Outriders from People Can Fly and Square Enix is finally out, offering players the chance to loot and shoot their way across an alien planet with guns and superpowers. The crux of this upcoming multiplayer shooter game isn't difficult to understand, and while the tutorial can be a bit long in the tooth, it's still straightforward and gives you a good rundown of what you need to do to play. However, some elements of the game either become apparent over time or aren't spelled out so clearly. Here are seven things you should know before getting started in Outriders.
1. Try out all of the classes
There are four classes in Outriders: Devastator, Pyromancer, Trickster, and Technomancer. Once you get through the prologue, you have to choose one and then you're stuck with it for the rest of the game. That is, unless you start over with a new character.
You'll get multiple save slots in Outriders (there were six available in the demo). While the prologue is sizeable, you can skip it once you've completed it once and just hop right into character creation and class selection. Then, you can try out a new character for a couple of quests and see how you do. You might find your preferred playstyle right away, or it might take you a couple of tries. All of them have their strengths and weaknesses, so play around and find out what works best.
2. Pay attention to status effects
Like in other games, you deal damage to enemies but also status effects. There are eight different status effects: Ash, Bleed, Burn, Freeze, Slow, Toxic, Vulnerable, and Weakness.
Depending on your class, certain status effects become more important. For example, Pyromancers can heal (more on this later) after killing an enemy with Burn already applied, while Tricksters often apply Slow to enemies using their abilities. If an enemy gets a status effect, a little icon will appear on top of their health bar. Pay attention to this and you can maximize your gameplay.
3. Keep moving
Regardless of what class you choose, People Can Fly want players to keep moving. Staying still on the battlefield or hiding behind cover for a prolonged period will increase the chance enemies will flank your position or throw an ordinance, forcing you out anyway.
Luckily, you'll learn very quickly that you need to constantly move around, not only because the developers want you to, but also because there will be some advantages. The majority of playstyles work best in medium or close range (although longer-range playstyles are available), so you'll be hopping around each battlefield. Also, as you'll learn in the next section, sometimes behind close to enemies helps with healing.
4. Learn how to heal your class
Outriders doesn't have typical health items. Instead, each of the classes has a different way to heal that comes from killing enemies in specific ways.
- Devastator: Gain health back simply by standing near an enemy you kill. This is a close-range tank class, so you'll be taking a lot of damage, but the more you kill, the more you gain.
- Pyromancer: Marking an enemy with your class ability and then killing them will grant you health. There are also a few Pyromancer skills that allow you to leech health from others.
- Trickster: This is another easy one. You have to kill enemies at close range and you'll gain health back. Tricksters also get shield buffs.
- Technomancer: This is the closest Outriders gets to a support class, so there are plenty of skills you can unlock that can heal you and your allies. Regardless, the Technomancer also gains health back as they deal damage.
5. Play with a balanced team
In Outriders, you can play in teams of up to three people or solo. There aren't class restrictions when playing in teams — you can theoretically play with three Tricksters if you want — but you'd be missing out on what you can do in a versatile team and the chance to mess around with some fun strategies.
Each of the classes fills a certain niche, whether you want to be the tank with the Devastator or a support or long-distance damage dealer with the Technomancer. So having different classes on the battlefield allows players to strategize more about placement.
The different classes can also pull off combos together. Having a Trickster on your team who can slow enemy movement is a great foundation for a devastating combo with the Pyromancer or Devastator, who have area of effect attacks. The Technomancer is the only class that can use ordinances, making them perfect for getting enemies out from behind cover. A Devastator and Technomancer combo could be deadly, especially with all of the buffs you can unlock as the latter class. The battles in Outriders are plentiful and dynamic, so there is plenty of room to experiment.
6. Manually pick your World Tier
Outriders has a unique take on game difficulty with its World Tiers system. You start in World Tier 1, the easiest tier, and as you play and kill enemies, you'll earn experience points. You'll then rank up into different tiers, which grants you rewards and better loot, but also more difficult enemies. There are 15 in total, and you can view your current one, along with your progress, at the top of the screen.
However, if you decide that the game has become too difficult, you can manually change your world tier. Just open the menu and go to the World Tier option. You can then go back to any previous World Tier.
7. Grind sidequests and pay attention to resources
This is a game all about looting and shooting, and you can do both of those in the main quest and sidequests. However, unlike the main quests, you can play side missions as many times as you like. This is the perfect way to grind for loot in the hopes you get that gun you want or that piece of armor that'll help your game. Even if you don't get the loot you want, you can dismantle them for resources or sell them at shops.
Also, make sure you pay attention as you traverse levels. There will be opportunities to harvest resources, which you can then use for crafting. There are also chests at the end of each battle you should remember to open for loot. The way to get the best loot is to go up in the World Tier system and grind, but you can also cut that time down by crafting or buying at shops.
Your thoughts?
Do you have a tip you want to share? Drop it in the comments below. Outriders will be out on April 1 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Steam, Epic Games Store, and Stadia. It'll also be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one.
Whatever your playstyle, the choice is yours
Outriders features drop-in, drop-out co-op for up to three players and four classes to choose from. No matter your playstyle, you can take on the obstacles of Enoch with style.
