Armor in Fallout 4 is important for withstanding all of the attacks that the creatures of the wasteland throw at you. The best way to protect yourself from the threats of the Commonwealth is by wearing power armor, large sets of metal armor that use fusion cores as fuel. Power armor has always been at the core of the Fallout franchise.
There are a few different sets and unique individual pieces of power armor found throughout Fallout 4 and its expansion packs, and you should know about each of their effects so you can choose the best one that suits your unique build.
Updated December 20, 2021, by Michael Caruso: Power armor is one of the strongest types of equipment in the Fallout franchise, and there’s a lot of variation to choose from within Fallout 4. If you want to build a tank or gain protection that surpasses regular armor, then you’ll need power armor. Even with all the pieces of power armor we originally included, there’s still more you should know about the best power armor. Here are a few extra pieces of power armor that you can equip for combat.
14 The Best Power Armor For Beginners
Power armor is difficult to get and even harder to use since it requires fusion cores to function. The easiest suit of power armor you can get is the T-45 Power Armor suit in Concord, which you earn by following the main questline until the “When Freedom Calls” quest.
If you want an easy set of unique power armor to wear, then you can get the Tesla Armor. This suit consists of a torso and two arm pieces, each adding extra damage to your energy weapons. You can get the Tesla Armor by clearing the Fort Hagen Hangar, which is an exclusive area in the Automatron DLC.
13 The Best Power Armor Modifications
There are lots of power armor modifications within Fallout 4, but a few stand out as the most useful. The most notable modification is the Jetpack, which allows you to fly and reach high areas in the Commonwealth. You can craft a Jetpack for a power armor torso with Aluminum, Adhesive, Asbestos, and Nuclear Material. You have to unlock level four of the Armorer perk and level four of the Science perk to craft a jetpack.
The Tesla Bracers are also a powerful upgrade because they allow you to deal energy damage with your unarmed power armor fists. This upgrade is ideal for an unarmed build, and its combination of power armor with non-weapon damage is a unique concept. You can craft the Tesla Bracers with Aluminum, Adhesive, Rubber, and Copper once you unlock the third level of the Blacksmith perk and level one of the Science perk.
12 Atom Cat Power Armor Paintjob
There are many paint jobs that you can add to your power armor, but the Atom Cat Paintjob is one of the best. This paint allows you to sprint three percent faster, and it adds a point to your Charisma stat if every piece of your power armor suit has the Atom Cat Paintjob.
You can purchase the Atom Cat Paintjob from Rowdy, who resides at the Atom Cats Garage located in the southeast corner of the Commonwealth.
11 Exemplar’s T-60 Power Armor Torso
If your build focuses on VATS and power armor, then the Exemplar’s T-60 Power Armor Torso was made for you. This armor piece reduces every VATS cost by ten percent action points. Additionally, T-60 armor is powerful by itself, so it’s especially useful for combat against high-level enemies.
You earn the Exemplar’s Power Armor Torso by completing the “Duty Or Dishonor” mission for The Brotherhood Of Steel faction. You need to convince Clarke to turn himself in to get the Exemplar’s Armor piece.
10 Vengeance T-60 Right Leg
Vengeance is a right leg piece of power armor that gives you the ability to reflect ten percent of melee damage that you take from an enemy. This ability is very powerful in Fallout 4 because it allows you to damage an enemy simply by getting hit by them. Proctor Teagan sells the Vengeance Armor piece on the Prydwen.
T-60 Armor is one of the strongest sets in Fallout 4, which is why it’s worth using the Vengeance Armor if you’re looking for the best damage protection that you can find. This armor piece is most useful if you use melee weapons since you’re more likely to get hit by other melee weapons during your adventures.
9 Tessa’s Fist, Raider Armor Right Arm
Tessa’s Fist is a piece of Raider Power Armor, one of the least common types of power armor found throughout the Commonwealth. This armor’s effect is +300 percent durability, which means that you won’t have to repair Tessa’s Fist very often.
