Steal a Dictator’s Coat: The Outer Worlds 2 Reveals Protectorate Museum Heist

The Outer Worlds 2 includes a museum heist mission at the Tomb of the Matriarch, where players can learn about the Protectorate faction and take items from the exhibits. I saw a hands-off public demo on the floor at Gamescom that showed the mission, the faction aesthetics, companion options, and several gameplay systems used during the heist.

Heist mission at the Tomb of the Matriarch with stealth, hacking, and diversion options.
Protectorate faction visuals draw on Art Nouveau and pre-WWI Prussian styles.
Companions Tristan and Niles can be built as DPS or tanks; Niles has a personal connection to the Protectorate.
Security systems include a scanner readout, hacking checks, lasers, automechs, and a dragoon enemy.
Loot includes a golden shroud coat, a retro revolver, and collectible pitchball cards; release date is Oct. 29 on PS5, Windows, and Xbox Series X.

The heist: Tomb of the Matriarch

The mission takes place in the Tomb of the Matriarch, the founder of the Protectorate. The Matriarch established the Protectorate’s rule on Arcadia through technology, and her tomb functions as a museum and shrine.

Players first see a scanner that previews security protocols, which shows lasers that would instantly disintegrate a character. A control panel can be overridden with a hacking score of 9, but the demo character had hacking at 5 and was prompted to find a manual to bypass it.

Gameplay systems used in the mission

The demo highlighted multiple approaches. You can sneak, pick locks, use hacking skill checks, or use gadgets such as a tactical time dilation device that slows time for long-range headshots.

One diversion option involved overriding an automech’s programming to distract a hulking Protectorate dragoon. The automech wanders downstairs and the demo showed it argue with the dragoon about possible malfunction; the demo included the dialog line: “Your logic is infallible, like the Matriarch.” Meanwhile, the player could sneak past and continue the heist.

Companion roles and builds

The developer in the demo took Tristan and Niles along. Both companions can be specced as either DPS or tanks, and the demo showed gear and build benefits for each role. Niles has a personal stake in the mission because he’s from the Protectorate.

Environment, faction design, and lore

The Outer Worlds 2 retains the Art Nouveau look from the first game. For the Protectorate, developers added pre-World War I Prussian monarchy influences, visible in guard uniforms and the museum’s presentation.

The museum contains retro-style displays and propaganda portraying the Matriarch as a benevolent figure who introduced automechanical designs and established peace with the Order of the Ascendent, an offshoot of the Order of Scientific Inquiry from the first game. Mourners in the shrine speak of the Matriarch’s life and remark that she could have done more “if only she had a few more years.”

Security, puzzles, and loot

Security in the tomb combines sensors and active defenses. The scanner previews what will happen if alarms trigger, and there are multiple ways to bypass systems: hacking, finding a manual, or using skill checks to manipulate NPCs and robots.

In the demo the player found the Good Subject’s Guide to Electrical Systems in a back room after picking a lock, which allowed them to override the security panel and control the lasers. The docent who guarded the display carried the key to the golden shroud coat that players can equip later.

Other obtainable items shown in the demo included a retro-style revolver and a pitchball card, part of a collectible set depicting Obsidian Entertainment employees.