Power armor is one of the most iconic parts of the Fallout series. Strapping on a hulking suit of metal armor makes you feel almost invincible as you explore the post-apocalyptic Wasteland.
In Fallout 4, power armor has been overhauled and upgraded from previous Fallout games. You can now customize and upgrade power armor to match your playstyle. But with all the options available, what are the best power armor sets you should try to get? This guide will go over the top power armors in Fallout 4 and how to obtain them.
What Makes Power Armor Good
When evaluating different power armor sets, there are a few key factors to consider:
- Damage Resistance – How much damage the armor absorbs from enemy attacks. Higher damage resistance means taking less damage.
- Energy Resistance – Resistance against laser and plasma weapons. Useful against synths and high-tech enemies.
- Radiation Resistance – Reduces radiation damage taken. Essential for exploring highly irradiated areas.
- Carry Weight – Increases how much you can carry. Great for hauling loot back to settlements.
- Legendary Effects – Special modifiers that give bonus attributes. Makes power armor much more powerful.
Set bonuses, armor addons, rarity, and aesthetic design are other things to factor in when choosing power armor. Keeping these parameters in mind, let‘s look at some of the best power armors in Fallout 4.
1. X-01 Power Armor
How to Get It: The X-01 power armor set spawns consistently once you reach level 30. You can find a full set minus the right leg behind a novice locked door on the 35 Court building rooftop, very close to Goodneighbor.
Base Stats:
- Damage Resistance: 300
- Energy Resistance: 1500
- Radiation Resistance: 1000
- Carry Weight: +25
The X-01 is arguably the best power armor set in Fallout 4. With extremely high damage and energy resistance, it offers superb protection. And it has solid radiation resistance for exploring the Glowing Sea, along with a modest carry weight bonus. Its stats are tied for the highest bonuses among power armors.
The X-01 set can also be upgraded with mods to improve it even further. For example, optimized bracers increase AP regen speed. And VATS Matrix Overlay chest mods make VATS more accurate in the suit.
The only downside to X-01 armor is that it can‘t receive most legendary armor effects. But its tremendous base stats more than make up for this limitation. If you want a power armor focused on raw protection, the X-01 is easily the top choice.
2. T-60 Power Armor
How to Get It: T-60 suits are commonly used by the Brotherhood of Steel. You‘re first given a set after joining the Brotherhood faction. You can also steal fusion cores from Brotherhood Knights/Paladins to force them out of their suits to get more T-60 pieces.
Base Stats:
- Damage Resistance: 900
- Energy Resistance: 600
- Radiation Resistance: 1000
- Carry Weight: +10
T-60 power armor is the Brotherhood‘s trademark armor for good reason. It has excellent damage and energy resistance that matches or exceeds most other sets. And it offers great radiation protection and a minor carry weight boost.
The main advantage of T-60 armor is its ability to equip legendary armor pieces. This allows you to obtain parts with special attributes that make your suit much stronger. We‘ll go over some of the best T-60 legendary items later.
T-60 also benefits from being repairable without needing rare crafting components. Fixing it only requires steel, making it more sustainable to use as your main armor.
3. Raider Power Armor
How to Get It: Locate the Raider Power Armor by going southeast of Outpost Zimonja. Enter a cave along the elevated freeway to find a suit sitting on the floor inside.
Base Stats:
- Damage Resistance: 475
- Energy Resistance: 250
- Radiation Resistance: 1000
- Carry Weight: +10
Raider Power Armor has middling stats overall compared to top-tier suits. But it‘s easy to obtain early, especially if you go after it as soon as leaving Vault 111. This makes Raider armor ideal for lower level characters around level 15-25.
It offers solid damage protection on par with mid-game armor sets. While the energy resistance is a bit low, the high radiation resistance helps offset this weakness. Overall, Raider Power Armor is a good suit to use until you gain access to more advanced options. It will serve you well in the early to mid stages of the game.
Legendary Power Armor Pieces
While power armor sets are strong on their own, legendary armor pieces offer bonuses that make suits much more powerful. These special items add substantial bonuses exceeding normal item limits. Here are some of the best legendary power armor parts you can obtain in Fallout 4:
Krevmh‘s Tooth
- Type: T-60 Power Armor Right Arm
- Effects: +Strength, Increased Unarmed Damage
Krevmh‘s Tooth boosts your strength by 3 while wearing it. And it causes all your unarmed attacks like punches to deal 20% more damage.
