Obsidian Entertainment’s The Outer Worlds sends players on an adventure through space that is filled with tons of character interaction and plenty of action. Combat in The Outer Worlds should be familiar to fans of the Fallout franchise, but Obsidian puts enough twists on the formula to make it feel new.
One way that The Outer Worlds tries to spin its combat in fun ways is through Science Weapons. These are wholly unique guns that are usually less about damage and more about the manipulation of enemies. There are five Science Weapons in The Outer Worlds and the easiest to acquire is the Shrink Ray.
Step 1: Unlock Space Travel
Players can find the Shrink Ray at Dr. Phineas Welles’ lab, however, traveling to the lab is not so simple. Although players will gain access to space travel early on in The Outer Worlds, they will find themselves restricted. First, the ship will be under lockdown when arriving at the Groundbreaker, and players will need to complete some tasks/persuade some individuals to lift that lockdown.
Then, players will need to complete some tasks to acquire a Navkey that allows travel throughout the whole Halcyon system in The Outer Worlds. Once players have this Navkey they can claim the Shrink Ray.
After claiming the Navkey, players can head to their ship, the Unreliable, and access the star map. New planets and areas will now be accessible, but the goal is Phineas Welles’. Fast travel there.
Step 2: Visit Phineas Welles' Lab
Upon arriving at Phineas Welles’ lab travel towards the curious character, who is inside of a glass room with a microphone at the front. Don’t worry about engaging with Welles just yet – look to the right. There is the Shrink Ray.
Upon claiming the Shrink Ray in The Outer Worlds, Phineas Welles will explain that it can be used to shrink enemies down to size. He suggests using it on Marauders but there are some sheep-like creatures nearby that players can test their new weapon on. As the name implies, firing a continuous blast of the Shrink Ray at a target will shrink it down to size, allowing for more damage by Companions or weapons.
The Shrink Ray is one of five known Science Weapons in The Outer Worlds, with the others being the Gloop Gun, the Mind Control Ray, the Mandibular Rearranger, and the Prismatic Hammer. These are by no means the only “fun” guns to use in The Outer Worlds but they are certainly the most unique and well worth seeking out.
The Outer Worlds is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.