Outriders (Squeenix looter shooter)

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Vorph

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If they could truly offer a fun, meaningful 200 hours, I'm definitely on board. The problem is, I didn't take that away from the demo. Especially with a lot of the classes feeling "meh", like you said.
I definitely agree there, but if the core gameplay and class design limits it to, say, 40-80 hours (large range to allow for the possibility that one of the shitty classes has all three of their best abilities unlock after level 7), would having a bunch of GaaS shit really change anything? I mean, a game like Borderlands 3 could have had every possible content padding feature know to man or mobile-game-developer-filth and it still wouldn't even be worth playing through the story once. Not saying I think Outriders is going to be anywhere near that bad, but I definitely get a "one and done" feel from the demo. I still hope I'm wrong though.
 

Kirun

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I definitely agree there, but if the core gameplay and class design limits it to, say, 40-80 hours (large range to allow for the possibility that one of the shitty classes has all three of their best abilities unlock after level 7), would having a bunch of GaaS shit really change anything? I mean, a game like Borderlands 3 could have had every possible content padding feature know to man or mobile-game-developer-filth and it still wouldn't even be worth playing through the story once. Not saying I think Outriders is going to be anywhere near that bad, but I definitely get a "one and done" feel from the demo. I still hope I'm wrong though.
GaaS probably wouldn't change too much based on the what I've seen from the demo, I agree. I think GaaS is just something I had envisioned because of my initial expectations of what Outriders was going to be. They clearly aren't trying to be that game and seem to be going for more of a "one and done" type approach. And that's fine, but I just don't pay full price for "one and done" games in 2021.
 

Crone

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Or maybe this is meant to be a console lobby game where you hop on with your buds a few times a week or whatever and play something else more full time?
This isn't necessarily a bad thing either.
 

Zindan

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Anyone playing this on a console? If so, have you had any crash issues? On my PC its been pretty shitty. Each time I've played, the game has eventually crashed, and it has always done so after doing something in the inventory. Make a change, try to exit back to gameplay and... crash.

Aside from the crashes, the Demo didn't really do much in a positive way. The lack of vertical mobility and the absolute generic mission maps were pretty off putting. I know what we've seen in the Demo is a fairly small piece of the game, so maybe the level design gets better in the later areas, but who knows. I would greatly prefer if they removed the cover mechanic entirely... its super annoying to use, and to have the enemies use.

The gearing felt ok, tbh, in the early game. Getting a blue item with a useful mod made a difference, but I uninstalled before hitting WL4 (uninstalled simply due to the crashes, I'll re-install onto a different SSD tonight). I played 3 of the 4 classes (Pyro, Trickster and Techmancer) and they each played fairly differently. I liked the Trickster the most, but I think the Technomancer gets way better once you can start ramping up the utility/dmg/buffs of the turrets via skill points.
 

Zindan

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Don't think this is bad, nor is it great - my takeaway is, it looks like it's much more interesting the higher you go, but the game feels... cheap? Like, just kind of cheesy. They need a ton more options as well because I'll not buy this if I don't have the option to turn off the FUCKING CAMERA SHAKE. Holy fuck it's unplayable at times.
I get the cheap feeling. When I first started playing, I was comparing it to my first experience with Destiny 1... and there was gigantic difference between the two games in terms of graphic fidelity and how the world felt. The graphics / zones in this Demo feel small and thin, compared to Destiny 1 (which felt larger and solid). Only way I can explain them. ;p
 
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Vorph

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Anyone playing this on a console? If so, have you had any crash issues? On my PC its been pretty shitty. Each time I've played, the game has eventually crashed, and it has always done so after doing something in the inventory. Make a change, try to exit back to gameplay and... crash.
Yeah, X1X and XSX. Was planning to at least try it on PS5 too, but I can't be bothered at this point. Gamepad shooting is so awful compared to m/k that I wouldn't even try anything but Devastator with a shotgun (which is probably the weakest weapon type since enemy armor appears to have some sort of per-pellet reduction, so that's a nope too).

No crashes though. Only time I've had an issue is on PC after reading that -dx12 on the shortcut would improve performance, so I tried it. I didn't notice any performance changes, but the DX12 renderer makes the game crash 100% of the time when you exit game to lobby.

Aside from the crashes, the Demo didn't really do much in a positive way. The lack of vertical mobility and the absolute generic mission maps were pretty off putting. I know what we've seen in the Demo is a fairly small piece of the game, so maybe the level design gets better in the later areas, but who knows. I would greatly prefer if they removed the cover mechanic entirely... its super annoying to use, and to have the enemies use.
This is my biggest gripe too. It's especially bad when you're used to Division 2's cover system, which has features like auto-mantle over cover when you're sprinting (or holding a button), auto-corner transitions, being able to climb ANYTHING that's higher than waist high... plus stuff like double tapping your turret button to automatically place it on top of whatever cover you're hiding behind or throwing a mine with a target reticule (Outriders makes you long-press the button to get the reticule). It's all so clunky.

