Nobody likes to be told they're playing with the worst class in Outriders. Like many looter games, gamers, even hardcore ones, are often more focused on the entertainment of the experience than optimization and min/maxing. If a class is fun to play and it can beat the game, then who cares what somebody has to say about it?
That's a solid stance to take, but the endgame experience is going to be grouping up in threes. And if players are using inferior builds and dragging the team down, then "the entertainment of the experience" will be significantly reduced. Thankfully, it's never too late to change course from one of the weaker sub-classes into one of the stronger ones in Outriders.
Updated on July 3rd, 2022 by Hodey Johns: It's been a while since New Horizon was released and shuffled the charts around with new gear and refined skills. Now, with a couple of new trees to choose from and a truckload of better equipment, the rankings have changed yet again. Worldslayer promised to refine the endgame that players have loved. Although most build styles are relatively similar to how they played before, gamers will sense that some have gained usefulness with the new priorities toward the end of the game. Other builds didn't fair so well and fell down the list. As of now, this is where every build stands when fully leveled and equipped.
13 Fire Storm - Pyromancer
The cardinal sin in Outriders is to feel bland and only one sub-class in the game commits it. Having the best build for the Fire Storm still makes it feel uninspired. As a "tank" class, it's the worst of the four classes in terms of tanking, relying on Skill Leech.
But even the Skill Leech isn't enough because players have to sacrifice Anomaly Power to be a Fire Storm. The weapon damage isn't good even after making this sacrifice. With how much stronger opponents are at the highest tiers, the Fire Storm is out of place and the new trees don't get it enough power to compete.
12 Pestilence - Technomancer
Despite being the game's premier sniper class, the Pestilence doesn't quite manage to capitalize on the various advantages that it has. Keeping enemies away is a smart idea, but not every enemy just kicks back. The Toxic debuff this build applies is fine, but works with Anomaly Power and doesn't slow down enemies or keep them back.
There is a build to make the Pestilence viable, but nothing that makes it feel incredible. Mobs of enemies are more prevalent than ever in Worldslayer, further diminishing the necessity of a sniper's capabilities.
11 Assassin - Trickster
Back when people mistakenly thought that the Trickster was the worst class in the game probably did so because of this build. It does deal a moderate amount of physical damage, but its biggest weakness seems baked into even the best build for the Assassin.
The Twisted Rounds ability is Anomaly Damage and not Firepower, so the weapon damage can't maximize its effect. The class has decent mobility, but on tier tiers of difficulty, enemies will slowly snowball in number faster than the Assassin can kill them.
10 Vanquisher - Devastator
When leveling up with the Devastator, it can be frustrating to feel like the class has no power. It's easily the hardest class to power through the early game with default world tiers selected. The Vanquisher build can make this climb bearable by increasing weapon damage.
For a while, this build was considered one of the better ones, but without a "rounds" ability like the other three classes, the weapon damage is not top-tier. The tankiness is better than other damage-dealing classes, but with high cooldowns on these skills, it's probably better to go for another Devastator build.
9 Demolisher - Technomancer
As far as group damage goes, it's hard to compete with the Demolisher. Players can regularly equip themselves with rocket launchers while mortars rain down on top of mobs with the right configuration for a Demolisher.
Wolrdslayer has not been kind to the Demolisher due to mobile enemies that can cross the map and get into melee range at unprecedented speeds. With so many targeted abilities, this makes it tougher to land direct hits on groups. Talented players who study enemy patterns will find they can compensate for this difficulty.
8 Tempest - Pyromancer
The buffs to the skills and nodes have been kinder to no class more than the Tempest. The build was always visually spectacular, but the time between cooldowns felt like a waste of what should be great damage.
Now the Tempest, with the right mods, nodes, and skills, is back in business, minimizing the time between skills and typing Firepower to Anomaly Power for a more consistent mix of damage.
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6 Seismic Shifter - Devastator
A casting tank is a novel concept in many games, but it's often not well executed, failing to look good as either a tank or as a damage-dealer. The Seismic Shifter's perfect build breaks through the barrier and establishes itself as one of the best ways to play the game.
The Skill Leech from the nodes allows the Devastator to survive so long as it deals damage. That damage is combined with a solid amount of mobility, handy and unexpected from the tank-focused Devastator.
5 Harbinger - Trickster
Dead Tricksters do no damage, so plenty of gamers find that the Harbinger build is actually the proverbial cream of the DPS crop due to their ability to stay alive. With more focus now applied to survivability, the shields on the Harbinger are an attractive means of staying alive.
The build is hardly without damage and a good Harbinger build can make this feel like an invincible ball of damage that still retains its mobility. Worldslayer values death avoidance more than damage output. Although it can be argued that the best defense is a strong offense, the Harbinger does both at elite levels.
4 Tech Shaman - Technomancer
The ideal build for the Tech Shaman was the best in the game at release. As the game's one true healer class, the Tech Shaman is capable of hauling subpar groups through difficult world rifts and keeping everyone alive. After a few months, this class had a severe dropoff when other characters got their gear right and no longer required the Tech Shaman's services.
So why is the Tech Shaman still so high? With timers taking a backseat to clearing content in Worldslayer, survival once again becomes the top priority. The Tech Shaman is not only the premier healer, it's also no slouch on the DPS charts.
3 Warden - Devastator
Once the Warden build is complete, players will be surprised to find that the unquestionably best tank in the game also has no limit on damage. With the Fortress mod and nodes/skills that steal armor, the damage on the Warden can get rapidly out of control.
It gains damage by being tanky and gets tanky by doing damage; the perfect storm. Getting the class geared up can be an uphill fight. The Devastator, as a class, is tough to level and gear up. Some players might not understand how this ranks so high until they've completed the build. Afterward, they will be hard-pressed to play any other class or build.
2 Ash Breaker - Pyromancer
When the New Horizon update came out, more bosses and large enemies became vulnerable to status effects, debuffs, and crowd control. This has only been amplified for the Worldslayer expansion. Locking down large targets is handy in solo or group play.
Inflicting the Ash status stuns enemies and renders them unable to move, shoot, or cast spells. With the right build for the Ash Breaker Pyromancer, Volcanic Rounds will pierce opponents, making this build one of the few weapon damage options that works well against groups of targets.
1 Reaver - Trickster
From day one, the Reaver Trickster has topped the charts. Every balance, patch, redistribution of weapons, it feels like every other build is just trying to catch up. Nobody clears the hardest content faster or more consistently than a Reaver.
Considering that Twisted Rounds are anomaly damage, this burst is so significant that all but bosses will fall in single strikes from shotguns. And the bosses won't be much further behind. When using the best build for the Reaver, players don't need a team unless they want to show off.
Outriders is available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.