Why is advanced training even required at all? Essentially, it's just a fully encased exo-skeleton, which probably (given its future tech nature) utilizes a biometric sensor to mirror nervous activity. That is, it is NOT that you have to move in just a certain way, but rather, just move like you normally would. All that is really required is to work on familiarizing yourself with the fact that everything you do starts and ends about two inches out from your skin. Plus the fact that you have to be VERY careful about treading on soft ground. Plus the effects of mass and momentum. All that could be learned via trial-and-error.

Now,otoh, maintenance of the hardware would most likely require an Advanced Electronics degree.

Wait what? Which armors? :unsure2: (It's been a long time since I've ventured from Fallout to Tamriel)

@Captain- I think it may have something to do with how you flex your body or something about suit-body relations. I seem to recall Paladin Gunny in F3 mentioning you need to relax your muscles. But honestly, we know so little about the inner workings of Power Armor that it's impossible to say WHY we'd need training.

Well, Power Armor is the best type of armor in the game. If you were to get Gannons, then you can't just wear it, it wouldn't be fair. You don't need the caps to repair it, just find another power armor. Sneak kill all the brotherhood and constantly repair them. Worth a [censored] ton of caps :celebration:

Well one other way to handle the power armour problem off the top of my head, is if you do not have the perk you will get bigger penalties when wearing it.

But having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if some people whinge vociferously that even though they can wear the PA they are lumbered with large penalties because their character doesn't know how to use it effectively.

I think all looted armors (not clothing) should have condition of 0 and to repair PA you should need some sciense skill. maybe 70?

Armours need to be lootable because of equipment wear out unlike F1/2 and you need same equipment to repair it. You would need to find another way to repair your power armour if you can not salvage it.

Power Armor is not exactly hard to get early if you know where to look in fallout 2, i think it was best handled in fallout 1.


That would be better, I think.

Lolz Selbeth, your completely forgetting that POWER armor is more then just metal plates. Where are you going to get the electronics and servos? XD Plus if you blow an enemy to pieces good luck finding all the armor chunks and enough superglue to put the armor back together!

For me, the main problem with power armor in FO3 was simply that once you were told how to use it by the brotherhood, you automatically had access to an overabundance of the much better enclave armor.
(And why, btw. was your reward for finding the GECK another suit of the [censored] T45 brotherhood PA? You just came back from Raven Rock, where you could acquire dozens of enhanced and tesla PA.)

The way it was done, it ruined that "Wow, PA was already good, but now I have PA mark 2 and it's so much better"-feeling you get when gradually advancing towards better gear.
I wouldn't have had a problem with e.g. first tier PA being available early on, I just felt that the implementation in FO3 took away some of the fun.

For some time I used a mod that did make PA unlootable (enemies dropped broken PA instead that could be used for repair), so the only way to get better PA was going through the MQ to find it, or finish certain side-quests.
Making it unlootable might not be the best way to do it, but for me it's more fun than vanilla.

A different approach is used by FWE.
You could wear PA without training, but you'd get a penalty. To use a given suit of PA you also had to fit it (personalize it) at a workbench.
As a bonus, every version had a different penalty/bonus so usually they were not simply better or worse.
This way you at least had some incentive for wearing T45.

Atleast Dremora Armor, but that's just poor grade Daedric Armor. Also the female Blades captain in the tutorial uses a special armor that can't be looted (or atleast it's special the mods i use, regardless you can't loot it), and the emperor's robes, naturally. Don't remember any from Fallout 3 though.

Never really liked PA, in FO2 it however was needed due to godlike NPC's at later levels, the whole game was heavily a power up leveled system imo.
I'm saying that even though I love the game.

FO3 it's not needed at all, NV it comes in use mostly at the MQ final but really only if you face CL, even then just a good choice of guns will do just as well.
In NV it's not overpowered reasons...

Cazadors, Deathclaws, some geckos, nightstalkers, Giant Radscorpians, BoS, Elite Rangers ( who themselves have a DT of 40 while wearing 24 DT in armour???? ) and the strongest ranged weapons in game with infinate ammo???.
Melee guys with super sledges and power fists, Giant mantise' add in the fact you will most likely be solo in game, out numbered 3 to one on a good day.
The 20% automatic damage taken despite DT affecting you more than the enemy due to numbers infinate ammo, full automatics and a high hit rate, and most likely bonus to damage as another trait given to some npc's.

PA is not unbalanced, it really does not require training, the only reason to do so is to handicap the few that will use it all the time.
Appease those that require this mystical version of balance ( when they mean difficulty ), and becuase the devs have stuck to a plan that suits no one.