Character creation in The Outer Worlds 2 throws a lot of decisions at you right from the start, and choosing your trait is one of the most impactful. Unlike skills or perks that you can adjust as you level up, your trait choice is permanent—so you want to get it right the first time.
The good news? Most of the nine available traits are genuinely useful for different playstyles. The bad news? One of them is pretty much a waste of a slot, and knowing which traits synergize with your intended build can mean the difference between a smooth playthrough and constant frustration.
I’ve spent considerable time testing all nine traits across different builds and playstyles, and I’m breaking down exactly which ones deserve your attention. If you’re still figuring out your overall character strategy, check out our best starting builds guide and backgrounds guide first.
Understanding Traits in The Outer Worlds 2
Before diving into the rankings, let’s clarify what traits actually do. Each trait provides:
- A passive mechanical bonus that affects gameplay (extra damage, faster abilities, etc.)
- Unique roleplay dialogue options that can offer alternative quest solutions
- Build synergies that complement specific playstyles
The best traits typically excel in at least two of these categories. The mechanical bonus matters, but those dialogue options can sometimes let you bypass entire combat encounters or unlock special rewards—something you won’t discover unless you experiment.
S-Tier Traits: The Must-Consider Picks
Brilliant – The Overall Best Choice
Effect: During skill selection, specialize in 1 additional skill. Specialized skills start with 2 points.
This is hands-down the strongest trait in The Outer Worlds 2 for most players. Here’s why it’s so good:
Mechanical Advantages:
- You essentially get a free level’s worth of skill points at character creation
- Specializing in an additional skill means faster progression toward important perks
- Perfect for hybrid builds that need multiple skill trees
- Helps you meet perk requirements earlier in the game
Roleplay Value: The Brilliant trait shows up constantly in dialogue checks—more than any other trait. You’ll find intelligent dialogue options in conversations with scientists, when examining technology, and when solving complex problems. These often lead to better outcomes or skip dangerous encounters entirely.
Who Should Pick This: Honestly? Almost everyone. Unless you’re committed to a very specific build concept that requires another trait, Brilliant is your safest bet. It’s particularly valuable for first-time players still learning the game’s systems.
Resilient – Death Insurance for Aggressive Players
Effect: Death is prevented for 3 seconds the first time you would have died in each combat encounter.
If you’ve read our beginner’s guide, you know that combat in The Outer Worlds 2 can be punishing—especially before you’ve learned to increase your max health and manage inhaler charges effectively.
Why It’s Powerful:
- Provides a three-second window when you should have died
- Refreshes every combat encounter
- Essentially a “get out of jail free” card for overextending
- Critical for melee builds that constantly face danger
The Catch: This trait becomes less valuable for ranged players who maintain distance. If you’re sniping from cover or relying heavily on companions to tank damage, you might not trigger this often enough to justify the slot.
Who Should Pick This: Melee-focused characters, aggressive playstyles, or anyone struggling with combat difficulty. Pair it with the Brawny trait mentioned below for an unstoppable close-combat build.
A-Tier Traits: Excellent for Specific Builds
Innovative – Solving the Ammo Problem
Effect: Crafting recipes for ammo, throwables, and resources create up to twice as many items for the same crafting materials.
One of The Outer Worlds 2’s most frustrating aspects is ammo scarcity, especially in the early game. You’ll constantly run dry during extended missions, and buying ammo from vendors gets expensive fast.
What This Fixes:
- Doubles your ammo output when crafting
- Also applies to grenades and other throwables
- Essentially halves your ammo costs
- Makes experimentation with different weapon types more viable
The Limitation: This only helps if you actually craft ammo. If you primarily loot or purchase ammunition, you’re not getting full value. Also, you need crafting materials, which means more scavenging and deciding whether to sell or break down junk items.
Who Should Pick This: Combat-heavy builds, players who use guns frequently, or anyone who hates inventory micromanagement. This becomes increasingly valuable as you progress through the main missions and face tougher encounters.
Brawny – Crowd Control for Melee Builds
Effect: Sliding or sprinting into hostiles knocks them down. 5-second cooldown.
If you’re playing a melee build, crowd control is everything. Get surrounded by enemies and you’re dead—it’s that simple. Brawny gives you a reliable CC tool built right into your movement.
Tactical Applications:
- Sprint into groups to scatter them
- Slide into enemies for emergency knockdowns
- Works on most enemy types (excluding the largest bosses)
- Five-second cooldown means frequent usage
- Synergizes perfectly with Resilient for survivability
The Drawback: This trait is completely wasted on ranged builds. If you’re hanging back with rifles or using companions as your primary damage dealers, you’ll never use this ability.