I agree that it would've been better to remove the cover system entirely and use a system like Remnant: From the Ashes did, though it's way too late for that now. They put "cover is for cowards" in their promo video, but at the same time every 'arena' looks like something designed for a videogame PVP match instead of anything that would ever occur naturally in this world. With it being clunky on top of that, it feels like the cover is mostly just there for the enemies to use so they can be a nuisance as you try to advance on them. That said, I don't think I'd want to play a Technomancer without some ability to crouch behind obstacles and shoot around corners. Sniper rifles don't exactly lend themselves to just standing out in the open.
 
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rhinohelix

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I just think the big problem with this is going to be the fact they are saying this isn't a "games as a service" game. I don't understand how you have a proper "looter shooter" without it being a service. At that point, this is basically just Gears of War.
"Seasons" and "Season Pass" yes, Microtransactions, no. Hopefully they will just be doing more regular, smaller expansions as their "seasons" to avoid the term? I know they have been big on saying no to Microtransactions; perhaps avoiding the GaaS tag is part of that push as well?

This. Destiny is the A standard in the genre and this is a B level game at best.
So I watched some video online where they were talking about them fixing a lot of the issues with the Demo already, the 30FPS and lip sync issues in cut scenes, the crashing/stability problems, etc. The version of the demo is 0.1.0.0, fwiw, I don't know from where in the Dev cycle the Demo code is from but yeah, it needed more time. It really does feel cheap, I mean, not in the aesthetic but even in the UI, its a AA not a AAA game. Doesn't mean I won't play it at launch and enjoy it but it really feels like a step or two or three below Destiny in its polish.

No real crashes on the PS5, though.
 

Armadon

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Been playing it with my buddy hes on xbox and im on pc. No big problems at all. They do need in game mic support though for crossplay.
 

Xerge

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I enjoy watching the character say fuck a lot

did a side quest to go find the good stuff, watched quest giver get assassinated, assassin feared me so I shot him in the head with the murder weapon.

10/10 worse fucking day i'll say.
 

rhinohelix

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I enjoy watching the character say fuck a lot

did a side quest to go find the good stuff, watched quest giver get assassinated, assassin feared me so I shot him in the head with the murder weapon.

10/10 worse fucking day i'll say.
This is literally the start of quest before the cutscene is over. More senseless brutality from a game that seems to specialize in it.

I did a second playthrough of the demo as a Technowhatever, I did it in like an hour, I only died a couple of times outside of one quest where I died repeated (Payback, where I lowered the world difficulty level back a step from where I was, from just 3 to 2, and finished the next time after dropping it.) I only got a few drops and iced/pain turreted everything once I understood how the class played seemingly really easily. It felt way easier than the Devastator, but that could just also be my overall skill level increasing as well. Skipping the prologue may have dramatically improved my impression of the game as well. I just nuked/sniped everything from a distance. Now to see if the Pyromancer is any good.
 

Gravel

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The maps/cover system is probably the most off putting thing about this. It just makes the whole thing feel ridiculous.
 
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Qhue

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I do like the quests, especially the side quests, that make fun of the genre. I actually LOL'd at the 'This isn't a rescue...' mission as well as the douche Lt that backstabs those people then gets shot in the head.
 
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Valderen

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I played this some more and enjoyed it quite a bit. I got 2 Devastator and Trickster to 7 and Technomancer to 6. The Devastator is the best geared of the lot with all blues with decent mobs on it. I play with him on Tier 5 and everything is pretty much a walk in the park. The others struggle in some encounters in Tier 4 but don't have great gear.

Gear matters a lot which is really nice to be honest in a looter game. You want gear to matter a lot and it does here. The difference between blue gear+ and green gear is night and day, and to be honest the game starts being fun when you start getting blue gear.

I have mix feelings with their attack to regen health style of play. It doesn't always work well and forces some class into a very specific playstyle otherwise they won't heal at all. For example the Trickster and Devastator cannot really do the snipe a few targets before entering the battlefield because if they get hit, when they do need to get into close range they are at disadvantage. I found it to be better to just jump right in with them from the get go which I find limits their playstyle a bit. The other issue, is that while the system works well most of the time...I feel we're missing a "oh shit" way to get health back when you screw up, it could be on very long cooldown but I just missed the ability to get a big heal once in a while, the regen is in some circumstances to slow.

