Discover everything you need to know about the best Stealth build in The Outer Worlds 2, including the best weapons, armors, and skills.
Stealth build in The Outer Worlds 2 focuses on crouching and staying out of enemies’ line of sight. There’s a detection meter or awareness bar for enemies because when you move, make noise, or are seen, the bar increases. This build allows you to reduce the detection rate and eliminate the enemies without being noticed.
Our Stealth build includes Ex-Convict as the best background and Nimble, Brilliant, and Sickly as the best traits. Guns, Lockpick, Melee, and Sneak are the best skills to include for this setup. Monocular Target-Finder and Native Species are the best armor loadout to equip while running this build in Outer Worlds 2. Choose the gadgets that suit your playstyle and synergize with the Stealth build in Outer Worlds 2.
Best Background For Stealth Build
Ex-Convict is the best background for the Stealth build, but with a few caveats. You never cared for the Earth Directorate, and they never cared for you. So much so that they decided it would be best for you to spend much of the rest of your life behind bars. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so you accepted a deal to work for them to clear your record.
The background choices will mostly come up in dialogue, where you can select a response based on your background. Most of the time, you get a different reaction from the NPC you’re talking to, but sometimes passing a check lets you get a little more from them. Your background will let you interact with the world. Make your choice based on your gut instinct and don’t give too much thought to the background.
Best Traits For Stealth Build
Below are the best traits for the Stealth build in Outer Worlds 2.
1. Nimble
Nimble increases your craft speed and combat sprint speed by 25%. This is a large amount and very noticeable in practice. So, if you plan on melee and or being a Stealthy character, this is a great trait to compensate for how powerful it is at a base.
2. Brilliant
Brilliant in Outer Worlds 2 is the most tempting trait at a surface level. It makes it so that during skill selection, the next choice you’ll need to make is for your character. You get to specialize in three rather than two skills. To quickly summarize, by specializing in the skill, you start with two points invested in it. Also, you can raise this skill level two points past your current level.
3. Sickly
Sickly gives you 15% less base health and a lower total toxicity crash threshold. This is just how much you can use your inhaler before you crash, and you can’t use it again for a while. It sounds bad, but on normal difficulty, this wasn’t noticeable. Also, there are a lot of builds that require you to be in the crashed state.
Best Skills For Stealth Build
Below are the best skills for the Stealth build in Outer Worlds 2.
1. Guns
Gun is the best skill for this setup because it increases your range damage as well as your armor penetration. This does come up sometimes in dialogue. This skill is very rarely used in object checks, but mostly as flavor text options when it comes up in dialogue.
2. Lockpick
Lockpick in Outer Worlds 2 allows you to unlock locked containers and doors, making it preferable for the Stealth setup. Investing in Lockpick skill allows you to select perks that provide the ability to pickpocket humans. This skill does give you an evasion chance, which is nothing to sneeze at.
3. Melee
Melee enhances damage dealt with melee weapons. Use this skill to improve the ability to use melee weapons. You must only invest in this skill if you’re not investing in guns. It’s really up to you as to the overall combat build that you want to run.
4. Sneak
Sneak in Outer Worlds 2 makes you harder to detect. It gives you additional sneak damage and makes enemies harder to see you in terms of that detection radius. It also gives a 1% evasion chance per level; evading works on range damage to completely nullify it.
5. Hack
Hack is one of the core skills that is very similar to Lockpick in that you’ll come across computers all the time that can be hacked. This skill will also give you additional damage to auto mechanics, which are everywhere throughout the game. So, a little bit of effort benefits them.
Best Perks for the Stealth Build
Assassin, Trophy Hunter, and Heavy Handed are the best perks for the Stealth build in Outer Worlds 2. Perks are powerful character bonuses that evolve your playstyle, so choosing the best ones is crucial in every aspect.
1. Assassin
Assassin boosts the movement speed for five seconds, allowing you to eliminate multiple enemies quickly.
2. Trophy Hunter
Trophy Hunter in Outer Worlds 2 gives you a +5% critical chance and 15% additional critical chance against the powerful enemies. This perk is highly recommended for the Stealth build because it complements your playstyle and other skills.
3. Heavy Handed
Heavy Handed allows you to knock down enemies hit with a melee power attack. The enemies in this game are more powerful, and having this perk ensures you dominate them.
