Should you kill or spare Montelli in The Outer Worlds 2?

The Outer Worlds 2 Montelli choice, where you can either kill or spare him, is difficult to get past because it always ends in violence unless you meet some very specific requirements. In fact, your actions right at the very start of The Outer Worlds 2 may even impact this, which means you might have to accept that a boss fight with Montelli is inevitable. However, if you really want to get past the Protectorate Brigadier in the Vox Relay without bloodshed, I've explained what you need to do to spare Montelli in The Outer Worlds 2 below, as well as the consequences for both choices.

Best Montelli choice in The Outer Worlds 2

There isn't really a "best" option when it comes to killing or sparing Montelli during the climactic confrontation at the end of the Saboteur of Paradise quest in The Outer Worlds 2. Both options have quite similar outcomes and, as far as I can tell, not much in the way of lasting consequences.

Having said that, if you meet the strict requirements, you should try to spare Montelli. The main difference between the sparing and killing Montelli is that you get marginally more rewards in the form of extra Bits and XP for killing Montelli, but he is a very tough boss. I wouldn't say it's worth choosing to kill him over sparing if you have the choice unless you think it would fit your character – Montelli is an awful person in The Outer Worlds 2 after all.

How to spare Montelli in The Outer Worlds 2

Sparing Montelli is possible in The Outer Worlds 2 but you need to meet these conditions:

1. You must have Speech 5. During the confrontation with Montelli, there is a crucial check that you cannot pass without having five points in Speech. Remember, there's no way to respec in The Outer Worlds 2 either, so you need put as many points in as you can when levelling up.
2. Corbin must be alive. If you killed him in the Horizon Point mission after the Outer Worlds 2 Security Ops or Central Dispatch choice or fight him as soon as you meet him in the Vox Relay, then I think you've scuppered your chances of sparing Montelli. .
3. Agree to work with Corbin and do things his way. When speaking to Corbin inside the Vox Relay, don't pick any of the more direct, aggressive-sounding, or violent dialogue options, otherwise Corbin will attack. Eventually, Corbin will tell you to go to Montelli's terminal to search for information and notify high command that Corbin is taking control of the situation. After this, your next dialogue choice must be "All right. We'll do things your way…".
4. Use Montelli's terminal to send a message to High Command and read all entries. After getting through the Vox Relay and reaching the lift that leads up to Montelli, take a right and head into his office, then check his computer terminal. The important thing here is that you do what Corbin said and send a message to High Command. After that, read every file and you'll learn that Montelli is actually being commanded to execute anyone he deems a traitor.

With those requirements met, Corbin will take the lead during your war of words with Montelli in The Outer Worlds 2, but you'll get to chime in to attempt to spare him. As with Corbin earlier, don't choose any of the more aggressive options or ones that let you attack immediately. You then need to pick the "These extreme measures were never your idea…" option, using what you learned from his terminal, followed by "Do what you know is right, not what your puppeteer tells you", which requires Speech 5!

After this Speech check, Montelli will stand down and leave the station with Corbin peacefully, letting you take his Chainspark Cannon and Officer Regalia armor. Now you can press on into the Vox Relay control room for the final choice to wrap up the Saboteur of Paradise quest.

How to kill Montelli in The Outer Worlds 2

Unless you meet all the above requirements, a boss fight with Montelli in The Outer Worlds 2 is completely unavoidable in my experience, and it's a tough one at that. Montelli has a lot of armor, so Corrosive damage in some form will be good to have. If you sided with Kaur for The Outer Worlds 2 Milverstreet or Kaur choice, the Kaur's Korroder pistol is a good weapon here, though Plasma, Shock, and Frost damage will also be useful.

Furthermore, don some heavy armor (even better if it has the Shock Soak mod) and make liberal use of your Outer Worlds 2 gadgets (Tactical Time Dilation and the Gas-Energy Deflection Apparatus in particular), companion abilities, and grenades to keep pressure on Montelli and make sure you use cover as much as possible. He also summons guards and the best approach is to deal with them as fast as possible, otherwise they will flush you out of cover. Niles' companion ability is good for drawing their attention, but he might get incapacitated in the process.

Once defeated, you can collect Montelli's Chainspark Cannon from his corpse, as well as his Officer Regalia armor and some Bits. It's also worth mentioning that Corbin is incredibly difficult to keep alive (if not impossible) in this fight as he has barely any health and will often be killed by the chain-lightning from Montelli's gun. However, if he does live he's very unhappy about how things have turned out and not pleased with your efforts at all. At this point, you're now free to move into the Vox Relay control room to finish off your mission.

When you're back on the Incognito, try cracking open The Outer Worlds 2 Commander's Safe by finding the key. In the next region, you'll also want to look out for The Outer Worlds 2 order initiate scavenger hunt puzzle too for more loot.

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