Skills

Unlock the full potential of your character in The Outer Worlds by mastering all weapon skills. Learn the effects and unlocks for 1-Handed Melee, 2-Handed Melee, Handguns, and Long Guns.

This guide covers the various weapon skills in The Outer Worlds, detailing their effects on damage, critical hit chance, and weapon sway, as well as the benefits unlocked at different skill levels.

1-Handed Melee

The 1-Handed Melee skill increases Critical Hit chance with 1-Handed Melee weapons. This skill affects damage output with one-handed melee weapons like the Claw Rake, Hatchet, Shears, Spade, Sentry Saber, Stun Baton, Officer’s Spine, Plasma Cutter, Vortex Mace, and Impact Hammer. Compared to two-handed weapons, one-handed weapons tend to attack faster but deal less damage, though their TTD costs are similar. The NOVICE, COMPETENT, and ADEPT skill unlocks are recommended for regular users. EXPERT is beneficial for TTD enthusiasts, while MASTER is best for dedicated users.

2-Handed Melee

The 2-Handed Melee skill increases Critical Hit chance with 2-Handed Melee weapons. This skill affects damage output with two-handed melee weapons like the Pickaxe, Trip Blade, Telescoping Staff, Security Blade, Tremor Cleaver, and Inferno Scythe. Compared to one-handed weapons, two-handed weapons tend to attack slower but deal more damage, though their TTD costs are similar. The NOVICE, COMPETENT, and ADEPT skill unlocks are recommended for regular users. EXPERT is beneficial for TTD enthusiasts, while MASTER is best for dedicated users.

Handguns

The Handguns skill decreases Weapon Sway while firing one-handed firearms and increases Critical Hit chance with them. This skill affects damage output with handguns like the Light Pistol, Revolver, Bolter Pistol, The Vermin, and Auto-Mag Pistol. Handguns are short-to-mid-range semi-automatic weapons. The NOVICE and COMPETENT skill unlocks are useful, while ADEPT and EXPERT are more situational. The MASTER skill unlock is potent for dedicated pistol users, especially with headshots.

Long Guns

The Long Guns skill decreases Weapon Sway while firing rifles and other long guns, and also increases Critical Hit chance with those weapons. This skill affects damage output with long guns including the Sawed-Off Shotgun, Light Assault Rifle, Assault Rifle, Hunting Rifle, Tactical Shotgun, Plasma Rifle, Dead-Eye Assault Rifle, and Plasma Carbine. Long Guns are a diverse group useful for close-quarters (shotguns), mid-range (assault rifles), and long-range (hunting rifles) combat, with single-shot, semi-auto, and fully automatic variants.