The second Dev Update for Star Wars Outlaws reveals more details about Massive Entertainment’s work on Update 1.4. The biggest changes coming this Thursday include redesigned weapons system and revamped combat mechanics.
The first Dev Update came out in the beginning of the month. It didn’t reveal much and was pretty brief. The second one, thankfully, gives us more details and insights of what to expect from Update 1.4 to Star Wars Outlaws, which arrives on November 21st.
Creative Director Drew Rechner, the same person who wrote the Dev Update #1, is back and this time brings us a few interesting details on how the studio is improving the combat experience.
Improved AI and freedom to explore
It is not the first time you are about to hear that the enemy AI is getting improved. Yes, 1.4 will continue building in this direction. The main goal the developers want to achieve, is to give you, the player, more freedom.
The game was very restrictive in some quests and areas, where you were forced to use stealth. Update 1.4 will allow you to choose to go silent or as loud as you wish in all scenarios.
We are promised more details to come later. The patch lands in less than two days, so in that amount of time we will be able to test things ourselves anyway.
Headshots and Weak Spots
At the moment, the game does not make enough of a difference between you shooting an opponent in the chest or delivering a clean and precise headshot. In 1.4, you will get a better “reward” for properly aiming at your enemy’s head and successfully completing headshots.
To make the experience of gun fight more entertaining, new defeat animations and hit reactions are being added as well.
I imagine something along the lines of the kill-shot in Red Dead Redemption 2. Or maybe Max Payne, if you are old enough to eventually remember this title.
Enemies will receive weak points. This new system is expected to allow you to effectively take out enemies with a single shot if it is precise enough. From how Drew Rechner worded this segment, it sounds like the weak spots will appear in certain moments and not be available all the time.
Improved Blaster Modes
What is a “good gun feel”? Well, if you have played Star Wars Outlaws, you know what isn’t. Kay’s skills with the blaster are far from perfect. And the game doesn’t diverse between different weapons behavior and effects. Kay’s own blaster even does not feel distinctively different and unique when you use the various blaster modes and modules.
Drew Rechner explained that the team took a deep dive into this aspect and attempted to improve weapon recoil, fire rate, ammo capacity and accuracy. The audio and visual effects of all weapons have also been touched up and improved.
In Update 1.4, we should receive a much more satisfying diversity between Kay’s Blaster Modes and Modules. Not just by making them feel different while shooting but actually delivering new and unique effects when used.
One such example, Drew gave us, is the fact that the Power Module will be able to “hit cover and knock out enemies that were hiding behind it“. I wonder if this will be also applied against Kay.
The Ion Module will stun enemies for longer and create an opportunity for you to hit them harder for more damage while they are stunned. This should inspire a bit more build diversity and introduce new fun gameplay loops, hopefully.
What about looted weapons
Kay will now be able to carry looted weapons through some obstacles such as vertical traversing and climbing. Some of the looted weapons are completely redesigned.
Cover mechanics get a love letter too
The camera in Star Wars Outlaws is not the worse I have ever seen. It does feel clumsy at times, though. In 1.4 it will stop trying to predict where to position itself.
The devs are giving us the freedom to manually switch between left and right shoulder when you are aiming down an opponent’s head (or other parts of their body).
The animations that play when Kay enters and exists cover, are also improved. As Drew said it, hopefully this will “let you focus on tactics and action, rather than thinking about the cover mechanics“
How about the Wild Card DLC’s story?
The sad news is that we still know extremely little about the story that will be included in the new DLC. Update 1.4 is free to all players, who own the base game. But on 21st, alongside this update, we will also get the first of two previously announced DLCs, part of the Season Pass.
The Wild Card DLC will feature Lando and we know that Kay will have to work with him to uncover troubling secrets behind a high-stakes Sabacc tournament.
Alongside this new story pack, if you own the Season Pass, you will also receive the Hunter’s Legacy and the Cartel Roning Bundles. They contain new outfits for Kay and cosmetics for Nix as well as your Ship and Speeder.
Below is the full text of the Dev Update #2 message as published on ubisoft.com on November 18, 2024:
Outlaws,
Welcome to another Dev Update here from the team at Massive. Our focus this week is the weapons and combat of Star Wars Outlaws!
From the development of the combat system to recent tweaks we’ve made in response to player feedback, we’d love to dive in and give you more insight into the workings of this integral part of the Outlaws experience.
After all, a scoundrel is only as good as their getaway!
To speak more to this, here’s Drew Rechner, Creative Director:
Outlaws,
One of the key pieces of feedback we hear is that there is a desire for a deeper and more engaging combat loop. In Title Update 1.4, releasing on November 21st, we are bringing big updates to enemy AI and your freedom of approach, allowing you to go silent or loud in all scenarios – more on the latter in a future update. Along with these improvements, we also revamped the feel and utility of weapons and core combat.
First, we’ve updated the stats on all weapons and enemies, making headshots more rewarding and tuning armor and health for all enemy types, to differentiate archetypes and make them more distinct. We’ve also added weak points to enemies which allow you take down tough opponents with a well-placed precision shot at the right moment. To bring it all together, new defeat animations and hit reactions have been added to make sure hitting enemies is as rewarding and gratifying as it can be.
Second, we took a step back to review what we would call “weapon feel”, to really upgrade gameplay mechanic aspects like recoil, fire rate, ammo and accuracy for every weapon, and we updated feedback in terms of audio, VFX and UI. The goal was to create weapons and blaster modules that feel distinct and rewarding to master. On some weapons, such as the Ashiga ABR-2 Zato Blaster Rifle, we had the opportunity to completely redesign the shooting pattern to bring out the weapon’s unique gameplay style.
Next, we reviewed and improved the utility of weapons. For Kay’s blaster, we added the ability for the Power module to hit cover and knock out enemies that were hiding behind it. We also updated the Ion module to stun enemies for longer and make them vulnerable to damage while they are stunned. Our intention is to give you more freedom and to make using the different modules during combat even more fun.
For weapons that Kay finds in the field, we made sure that you get to hold onto them longer, even when climbing and traversing the environment or interacting with enemies and the world. This change, that was highly requested, means you can now make longer term strategic choices, get more rewarded for turning enemy weapons against them, and have more varied combat encounters.
Lastly, we’ve taken a new approach to how cover works. The camera will no longer try and predict which shoulder it should be on, it will now be more comfortable and stable around cover. To facilitate this, we’ve added the ability to shoulder swap when aiming, giving you greater control and precision. Add to that a host of improvements to the animations around and reliability of using cover and we hope this will let you focus on tactics and action, rather than thinking about the cover mechanics.
All in all, we believe and hope that this update to weapons, cover and damage stats will create a much deeper and more engaging combat loop with more variety, choice and satisfaction.
We look forward to hearing your feedback when you get your hands on this huge update to the core combat systems in this update, and hope you enjoy your journey across the galaxy with Kay and Nix.
As said, we’re bringing you many requested changes in Title Update 1.4, which will be our biggest update yet, coming your way on November 21st!
As always, keep an eye on our socials for more from us, and be sure to give us your thoughts on Twitter, Instagram and start a conversation with us in our Official Discord.
Thank you again for your feedback and excitement!
– The Star Wars Outlaws Team
While you wait for the update to roll out, take a look at our fresh and delicious meal offerings from the Star Wars Outlaws’ Toshara, Tatooine and Kijimi local cuisine.
Related Star Wars Outlaws Collections of Guides
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.