Who Should Pick This: Melee builds exclusively. If you’re planning to get up close and personal with enemies, this trait is practically mandatory. It’s especially useful during difficult encounters like crossing the Protectorate Bridge or faction confrontations.
Heroic – Companion Synergy Build
Effect: -20% Companion Ability charge time
Companions in The Outer Worlds 2 can be surprisingly powerful when used correctly. Their abilities deal significant damage, provide crucial buffs, or control the battlefield. The problem? They have long cooldowns.
Strategic Value:
- Use companion abilities roughly 20% more often
- Better for players who actively manage companion tactics
- Excellent for long-range builds that use companions as distractions
- Helps you keep your pets in the fight longer
Reality Check: Companions die frequently if you’re not careful, which means this trait’s value fluctuates based on your ability to keep them alive. It’s powerful for experienced players who understand companion positioning, but newer players might not get full value.
Who Should Pick This: Support-oriented builds, players who use tactical pause frequently, or anyone running a “commander” style character who directs the battlefield rather than dominating it personally.
B-Tier Traits: Situationally Useful
Lucky – For Roleplay More Than Combat
Effect: +5% Critical Chance. Certain opportunities are just accessible to you.
The mechanical bonus here is mediocre at best. You can get critical chance from armor, perks, and weapon mods—using a trait slot for 5% feels wasteful when you could pick Brilliant instead.
The Real Appeal: The roleplay opportunities are genuinely hilarious. Lucky gives you unique dialogue options that let you rely on pure chance to solve problems. When combined with the Dumb negative trait, you get some of the funniest dialogue in the entire game.
For example, during critical story moments like the Vox Relay choice in Fairfield, Lucky characters can select options that essentially amount to “let’s just wing it and see what happens.”
Who Should Pick This: Players prioritizing roleplay over optimization, anyone doing a comedic playthrough, or your second/third run when you want a different experience. Not recommended for your first serious playthrough.
Suave – The Smooth Criminal Special
Effect: 10% discount at all vendors. Bounty must be 2x higher than normal to be seen as Outlaw.
This trait enables a specific playstyle: the charming criminal who talks their way out of trouble.
What It Offers:
- Saves bits when shopping (though only 10%)
- Lets you commit more crimes before factions turn hostile
- Synergizes well with Ex-Convict background
- Decent roleplay opportunities in social situations
The Problem: If you’re playing as a relatively law-abiding citizen, half of this trait does nothing. The discount is nice but not game-changing. You’re better off just looting high-security lockboxes with Advanced Decryption Keys for valuable items instead.
Who Should Pick This: Criminal roleplayers, stealth builds who sometimes get caught, or players who want flexibility in making morally questionable choices without immediate consequences.
Witty – Reputation Insurance (With Caveats)
Effect: Reputation with any faction can never decrease below Neutral, preventing penalties from negative reputation.
On paper, this sounds fantastic—you can do whatever you want without faction consequences! In practice, it’s more niche than you’d think.
Theoretical Benefits:
- Play both sides in faction conflicts
- No fear of becoming hostile with major factions
- Lots of unique dialogue options
- Useful for completionist runs
Practical Reality: If you’re playing a normal playthrough without intentionally antagonizing everyone, you probably won’t drop below Neutral naturally. This trait is insurance against a problem that careful players won’t encounter.
The trait becomes more valuable if you’re trying to navigate complex choices like Auntie’s Choice vs. Order Ascendant or the Kaur Milverstreet decision where you want to maintain relationships with multiple factions.
Who Should Pick This: Diplomatic characters, players who want to experience all faction content without committing, or anyone planning a morally complex playthrough. Also useful if you’re farming Mag-Picks and Bypass Shunts by stealing without consequences.
C-Tier: The Trap Pick
Nimble – Faster Movement Nobody Needs
Effect: +25% Crouch Speed and Combat Sprint Speed
This is the one trait I genuinely recommend avoiding. Here’s why it fails compared to every other option:
Why It’s Weak:
- Crouch speed is already adequate by default
- 25% bonus is barely noticeable in practice
- Rarely appears in dialogue options (unlike most traits)
- Doesn’t solve any actual problem
- Better traits exist for every conceivable build
Even for stealth builds, you’re better off investing in stealth skills and using proper positioning rather than relying on slightly faster crouch movement. Melee builds might think the combat sprint speed helps, but Brawny’s knockdown effect is infinitely more valuable for survivability.
The Only Potential Use: If you’re doing some kind of challenge run where you need to kite enemies constantly? Maybe? Even then, proper use of cover and inhaler management will serve you better.