The game is far more fun with others(then again most games are) because there is some pretty synergy between the abilities. My devastator Earthquake on targets frozen by the Cryo Turret of the Technomancer is pretty deadly. I expect the game to have a lot of fun combos later on.

The writing isn't spectacular but I am enjoying the setting and story so far, even if it's not the most original.

I'm definitely getting it at release, if the reports of a 25-30 hours main campaign and 2-3 times that if you do all the side content is true...that will be worth of the game for me even without the endgame content or playing more than 1 class.
 
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Blitz

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The maps/cover system is probably the most off putting thing about this. It just makes the whole thing feel ridiculous.
This is probably my biggest issue. The cover system feels like shit compared to say, The Division.
 

rhinohelix

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I played this some more and enjoyed it quite a bit. I got 2 Devastator and Trickster to 7 and Technomancer to 6. The Devastator is the best geared of the lot with all blues with decent mobs on it. I play with him on Tier 5 and everything is pretty much a walk in the park. The others struggle in some encounters in Tier 4 but don't have great gear.

Gear matters a lot which is really nice to be honest in a looter game. You want gear to matter a lot and it does here. The difference between blue gear+ and green gear is night and day, and to be honest the game starts being fun when you start getting blue gear.

I have mix feelings with their attack to regen health style of play. It doesn't always work well and forces some class into a very specific playstyle otherwise they won't heal at all. For example the Trickster and Devastator cannot really do the snipe a few targets before entering the battlefield because if they get hit, when they do need to get into close range they are at disadvantage. I found it to be better to just jump right in with them from the get go which I find limits their playstyle a bit. The other issue, is that while the system works well most of the time...I feel we're missing a "oh shit" way to get health back when you screw up, it could be on very long cooldown but I just missed the ability to get a big heal once in a while, the regen is in some circumstances to slow.

The game is far more fun with others(then again most games are) because there is some pretty synergy between the abilities. My devastator Earthquake on targets frozen by the Cryo Turret of the Technomancer is pretty deadly. I expect the game to have a lot of fun combos later on.

The writing isn't spectacular but I am enjoying the setting and story so far, even if it's not the most original.

I'm definitely getting it at release, if the reports of a 25-30 hours main campaign and 2-3 times that if you do all the side content is true...that will be worth of the game for me even without the endgame content or playing more than 1 class.
Maybe with different skill unlocks you will have some variety but right now for the most part it seems there isn't a whole lot of variety to how each class will play based upon how they heal: They can all use all weapons and take different trees but if they only/main way you get health back is to kill enemies at close range, a Devastator will be faced to engaging and killing things at close range, either via weapons or Anomaly powers. You can't snipe as a Devastator because if you kill at long range, no health recovery. I guess if you have a super strong Life Leech on your weapon(s) or are built towards/around it you could do something with it but at that point you are swimming upstream. You might as well be a Technomancer.

Technomancers charging in didn't seem to be much better because their Life Leech healing didn't seem to trigger as much on one-shots, at least that was my feeling for it. I seem to get much better results from multiple lower shot weapons rather than one shot kills, although I have no testing or math to back that up. I thought Technomancers also got a direct heal skill but then I saw Captain Cornrows use it a few times on his troops in "Payback", I guess because he isn't an Altered but is definitely a Pyromancer. Hopefully there is some variety with both the class tree as well as the play style more than is visible in the Demo since it is so relatively brief.

I wonder if the release of the Demo was just to placate people as part of the pushed date. I wonder how much good it is doing the game overall.
 

Zindan

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I think the crash issue I was having might be resolved. Reddit had several suggestions, and I did all of them, but the game would still crash while using / trying to exit from Inventory or any menu based off that. Then I decided to play without a controller (on PC), and now I've been playing crash free for the past few hours. Odd.

Got a Trickster to lvl6, and now a Technomancer to lvl7. The Techno class is pretty solid, its skills work well enough, and the HP regen just from shooting mobs is pretty OP compared to health regen of other classes I've played. I'm not that impressed with the Toxic Rounds skill though, its good but I'm not sure how the DoT works on high HP mobs when you don't one shot them. Do you lose dmg by overwriting the DoT constantly?

I think I'll end up buying the game at release with the hope that the game improves as you get past the Demo areas, though I don't believe the game should be priced at $60. If it were priced at $40 tops, it would be a good deal. Only game I"ll compare it too now is Remnants from the Ashes, and its a bit lacking in the comparison, but I like the gearing system in Outriders more than Remnants so far.

Edit: So I hit World Tier 6 (or so I thought) while doing the Payback sidequest, but was getting wrecked during the boss fight. So I dropped it down to WT5, and now its should WT6 as locked. The panel for WT6 should a circle around the lock what is about a quarter full. Is there something I need to reclear on WT5 to unlock 6?
 