Having higher strength also increases melee weapon damage. So this arm gives a nice damage buff for brawler builds.
How to Get It: Krevmh‘s Tooth is found on a dead Brotherhood paladin named Brandis in the Revere Satellite Array. It can spawn on the paladin at higher levels.
Stand Fast
- Type: Raider Power Armor Left Arm
- Effects: 75% chance to reduce damage by 15%
Stand Fast gives you a high 75% chance to lower all incoming damage by 15%. This lucky effect can regularly reduce the damage you take from attacks.
It‘s always active too. So it works both in and out of VATS combat.
How to Get It: Complete the Nuka-World DLC and defeat Overboss Colter to get Stand Fast as a reward.
Swift
- Type: T-51 Power Armor Left Leg
- Effects: +Agility, Increased AP regen
Swift increases AP regeneration by boosting your agility by 2 points when worn. The extra agility also raises your sneak ability a bit. Excellent for characters relying heavily on VATS and sprinting.
How to Get it: Swift can be bought from Deb at Bunker Hill after reaching level 39. It‘s expensive but provides nice agility and AP bonuses.
Best Early Game Power Armor
Early on in Fallout 4 after leaving Vault 111, you won‘t have access to high-level power armor sets yet. But you‘ll still want a suit to help tackle dangerous Wasteland threats. Here are two solid power armor options accessible near the start of the game:
1. Minutemen T-45 Power Armor
When you first meet the Minutemen defending themselves from raiders, you‘ll have a chance to grab a T-45 power armor frame. It won‘t have any pieces attached at first. But leveling up and returning to the museum later causes armor components to spawn.
So revisit the area and check the roof to potentially find T-45 power armor parts materialize. While not amazing stat-wise, this can give you a viable suit of armor for early quests.
Where It Spawns: On the roof of the Museum of Freedom where the Minutemen made their last stand.
2. Partial Raider Power Armor Sets
Enemy Raiders start using Raider Power Armor pieces around level 15. Check rugged Raider hangouts like Outpost Zimonja and you may find Raiders walking around in power armor parts.
You can steal their armor pieces by using the Pickpocket perk to snag their fusion cores. This forces them to exit the frame so you can hop in!
Raider power armor offers pretty good resistances early on. Mix and match parts stolen from Raiders to complete a set. Then replace them later when you gain access to more complete suits.
Best Faction Power Armors
Some factions like the Brotherhood of Steel issue power armor to loyal members. Pledging yourself to certain groups lets you obtain special power armor rewards:
Brotherhood of Steel Power Armors
The four different Brotherhood of Steel suits you can earn offer excellent performance:
- T-60 Power Armor – Given for joining the Brotherhood faction
- Airship Flight Suit – Brotherhood uniform rather than armor, but increases AP regen
- Brotherhood Officer Suit – Strong suit only the highest ranking members receive
Make sure to advance your Brotherhood questline and promote your rank to unlock their best gear.
Nuka-World Power Armors
Joining the Raiders lets you become Overboss and command the gangs of Nuka-World. You receive sweet power armor gifts when assigned as leader:
- Disciples Metal Armor – High damage resistance and sleek design
- Pack Armor – Feral looking armor matching the Pack gang culture
- Operator Armor – Stylish armor with good energy protection
I‘d rank the Operator armor as the best of the bunch. But all three Nuka-World sets offer comparable protection. Choose which aesthetic you like the most.
Tips & Strategies For Getting Power Armor
Here are some extra pointers to help you more easily score power armor sets:
- Steal fusion cores – Use Pickpocket perk to steal cores from Brotherhood and enemy power armor users. This makes them exit the armor so you can take it.
- Purchase frame parts – Some armor merchants sell power armor pieces you can buy. But they are costly.
- Return to cleared areas – New power armor can spawn in previously cleared locations after you level up more.
- Quicksave first – Quicksave before grabbing power armor so you can reload if enemies attack. Enemies can destroy the armor if you leave it sitting out.
And remember…the higher your level, the more likely advanced power armor will appear out in the world. So try to hold off grabbing armor too early.
With so many options, power armor collecting can become an engaging meta-game in Fallout 4. Try out all the different suits and mix and match parts to make the set that best matches your playstyle!
Let me know in the comments if you have any other favorite power armor locations or legendary pieces I missed. And happy hunting scouring the Wastes!
