One of the first major choices in The Outer Worlds occurs during the Comes Now the Power main quest. You will be forced to choose which faction to divert power to in the Emerald Vale. You can choose to support Edgewater led by Reed or the Deserters led by Adelaide. Below you will find how each choice plays out.
Divert Power to Edgewater
Below are the rewards for choosing to divert power to the Edgewater.
- 2828 EXP
- Spacer’s Choice Rep Increases
- Deserters Rep Decreases
- Parvati is happy with your choice
After diverting the power of Edgewater, you will return to the Botanical Lab to collect their power regulator. In the generator room, you are confronted by Adelaide who is furious at your decision and wants to know why you chose Edgewater over her. There are two options here that you can pick. Either you leave Adelaide alone or you persuade/force Reed to resign from his position. Regardless of which you choose, the power regulator is yours.
If you choose to let Adelaide wallow in her misery, you can talk both Thomas and Grace into returning to Edgewater. If you have given Thomas at least one of the engineering volumes, you can have him return as an engineer instead of a cannery worker. This feels like a nobody wins scenario as things don’t really change in Edgewater and the Botanical Lab is now defenseless.
If you choose to make Reed resign, you can talk Adelaide into running Edgewater and have Thomas and Grace return with her. Note that Thomas can return as an engineer if you gave him at least one of the engineering volumes from The Frightened Engineer side quest. If you do your due diligence, you can persuade Reed to leave town peaceful. If not, then you will be forced to take him out. Either way, Adelaide will return to Edgewater bringing the gift of food and curing the plague. I personally felt that this was the best/good ending all things considered.
Divert Power to Botanical Lab
Below are the rewards for choosing to divert power to the Botanical Lab.
- 2828 EXP
- Spacer’s Choice Rep Decrease
- Deserters Rep Increase
After diverting power to the Botanical Lab, you will have to return to the Edgewater Cannary to claim the power regulator. As you approach the basement of the cannary housing the regulator, Reed will be waiting to confront you. He will ask why you made your choice and will tell you to leave if you value your life. If your intimidate is 30, then you can tell them to get lost, otherwise, you will have to take him and all of his guards out. You will then grab the power regulator and exit the cannary to find the people of Edgewater not amused about the power going out as the people in the sick room are trapped there.
If you travel to the Botanical Lab and talk to Adelaide, she will thank you for diverting the power to them and mention that she wishes she could see the look on Reed’s face. You also learn that she has had it out for Reed since the beginning and that she plans on turning away the people of Edgewater to keep their home pure. All in all, this is probably the worst/bad choice of the two.