Star Wars Outlaws Update 1.2 Changes Overview

Massive has released update 1.2 for Star Wars Outlaws. It contains an exceptionally large list of bug fixes and gameplay improvements. The main highlights include stealth gameplay improvements, speeder behavior and several key quest bugs that could prevent you from progressing.

Update Highlights

Today’s patch 1.2 is now available on all platforms where the game can be played. It varies in size significantly with the PC version demanding the largest download.

• PlayStation®5: 3.80 GB (version 01.002.000)
• Xbox Series X|S: 4.71 GB (version 1.0.2.0)
• PC: 5.60 GB (version 1.0.2.0)

It is not clear at this point why the patch is labeled 1.2 and promoted as such by Ubisoft and Massive, while the in-game patch number is 1.02 or a variant of it, but always placing the 2 after a zero.

In the next few (or more than few!) paragraphs, we will dive deeper into some of the more important documented or hidden changes from this update.

Better Stealth gameplay experience

The stealth gameplay in Star Wars Outlaws was bumpy at times and weird or boring more often than not. The AI of the enemy NPCs was not the brightest and most of them always had preset values and parameters of when and how they could detect Kay, resulting in too many easy and simple scenarios for avoiding detection.

In some cases, it was the opposite. Kay would be detected/seen when she is not visible to an enemy or when you are using a deliberately placed item or created environmental asset for you to use to hide behind or next to.

Today’s patch attempts to resolve this issue by adjustting AI detection. Some areas have also been redesigned and updated to feature a different number of NPCs, who are also positioned differently to improve the gameplay.

Lots of Speeder Improvements

I cannot count how many times I called the Speeder and it spawned… where it should of where I expect it to. It often does weird spins around Kay, sometimes passes her by and stops ~10 meters ahead or behind her. Other times it just does a few donuts around my character before it stops.

Update 1.2 fixes that. So far in my testing I have been pleasantly surprised by the behavior of the speeder when I call it. It spawns more “calmly” next to and usually behind Kay. It slowly approaches your character and stops.

Of course, after I tested it 10-15 times, I found out that it does still tend to bug out now and then and passes my character, but I saw no weird donuts, no crazy speed ramps after it spawns and no attempts to hit Kay “on purpose”.

Before 1.2, every little rock or obstacle causes Kay to fly off the seat and land somewhere in front of the speeder.

Now, ND-5 (or maybe Selo?) has spent some time upgrading the speeder’s collision detection trackers and you will not fly off as often as before. Instead, you will just bump and climb over the obstacle, if it’s small enough, or just bump and stay in one spot, but not fly off the seat.

Of course, if you want to be extreme, you can still see Kay fly, but it’s not as easy anymore.

If you play the game with a keyboard and mouse, the default controls would not allow you to move the camera freely while mounted. Update 1.2 fixes that and now you have complete freedom to rotate and zoom the camera while mounted on your speeder.

The devs also changed the default setting for the speeder to keyboard (WASD) rather than the mouse on PC. This was a confusing choice to begin with and it was one of the key tips we shared in our Controls guide for Star Wars Outlaws. Now this is the default, which will help new players get used to the speeder much quicker.

Kay’s Animations: More Game Character, less Human

Not just the speeder animations have been improved, but overall Kay’s actions now feel smoother, but also faster and snappier. It feels less of a human behavior and more like a game character, but there is a decent balance between the two and overall, the gameplay feels better. This is subjective, so your perception may vary.

Kay dismounts, turns, switches between different items and gear faster now. She also switches sides quicker while running around.

Jet Kordo’s Toshara Vault is fixed

I have read and seen reports about an issue interacting with the marked stone for the first Jet Kordo Vault on Toshara and were unable to do this quest because of that bug. None of us had this issue in our playthroughs so far, but Massive found what was causing the bug and fixed it.

You will now be able to complete the Toshara Jet Kordo Vault and unlock your opportunity to all of Jet Kordo’s Vaults on all other planets. You should not miss out on them as the rewards are quite nice!

The Scoundrel outfit you get for discovering all Legacy Vaults provides a well-rounded and versatile combination of boosts, rather than drilling down hard into buffing a single item on your toolbelt.

The Holotracker is no longer missing

I also heard of the issue where the Holotracker may not spawn at all on the Trailblazer after you complete the main quest The Wreck and talk to ND-5. This was obviously a bug.

The Holotracker is an important tool and it was never the intention of the devs to cause you to lose it if you don’t pick it up right after the quest when it becomes available for the first time.

With today’s update 1.2, you should always be able to find the Holotracker on the table. If you go there after you have recruited your companions, it may be harder to spot and click on, but it should be there, between the NPCs.

Quick Throw Grenade Button

The devs have added a new shortcut button to quickly throw a grenade. It is by default the left mouse button, for PC players.

I would not call it the most helpful and time-saving action as you still have to either press a button (4 by default) to select the grenades as an active weapon or press the key to open the bag. The cool thing from this is that you can remap it to something else if you want.

Jump twice to grapple

You no longer need to stop and press the dedicated button to grapple hook to something. You can now press the Jump key twice and this will result on Kay automatically pulling her hook and performing the appropriate action.