You can obtain Tessa’s Fist by defeating Tessa at the Quincy Ruins in Fallout 4. The battle with Tessa is tough, so make sure to bring your most powerful weapons to fight this NPC.
8 Vim! Power Armor
Vim is a unique soda found on the island of Far Harbor; it’s similar to Nuka-Cola but is exclusive to the Island. You can find a full set of this power armor at the Vim Pop Factory.
The Vim Armor grants an extra point to your Strength stat. Although this isn’t the most powerful set of power armor in Fallout 4, the extra strength stat point is very helpful if you use unarmed or melee weapons.
7 Piezonucleic T-45/T-51 Torso
The Piezonucleic Torso is one of the only individual power armor pieces that are unique in Fallout 4. This piece of armor is a quest reward for completing the mission “Cambridge Polymer Labs.”
The unique effect of the Piezonucleic torso is very powerful, but only if you don’t mind walking straight into a cloud of radiation. The effect grants you a faster action point refresh speed while standing in radiation. The Piezonucleic Torso is either T-45 or T-51, depending on your level when you complete the “Cambridge Polymer Labs” side quest.
6 Honor T-60 Left Leg
Every player in Fallout 4 regularly uses action points for VATS and for sprinting, which is why the Honor Leg piece is so useful for a VATS build. This piece of power armor grants you a bonus toward your action point refresh rate, which means you’ll recover your AP much faster.
You are awarded this piece of power armor after finishing the quest “Blind Betrayal,” a Brotherhood of Steel side quest. This quest isn’t particularly hard; however, being a part of the Brotherhood of Steel is, unfortunately, a requirement for completing it and acquiring this unique armor piece.
5 Visionary’s T-60 Helmet
There aren’t many unique power armor helmets in Fallout 4, which is unfortunate considering that it’s one of the most important power armor pieces. The Visionary’s Helmet is one of the few unique helmets, and it has a higher than average defense rating while also granting you a faster action point refresh rate.
The Visionary’s Helmet is another piece of power armor that is exclusive to the Brotherhood of Steel faction, and you get it as a reward upon the completion of the “A Loose End” quest.
4 Quantum X-01 Armor Set
There are a few different power armor sets exclusive to the Nuka-World DLC, and the Quantum X-01 Armor set is one of them. X-01 armor is incredibly powerful because of the damage resistance it grants to the wearer.
On top of the high damage resistance, the Quantum X-01 Armor set has a beautiful light blue color scheme, and it makes your action points refresh much faster than usual while you have every piece equipped. You can obtain the Quantum X-01 Armor in the Galactic Zone in Nuka-World.
3 Tesla Armor Set
The Tesla Armor set consists of a torso, right arm, and left arm piece. All three of these unique pieces grant a five percent bonus toward energy damage, and each piece also has a distinct appearance that’s different from the other types of power armor in Fallout 4.
You get this armor set after defeating Ivey in the Fort Hagen Hangar, one of the unique locations in the Automatron DLC. If you use energy weapons, you should find and equip the Tesla Armor set as soon as possible.
2 Nuka T-51 Armor Set
Some unique armor pieces in Fallout 4 grant a plus one bonus to your special stats; however, the Nuka T-51 armor set grants you an extra three points towards your agility stat when you equip every piece of the set. This set of power armor also has one of the best paint jobs in Fallout 4 — themed around Nuka-Cola.
You can find the Nuka-Cola armor set in the Bottling Plant, one of the five main attractions in the Nuka-World DLC.
1 Overboss Power Armor Set
The Overboss set is a unique set of Raider Power Armor, and the torso piece of this set is one of the most powerful items in Fallout 4. The Overboss power armor torso deals energy damage toward enemies that are within your radius, which is useful while fighting multiple enemies at arm’s reach.
The Overboss power armor set is easy to obtain as you get it for defeating Colter at the beginning of the Nuka-World DLC.
NEXT: Fallout 4: The Best Prizes To Earn At The Nuka-World Arcade
