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. At the end of the Anchorage Reclamation, the Armor had become standard issue for US Soldiers in Mechanized Regiments. 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 an output power of 60,000 Watts 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: T-51b 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. +30 Radiation Resistance

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
The T-51b Power Armor is the Power Armor in the original games. It is a unique model in this game and can only be found via the dangerous Fort Constantine.

The T-51b is one of the only Power Armor variants, the other being the Tesla Power 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, or because it is hard to say no to someone wearing this impressive and powerful armor). For some reason it does not offer a Strength bonus like in previous Fallout games; this could be a mistake by the developers or a possible attempt to make no single dominant armor in the game, but most likely it's because the designers of this armor were focused on soldier protection,not enhancements.

Acquiring It
A full set of the T-51b Power Armor can be found at Fort Constantine in the bomb storage building (not to be confused with the separate building labeled "Bomb Storage", this is the exit.) 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 (Note: you do not have to do the quest to get the keys from your victims). A fourth key is retrieved from Tara near the door leading to the terminal/stasis field.

Probably the easiest way to get to the room containing the T-51 is through the shack labeled "CO Quarters". There is a door in there that leads to the basement area where it is held. There is also the Big Guns bobblehead located in the CO quarters inside the open safe.

Another way of getting the Armor is when you successfully complete You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head (with the keys handed over to Mister Crowley): then you can often find Crowley with the Power Armor sometime after you have completed the quest. You can then kill him for the armor but remember, this would send all of the Underworld after you; unless you kill him with stealth or remove Cerberus's Combat Inhibitor (preferably when Crowley is in the vicinity) which would cause the robot to kill him (and others) without the Underworld attacking you. Alternatively, you can use the Mesmetron on him which will turn him hostile (or blow off his head; if this happens simply reload your last save) towards everyone in the Underworld. In the presence of Cerberus, he will die quickly without harming any other residents or loss of karma. Using Chinese stealth armor and a stealth boy allows you to kill him without being spotted.

One strategy to get the power armor without alerting any of the people of Underworld is to wait until Mr Crowley is on his way to Fort Constantine after you complete You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head. Once he thanks you for the keys, follow him out of the Underworld and towards Fort Constantine. It shouldn't take too long for him to be isolated, and then you are free to kill him without a karma drop or the Underworld being hostile. (Confirmed on PS3) Another way is to find him alone or when he has very few people around him,  and preferably kill him when he is asleep. If you have a follower have them wait outside the room. Once that is done, use a stealth boy and reverse pickpocket a frag grenade or frag mine, killing Crowley and allowing you to take the armor. If done properly no one in Underworld will attack you, or even care. (Successfully done on the 360 version)(Successfully done on the PS3 version) Use of the Mr. Sandman Perk on Mr. Crowley yields the same successful results. Also you can wait for Mr. Crowley to leave the underworld with the keys, and kill him in the museum lobby.

You can also get the Winterized T-51b Power Armor by completing the new DLC exclusive for the Xbox 360 and PC called Operation: Anchorage

One the easiest ways of getting the armor is NOT selling the keys to Crowley, and retrieving it yourself. This will insure no Karma loss, but Mr. Crowley will try to hunt you down if he sees you wearing it.

Repair
The T-51b cannot be repaired using any other power armor variants. The T-51b can be broken down to repair T-4x Power Armor, destroying the T-51b. 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. NPCs can still repair it to a high enough condition to put it at a higher damage resistance than all other armors.

On the plus side, T-51b armor is twice as durable as standard Power Armor, and thus it degrades half as quickly as it takes damage.

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

With Master Trader perk the traveling merchants can repair the armor to near perfect condition, making this perk quite useful if you intend on playing with this armor a lot, and with all the perks other benefits the costs wont seem so high anymore.

Operation: Anchorage
See Winterized T-51b Power Armor. Oddly enough, the Winterized T-51b cannot be used to repair the old one. This is due to the fact that the version you get from the simulation is not the designated "Wasteland Variant". Instead you get the "Simulation Variant". It has almost ten million hp, designed to make it appear as though it is not degrading. It's obviously a bug on Bethesda's part. They got the versions switched up somehow. You were supposed to get the Wasteland version, which degrades normally and can be repaired with regular power armor.

Bugs

 * In the PS3 version of the game, there is a bug that the armor and helmet lie on the floor, and not in the stasis field.
 * In some cases the helmet can be found in the right corner of the room.
 * Followers may get stuck in Fort Constantine when you try to leave.(Confirmed on 360 and PC)
 * On the 360 version the T-51b helmet picture shows it as a body armor not a helmet. [confirmed on PS3 version]
 * When dropped may fall through the floor in Megaton House. [other locations?][360]
 * Sometimes, the armor and helmet become invisible when you set it inside Tenpenny Tower in your suite.

YouTube Videos
Obtaining T-51b Power Armor Aup_3OH6_w8

Related Videos
Walkthrough on how to get T-51b Power Armor Brought to you by Seanigle (http://www.youtube.com/seanigle)  ppzIITFVSLQ