Kay’s wet hair looks better now

Kay’s hair looks more normal and natural now when it gets wet from rain. If you want to test this, a there’s a good chance it will be raining on Akiva. That’s what I did! The difference is not stark, but it’s noticeable.

Several fixes for the Sabacc lovers

Before 1.2, sometimes Mehdo would play the Cook the Book Shift Token and its effect would last until the last of the entire game instead until the reveal, as intended.

One of the best parts of playing Sabacc, is using Nix to sneak behind each opponent and check the cards they hold. There was an issue where the opponent’s cards wouldn’t show in the header when the Nix cheat was disabled.

The Kessel Sabacc mini game has its own fanbase. I would say it will never be as popular as Gwent was from The Witcher 3, but it’s unique and fun. The High Stakes Showdown quest chain is sure a lot of fun to play through. And can be challenging at times.

Faster Map zoom in and out

While fast-traveling from one planet to another by just using the map caused issues, it was a very convenient method of teleporting Kay from say Mos Eisley all the way to Mirogana without going into space with the Trailblazer at all.

I could not find it documented in the notes today, but map zooming in and out is now much faster and easier. I could be imagining things.

Accessibility Improvements

The new accessibility features, like bold and large fonts for subtitles, automatic climbing over small objects, improved menu narration, and auto-accelerate/brake for the auto-walk button, are great additions to the game.

The usual suspects: More Graphics and VRAM improvements

These days it is a rare case for a game update to pass without the “required” patch notes for “stabilization improvements” and “graphics improvements” lines. Update 1.2 for Star Wars Outlaws is not exception.

It is too early for us to tell how much of an improvement there really is to the VRAM usage, Frame Generation and Ray Reconstruction. When we have more solid tests behind us, we will update this segment of the article with our results.

I should note that while our team plays the game exclusively on PC and on various hardware configurations, we do not do specific benchmarks and we can only share personal observations based on true gameplay.

For me personally, update 1.1 improved the Frame Generation and it was mostly noticeable in Kay’s hair.

Overall, I’ve not had many FPS issues. Except on Akiva. Some parts on this planet, especially in the northern regions, are very laggy and my movements are seen “in waves” – switching between normal pace and slow motion effect while moving.

This issue continues to be present in Update 1.2 for me and it is very clerly visible on the main path leading west out of Sashin in the Karaba Foothills region on Akiva.

I am still experiencing shadows popping in and out as well. I remembered a bad clipping issue with some assets just flashing in and out of the sands on Tatooine while I was recording the video for the Missing Brother quest. I went to check the same area around the hideout and the same clipping was present. Assents popped in and out of existence as well as out of the sand and rocks as I was moving around.

No more delivery payment reminders

On Akiva Kay briefly worked delivering mails. Long after this quest chain was complete, you may have heard her remind you that she should go pick up her well-earned payment for those deliveries. Even though you did do that already. As of this patch, I (at least) no longer hear this message each time I land on Akiva. It seems that the bug was resolved.

Bugged Intel quests and Treasure locations

If you had some bugged intel quests or treasure locations that you explored and collected the treasure, but this didn’t resolve the intel for it or didn’t mark the chest as opened on the map, visit those locations again after today’s patch.

I had several bugged locations, among which the Advanced Slicing Practice and Nix Treasures Trader in Mirogana, the Abandoned Hideout on Tatooine and the Kashuda Pit on Toshara.

Talking to the Nix Treasures Trader resolved the intel after I had collected all Nix Treasures and Nix Accessories a long time ago, but the intel remained active. As soon as I landed in Mirogana, the Advancved Slicing Practice Intel also was resolved.

I still have the Kashuda Pit and the Abandoned Hideout Intel bugged though. Hakan’s Stash on Kijimi still demands my attention. Maybe in the next patch. And the next update is scheduled for the end of October, expected to bring even more bugfixes before the Steam and DLC launch on November 21st.

Important Main Quest fixes

A number of fixes and imporovements have been done to some of the main quests. In one of the first quests, Underworld, you wil notice adjusted amount of enemies and better AI detection. This was done in an attempt to improve the stealth gameplay experience.

A bug was fixed that could occur during the New Tricks quest where Danka’s call could be triggered while you are in the Blaster Upgrade menu. This would have made the use of Ion Modile impossible, which results in you being unable to progress with the quest.

The final quest on Toshara, The Wreck, where you explore an old High Republic ship that has crashed on the planet, had several issues and potential bugs. The quest marker did not point to the correct objective, you were able to get stuck during the escape sequence in the end and sometime sthe takeoff button would not function properly.

A wrong marker was also fixed for the Viper quest on Akiva. The Hotfixer quest where you unlock Teeka as an expert also received a bugfix for the possibility to get dismounted at the start of the chase.

Related Star Wars Outlaws Collections of Guides

Beginner Guides

Main Quests

Side Quests

Vaults and Keycards

Jet Kordo’s Vaults

Experts & Abilities

Expert Key Parts

Blaster Key Parts

Outfits

Treasure Locations

Our Guides Master List for Star Wars Outlaws is a great starting point. In it you will find all of our guides and walkthroughs ordered in categories.