Recon Armor (Fallout 3)

The Recon Armor is a specialized suit issued to Capital Wasteland Brotherhood of Steel Initiates, and is basically the underarmor of the T-4x Power Armor. It is, essentially, a padded jumpsuit covering the entire body, integrated with the interface for the power armor. Unlike the underarmor for the T-51b models, this one is designed to offer limited protection.

Procurement
A fully repaired suit of Recon Armor can be acquired in Fallout 3 after you complete the Finding the Garden of Eden quest. Towards the end of the quest of The American Dream you will head to the Citadel. Follow the objective marker until you meet up with The Lyons' Pride. You will go into a HUD-less cinematic. During this cinematic, you will be asked about the G.E.C.K. When the conversations are over, you will speak to Sarah Lyons. She will offer you Power Armor or Recon Armor. You can also find suits of this armor in the lockers in the vaults.

The armor (although not full condition) can sometimes be purchased early from Karl in Meresti when attempting the Blood Ties quest. It can also be stolen from a crate/locker in Karl's shop (right side of the shop when standing in front of the counter facing Karl).

Moira Brown in Megaton has also been seen selling this armor early-game (Other merchants in the game have been seen selling this armor).

The armor, along with the Recon Helmet, can also be found early on in an abandoned "Bait and Tackle" shop just north of the Citadel, across the river. It may also be purchaseable through Flak and Shrapnel's shop in Rivet City.

The armor, along with the helmet, can also be found randomly in seperate lockers in the Anchorage Memorial. They are not fully repaired.

The armor can also be found in the remains of a house located immediately behind the crashed UFO north of the power station. There is a footlocker near the toilet, the armor occurs randomly here.

Once the 700 cap investment has been paid to Crow multiple copies can be acquired.

A suit may be found in Vault 106 in a locker on the left as you enter the living quarters, as well as random suits/helmets in the rest of that vault.

A suit and helmet can be found in Vault 112 in one of the lockers in the clinic, there is also random armor.

A Suit and Helmet may be found in Vault 92 in a footlocker in one of the living quarters in the Overseer's Office Area.

A suit can be found in the Vault-Tec Headquarters, corporate offices, second floor. It is located in the northeast corner of the map, inside a footlocker sitting on top of a wooden bookcase.

Armor and helmet can be found in the Footlocker at Deathclaw Sanctuary entrance.

Brotherhood of Steel recruits are seen wearing the armour whilst training in the courtyard of the Citadel. It is possible to kill one and take the armour from his/her body, however it will make the Brotherhood hostile towards you so this method is not advisable.

Strategy
Apparently, no other armor types can be used to repair Recon Armor (true, it can be used to repair Combat/Talon/Chinese Stealth armor, but none of those three can be used to repair Recon Armor; only Recon Armor fixes itself). Combined with its relative scarcity, this makes it difficult to keep Recon Armor in good repair using salvaged parts. Merchants can repair this armor, notably Crow after the 2nd investment is made to his business.

Recon armor is an attractive option for stealth and sniper mercantile-based characters who seek an alternative to Combat or Talon Armor. Its good DR and its Sneak bonus make it an attractive choice for early-game characters. Recon armor is a poor choice for people who favor blasting everyone.

Appearances
This armor appears only in Fallout 3. The Outcast Recon Armor variant can be found in the game files but does not appear in the game. It is only available via console commands. Occasionally appears in a random encounter, very very rare