Best Power Armor in Fallout 4

Summary

• Power Armor is essential in Fallout 4’s dangerous world, with different sets offering varying levels of protection and unique perks.
• From the basic Raider Power Armor to the advanced X-01, players must choose wisely to survive and thrive in the game.
• The Quantum X-01 is the ultimate reward for completionists, providing the best protection and an exclusive perk for dedicated players.

Fallout 4’s setting is the kind of apocalyptic hellhole where pretty much everything is out to kill the player. To survive, one needs a good gun and an even better set of armor. For the best protection, players will want some Power Armor.

With Fallout 4, Bethesda made some major changes to Power Armor. The suits are more akin to vehicles than traditional RPG armor, requiring both a chassis and a fusion core to work. The game features several iconic sets, but some are definitely better than others.

Updated March 26, 2025, by Robbie Mitchell: Amazingly, Fallout 4 will be ten years old this year. With Season 2 of Amazon’s Fallout series still at least a year away and the next Fallout game being even further, fans are probably looking for their next fix. So, why not go back and replay Fallout 4 for the hundredth time? Doing so is also recommended since last year’s big update added some Creation Club Content to the base game, including three whole new suits of power armor. For those looking to dive in, this list has been updated to feature the best places to find a full set of each power armor, as well as where to find any fancy unique variants.

To better convey the usefulness of Power Armor in Fallout 4, the stats showcased for each set below are for fully upgraded sets.

11

Raider Power Armor

As Basic As It Gets

• A full set can be found in the corner of Roadside Pines Motel, just south of Poseidon Reservoir. A fusion core can then be found behind the west side of the motel.
• Tessa’s Fist unique raider power armor is dropped by a Gunner called Tessa in Quincy Ruins. It’s the only armor in the game to have the “almost unbreakable” legendary effect, granting 4X armor health.

Raider Power Armor has the worst stats of any Power Armor in Fallout 4, hands down. Hobbled together from pieces of junk by Fallout 4‘s infamous raider gang, this set is as basic as it gets.

Compared to other power armor sets, it has fewer upgrade options but is much cheaper to repair. Unless players like the rustic look, there’s no reason to bother with this option, and using it is a waste of fusion cores.

10

T-45

Slightly Superior But Still Quite Poor

• Found next to the crashed Vertibird on the Museum of Freedom’s roof during the When Freedom Calls story quest. The left arm and right leg are badly damaged, but the T-45 is cheap to repair.
• Depending on the player’s level, the Piezonucleic unique chest piece can be crafted while completing the unmarked Cambridge Polymer Labs quest southeast of Cambridge Police Station. The armor speeds up the Action Point recharge rate in relation to how high the Sole Survivor’s rads are.

In canon, the T-45 was the first ever power armor deployed by the U.S. military – meaning, by Fallout standards, it’s pretty out of date. In-game, it’s likely to be the first power armor set the lone wanderer will come across and can be found during the early When Freedom Calls quest.

The T-45 is a nice step up from the raider armor since it has a lot more upgrade options, although it is more expensive to repair. Most players will likely quickly leave their T-45 armor behind, but those with a soft spot for it should hunt down the Piezonucleic chest piece variant at Cambridge Polymer Labs.

9

Overboss Power Armor Set

An Electrifying Step-Up

• Found shortly after starting the Nuka-World DLC and dropped by Overboss Colter after defeating him in the Cola-cars arena.
• Each piece costs the bargain sum of 3 steel to repair.

The Fallout franchise has a lot of great DLC, and one of the best is Fallout 4‘s Nuka-World. This expansion added a lot of cool items, including the Overboss Power Armor Set. The armor is received as a reward for defeating the expansion’s first boss and is a nice little upgrade over the basic Raider Power Armor.

For a start, it looks cooler and features a more “bulked up” design with some nice nods to its theme park origins on the back. Even better, all its defensive stats are much higher (although worse than most other sets), and the armor has a unique modifier. When wearing the armor, the player will periodically deal energy damage to nearby enemies, making it a nice match for melee lovers.

8

T-51

Mid-Range Power Armor

• A set can be found at the National Guard Training Yard in a shipping crate behind the armory. The player must be under level 28 and have the Expert lockpicking skill in order to get it.
• Another set can be found next to a crashed Vertibird on the freeway east of Graygarden as long as the player is over level 15.
• At higher levels, the Piezonucleic T-51 chest piece is crafted during the Cambridge Polymer Labs quest.

There’s not a lot to say about the T-51, except that it’s like the T-45 but better. Developed by West Tek, this armor entered service just one year before the bombs fell and took ten years to develop.

Much like its elder sibling, there’s a chance of getting a Piezonucleic chest-piece variant during the Cambridge Polymer Labs Quest. T-51 pieces can be found all over the Wasteland and the armor isn’t too expensive to upgrade, making it a nice stepping stone before players move on to more advanced power armors.

7

Nuka T-51

A Walking Cola Advertisement

• A full set is found in the Nuka-Cola bottling plant in Nuka-World‘s World of Refreshment. The set is locked behind a gate that can be unlocked by hacking a nearby Expert-level terminal or using the password.

Nuka-Cola is a big part of Fallout‘s lore, so it’s not really surprising that one of the game’s most unique power armor sets is a piece of Nuka-Cola branding. The armor is relatively easy to get and can be looted from the Nuka-World DLC’s World of Refreshment location.

