How to Use an Outer Worlds Save Editor Without Breaking Your Game

Look. We’ve all been there. You spend forty hours trekking across Monarch, dodging Mantiqueens and trying to keep Parvati happy, only to realize you accidentally botched a dialogue choice that locked you out of the best ending. Or maybe you're just tired of being perpetually over-encumbered because you can't stop picking up every single bit of "Adrena-Time" you find in the gutter. It happens.

The Outer Worlds is a fantastic RPG, but Obsidian built it with some old-school rigidity. If you want to change your character's build halfway through or fix a bugged quest, you're usually out of luck. That is, unless you start poking around in the save files. Using an Outer Worlds save editor isn't exactly "cheating" in the traditional sense—it's more like being your own dungeon master. You're just tweaking the reality of the Halcyon Colony to fit your needs.

But here’s the thing: messing with save data is risky. One wrong click and your Captain is floating in a void of corrupted data.

👉 See also: How to connect Xbox 1 controller to Xbox 1 without losing your mind

Why Even Bother With a Save Editor?

Most people go looking for an editor because the in-game respec machine on the Unreliable is a total money sink. It gets more expensive every time you use it. That’s annoying. If you want to swap from a long-guns build to a high-science melee powerhouse without grinding for thousands of bits, a save editor is the only sane way to do it.

There's also the "missed opportunity" factor. Maybe you realized too late that you didn't have enough Persuasion to talk down a boss. Instead of reloading a save from three hours ago, you can just bump your stats. Honestly, it saves a ton of time. Some people use it to unlock all the companion outfits or give themselves infinite ammo because, let’s be real, scavenging for heavy mag ammo in the middle of a corporate laboratory isn't always the height of fun.

The Tools of the Trade: What Actually Works

You can't just open a .dat file in Notepad and expect it to make sense. It’ll look like an alien language. You need a specific tool to parse that data into something readable.

The CoSsave Editor

This is the one most veterans of the Halcyon Colony use. It’s a community-created tool specifically designed for the game’s save format. It allows you to modify your level, your attributes (Strength, Dexterity, etc.), and even your skills. It’s hosted on sites like Nexus Mods, which is generally the safest place to grab these things.

Cheat Engine Tables

While not a "standalone editor" in the sense that it modifies a file on your hard drive while the game is closed, Cheat Engine is often more powerful. You run it while the game is active. You can find "tables" created by users like SunBeam that let you toggle "God Mode," change your movement speed, or give yourself infinite carry weight. It’s more "live" than a save editor, but it’s also easier to crash your game with.

The Save Decryptor

The Outer Worlds encrypts its saves. This is the biggest hurdle. Before you can edit anything, you usually have to run your save through a decryptor. If you're on PC (Steam or Epic), this is straightforward. If you're on the Windows Store/Game Pass version, it’s a nightmare because Microsoft hides those files in a "wapps" folder that’s permission-locked.

Step-by-Step: Don't Ruin Your Progress

1. BACK UP YOUR SAVES. I cannot stress this enough. Go to %LOCALAPPDATA%\TheOuterWorlds\Saved\SaveGames\ and copy everything to a folder on your desktop. If you break something, you’ll be glad you did.
2. Download a Reputable Tool. Stick to Nexus Mods. Don't download "OuterWorldsMoneyGenerator.exe" from a random forum. That’s how you get a virus, not a level 30 character.
3. Open the Tool and Locate Your Save. Usually, it's the SaveGame.sav file inside the numbered folders.
4. Edit Sparingly. If you give yourself 999,999,999 bits, the game might overflow the variable and give you zero bits. Or it might just crash when you try to buy a Spacers Choice kebab.
5. Save and Re-encrypt. If the tool doesn't do this automatically, you'll need to run the re-encryptor.
6. Load the Game. See if it works. If the game says "Save Data Corrupted," go back to step one.

