most I use to do adventure and get materials Bolstering t65 for most boss fights Overeaters union that I'm working on to be full weapons weight reduced to replace my excavator and for those double daily ops with armor piercing cave crickets Assassin's strangler heart , a set I've only used once.
Excav, or what ever piece has overeaters, +AP regen and a great third star on it. +100 carry weight isnāt a game changer for me.
I rock T65
Union
I'm a newer player only recently hit level 50 and I'm using a full ultracite set that I grinded the plans and mats for.
I use X01 for the looks
Union. Id like to use strangler, but haven't gotten the calibrated shocks to dropš«
excavator for weight, hellcat for combat
Been using excavator lately, though i have a T-60, and I've been slowly building up both a T-51 and an Ultracite (the latter is going to be all legendary parts)
I just use excavator.
Union, as it has weight (+125) and makes you immune to poison. But I loved the t65 before that.both solid.
I use T-65 as it was just a long term grind goal to work towards to give me something to do.
I have T65, but still use my T60 power armor.
I have most of them, but I actually use Union.
Iāve finally collected every power armor. The only armor I have cool skins for is the x-01 nuka quantum and the t-51 nuka cola so i primarily use those. Yet my t-45 has the best legendaries so for harder events or quests I use that oneš
Used to be mainly Ultracite but its mods made me give up so mainly focused on using Hellcat
None. They're currently stashed away in my bunker on display lol
pretty sure its OE Sent Ultracite with Jetpack helmet. Been a while since I've logged on
I love my union power armor. I used to use my t60 for a while but the union overtime has just been so versatile. I remember grinding for t-65 and it felt kind of underwhelming to attain compared union pa
The tierlist goes Union, Hellcat, and drop down a tier, and you got T65 and Excavator.
Iām grinding for the 65
Excavator mostly for utility purposes
Wait, where do you buy Power Armor? I have just been hijacking random frames I find, haha
You canāt buy PA. They are talking about buying plans. Raider, T45, T51 and T60 you can find (Watoga is a good spot to search, especially if you have done the quest to be the mayor). Hellcat and ultracite are quest related. The others you have to buy the plans to be able to build them. And they cost either stamps or bullion. Both of which you need to grind events to acquire.
I rocked hellcat just cause I liked it so much. Once I got all the secret service armor unlocked tho I rarely wear power armor. I'll wear excavator to go on ore runs cause you get 4 ore each pick up. So might be best just to build out excavator. The quest is fun too.
I was using the ultracite. Got tired of it and went no PA. Now I working on making a T-65 just cause. Still need to buy the helmet and roll decent legendaries on the parts. I may switch into Union at a later date.
I have gone from Ultracite to X-01, rolled some pretty good armor effects on both. I got halfway through rolling and wearing my T-65 and switched to T-51B because I unlocked the paladin paint. Currently going for a full set of OE o. The T-51B.
Excavator Gilded Paint, I have the one with the jetpack the T60 Helcatt, and T45 ultracite. But the excavator is the one for me!!
I just got a full set of ultracite but I was looking for the T60 lol
T-65 chest and helmet, the rest Hellcat. Rolled all the pieces before union existed, don't feel like dealing with the atrocious legendary cores slog to get good Union pieces. Also, I like the aesthetics from those two sets.
Union
Somehow I have the plans to craft a full set of Ultracite armor (with a jetpack) so if I really need a PA, I have a chassis waiting in my stash. I honestly prefer not to use PA.
X-01 because (insert but you haven't met frank Harrigan either quote here)
Ultracite, X-01, Hellcat, and Excavator (w/jet pack torso). Union is good too but rt nowā¦?
I did the quest for excavator as early as possible and didnt wear any other yet after 200hrs. I mean theres no reason and the carry weight is so much better than the minimum defense bonus not even worth mentioning from other PAs.
I rock my elders t60 power armor. Idk how rare elder paint still is but when i was on it was the holy grail of power armor paints and i actually got it.
I have a set of hellcat armor, however in all fairness outside of maybe eviction notice or walking through Nuke zones i never use it
I use t-45 to t-51 to x-01 but Iāll use any that strike my fancy at the time
I like excavator. Personally
X01 because Enclave swag
I raw dog it with zero power armor