Stats-wise, the Nuka T-51 is the same as a vanilla set of T-51 armor. However, it comes with two nice upgrades. Firstly, the armor comes with a very snazzy-looking unique paint job. Secondly, equipping all pieces provides a handy +3 Agility bonus. The only downside is that material mods cannot be applied to this armor, which may mess with some players’ builds.

6

T-60

An Armor Set Often Seen On Members Of The Brotherhood

• A full set of T-60b power armor is obtained after joining the Brotherhood of Steel.
• Paladin Danse’s set is a reward for completing Blind Betrayal.
• Exemplar’s T-60c chest piece is a unique chest piece with a 10% reduction in Action Point costs in V.A.T.S. It’s rewarded for convincing Clarke to turn himself in during the Duty or Dishonor quest.
• Visionary’s T-60c unique helmet has slightly better defense stats and a Legendary effect that boosts Action Point refresh speed. It’s a Loose End quest reward obtained from Lancer Captain Kells.
• Honor T-60 left-leg variant has an improved Action Point refresh rate and slightly higher stats. It’s bought from Proctor Teagan on The Prydwen after being promoted.
• Vengeance T-60 right leg piece has higher defense and reflects 10% of melee damage received. It’s bought from Proctor Teagan on The Prydwen after completing A New Dawn.

Anyone even a little bit familiar with Fallout should recognize the T-60 power armor. It’s the iconic armor most commonly seen being worn by the Brotherhood of Steel faction.

The T-60 was brought into service right at the end of the war and, at the time, was considered to be the most advanced model of power armor to have ever seen action. Stats-wise, the armor is a step up from almost every piece of armor in the game and has some of the best upgrade options. There’s also a unique “Tesla” variant of the arm and chest pieces that gives up to a 15% bonus to energy weapon damage.

5

X-01

The Latest & Greatest

• A full set can be found on the roof of the Financial District’s unmarked 35 Court building. It can be found at any level, but the player will have to take out an assaultron and sentry bot to get to it.

The X-01 is the most advanced power armor in Fallout 4. According to Fallout lore, work began on the X-01 power armor just before the end of the Great War but wasn’t completed until much later – around 2220 by the evil Enclave.

The X-01 is hands down the best vanilla power armor in the game and offers the best defensive stats. Amazingly, it’s also shockingly easy to get a full suit early on in the game. A complete set of X-01 armor can be found on the roof of 35 Court in Boston’s Financial District, and another can be found on the back of a truck just west of Dry Rock Gulch. Its great stats, upgrade options, and easy availability mean that there’s little reason to bother with any of the other Power Armors in Fallout 4.

4

Quantum X-01

Better Than The Best

• This unique set is in a display case on the first floor of Starport Nuka in Nuka-World‘s Galactic Zone. To unlock the case, the player needs to find all 35-star cores hidden across the DLC.

If players are willing to complete one of Fallout 4‘s most frustrating quests and collect 35 star cores hidden throughout Nuka-World, their reward is the game’s best power armor. The Quantum X-01 is a unique variant of the standard X-01 armor that comes with a sweet custom Quantum blue paint job and a unique perk – faster action point refresh speed.

Better still, it comes already upgraded to Mk 5, making it the most powerful complete suit that can be found in the game, saving the player from having to spend precious resources on upgrading it. The only downside to wearing either version of the X-01 is that it arguably makes the game too easy. Getting the Quantum X-01 in Fallout 4 might take a while, but it’s worth the effort.

3

Hellfire

Good For Energy Resistance

• A full set is dropped by Pyro near Listening Post Bravo during the Pyromaniac quest.

Of the three new armors added in the Next-Gen update, the Hellfire Power Armor is probably the least impressive. It’s looted from Pyro, a member of the Forged Raider gang, during the Pyromaniac quest, and it is incredibly similar to the original X-01 power armor.

It has the same physical resistance as the X-01 but slightly higher energy resistance. On the other hand, its overall HP is lower than the X-01’s, being the same as the T-60’s. That means which is better between the two is largely a matter of taste; or which one the player thinks looks better, probably.

2

Enclave Hellfire

Good Energy Resistance, Poor Health

• Dropped by Enclave hellfire trooper during Echoes of the Past quest.

The best thing we can say about the Enclave Hellfire Armor is that it looks better than the standard version. The Enclave version can be looted from Hellfire Enclave Troopers during Echoes of the Pass after being ambushed on the way to Saugus Ironworks, or can be found at the Atlantic Offices in the Glowing Sea.

Its stats are around the same as the normal Hellfire armor, except the Enclave variant has better energy resistance. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of even lower armor HP. This means that unless the player knows they’re going up against enemies that exclusively use energy weapons, either the normal X-01 or the new X-02 armor are probably a better option.

1

X-02

An Advanced Prototype

• Found in the Mass Pike Tunnel during the Speak of the Devil quest.
• Sets are dropped by Enclave soldiers during Echoes of the Past.

The X-02 is a modest upgrade on Fallout 4‘s former best power armor, the X-01. Developed in-house by the Enclave Department of the Army, it has a slightly bulkier design than the X-01 and almost the same stats, apart from having better energy resistance and a higher HP.

Curious players can get their hands on a full set of the armor in the Mass Pike Tunnel during the “Speak of the Devil” quest, or loot the pieces separately off of fallen Enclave soldiers during “Echoes of the Past.” The best thing about the X-02 is its upgrade options is, unlike other power armors, the X-02 can be equipped with any power armor mod. Even better, it can be fitted with the Devil’s Inferno mod (found in the Mass Pike Tunnel), which is an upgraded version of the Tesla coils. Better stats and more upgrade options are rarely a bad thing, making the X-02 a great addition to the game.