The Outer Worlds Flaws Guide: complete flaw list so far and which are worth taking
The Outer Worlds offers something particularly unique for an RPG- flaws.
Rather than being the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-doing hero you’re probably used to at this point, your character is laughably human. Flaws are rewarded (if you can call it that) by doing something wrong enough times. Take too much fall damage? You’ll get Acrophobia and suffer a small loss to your Perception, Dexterity and Temperament.
This may sound like an annoying game mechanic, but flaws are completely optional for you to take on. You’ll get offered the choice and if you say yes you’ll be given a perk point as a reward. With only 15 perk points available at the maximum level, you’re going to want to take on a few if you want to get the most out of it.
Although there aren’t too many flaws in the game, there are a few that are actually worth getting. A perk point is worth the occasional disadvantage. Here are all the known ones so far.
For more help with The Outer Worlds, click through to check out our detailed guides on things like the level cap, finding every science weapon and recruiting every companion.
Acrophobia
“After repeatedly falling from great heights, you no longer function well when the ground is far beneath you."
How to get it: Take fall damage too many times.
What does it do: -1 to your Perception, Dexterity and Temperament.
Is it worth it? Taking away one skill point from three different areas is actually quite a loss to your character. We recommend you don’t take this one unless you’re broadly focused on combat.
Corrosive Weakness
"Suffering too many corrosive burns has made you weak against Corrosive damage."
How to get it- Take corrosive damage too many times. Enemies with acid based attacks cause corrosive damage.
What does it do? +25 corrosive damage.
Is it worth it? Although quite a few enemies do corrosive damage around Halcyon, a 25% damage increase isn’t significant. Give this one a go!
Cynophobia
“Mauled too many times by Canids, you get the jitters every time one's attacking, making you less effective."
How to get it- Too many encounters with Canids.
What does it do? -1 to your Temperament, -2 to your Perception when near Canids.
Is it worth it? Canids are a fairly common enemy in The Outer Worlds, but they aren’t too dangerous as it is. Having a weakness against a specific enemy works better than a universal one.
Drug Addiction
“Taking as many drugs as you have has turned to addiction.”
How to get it- Take too many drugs.
What does it do? -1 point from your Dexterity, Perception and Temperament.
Is it worth it? This is a permanent point removal and quite a hefty one at that. Adreno works better as a consumable throughout the game without needing drugs anyway.
Herpetophobia
“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.”
How to get it- Too many encounters with Mantisaurs or Mantipillars.
What does it do? -1 point from Dexterity, Perception and Temperament when near Mantisaurs or Mantipillars.
Is it worth it? You’ll be fighting a lot of the manti-family throughout the game but temporary skill drops can be worth a perk point.
Far-SIghted
"Repeated eye injuries have made it harder for you to notice things close to you."
How to get it- Get blinded often while wielding melee weapons.
What does it do? Melee Weapon Skills -10
Is it worth it? Generally speaking, ranged weapons are most useful than melee, so this is probably worth taking.
Food Addiction Withdrawal
"You can't seem to stop yourself from eating, even food that's bland or horribly flavored. Not eating often will cause withdrawals."
How to get it- Eat too much food too often.
What does it do? -1 point from Dexterity, Perception, and Temperament.
Is it worth it? This flaw requires you eat food often to remove the debuff, which can be pretty tedious.
Near-Sighted
"Too many blows to the eyes have made it harder to see things far away from you."
How to get it- Get blinded often while wielding ranged weapons.
What does it do? Ranged Weapon Skills -10.
Is it worth it? This makes using guns way more difficult, so probably not unless you are specifically working with a melee-only character building.
Permanent Concussion
“Having been hit in the head one too many times, your mental faculties have been permanently affected.”
How to get it- Get hit on the head multiple times by enemies.
What does it do? -1 to all mental faculties which is anything under Intelligence and Perception.
Is it worth it? Having minus one to all mental faculties is quite a debuff in regards to flaws. There are easier flaws to get with less damaging effects.
Paranoid
“Repeatedly getting caught by guards in Restricted Areas has made you jittery, doubly so when roaming around Restricted Areas or sneaking."
How to get it- Repeatedly get caught by guards in restricted areas.
What does it do? -1 to all personality attributes.
Is it worth it? Restricted areas don’t come up too much in The Outer Worlds and when they do they’re pretty brief. With that in mind, the -1 to all personality attributes is quite significant, and absolutely not worth it.
Permanently Crippled
“Your legs have been damaged too many times, permanently lowering your movement speed.”
How to get it- Recieve a lot of damage to the legs.
What does it do? Dodge is disabled, -30% movement speed.
Is it worth it? Are you crazy? Dodge is one of the most helpful combat moves in the game, and movement speed being decreased by 30% is quite drastic. This is not worth the perk point.
Physical Damage Weakness
“Taking too much Physical Damage has made you soft and vulnerable to more Physical Damage.”
How to get it- Take lots of physical damage. Pretty simple!
What does it do? +25% Physical Damage received.
Is it worth it? Physical damage doesn’t play too much of a role in combat unless you’re allowing your enemies to get close to you. This is a pretty easy flaw to take on.
Pithecophobia
“After getting repeatedly beaten up by Primals, you no longer function when they attack you and your companions.”
How to get it- Repeated encounters with Primals.
What does it do? -1 to your Dexterity, Perception and Temperament.
Is it worth it? Primals are pretty dangerous as it is and having a stat debuff probably won’t help that much. To get a science weapon you’ll need to go in a Primal cave, so maybe avoid this one if you’re wanting to get it.
Plasma Weakness
“Getting burned too many times has made you susceptible to Plasma damage."
How to get it- Receive plasma damage too many times.
What does it do? Plasma Damage Received +25%
Is it worth it? Plasma damage is fairly common at the end of the game, but a 25% damage increase is still pretty manageable. If you think you can keep up with the damage then go for it.
Raptiphobia
“Repeated encounters with Raptidons has lessened your effectiveness when they're attacking you or your Companions."
How to get it- Repeated encounters with Raptidons.
What does it do? -1 to your Endurance, Willpower and Temperament.
Is it worth it? Raptidons are very common in The Outer Worlds so taking this flaw might make some of your most common enemy encounters a pain. It’s still manageable though.
Robophobia
“Automechanicals now give you the willies, and when they're attacking your party you're not as effective as you should be."
How to get it- Repeated encounters with Automechs.
What does it do? -1 to your Dexterity, Perception and Temperament.
Is it worth it? Automechs are very common in Halcyon and some of the more annoying enemies to fight as it is. Taking this is probably the worst enemy-specific flaw you can have, and it even affects you if you’ve got SAM in your party.
Shock Weakness
"Having been shocked too many times, you have become sensitive to Shock damage."
How to get it- Get hit with shock-type damage often
What does it do? Shock Damage Received +25%
Is it worth it? Like most weakness flaws, this is probably worth taking as there are plenty of ways to stay alive even if you take more damage.
Smoke Addiction
"You don't know what they put in with the tobacco, but you can't go long between smokes without suffering withdrawal symptoms."
How to get it- Use Nicotine Consumables often
What does it do? -1 to your Dexterity, Perception and Temperament.
Is it worth it? -No