What are The Outer Worlds flaws? In Obsidian’s Fallout-like RPG, your player character goes through the wringer, dying in multiple ways and many times over. While other games let you dust yourself off and carry on, in Outer Worlds you’ll get the option of picking up negative attributes if you die to the same cause too many times.
A weird option to get, sure, but for every flaw you’ll gain access to The Outer Worlds perks – a small gesture to stem the tide of self-doubt that overcomes your character. Not to be confused with The Outer Worlds companion perks, obviously. Also keep in mind that these Outer Worlds flaws are permanent, so you’ll want to be mindful during your playthroughs. Your difficulty setting will limit how many flaws your character can get. You can pick up a maximum of three on normal, four on hard, and five on supernova difficulty. The negative stats also affect your team – misery loves company, and that – but you won’t be punished for turning them down.
Throughout this The Outer Worlds flaws guide we’ll go through each flaw, the negative stats that come with them, and what you have to do to, er, get them. So, without further adieu, here are all The Outer Worlds flaws we’ve found so far.
The Outer Worlds flaws are:
Cynophobia
Perception -2, Temperament -1
“Mauled too many times by Canids, you get the jitters every time one’s attacking, making you less effective.”
This flaw will come from being attacked by wolf-like creatures called Candis too many times. They can be either domesticated and feral, though we’d wager it’s the feral ones you should worry about.
Herpetophobia
Dexterity -1, Perception -1, and Temperament -1
“After too many encounters with Mantipillars and Mantisaurs, you’re not quite yourself when any of the Manti-family of creatures are attacking your party.”
If you want to pick up this flaw you’ll need to have repeated encounters with Mantisaurs. They look more like giant lizards than dinosaurs but we don’t judge.
Paranoid
Personality Attributes -1
“Repeatedly getting caught by guards in Restricted Areas has made you jittery, doubly so when roaming around Restricted Areas or sneaking.”
If you’d like to be as dull as dishwater simply make some ruckus in Restricted Areas.
Plasma Weakness
Plasma Damage Received +25%
“Getting burned too many times has made you susceptible to Plasma damage.”
Pretty self-explanatory, just suffer burn damage. You’ll probably get the option of this flaw during your regular playthrough anyway.
Raptiphobia
Endurance -1, Willpower -1, and Temperament -1
“Repeated encounters with Raptidons has lessened your effectiveness when they’re attacking you or your Companions.”
The rodent-like Raptidons should be quite easy to find, thankfully, due to their neon features. Coming up against them too many times will lead to this flaw.
Robophobia
Dexterity -1, Perception -1, and Temperament -1
“Automechanicals now give you the willies, and when they’re attacking your party you’re not as effective as you should be.”
Not all fears in The Outer Worlds are animal-based, and this one comes from fighting the game’s robots too much.
Permanent Concussion
Mind attributes -1
“Having been hit in the head one too many times, your mental faculties have been permanently affected.”
Suffer too many headshots to acquire this flaw. Although, we’re not quite sure why you’d want it…
Acrophobia
Perception -1, Dexterity -1, and Temperament -1
“After repeatedly falling from great heights, you no longer function well when the ground is far beneath you.”
If you want to get this flaw you’ll need to fling yourself off cliffs. Yup, you’ll need to take a bunch of fall damage.
Physical Damage Weakness
+25% Physical damage received
“Taking too much Physical Damage has made you soft and vulnerable to more Physical Damage.”
Take too many physical hits and your body will start bruising like a peach. This is a flaw that players with a gung-ho attitude or melee-focused approach will likely encounter easily.
Corrosive Weakness
Corrosive damage received +25
“Suffering too many corrosive burns has made you weak against corrosive damage.”
You guessed it, the offer for this flaw comes in after you take too much corrosive damage. We’d recommend going to Halycon to get this as a fair amount of enemies there have it.
Drug Addiction
Dexterity -1, Perception -1, and Temperament -1
“Taking as many drugs as you have has turned to addiction.”
Well this is an awkward one. Er, just take as many drugs as you can and you’ll be offered this flaw – eventually.
Farsighted
Melee weapon skills take a 10 point hit
“Repeated eye injuries have made it harder for you to notice things close to you.”
You’ll pick up this flaw if you use scoped weapons too much – something to keep in mind if you’re using a sniper build.
Pithecophobia
Dexterity -1, Perception -1, Temperament -1
“After getting repeatedly beaten up by primals, you no longer function when they attack you and your companions.”
The game will offer you this flaw if you’re beaten up too much by primals.
Permanently Crippled
Unable to dodge and -30% to movement speed
“Your legs have been damaged too many times, permanently lowering your movement speed.”
If you want to get this flaw you’ll need to take continual damage to your legs.
Best flaws
Yes, yes – we know the idea of The Outer Worlds best flaws is a bit of an oxymoron. Regardless, here are the best flaws to shoot for if you want more perks.
- Plasma Weakness – being weaker to plasma can be a tad annoying, but it’s easily navigated past. Especially if you’re not playing the game on a higher difficulty
- Corrosive Weakness – this can make exploring Halycon a tad trickier, but it’s nothing substantial and it’s worth it if you’d like another perk
- Paranoid – we’d only recommend going for this if you’re going for the melee build from our The Outer Worlds best builds guide. Dialogue options are usually important in The Outer Worlds, but not if you’re just trying to punch your way through everything
We’d also recommend picking up the Nietzsche’s Reward perk if you’re collecting flaws, as this gives you a 5% damage boost for each.
And there you have it, The Outer Worlds flaws detailed, from their negative attributes to how you can get ’em. It’s worth factoring in the ups and downs of these as you contemplate your Outer Worlds best builds and which of The Outer World weapons you want to use.
Speaking of, The Outer Worlds Steam release date is fast approaching, so if you’ve waited until now to dive in, you’ll have a great opportunity to play through the main game and Peril on Gorgon DLC with all the flaws you could possibly ask for.
Additional reporting by Ben Sledge.