Reclamation Day has come and gone. As an inhabitant of Vault 76, I found it to be momentous occasion. We were finally able to leave our underground dwelling in hopes of re-colonizing a post-apocalyptic West Virginia. That’s not to say that everything went according to plan. No clean water, very little food, and a foul welcoming party—consisting of giant bugs, homicidal robots, and semi-intelligent ghouls—all contributed to my less than stellar disposition. It was dangerous to go alone, if you will. Thankfully, I was able to find an equalizer. My very own suit of Power Armor.
I was surprised to learn that this rare item isn’t difficult to find. It wasn’t easy of course. I mean, you do have to know where to look. But it isn’t the unicorn I made it out to be. There are a several places around Appalachia where one could find a slightly used suit of Power Armor. And luckily for you, I was able to suss out such a location…
The first place you should look is the Morgantown Trainyard. I say first, even though it can spawn elsewhere, because of how it adheres to the game’s tutorial. The early missions—given by the deceased overseer to help players get their bearings—eventually point you to this very location. They also make sure you’re at the appropriate level to fend off the Scorched inhabiting the area; once you’ve unlocked the “investigate Morgantown Airport” mission, you should be around level four or five.
Now, I personally recommend completing the airport missions before heading to the Trainyard. It isn’t mandatory, as the highest-level enemies top out at six. But it makes things easier considering just how many foes are there.
Either way, once you’re ready (properly packing heat), travel northwest from the airport towards the Morgantown Trainyard. As soon as you walk in, you want to head to the back. There will be a large warehouse with a tower/erect structure positioned directly behind it. In front of the warehouse is a train car with the letters “USA” painted on it and a small ramp that leads inside. Walk inside, turn to the left, and the Power Armor will hopefully be sitting there in all of its glory.
All of that sounded simple right? Well, there is a catch. For one, the place is crawling with Scorched. Unwilling to let you just walk out of there with the armor, they’ll swarm from all sides. Many of them have ranged weapons.
Making matters worse is the fact that you can’t just hop into the armor once you find it. It consists of several high-level pieces that need to be removed before you can use it. The process of transferring these items into your inventory can prove difficult, if you’re being pelted with bullets by fiery ghouls. You won’t have to dispatch every enemy in the trainyard, but you should clear out the immediate area surrounding the car to give you time to move things around.
After moving the items and replacing the Fusion Core, you can don your new suit of armor. Hurray! That is, of course, if you found the suit at all. These are meant to be rare items and other players are looking for them, too. So it’s possible that what you’re looking for has already been looted.
No worries! Just leave the world by exiting to the main menu and join a new session. If you do this inside the trainyard, you’ll spawn near its entrance, making it easy to run in and check the train car for the armor. It shouldn’t take too many tries; I was able to snag one after my second respawn. I had to re-fight a bunch of enemies, but it was worth it.
Now that you’ve got your first suit of Power Armor, you should know a few things. The first is that, yes, it does require Fusion Cores to operate. And you still have to step out of it before crafting items and such. The good news is that the Power Armor is your item. Meaning, no one can steal it from you. Even if you accidentally forget to take it with you (maybe after running out of juice) it’ll return to your inventory as soon as you leave the area. You can manually pack it up, as well.
The only way to relinquish the armor is by dropping it from your inventory. You know… in the rare situation where you have multiple armors just taking up space. Maybe you want to drop one for a friend!
Some more good news: those high-level items you had to transfer before being able to use the Power Armor will eventually be of use. These extra armored bits (for your arms, legs, head, etc.) improve the armor’s defensive stats later on. You’ll also be able to improve upon them with new color schemes, powerful mods, and more. You’re basically making an early investment for your future survival, while also assuring your friends are envious of this rare find. Good times!
The only troubling aspect of the Power Armor is having to locate more Fusion Cores. You can find some out in the wastes. There’s also a bug that recharges Fusion Cores if you log out and back in while wearing your armor (but don’t count on that lasting forever. Otherwise, you can just craft more cores. You just need to secure an environmental C.A.M.P—one placed within the world as opposed to one a person put down.
The most practical choice is the Poseidon Power Plant. Once repaired, you can use its Fusion Core Processor. It isn’t too difficult to secure once you’ve leveled a bit. Use scrap to build generators for power and defenses to fend off attackers (human and otherwise). It takes time to produce each core. tjpigj. Enlisting some friends, or setting down a decent number of turrets, beats guarding the processor all day. Unless, of course, you have other things to craft or improve upon while you wait.
