I started playing Fallout 4 as soon as it was released, but I still haven’t decided if its power armor changes are good or bad. After Fallout: New Vegas improved on many of the issues I had with Fallout 3, I had been eagerly anticipating Fallout 4’s release back in 2015. I hoped that, like New Vegas, the game would continue to build on the series’ successes and introduce interesting new elements to the game. When it came out, I wouldn’t say I was terribly disappointed with Fallout 4, but there were certainly some elements I wasn’t too sure about.

Aside from having to hear characters say my name so many times that it started to get Heavy Rain flashbacks, I was a little taken aback by the game’s new power armor system. I think Bethesda deserves a lot of credit for how exciting it was to put on power armor in Fallout 4 for the first time and seeing all the changes, but as time went on, I started to sour a bit on it. As helpful as it was, it sometimes felt like a burden and took me out of the story. To this day, I’m still torn.

Fallout 4 Significantly Changed How Power Armor Works

Fallout 4’s Power Armor Is An External Suit, Not Gear

Since the initial Fallout game, the way power armor works has changed several times. Originally called powered armor, the first Fallout game’s version of power armor was some of the game’s best gear. It can only be acquired later in the game by joining the Brotherhood of Steel, or by fighting your way into their base and fixing up an old set left there. Both were difficult tasks, meaning, although powered armor was very effective, it also wasn’t overpowered because it wasn’t easy to get.

Fallout 3, and subsequently New Vegas, changed this a bit by requiring players to get the Power Armor Training perk before they could effectively wear power armor. Although this meant jumping through some hoops to put it on, this also meant that power armor was made available earlier in each game than it had been in the original Fallout. This allowed players to get more use out of their power armor, while still making it feel somewhat earned.

Fallout 4 once again changed how power armor worked but in a much more significant way than previous entries. Power armor was no longer gear that players could equip at will from their inventory, but instead an external suit that they could enter. The suit offers greater protection than normal and allows players to use heavy weapons like a minigun. Fallout 4 also lets players mod their power armor and swap out individual pieces to mix and match different models.

Using Fallout 4’s Power Armor Is A More Immersive Experience

Fallout 4’s Power Armor Mechanics Are More Realistic

Initially, I was a big fan of the power armor changes in Fallout 4. I’m a big fan of immersive elements in RPGs, so I was glad that I could no longer carry power armor around in my pocket like I could in previous entries. Entering a suit of power armor is still an exciting experience, and I really enjoy getting to hang it up in a garage and tinker with it, watching it change appearance as I make modifications to it.

I also think that the need to have a charged fusion core installed to effectively use power armor was a great choice for Fallout 4. The game gives you power armor pretty early on, to show off the new mechanics. However, by making fusion cores scarce, especially in the early-game, it hammers home that power armor is not something you can use all the time. I thought this was a nice solution for teaching players about the changes but still limiting the use of power armor. However, the more I played, the more it started to annoy me.

The Optimal Way To Use Power Armor Often Kills Narrative Flow

Backtracking To Get Power Armor Ruins The Pacing Of The Game’s Story

Because I knew that I couldn’t rely on my power armor for every fight, I decided to save it for missions that I knew would require it more. Whether it was fighting one of Fallout 4’s hidden bosses, or traveling to heavily irradiated areas like the Glowing Sea, I would only pull out my power armor when it seemed necessary. For the most part, I kept it at a workstation that I could fast-travel to, so I could pop back and modify it when I found new pieces for it.

It wouldn’t make sense for me to slap on my power armor and wear it all the way to a given objective. That would waste too much power. So, instead, I would travel to a mission location, gain the ability to fast-travel nearby, and then fast-travel back for my power armor. While this wasn’t a huge issue from a gameplay standpoint, it did start to counteract the added immersion initially gained by the power armor changes.