T-51b power armor

T-51b Powered Infantry Armor or Power Armor was the peak of armored infantry technology before the Great War, developed in the West Tek Research Facility laboratories. Now, only the most technologically advanced factions with ties to pre-War military or government, such as the Brotherhood of Steel or the Enclave, have access to this type of armor.

The armor is fitted with a back-mounted TX-28 MicroFusion Pack which generates 60,000 Watts during its lifetime, to power the HiFlo hydraulic systems built into the frame of the suit. Made of the poly-laminate composite, the outer shell of the T-51b is lightweight and capable of absorbing over 2500 Joules of kinetic impact. The 10 micron silver ablative coating can reflect laser and radiation emissions without damage to the composite subsurface. It usually has enough fuel to last a hundred years.

The Brotherhood of Steel does not possess the technology required to manufacture new Power Armor and relies only on pre-war suits. Power Armor is worn only by Brotherhood paladins. In the Enclave, this armor is seen as obsolete, as it was replaced by Advanced Power Armor and Advanced Power Armor Mk II, though it should be noted that it is still used by soldiers who have not been issued the newer armor most likely due to slow production rates.

History

 * 2065, August: The need for increased mobility in US Army Mechanized Cavalry units, leads the military research companies to focus their research to create a man based tank - the result is Power Armor.
 * 2065 - 2067: Power Armor research grows and several prototypes are developed, many of which prove to be unworkable in the field. These prototypes pave the way for future advances in military, construction, and fusion technology.
 * 2066, Summer: The first crude fusion cell is unveiled, one of the results of the Power Armor project.
 * 2067: The first suit of T-45d Power Armor is deployed in Alaska. While lacking the full mobility of future versions, this Power Armor is incredibly effective against Chinese tanks and infantry. Its ability to carry heavy ordinance becomes key in various localized conflicts, and it has the power to destroy entire towns without endangering the wearer. China rushes to create its own versions, but they are many years behind the United States.
 * 2074: Contrary to their claims of seeking only to retake Alaska from the Reds, American Power Armor units, infantry, and mechanized divisions are deployed to China, but they become bogged down on the mainland, putting a further drain on American resources and supply lines.
 * 2076, June: T51b Power Armor prototype completed, resulting in the Power Armor that the player finds in Fallout 1. This is the pinnacle of Power Armor technology before the Great War. Many of these units are sent to China, and they begin to carve a swath through the Chinese forces. The Chinese resources are strained to the breaking point, and the supply lines from the nations China has annexed begin to break down.
 * 2077, January 22: The first domestic use of Power Armor within the United States for crowd and quarantine control. Units originally serving in China and the Anchorage Front Line find themselves fighting Americans at home. Food riots increase, and many civilians are killed. Several soldiers defect from the military both in Canada and the United States. They are captured, and are sent to military prisons.

Appearances in games
T-51b Power Armor and its hardened version appear in both Fallout and Fallout 2 (and was to appear in Van Buren), while the latter also introduces Enclave's advanced variants. The armor also appears in Fallout 3, where the original T-51b is pretty unique, as the Brotherhood now uses a clunkier, makeshift version of Power Armor.

Fallout Tactics shows T-51b only once in the intro, and the Eastern Brotherhood Power Armor (called simply Power Armor there) is used instead in the game, including an advanced version, years before the Enclave's new model.

In Van Buren, the appearance of the armor was slightly changed. Here's how J.E. Sawyer justified the decision:


 * We tried to model the power armor as T-Ray did in the opening movie and game, but he could get away with clipping that would look really bad at close distances or certain angles. Simply put, building the Fallout power armor as it originally looked would have resulted in a suit with a tiny range of motion or a hilarious amount of clipping. We changed as much as we needed to allow for more flexibility in movement, but tried to stay very close to the original design whenever possible.

Fallout and Fallout 2
Other: +3 Strength but cannot go above 10 total.

Locations: Description: ''A self-contained suit of advanced technology armor. Powered by a micro-fusion reactor, with enough fuel to last a hundred years.''
 * Fallout: Found at the Brotherhood of Steel Lost Hills bunker. Can be received by completing a quest or can be repaired using a guidebook and some tools.
 * Fallout 2: In a locker in the BOS bunker in San Francisco, Mariposa Military Base Level-2, sometimes in San Francisco stores

Fallout 3
A full set of the T-51b Power Armor can be found at Fort Constantine in the bomb storage building. It's stored in the Weapons R&D laboratory behind a stasis field, easily disabled from the nearby terminal. It should be noted, however, that you need the three keys that you get from the You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head quest as these keys open the doors to the actual armor. A fourth key is retrieved from Tara near the door leading to the terminal/stasis field.

The T-51b is one of the only Power Armor variants, the other being the Tesla Armor, in Fallout 3 which does not carry an inherent Agility penalty; instead, it grants a Charisma bonus for reasons unexplained (possibly a nod to the iconic nature of the armor in association with the Fallout franchise). For some reason it does not offer a strength bonus like in previous Fallout games, this could be a mistake by the developers.

Repair
The T-51b cannot be repaired using any other power armor variants, with the possible exception of the Prototype Medic Power Armor (another unique power armor). The T-51b can be broken down to repair Brother of Steel Power Armor, destroying the T-51b. Only shop keepers or caravan traders can repair T-51b Power Armor, an expensive option and the results are limited by the skill of the repairing NPC.

The only way to keep the T-51b from being damaged is to give it to followers, which never degrade the armor's condition.