I’m always encouraged when a developer wants to show me more of its game, and Square Enix is giving players more info on Outriders today. Broadcast #4 starts with a look at the Technomancer class. It can summon weapons and cause enemies to be frozen in ice. It’s not a purely damage focused class, but it is the one that’s best with sniper rifles and recommended for solo play. For powers, it’s the only class that can heal allies, constructs, and itself regardless of distance, but, despite the ability to heal, it’s still deadly.
The new broadcast also talks about post-campaign content called Expeditions. After starting in a new camp, your Outrider can take on challenging enemies in new locations. None of this is recycled from the campaign, and there are even new storylines for the fourteen different Expeditions. The developers are quick to remind us that this is not a live service game either.
Starting an Expedition will include a new challenge tier, so you can choose how difficult it will be. Higher tiers need to be unlocked, and these unlock new Expeditions for you to complete. With that extra challenge comes better loot, but it won’t be from the enemies you kill. You only get paid when the job is done, and finishing an Expedition quickly will net you better loot. Even though your character maxes out at level 30, gear and loot can increase up to level 50 in Expeditions.
The next part of the info dump today goes into mods and crafting, and it applies to everything. You can break down weapons you find for mods and craft them into a new powerful weapon. They show a gun with freezing bullets with another mod that applies lightning damage at the same time. Armor is able to be modded as well. Your character tree can be respecced at any time for free, so you can fine-tune your character to better complement your team. I’m hitting the highlights, so check out the video for more details on this.
The last part of the thirty-minute trailer shows us a look at one of the Expeditions. A three-person team takes on a lot of enemies and shows off some of the cool powers that fully-leveled characters can have. More gameplay is better, so check it out if you want to see the endgame content.
Closing out the broadcast, there is a special Hell’s Rangers Content Pack for anyone who pre-orders the game. We are once again reminded that there are no microtransactions, and the game is content complete out of the box. There are no advantages or skills included in the pack, and you can buy it later. It’s decals, skins, and eleven Hell’s Rangers weapons, and you can check them out towards the end.
If you do buy Outriders on the PS4 when it releases on February 2nd, 2021, there is a free next-gen upgrade, so you won’t be left behind. The game is looking good for the co-op looter shooter genre, and I like the emphasis on everything being in the box at release without the need to include games as a service or pay to win.
Square Enix is showing a lot of this game before release. Check out this broadcast and the others to dive into more info.