Outer Worlds 2 offers 90 unique perks to choose from. Earn perk points by simply leveling up your character in the game. Some perks unlock only after you’ve picked several earlier perks. After choosing a set of Tier 1 perks, you gain access to Tier 2 perks, then later Tier 3. The perks are tied to your chosen skills and build style. This gives you bonuses in combat, exploration, and dialogue.
Best Flaws for the Stealth Build
Bad Knees is the best flaw for the Stealth build in Outer Worlds 2. It provides you with +50% crouch speed once activated. The negative effect of the Bad Knees is that crouching emits a 10m radius sound that hostiles can hear and investigate. The other option for this build is Treacherous because it grants +50% enemy awareness depletion rate & +100% sneak attack damage.
Flaws can really mix up how you play and are entirely optional. However, you cannot choose the Flawed Floor. It makes it so you get an extra perk point every five levels retroactively, but have to accept all flaws offered to you moving forward, making you one big bag of flaws. Flaws are optional, but they allow stronger perk builds, especially on higher difficulties.
Best Armor For the Stealth Build
Here are the best armors to use for the Stealth build in The Outer Worlds 2.
1. Monocular Target-Finder
Monocular Target-Finder is the best armor for this build because it improves Damage by up to 30% based on your distance from the target. It also provides a bonus, maxing out at +30% at 100 meters. However, the weapon is affected by damage falloff and can cancel out the bonus Weakspot damage. Acquire this helmet by completing the A Final Death for Gravity in Eden quest.
2. Native Species
Native Species is a light armor in Outer Worlds 2 that mitigates your weapon’s sound radius. This acts like a silencer on your weapon. This armor converts Burn damage to Healing, allowing you to be immune to one status effect in combat. However, the Native Species has lower defense. This armor loadout in the Stealth build improves your Stealth capabilities and increases your weakspot damage.
Light armor generally provides better skill bonuses, while heavy armor provides higher defense. For a Stealth build, the skill bonuses from light armor are usually more valuable. The armor pieces can be obtained as a reward by completing various quests.
Best Weapons for the Stealth Build
The Simplifier (Sniper Rifle) and Murder’s Best Friend (Knife) are the best weapons for the Stealth build in Outer Worlds 2. Use The Simplifier to eliminate the enemy from a safe distance. This weapon has more accuracy, a scope, and no falloff damage.
Murder’s Best Friend is the best knife that boosts your damage and crouch movement speed. This makes it perfect for the Stealth setup in the game.
Chainspark Cannon and Triple Barrel Shotgun are the alternate options if you’re running this build in Outer Worlds 2.
Choosing the best weapon in the Stealth build to retain the variety and flexibility. Choose from melee weapons, handguns, long guns, heavy weapons, and more. Each weapon comes with a different damage type, and enemies will have resistances and weaknesses. You can equip four weapons at a time and swap between them to dominate the enemies in combat. Each weapon comes with a set of mods. This can boost performance or add unique effects.
Best Gadgets for the Stealth Build
Below are the best gadgets to use while running the Stealth setup in Outer Worlds 2.
- Auntie’s Acidic Dematerializer- Fires a spray of extremely volatile goo when activated, dealing Corrosive damage at a very short range. Corpses hit will melt away, preventing others from finding them and acting accordingly.
- N-Ray Scanner- Allows you to see through walls, showing hostiles, wires, and objects of interest. It also grants a bonus critical hit chance in combat while the scanner is active.
- Gas-Energy Deflection Apparatus- Grants a temporary shield when activated, providing temporary health that absorbs any incoming damage. Also repels Zyranium and other dangerous hazards.
- Tactical Time Dilation Gadget- Slows down time around you when activated, granting you time to think and act safely. Energy drains while activated, draining faster while moving, and after each time you use your weapon.
Choose to swap the gadgets at any time with the UI Wheel, depending on the game’s current circumstances.
How Stealth Works in Outer Worlds 2
You move into Stealth mode by crouching and staying out of enemies’ line of sight & avoiding making noise. Sneak plays a big part because it reduces the detection rate while crouched, increases sneak attack damage, and unlocks the ability to do sneak attacks.
You need to press the Circle/B button to crouch and move more quietly. Use the mini-map to track enemy movements and stay informed about their positioning. Add a weapon like the sentry blade to a weapon slot. Press the required button to perform the Stealth kill when the sneak attack prompt appears.