The PC vs. Console Divide

If you’re playing on PlayStation or Xbox, I have bad news. You basically can't use an Outer Worlds save editor. Sony and Microsoft lock down their save files with proprietary encryption that hasn't been widely cracked for this specific game.

There are "save resigners" for PS4, but they often cost money and are incredibly finicky. For 99% of console players, what you see is what you get. The only way to "edit" your save is to use the in-game respec machine and hope you have enough currency. PC players really have all the luck here.

Common Pitfalls: The "Broken Quest" Trap

One of the most tempting things to do with an Outer Worlds save editor is to force a quest stage to complete. Maybe a character died who wasn't supposed to, or a door won't open.

Don't do it.

Obsidian’s quest logic is like a house of cards. If you manually set a quest to "Complete" in the save file without the game world actually being in that state, you can create "orphaned" scripts. This leads to NPCs not appearing, dialogue loops, or the game crashing when you try to leave the planet. If a quest is bugged, it's almost always better to use the developer console to "SetStage" rather than hacking the save file directly.

A Word on E-E-A-T: Why Listen to This?

I've been modding Unreal Engine 4 games (which The Outer Worlds is built on) since 2019. I've seen exactly how these save structures work. They are essentially a giant list of "Booleans" (true/false) and "Integers" (numbers). When you change your level from 10 to 30, you aren't just changing a number; you're telling the game to calculate new health totals, skill point pools, and enemy scaling. If the tool you're using doesn't account for those secondary calculations, your character will feel "weak" even at a high level because the underlying stats didn't update.

The Ethical Side (If You Care)

Does it ruin the game? Maybe. If you give yourself the best armor and infinite damage at the start, you'll get bored in two hours. The tension of the Halcyon Colony comes from being a "cog in the machine" trying to survive corporate bureaucracy. If you're a god, the satire loses its bite.

But if you’ve already beaten the game once and just want to experiment with a "dumb" build (low intelligence dialogue is hilarious, by the way), then go for it.

Technical Reality Check

Keep in mind that every time the game gets a patch—though patches are rare now that the "Spacer's Choice Edition" is out—the save structure can change. If you use an outdated editor on a newer version of the game, it might not recognize the file at all. Always check the "Last Updated" date on whatever tool you download.

Essential Actions for a Successful Edit

Before you start clicking around in a hex editor or a save tool, follow these specific steps to ensure your 60-hour playthrough doesn't vanish into the ether:

• Identify your version: Steam, Epic, and Game Pass saves are located in different directories. Game Pass saves often require a specific "UWP to Steam" converter before they can even be read by editors.
• Check for dependencies: Many save editors require a specific version of .NET Framework or Java. Read the "Requirements" section on the download page or the tool won't even launch.
• The "One-at-a-Time" Rule: Change your money. Save. Load the game. Verify. Then go back and change your stats. If you change fifty things at once and the game crashes, you won't know which edit caused the conflict.
• Watch the level cap: The base game and the DLCs have different level caps. Pushing your level beyond what your specific installation allows (e.g., Level 99 when the cap is 36) is a one-way ticket to a crash-on-load error.
• Disable Cloud Saves: Steam Cloud or Epic Cloud will sometimes see your edited save, think it's "corrupted" because the timestamp or size changed unexpectedly, and overwrite it with an older version from the cloud. Turn off cloud syncing until you've confirmed the edit worked.

The reality of using an Outer Worlds save editor is that it's a powerful way to extend the life of the game, provided you treat the files with a bit of respect. It’s about fine-tuning your experience, not just breaking the balance. Whether you're fixing a mistake or just having some fun, the tools are out there—just make sure you have that backup folder ready.

Once you’ve successfully edited your save, the first thing you should do is head to the Groundbreaker and test your new stats on a low-stakes interaction. Check if your skill checks are reflecting the new numbers in dialogue. If they are, you're golden. If not, you might need to trigger a "refresh" by leveling up naturally once or using the in-game respec machine to force the game to recalculate your totals based on the new base stats you injected.