In thisOuter WorldsBuild GuideI’m going to be covering theSpace Cowboy, which is a Build that focuses on the use ofHandgunsto dispatch large groups of enemies quickly from close or mid range. There are several ways you can make an effectiveBuild in The Outer Worldsand theSpace Cowboyis one of them. If you’ve been looking for aPistol Build, this Guide is for you.
The Outer Worlds Builds: Space Cowboy
TheSpace Cowboyuses a combination of different Pistols to blast their way through enemies, no matter what the type are.Pistolsare the perfect blend between close and long range because they have fast reload, can deal nearly the same damage as sniper rifles in some cases, and can attack nearly as fast as Assault Rifles dealing more damage in other cases. In short, there is a pistol out there for every situation, and this Build makes the best use of them all.
Space Cowboy Attributes
The best place to begin with any Build isAttributes, because these cannot be respeced, so this decision is permanent. When making aPistol Buildyou want to focus onAttributesthat are going to increase your damage with each shot, as well as make you reload faster, and the best way to do that is by takingIntelligence,Perception, andDexterity. In order to get 3 Dexterity, 3 Perception and 2 Intelligence you’ll need to drop a point from Strength and one from Temperament.
Perception is the most important Attribute here because it increases Headshot/Weakspot Damage and gives you Handguns. You’ll also be using an item later on that further increases your Perception by 1, giving you +50% Headshot/Weakspot Damage total.
Intelligence is used for the extra Critical Damage and Science. Not every shot you fire will hit the Weakspot of an enemy, and this will help boost your damage when you don’t hit these areas.
Dexterity boosts your Reload Speed, which is great since Pistols already have a modestly fast reload, giving you almost zero down time between shots. It also helps with points into Handguns, which is an added bonus.
Space Cowboy Skills
There are only a couple ofskillswe are focused on for this Build, and those are:HandgunsandScience. Handguns is what is going to allow you to really crank out the damage with your shots, increasingCritical Chance, Armor Penetration and Critical Damage. Science boosts non-physical damage, and makes it much easier to Tinker your Guns to higher levels, and since you’ll be using several this really helps out. Make sure to slot Magazines that change your guns' types to something other thanPhysical Damage.
I highly recommend spending your other Skill Points in Dialog Skills because they will reduce Vendor prices and you will need to purchase a few guns for this Build, and possibly even someMods. This will help ease this burden, giving your more Bits to Tinker your Weapons with.
Space Cowboy Perks
Perksare not super important when it comes toBuilds in The Outer Worlds, but there are some that are more effective than others for theSpace Cowboy. In this section we’ll take a look at which those are, and how they help you get the most per shot damage.
Space Cowboy Tier 1 Perks
If you decide to use theShrink Rayas one of yourWeaponsfor this Build, be sure to includeWeird ScienceandWild Sciencefor further improved damage. It may also be wise to spend extra Perk points onThe NegotiatorandSnake Oil Salesmanin order to gain some more cash. You’ll need to upgrade many Pistols for this Build and you’ll need a lot of Bits to do it, so thesePerkscan really help out.
Space Cowboy Weapons & Armor
Space Cowboysuse a combination of differentPistols, because there are many good ones, and there’s no reason to limit them to just one. The following are some really good Pistols you should consider using, making sure to have different Pistols with different types of damage.
Armorwise you can use whatever you want as long as it’s enough armor to keep you alive, but you’ll want to use theCertified Explorers Hatfor increasedPerception. Plus, it makes you look like a Cowboy, and you can’t be a Space Cowboy without looking like one!
Final Tips
Early on you won’t have access to many of the Pistols I mentioned so just use what you can find, and getSalvager’s Helperwhen you get toGroundbreaker. It’s quite expensive so save up. Additionally, you can gainUltimatumnot too long after by answering the distress call inRosewayand doingOrsen Shaw’s quest there. TheShrink Raycan be acquired even before doing these things, so you may want to get it first.
Be sure to getScienceto at least 40 quickly to reduce the cost of Tinkering. You’ll need to do a lot if you want to upgrade many Pistols, so getting it to 100 Should take precedence over gettingHandgunsto 100. Get Handguns to 40 and then crank Science until you’re there. This will save you a lot of money in Tinkering costs.
ensure to swap Pistols when facing different enemies to get the best possible damage type for each enemy. You should have one Pistol of eachtype of damage, except N-Ray, to make this happen. Since some of the Guns I listed are Unique and their damage types cannot be changed, you’ll have to plan accordingly.
Lastly, Pistols have exceptionally fast weapon swapping time, so don’t be afraid to change weapons in combat if you need a different Pistol. It takes but a second, can make a huge difference, and is one of the benefits of playing a Pistol Build, so use it!
Stay tuned for moreOuter Worldscoverage and be sure to check out ourGetting Started,Character Creation,Best WeaponandBuild Guidesif you’re looking for more content, and check out ourReviewif you’d like to know our thoughts on the game.
