Inez needs your help in The Outer Worlds 2, and you’re faced with a permanent choice: which creature graft should you harvest for her cybernetic arm? The “Better Than Nature” companion quest sends you hunting either a Raptidon Matriarch or a Skeleton Crabble (or both), but you can only install one graft on Inez’s arm.
This isn’t just about helping Inez survive—your choice directly affects her combat abilities for the rest of your playthrough. So which graft is actually better? I’ve tested both extensively, and I’m here to break down exactly what each option does and which one you should choose based on your playstyle.
Understanding Inez’s Companion Quest: “Better Than Nature”
Before we dive into the comparison, let’s establish what’s happening here. Inez is a former Auntie’s Choice soldier dealing with a failing cybernetic graft on her arm. Without intervention, she’s living on borrowed time. The quest “Better Than Nature” tasks you with visiting Ethel, a scientist who can help—but she needs biological material from dangerous creatures.
Your objectives:
- Defeat the Raptidon Matriarch for stealth-based graft material
- Defeat the Skeleton Crabble for offensive-focused graft material
- Return to Ethel and choose which graft to install
The permanent decision: Once you choose a graft, you’re locked in for the entire playthrough. There’s no changing your mind later, so this choice matters.
Raptidon Matriarch Graft: The Stealth Support Option
What the quest involves: Hunt down and kill a Raptidon Matriarch, a dangerous predator with natural camouflage abilities.
What Inez gains: Active camouflage ability that lets her turn invisible
How it works in combat:
When Inez activates her active camo, she becomes undetectable to enemies. While invisible, she can drop health packs for you without drawing aggro or taking damage herself. It’s essentially a safe way to get healing supplies mid-fight.
Pros of the Raptidon graft:
Risk-free healing: Inez can provide health packs without exposing herself to danger. No reviving her mid-combat because she got caught in crossfire.
Reduced companion management: You don’t have to worry about Inez getting downed, which means less babysitting during tough fights.
Stealth synergy: If you’re running a stealth build, having a companion who can go invisible fits thematically and tactically.
Consistent support: The health pack drops are reliable because Inez isn’t taking damage that might interrupt her actions.
Cons of the Raptidon graft:
Passive playstyle: Inez becomes more of a support character than a damage dealer. She’s not helping you kill enemies faster.
Limited combat contribution: Active camo is defensive. It doesn’t end fights quicker or deal with threats.
Redundant for some builds: If you’re already managing resources well or have plenty of inhaler charges, the healing might not be necessary.
Underwhelming feeling: It’s cool the first few times, but turning invisible just to drop health packs feels less exciting than more aggressive options.
Best for:
- Defensive or cautious playstyles
- Players who struggle with resource management
- Builds that need consistent, safe healing
- Stealth-focused characters who want thematic consistency
Skeleton Crabble Graft: The Aggressive Damage Option
What the quest involves: Hunt down and kill a Skeleton Crabble, a heavily-armored crustacean creature with incredible defensive capabilities.
What Inez gains: Ability to fire armor-piercing rounds at enemies
How it works in combat:
Inez gains access to special ammunition that ignores a significant portion of enemy armor. This makes her much more effective against heavily-armored foes like automechs, security personnel in full gear, and bosses with high damage resistance.
Pros of the Skeleton Crabble graft:
Dramatically increased damage output: Armor-piercing rounds make Inez genuinely threatening in combat. She becomes a real asset rather than just existing on the battlefield.
Shreds tough enemies: Heavily-armored targets that normally take forever to kill go down much faster with armor penetration.
Ends fights faster: More damage from Inez means shorter combat encounters, which indirectly saves resources and reduces risk.
Active contribution: Inez is participating meaningfully in combat, not just hiding and dropping items.
Scales better late-game: As enemies get tougher and more armored, armor penetration becomes increasingly valuable.
Cons of the Skeleton Crabble graft:
Inez takes damage: She’s actively fighting, which means she can get downed during difficult encounters.
Requires reviving: You might need to revive her mid-combat, which takes time and exposes you to danger.
Less useful against unarmored enemies: The armor-piercing benefit is minimal against creatures or lightly-armored humans.
More companion management: You need to pay attention to Inez’s positioning and health more than with the stealth option.
Best for:
- Aggressive, high-damage playstyles
- Players who want companions to actively contribute to combat
- Builds that don’t struggle with resource management
- Characters who can handle reviving companions when needed
The Verdict: Which Graft Should You Choose?
After extensive testing with both grafts, here’s my honest assessment:
For Most Players: Skeleton Crabble (Armor-Piercing)
Why this is the better choice:
The Skeleton Crabble graft makes Inez an active participant in combat rather than a passive support character. The armor-piercing rounds genuinely help in fights, especially against the tougher enemies you encounter throughout The Outer Worlds 2.
The key insight: Inez often drops health packs anyway, even without the active camo ability. I’ve tested this repeatedly—she’ll throw you health packs during combat naturally as part of her companion behavior. The Raptidon graft just makes her invisible while doing it, which is nice but not game-changing.
Meanwhile, armor-piercing rounds make genuinely difficult fights noticeably easier. Automechs that normally tank damage become vulnerable. Armored bosses lose their biggest advantage. Inez transforms from “generic companion who occasionally helps” to “legitimate combat asset.”
