One of the more intriguing holiday releases in 2020 comes from Square Enix and People Can Fly.Outridersis not only a new IP, but it’s an action RPG that isattempting to muscle into the popular looter shooter genre. Adding in cover shooter elements on top of third person shooting,Outridersalso 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 theirown 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.
RELATED:Outriders Interview: Dev Talks Pyromancer, Crew, and the Mysteries of Enoch
In order to help make that selection, here’s everything currently known about the four classes inOutriders.
Trickster
On paper, this class appears to be comparable to a hunter or rogue style class from a traditional RPG. However, the Trickster inOutridersgoes a step further than most as it cancontrol 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.
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.
Pyromancer
A class that mirrors a classic mage or spellcaster, the Pyromancer is all aboututilizing 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:
For this class, players can invest in Ash Breaker, Firestorm, and Tempest.
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:
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 whenthe third Broadcast goes live soon.
The Fourth Class
While People Can Fly hasconfirmed thatOutridershas 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 andshooting 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.
Outridersreleases Q4 2020 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and in 2021 for Stadia.
MORE:Outriders Could be the Next Big Sci-Fi Franchise like Destiny, Mass Effect
