One of the more intriguing holiday releases in 2020 comes from Square Enix and People Can Fly. Outriders is not only a new IP, but it's an action RPG that is attempting to muscle into the popular looter shooter genre. Adding in cover shooter elements on top of third person shooting, Outriders also embraces the RPG side by giving players different hub areas to take a breather from combat, including a truck that moves with the player. Dialogue trees for NPC conversations and side quests will also pop up during normal gameplay.
In addition to cooperative gameplay, players will have full control over their character from the gear they wear, weapons they fight with, what they look like, and even how they want to play. Four classes are available, each with their own skill trees, abilities, and playstyles. With four diverse classes to pick from, players may have a hard choice on their hands when they first boot up the game.
In order to help make that selection, here's everything currently known about the four classes in Outriders.
Trickster
On paper, this class appears to be comparable to a hunter or rogue style class from a traditional RPG. However, the Trickster in Outriders goes a step further than most as it can control space and time to assassinate enemies. Tricksters are designed to get up and close to their targets, strike fast, and get out. Being able to manipulate space and time, the Trickster's melee attack stuns and slows enemies in addition to dealing damage. While sprinting, this attack becomes an upgraded ground slam version that adds AoE damage.
Each class has a unique healing mechanic and for the Trickster, each enemy that is killed in close range heals the player for an extra 20% and gains 12% additional shield. The class trait also gives an extra 15% damage reduction when Shield is active.
The Trickster has 8 total powers available, though People Can Fly have only revealed four so far.
- Temporal Slice - The first unlocked power, Temporal Slice summons a huge energy sword that slices through enemies in front of the player. Enemies hit will be temporarily slowed and easier to damage.
- Borrowed Time - Based on a percentage of health, the player gains an overshield. Using the power also spawns a time clone in the last location Borrowed Time was activated. Using the ability again will warp the player back to the original location back to safety. Great for scouting an area.
- Slow Trap - As expected, this power creates a bullet time dome that slows enemies and their projectiles.
- Hunt The Prey - Highlight an enemy and teleport directly behind them while also gaining a shield based on a percentage of the player's maximum health. Great when paired with Temporal Slice.
In terms of Skill Trees, players can invest in Assassination, Master of Space, and Harbinger. Players are not locked into a specific role and can put points in any tree they see fit.
- Assassination - As expected, this branch focuses on damage output and leeching bonuses.
- Master of Space - Is primarily a movement focused branch while also improving close combat effectiveness.
- Harbinger - For players who want to soak up damage as a tank, Harbinger provides defense and shield bonuses.
Pyromancer
A class that mirrors a classic mage or spellcaster, the Pyromancer is all about utilizing fire to incinerate enemies. Excelling at medium range from enemies, players will have numerous abilities that impact an area instead of single targets. The Pyromancer has abilities that typically ignite, immobilize, and explode enemies. The character's melee strike can also hit multiple close range enemies and causes burn damage to them.
Unlike the other two classes, the Pyromancer restores health by killing enemies that have been marked by its own abilities. Play aggressively and use abilities that damage enemies to mark them with a special skull icon. When defeated with that icon on them, health is given back to the player.
Here are the four abilities that have been revealed already:
- Ash Blast - An AoE immobilizing move, Ash Blast freezes enemies in place around the Pyromancer for a few seconds. The Dust Cloud is removed if the enemy is damaged, but it's great at crowd control.
- Heatwave - The Pyromancer summons a wave of fire from the ground that extends in a line ahead of them. Enemies are also burned, taking damage over time.
- Overheat - Deals damage and knockback to enemies around the Pyromancer. However, if enemies are burned, the damage increases significantly.
- Thermal Bomb - Striking the ground, a volcanic fault moves towards the enemy, burning them over time. If the enemy dies to Thermal Bomb, they rise into the air and explode, also dealing more damage to those around them.
For this class, players can invest in Ash Breaker, Firestorm, and Tempest.
- Ash Breaker - Provides additional bonuses for dealing damage to marked enemies.
- Firestorm - Increases skill, burning, and anomaly power.
- Tempest - The tank tree that focuses on increasing health and reducing damage.
Devastator
For players that want to be like the Incredible Hulk and just tear into enemies, the Devastator is a worthy pick. A frontline fighter that is all about direct confrontation, the Devastator comes equipped with earth based abilities to help smash opponents into the ground. Being able to control gravity and mass, the Devastator can dish out big damage very quickly.
Just like the previous two classes, the Devastator can restore health through its own unique way. For the Devastator, simply defeat enemies at close range. Its class trait also grants a 25% max health bonus and 30% armor bonus as well.
While the class is getting its own spotlight in an upcoming developer diary, there are a few skills fans know about so far:
- Earthquake - Unleashes a front shockwave in a cone ahead of the player. It causes knockback in addition to damage.
- Golem - Essentially a shield that envelops the character, making them more resistant to damage.
- Gravity Jump - This move allows the player to leap into the air and float temporarily, picking the place to land and smashing into it. This unleashes a AoE damage effect to anyone near the landing spot.
- Reflect Bullets - Temporarily deflects bullets away from the player.
The Devastator Skill Tree gives players another three options of Entangler, Warden, and Seismic Shifter. Unfortunately, its not yet known what each of these trees will offer players. Thankfully, People Can Fly appears to be just about ready to go into more detail when the third Broadcast goes live soon.
The Fourth Class
While People Can Fly has confirmed that Outriders has a fourth class, so far, the studio has not revealed anything about it causing speculation to continue to swirl around it. From a gameplay perspective, the game already features two classes with elemental based abilities like Earth and Fire. Perhaps to keep with the theme, this fourth class will tap into another one of the elements like air or water.
Alternatively, rumors seem to indicate that this fourth class is an Ice based class, as some fans have been able to notice a few shots from the various trailers. One enemy appears to be frozen in place while another tease seems to show a raised hand looking crystallized and shooting some sort of freezing mist. If that's the case, perhaps this class will be able to specialize in crowd control or debuffing enemies. With a Q4 2020 release date, perhaps the truth will be revealed sooner than later.
Outriders releases Q4 2020 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and in 2021 for Stadia.