The trade-off is worth it: Yes, Inez might get downed occasionally. But in practice, this rarely becomes a real problem:
- You can revive her relatively quickly in most situations
- Her increased damage often means fights end before she goes down
- If she does go down, you can finish most fights on your own or with your other companion
- Dead enemies can’t deal damage, so killing them faster is inherently defensive
When to Choose Raptidon Matriarch Instead
Specific scenarios where active camo makes sense:
Playing on highest difficulty: If you’re on the hardest difficulty settings where every mistake is punishing, having a companion who can’t die while providing healing might be worth the reduced damage output.
Extremely cautious playstyle: Some players prefer minimizing risk over maximizing efficiency. If you’re that type of player, active camo’s safety might feel better.
Resource management struggles: If you’re constantly running out of healing items and inhaler charges, the guaranteed safe health pack delivery could be valuable.
Stealth-focused build: If you’re doing a stealth playthrough and barely engaging in direct combat anyway, active camo fits the theme better even if it’s less mechanically powerful.
But honestly: Even in these scenarios, I’d still lean toward the Skeleton Crabble graft. The damage increase is just that valuable.
Should You Kill Both Creatures?
The quest technically only requires you to kill one creature—whichever graft you want for Inez. But should you hunt both anyway?
Yes, absolutely. Here’s why:
The Raptidon cave provides access: The Raptidon Matriarch’s cave offers a convenient route into the Vox Relay, an important story location. Going there saves time later.
Experience points: Killing both creatures gives you significantly more XP, helping you level up faster for better perks and skills.
Complete the objectives: Having both grafts available gives you full context for making an informed decision.
Loot and exploration: Both creature locations contain valuable loot, crafting materials, and interesting environmental storytelling.
It’s not much extra work: If you’re going to one location anyway, visiting both doesn’t add that much extra time to your playthrough.
My recommendation: Hunt both creatures, collect both graft materials, then choose the Skeleton Crabble when you return to Ethel. You get the XP, loot, and exploration benefits while still selecting the mechanically superior option.
Testing Both Grafts: The Save/Load Method
Remember: this choice is permanent for your playthrough. If you’re a perfectionist who wants to see both options before committing, use this strategy:
The testing process:
- Save before talking to Ethel after collecting the graft materials
- Choose one graft and install it on Inez
- Test it in combat for a few fights to see how it feels
- Reload your save if you want to try the other option
- Make your final decision based on actual experience, not just descriptions
This lets you experience both grafts firsthand before permanently committing. Some players find that what sounds good on paper doesn’t match their actual playstyle once they try it.
Build Synergies: Which Graft Fits Your Character?
Your character build should influence which graft you choose:
Combat-Heavy Builds
Recommendation: Skeleton Crabble (armor-piercing) Why: You’re already engaging in lots of combat. More damage from Inez helps you clear encounters faster.
Stealth/Avoidance Builds
Recommendation: Raptidon Matriarch (active camo) OR Skeleton Crabble for when stealth fails Why: Thematically consistent, but the armor-piercing is better for the combat you can’t avoid.
Tank/Defensive Builds
Recommendation: Skeleton Crabble (armor-piercing) Why: You can absorb hits while Inez deals damage. The armor-piercing helps kill threats before they overwhelm your defenses.
Glass Cannon Builds
Recommendation: Either works, slight edge to Raptidon Why: You deal tons of damage but take it badly. Safe health delivery might be more valuable here.
Balanced/Versatile Builds
Recommendation: Skeleton Crabble (armor-piercing) Why: Increased damage helps in the widest variety of situations.
Common Questions About the Graft Choice
Can I change Inez’s graft later? No. Once installed, the graft is permanent for that playthrough.
What if I don’t do Inez’s quest at all? Inez will continue to function as a companion, but she won’t have the enhanced abilities from either graft.
Does this affect Inez’s personal story? Both choices result in Inez surviving and being able to potentially rejoin Auntie’s Choice. The character development outcome is similar regardless of which graft you choose.
Can I collect both grafts but not install either? You can collect both materials, but you must choose one to install to complete the quest. You can’t just hoard them.
Does companion choice matter? If you rarely use Inez as your active companion, this choice matters less. But even occasional usage makes the armor-piercing noticeably better.
The Bottom Line: Armor-Piercing Wins
After extensive testing and multiple playthroughs, the Skeleton Crabble graft is the superior choice for the vast majority of players and builds. The armor-piercing rounds make Inez a genuine combat asset rather than a passive support character, and the increased damage helps in far more situations than safe health pack delivery.
Yes, she might get downed occasionally. But dead enemies can’t hurt you, and killing them faster with armor-piercing rounds is more valuable than having Inez hide while dropping health packs you might not even need.
The only time I’d recommend the Raptidon graft is if you’re specifically playing a stealth build on maximum difficulty and genuinely struggle with resource management. For everyone else? Give Inez the firepower and let her help you paint the Arcadian system with enemy armor fragments.
Hunt both creatures for the XP and loot, but when you return to Ethel, choose the Skeleton Crabble graft. Your future self will thank you when Inez is shredding heavily-armored enemies instead of playing invisible support.
For more companion and combat optimization tips, check out our guides on weapon slots, character builds, and surviving tough fights.
Now go help Inez become the armor-piercing badass she deserves to be.
