Power Armor is an iconic element of theFalloutfranchise. Owning a suit in any game immediately enhances the player’s ability to survive, take down powerful enemies, and provide a number of useful features. When someone thinks of Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic franchise, they are likely to imagine the T-45 or another Power Armor iteration.
Yet there are a lot of things about these devices that seem rather strange when placed under scrutiny. Between the lack of useful features, lore-breaking mechanics, and other oddities, some things about Power Armor don’t make sense.
Updated July 02, 2025, by Ritwik Mitra:Power Armor is one of the most iconic aspects of theFalloutseries, providing unparalleled protection during a time when everything in the Wasteland is out to eat anything that moves. The TV show has done a great job of showing this suit in its entirety. Both old and new fans love the sheer power that this suit of armor can unleash at a moment’s notice. While there’s no denying that the adaptation has been nothing short of stellar, its introduction to the canon has added more questions that people ask about the mechanics of this armor and why some facts aren’t consistent throughout the series.
17The Voice Modulator Is Only Present In The Show
This Inconsistency Makes Certain Aspects Hard To Believe
In theFalloutTV show, the Power Armor helps Maximus transform from a lowly scribe into a powerful knight. He finally makes his power fantasies come true, only to realize that the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence. The only reason why he isn’t outed to his new squire is because of the voice modulator, which makes it sound like Maximus is more intimidating than he really is.
In the games, while a player’s voice did change in Power Armor, it was nowhere near as drastic a change as this show would make viewers believe. It’s a small inconsistency that is convenient for the plot, which makes it easy to ignore. Still, players can’t help but wonder if integrating this change into the games would be a good idea or not.
16The Show’s Power Armor Lasts On One Fusion Core
The Armor Should Have Run Out Of Power Quickly
Despite the liberties thatFallout 4takes with Power Armor, there’s no denying that this suit has never been better. Its iteration in the game lets players customize each part and wear it like a second coat of armor as it should be, instead of carrying it around in a clumsy manner. However, players were frustrated by the sheer speed with which Power Armor burned through Fusion Cores, making it a pain to find and hoard as many as possible.
Meanwhile, the show’s iteration of Power Armor lasts for ages, which is bound to makeFallout 4players pretty jealous. It’s mainly done for convenience purposes, but perhaps it would be a nice idea to make Fusion Cores more long-lasting while simultaneously ensuring that they’re as rare as can be to offset this benefit.
15The Player Can Carry Individual Armor Pieces
The Weight Of Each Piece Should Make This Impossible
It’s unfair to only mention Power Armor in this context because the encumberment system in Bethesda games is pretty weird as a whole. Players can carry massive objects and place them in their magical pockets as though neither their weight nor their size really matters.
Power Armor is one of the weirder items that players can carry in the game. BeforeFallout 4, these massive chunks of armor apparently fit in the player’s pocket, which is truly nonsensical and unbelievable.
14Fallout 4’s Treatment Of This Iconic Armor
Players Can Get A Suit Within 20 Minutes
Fallout 4revamps the Power Armorto make it more of a threat in the game. While this isn’t the worst thing in the world, it’s the manner in which it introduces this new and powerful armor that’s pretty suspect.
After venturing into a town early on in the game, the player is tasked with recovering a Power Armor suit and using it to wreak havoc on the raiders and a Deathclaw that appears later on. This moment is meant to serve as nothing more than an amazing setpiece and ultimately hampers the reputation of both the Power Armor and Deathclaw as endgame equipment and enemies respectively.
13For A Pre-War Armor, It’s Perfect For The Post-Nuclear Apocalypse
Convenient To A Fault
Power Armor was apparently meant to protect soldiers in the pre-war era. This is already pretty suspect since it’s hard to believe that authorities would back an expensive project that would have to be made for millions of soldiers all over the globe.
However, this project was greenlit across the West, with the Power Armor being kitted out in a way that made it perfect for the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse as well. It’s so convenient that it’s hard to believe at times.
12Other Pieces Of Equipment Are Superior To Power Armor
It Should Be The Be-All, End-All
The Power Armor is meant to be one of the strongest pieces of armor around. However, players who are veterans of theFalloutseries feel like there are better suits of armor that provide more protection without being too bulky.
This, in itself, is a rather weird thing in theFalloutuniverse. Why even bother making an ultra-powerful and expensive suit of armor if a simpler and lighter piece is able to outperform it anyway?
11The Dubious Protection Afforded By This Armor
Some Low-Level Sets Become Underpowered By The Endgame
TheRPG mechanics ofFalloutgamesmean that most pieces of gear are bound to become obsolete after a certain point. That being said, it doesn’t excuse the relative uselessness of certain Power Armor suits over time.
Pieces of armor that are supposed to protect players extensively become a joke by the end of the game. Lower-model suits might not have the capabilities of their modern counterparts, but how do they become so useless that bullets can suddenly start to pass through these metal shells with ease?
10How Did It Handle Long Offensive Scenarios?
Changing Fusion Cores In Battle Would Be Challenging
For a Power Armor to be usable, the wearer needs to keep it supplied with Fusion Cores. The problem is that Fusion Cores burn out and need to be replaced. In fact, a singleFusion Corewill last only 10 hours in-game.
Assuming that each Fusion Core would weigh a few pounds in real life, this would create a logistical nightmare for soldiers on the frontlines for weeks at a time. There would need to be a soldier in Power Armor dedicated entirely to carrying Fusion Cores for everyone else.
9Integrated Fusion Cores Vs Expendables
A Simple And Avoidable Problem
Another interesting wrinkle with powering Power Armor is that, according to the lore, it used to be done with integrated Fusion Cores. These integrated units would keep the Power Armor running for 100 years before needing to be replaced.
Yet for whatever reason, every Power Armor utilizes expendable Fusion Cores that only last 10 hours. Granted, it could be the Fusion Cores lost some power over the years they sat idle; however, it’s hard to imagine the Enclave or another technologically advanced faction wouldn’t have solved this problem and integrated new integrated Fusion Cores given the obvious tactical advantage they provide.
8Why Aren’t There More Industrial Based Models?
Power Armor Should Be Applicable In Other Situations
It seems the vast majority of Power Armors are designed withcombat scenariosin mind. While this obviously makes sense given the protection and carrying capacity, it doesn’t explain why this technology wasn’t used in other industries.
There does exist an Excavator Power Armor for mining purposes, but only one design was created and ever used. No one thought to expand on that and make suits of Power Armor for other industrial applications. It is either an oversight or patent laws are really tricky in this universe.
