Fallout 4 Far Harbor guide: Marine Combat Armor and legendary Recon set location

Fed up of lugging around hefty power armour and running out of Fusion Cores? Don't worry, as Fallout 4's Far Harbor DLC – the latest (and largest) expansion – hides arguably the best armour in the entire game within its murky, irradiated waters and along its foggy shores.

Offering significant boosts to damage and energy resistance (and a decent amount of radiation resistance), the Marine armour and its legendary 'Recon' variant may be a tad heavy, but this tanky gear bests all other combat armour sets in the defence stakes.

While Fallout 4 veterans looking to optimise their set-up with a 'Recon' and ballistic weave combo may want to skip to the bottom, those hoping to easily grab a complete Marine armour set simply need to follow the steps below.

Explore The Nucleus and progress through Best Left Forgotten main quest

Once you've been inducted into the Children of Atom's peculiar brand of zealotry during the main quest Best Left Forgotten, head inside The Nucleus, towards the back of the eerie dock and up the stairs until you reach the very top level. Behind the guard lies a dungeon-lite so either tell them you have permission (granted by High Confessor Tektus) or if you've already taken against the cult, simply shoot your way through.

This linear section will eventually lead to a computer terminal and several murderous Assaultrons. Flip the circuit breaker to start the central terminal and prepare to be transported into a weird VR-like simulation.

Retrieve Memory 5 (0Y-8K7D) from DiMA's memory banks

This section's bizarre tower-defence/Minecraft puzzle mash-up can actually be finished at memory 3, but for the full co-ordinates you are going to need to reach and complete the fifth and final memory.

The first four sections are fairly self-explanatory, but the fifth is a bit of nightmare (follow this video guide from 'Father' if you find yourself getting frustrated). Once you've completed it rejoice that you can leave this pixelated hell with Marine armour co-ordinates in hand.

Where to find the Marine Combat Armor Leg Shipment – Children of Atom Shrine and Haddock Cove

First off, select the 'Find the Marine Combat Armor Shipments' quest from the Miscellaneous section in your Pip-Boy. After checking the map you'll see that separate parts of the set are scattered across three different locations.

They are also all found underwater, so if you don't happen to have the Aquagirl/Aquaboy perk then make sure you have plenty of Radaway/Rad-X meds. You'll also need to take into account the weight of the armour to prevent dying a slow and painful death during an encumbered, gradual crawl back to dry land.

Depending on how much exploring you've done already, the easiest starting point is usually the loot drop located to the south west of the Children of Atom shrine and just beyond Haddock Cove.

Deal with the horrifying Bloodrage and Killclaw Mirelurks and take a dip off the end pier. Inside a sunken ship you'll find the Assault Marine Armor Left Leg and Right Leg.

Where to find the Marine Combat Armor Head and Chest Piece Shipment – Rock Point Camp and Rayburn Point

North west of Rock Point Camp and off the coast of the Trapper-filled Rayburn Point lies the second shipment. Take a plunge and scour the depths for a yellow shipping container. Inside you'll discover the Assault Marine Armor Helmet and the Assault Marine Armor Chest Piece. You'll also find the Marine Wetsuit and Marine Tactical Helmet, although strangely only the former can be worn underneath the full Marine Armor set.

Where to find the Marine Combat Armor Arm Shipment – Harbor Grand Hotel

The final location to the south east is guarded by a particularly unfriendly party of high-level Super Mutants, including a few Warlords, Masters and the annoying chaps that self-destruct. My advice is to clear them out as the Grand Hotel is an important quest location anyway. Pop inside, blow the angry meatheads to bits and head over to the rickety jetty (pictured below).

Swim past the sunken ship and search for a military storage container. Inside you'll receive left and right Assault Marine Combat Armor Arms.

Where to find the unique legendary Recon Marine Armor set, Atom's Bulwark and Ballistic Weave under armour tips

The vanilla Marine Armor set may be lovely in all its metallic glory, but it actually isn't the best version you can find. The damage-sponge 'Recon' variant can be bought from several vendors, although you'll only grab a few parts per purchase. You'll also need a whole bunch of caps, so get saving. Here's where to find the legendary Recon Marine Armor pieces (via the Fallout Wikia):

You can also grab a specialised version of the Marine Armor called Atom's Bulwark after completing the Reformation quest. This can spawn as any part of the set and increases resistance as you absorb radiation.

Finally, to really ramp up those resistances to Power Armor standards, take advantage of the Ballistic Weave mods for under-armour clothing (the Army Fatigues are the most commonly found in the Commonwealth, but you can find a full list here).

You'll need to have progressed through the Railroad's questline, completed several side-quests from Tinker Tom and P.A.M. and have access to the rank 4 Armorer perk, but it is definitely worth it for stacking those resistances to insane levels.

Zealot and Inquisitor Marine Armor Mods

If you can't afford the Recon set, you can at least mod your basic model for some minor aesthetic benefits.

Find your nearest Armor Workbench to alter the appearance and properties of your Marine Armor set. Switching it to the Zealot type gives the armour a Children of Atom tinge, but reduces a few resistances.

The Inquisitor mod, on the other hand, resembles the Zealot design and slightly alters the increased resistances of the Assault mod (+1 energy and -1 damage).

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