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Vorph

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I have mix feelings with their attack to regen health style of play. It doesn't always work well and forces some class into a very specific playstyle otherwise they won't heal at all. For example the Trickster and Devastator cannot really do the snipe a few targets before entering the battlefield because if they get hit, when they do need to get into close range they are at disadvantage. I found it to be better to just jump right in with them from the get go which I find limits their playstyle a bit. The other issue, is that while the system works well most of the time...I feel we're missing a "oh shit" way to get health back when you screw up, it could be on very long cooldown but I just missed the ability to get a big heal once in a while, the regen is in some circumstances to slow.
Yeah, this is my big concern about the classes too.

I played Trickster some more and it's not as terrible as I initially thought, but the gear perks for the first four skills that I've seen are really underwhelming compared to what Technomancer and Devastator get. Both Trickster and Technomancer are carried (at L7) by their bullet skills + armor mods (especially the 2-magazine ones). Devastator is all about Reflect Bullets, and the leg armor mod that makes it so you can shoot while the barrier is up is a total game-changer. Saw a video on reddit from someone who was using all 5 reflect mods and it was crazy how fast everything near him died. Seems like you better have a second set of gear when you come upon an Altered boss though...

Pyro seems fairly shitty now, and at least on paper the remaining four skills don't sound that great either. The class does get a bullet skill next in line after the four demo skills though. Doesn't sound nearly as powerful as Techno or Trickster's though. The class has the worst heal mechanic of them all too, which certainly doesn't help either.

And getting back to the topic of the way classes heal, it seems very imbalanced that one class heals on-hit while others only do on-kill--and with further restrictions on top of that, too. If you're up against a boss that has no adds and you're playing a Trickster, you better hope you have enough dps to just overpower it for a quick kill before your abilities are all on cooldown. I noticed it in the demo vs. Gauss especially. Technomancer can just run right up and facetank him to 0, even if he's still alive and shooting back after the freeze ends. If Trickster tries that and he lives longer than the slow bubble, you've got a big problem.

I'm not that impressed with the Toxic Rounds skill though, its good but I'm not sure how the DoT works on high HP mobs when you don't one shot them. Do you lose dmg by overwriting the DoT constantly?
It seemed to stack from what I was seeing. I don't have any other explanation for how insanely fast shit dies when I unload decay bullets into a boss, at any rate.
 
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Qhue

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Trickster with the bullet mod (2 magazine) + light machine gun (100 round clip) is pwnage at least in the demo. I just gotta remember to telepop around a bit more since it comes off cooldown pretty quickly and provides a nice shield.

I do like that its a cover-shooter that has abilities built into it that gets you away from cover with some of the classes. Trickster in cover is dead-man walking but if you play it right they can waltz through a firestorm like the goddamn Joker on a killing spree.

I gotta add that I never ever play the 'rogue' type character in these sorts of games and yet I really enjoy the trickster, but I also really enjoy the other classes as well. They made a smart move in letting people have time to explore all 4 of them but now I don't know what I want my 'main' to be.
 
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Vorph

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I do like that its a cover-shooter that has abilities built into it that gets you away from cover with some of the classes. Trickster in cover is dead-man walking but if you play it right they can waltz through a firestorm like the goddamn Joker on a killing spree.
Agreed, but at the same time I find it disappointing that every map looks like it was made by someone whose only point of reference was Mass Effect 2. It's all so completely unnatural and game-y looking. I really don't understand why a game marketed with blurbs like "cover is for cowards" didn't go full Borderlands with the level design. A crouch (and jump, ffs) button is all it really needed.

Barring that, Remnant style cover mechanics would still have been far preferable to this half quarter-assed version of Division.

--------------------------
Found another interesting Technomancer mod last night -- now on top of having 2 magazine of decay bullets and getting healed for 40% of the decay damage when the bullets are all gone, I also get a 30% magazine refill whenever I kill something. Which basically means I can clear entire areas with one use of Blighted Rounds, while never having to reload my LMG at all. It actually kind of makes the other two mods a bit moot, especially the heal one (just get a LMG with the mod that heals for like 1/3 of your hp on every kill, combined with Techno's natural on-hit regen you're nearly invincible). The 2-mag one is still useful for when there's a mini-boss Altered on the field, since you'll probably use one full mag killing it.

I still haven't found the Techno version of the +30% crit damage mod for Blighted Rounds on a pair of boots yet, but that would make it even more absurd.
 
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Zindan

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I like how, for the Technomancer, that you can have stacking perks on gear, specifically the perk that adds 1 more proximity grenade. Got 2 pieces with that perk and now have 3 grenades to toss out.