Summary
Fallout 4’s setting isthe kind of apocalyptic hellholewhere 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.
WithFallout 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 July 01, 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 thebest 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 inFallout 4, the stats showcased for each set below are for fully upgraded sets.
620
250
1050
HP
700
Raider Power Armorhas the worst stats of any Power Armor inFallout 4, hands down. Hobbled together from pieces of junk byFallout 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.
1100
910
1125
In canon, theT-45was the first ever power armor deployed by the U.S. military - meaning, byFalloutstandards, it’s pretty out of date. In-game, it’s likely to be the first power armor setthe lone wanderer will come acrossand 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.
1220
720
TheFalloutfranchise has a lot of great DLC, and one of the best isFallout 4’sNuka-World. This expansion added a lot of cool items, including theOverboss 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.
1340
1060
1395
There’s not a lot to say about theT-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.
1090
Nuka-Cola is a big part ofFallout’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 theNuka-WorldDLC’s World of Refreshment location.
Stats-wise, theNuka T-51is 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.
1580
1245
1665
Anyone even a little bit familiar withFalloutshould recognize theT-60power armor. It’s the iconic armor most commonly seenbeing 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.
1820
1390
1525
TheX-01is the most advanced power armor inFallout 4. According toFalloutlore, 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 inBoston’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 inFallout 4.
If players are willing to complete one ofFallout 4’s most frustrating questsand collect 35 star cores hidden throughoutNuka-World, their reward is the game’s best power armor. TheQuantum X-01is 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 inFallout 4might take a while, but it’s worth the effort.
1450
1655
Of the three new armors added in the Next-Gen update, theHellfire Power Armoris 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.
1460
1586
The best thing we can say about theEnclave Hellfire Armoris 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.