Who Should Pick This: Honestly, nobody. Every other trait offers more tangible benefits. If you’re min-maxing movement speed, you’re better off using armor mods and perks that provide similar bonuses without wasting your trait slot.
Trait Synergies and Build Recommendations
Now that we’ve covered individual traits, let’s talk about how they fit into complete character builds:
The Unstoppable Berserker
- Trait: Brawny or Resilient
- Background: Soldier or Ex-Convict
- Focus: Melee combat with crowd control
- Why It Works: You need survivability and CC for close combat—these traits deliver both
The Tactical Genius
- Trait: Brilliant
- Background: Academic or Corporate
- Focus: Problem-solving through intelligence and skill diversity
- Why It Works: Extra skills let you qualify for diverse perks, while dialogue options bypass challenges
The Wasteland Survivor
- Trait: Innovative
- Background: Colonist or Drifter
- Focus: Self-sufficiency and resource management
- Why It Works: Never run out of ammo, perfect for solo players who don’t rely on vendors
The Companion Commander
- Trait: Heroic
- Background: Any leadership-focused option
- Focus: Tactical combat using companion abilities
- Why It Works: Reduced cooldowns mean more active combat control through allies
The Chaotic Wildcard
- Trait: Lucky
- Negative Trait: Dumb
- Background: Anything for laughs
- Focus: Pure entertainment and unpredictability
- Why It Works: Creates the most hilarious dialogue combinations in the game
Common Trait Selection Mistakes
Based on what I’ve seen from other players and my own experimentation:
Mistake #1: Picking Nimble Just don’t. Every other trait offers something meaningful.
Mistake #2: Choosing Traits That Don’t Match Your Playstyle Picking Brawny for a sniper build or Heroic when you ignore companions wastes your trait. Think about how you actually play, not how you think you should play.
Mistake #3: Undervaluing Dialogue Options Some traits’ mechanical bonuses seem small (like Lucky’s 5% crit), but their roleplay options can completely change quest outcomes. Consider both aspects.
Mistake #4: Overthinking It Brilliant is good for nearly everyone. If you’re paralyzed by choice on your first playthrough, just pick Brilliant and move on. You can experiment with others after understanding the game better.
Should You Respec Your Trait?
Unfortunately, no—traits are permanent once selected. This is why your initial choice matters so much. However, The Outer Worlds 2 is designed for multiple playthroughs with different builds, so experimenting with various traits across different characters is part of the experience.
If you realize your trait isn’t working for your build, you have a few options:
- Adjust your playstyle to work with the trait you have
- Start a new character (earlier the better)
- Push through and pick a different trait on your next playthrough
Remember, reaching the max level cap takes long enough that you don’t want to restart too late into a playthrough unless absolutely necessary.
Final Verdict: My Top 3 Picks
If you want the quick version:
Best Overall: Brilliant – Works for everyone, provides immediate and long-term benefits, tons of dialogue options
Best for Combat: Resilient or Innovative – Depends on whether you prioritize survivability or resource management
Best for Fun: Lucky – Mechanical bonus is weak, but the roleplay opportunities are gold
Avoid Nimble entirely—every other trait provides more meaningful benefits.
Integration with the Broader Game
Traits are just one piece of your character puzzle. They work alongside:
- Your chosen background and associated traits
- Negative traits you might select for extra perks
- Your skill distribution and specializations
- Perks you unlock as you level
Don’t view your trait in isolation. Consider how it supports your overall character concept and compensates for weaknesses in other areas. For example, if you took the Clumsy negative trait, Resilient becomes even more valuable as insurance against your increased vulnerability.
Additional Resources
If you’re still in the early planning stages, check out these guides:
- What to Do First – Important early-game decisions
- Visual Mode Settings – Optimize performance first
- Commander’s Safe Key Location – Early loot opportunity
- Order Initiate Scavenger Hunt – Complex puzzle that tests your build
For more information about the game and official updates, visit The Outer Worlds on Steam, the Wikipedia page, Outer Worlds 2 official site, or the Xbox game page.
Wrapping Up
Choosing your trait in The Outer Worlds 2 is one of those decisions that seems overwhelming at first but becomes intuitive once you understand what each option actually does. Most traits are viable for specific builds—there’s really only one dud in the bunch.
My advice? On your first playthrough, go with Brilliant unless you have a very specific build concept in mind. It’s forgiving, powerful, and opens up tons of interesting gameplay options. Save the more specialized traits like Brawny or Heroic for subsequent playthroughs when you understand the game’s systems better.
And whatever you do, don’t pick Nimble. Your future self will thank you.
Now get out there and make some questionable corporate decisions. Just remember—no matter which trait you choose, you’re still better off than the poor souls working for Halcyon Corporate Board.
