The Outer Worlds 2 has a bunch of factions, and as with other Obsidian RPGs, your relationship with them is tracked. It’s what you’d expect, as you gain approval for helping out a group, and lose approval if you act against their interests – and can even be declared their enemy if you take it too far.
However, there is one faction that will pretty much think the same of you no matter what you do: the Protectorate. They are the dominant force in Arcadia, locked in a war with Auntie’s Choice, and in conflict with the Order of the Ascendant. And while your relationship with the latter two is tracked, there’s no way to see how the Protectorate feel about you or a way to buddy up to them, and players are frustrated.
No, You Can’t Join The Protectorate In The Outer Worlds 2
“My biggest gripe for this game, we can’t join the Protectorate,” says Reddit user spikywobble. “I like The Outer Worlds 2, but really it feels very limited with the faction system. Why the hell can’t we join the Protectorate?”
“I get they’re the main villain but I mean, not really,” Soggy-Return8876 agrees. “Every faction is pretty s**tty in some ways. The point of the game is to roleplay right? If I want to roleplay as an Earth Directorate agent who defects to the Protectorate after the Horizon Point event, that could make sense narratively.”
“Totally agree,” says korylau. “The game favors Auntie’s Choice over the protectorate which is bullshit. If the writing was truly smart there would be more of a “reform the protectorate” option for people like me who hate Aunties choice and the order
Now, as others in the comments argue, there is sort of a reason why you can’t. I won’t go into spoilers, but it is pretty difficult to see how the player could cosy up to the Protectorate in the game as it is. It would really require an entirely separate path to be written, since depending on how far you get within the faction, it could drastically change the ending sequence.
But with that said, I see no reason for there not being an approval bar as you get with the other factions. You can come across plenty of friendly members of the Protectorate, as well as some stores and quest givers. In fact, the people we deal with are not really privy to the goings on of the higher-ups – the antagonists we are up against during the main story – so it wouldn’t be that contradictory.
Plus, as some have countered, Fallout: New Vegas literally lets you join Cesar’s Legion. Hell, you can even do this as a female character, despite the fact that the faction is extremely patriarchal. However, The Outer Worlds 2 is structured differently from New Vegas, so on a technical front, this may just not have been possible.
In any case, the game seems to be going down well with players so far. It’s also out for everyone now, with the full launch yesterday.
- Released
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October 29, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language
