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Star Wars Outlawsis the biggest game ever made in a galaxy far, far away. There is a lot to find across its many exotic planets, imperial bunkers, and seedy cantinas. So much so that it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to best utilising Kay’s combat and stealth abilities, alongside where you should be going when you land on each new planet.
Don’t worry, we’ll help separate your gonks from your gungans before embarking on Kay Vess’ ambitious journey as an up-and-coming scoundrel. Here a handful of tips and tricks to get you started, and specific things to watch out for before you begin your adventure.
Don’t Be Put Off By The Slow Start
Kay Vess doesn’t leave the best first impression. Her initial jaunt on Canto Bight centres on a failed heist, boring character development, and a start to her story that simply isn’t that great.
Be sure to check out ourfull reviewof Star Wars Outlaws before you start playing, too.
But it is all in service of leaving the planet behind and getting your hands on both a ship and a speeder. Once you have crash-landed on Toshara Moon you will be tasked with finding all the components needed to repair the Trailblazer. But right awayyou will have access to a speeder and be free to explore this first open world at your leisure.
My advice would be tosoldier on through the first handful of main quests so you have all the essential skills and abilities that make Outlaws a fun experience, plus you’ll have a few different planets to travel between to take on quests and contracts.
Nix Isn’t Afraid To Get Down And Dirty
Outlaws isn’t the hardest game on the planet, and it iseasy enough to get by with Kay’s mix of commendable combat and stealth abilities. But she also has Nix, an adorable little animal with a surprising amount of mechanical versatility.
Not only can heopen vents and grates to solve puzzles, he can also be used todistract your enemies, wrestle them into submission, or steal things from them. You’ll also see a blue icon on screen whenever you hover over something Nix can interact with, which, with a swift press of the shoulder button, can be activated immediately instead of slowing down time.
Nix and the breadth of his abilities can also be upgraded by reaching certain milestones, such as how fast some actions are performed or allowing him to distract several enemies at once.
I failed to notice this until several hours into the game, and it switched up the pace of certain encounters massively because I could command Nix and go about my own business without any trouble.
Skyrim Jump Up Random Mountains
Remember in Skyrim, where you could completely ignore the intended path to locations in the open world simply by repeatedly jumping up impassable hills and mountains. Well,the practice is alive and well in Star Wars Outlaws.
Due to how unpolished some of the platforming can be, especially in the open world,there were many times when I accidentally reached locations I shouldn’t have or entered the wrong way because I jumped too much, made it high enough, or just got lucky.
Remember that unless you’re in a restricted area, your speeder can also be summoned from pretty much anywhere. The lack of restrictions is kind of hilarious at times.
This tip is outright abusing the game’s topography, but given how many quests and contracts ask you to find well hidden entrances to places,knowing you may brute force things if you get lost is pretty handy.
Never Forget To Sell Your Valuables
Credits are shockingly hard to come by in Outlaws. Given Kay Vess is a scoundrel that will do any and all work to make ends meet, it isn’t surprising that currency is quite precious. Credits can be gained fromsearching containers, finishing quests, slicing terminals, and doing just about anything in each open world.
So much so thatit can be pretty easy to forget about selling things to merchants. Most will let you empty your inventory, but it’s foolish to sell crafting ingredients and quest items you may need later. Instead, simply press triangle/Y to automatically sell your collection of valuables.
You’d be surprised how much rubbish you accrue after just a few hours of exploring, which in my experience can amount to several thousand credits if you’re lucky.
Don’t Sleep On Upgrades
Upgrades to Kay’s speeder can change how you approach exploration.Being able to boost, jump, or glide across water allows you to access entirely new areas. Some of these abilities are gained through main quests, while others are hidden away in the menus and sought out by completing certain sub-objectives and gathering the right resources.
I found myself unlocking a few of these naturally as I played, but then forgetting that I didn’t activate them until I popped into the menu myself to do so. Don’t be like me and just forget.
Keep On Top Of Your Syndicate Reputations
Outlaws has four unique criminal syndicates -Crimson Dawn, Hutts, Pykes, and Ashiga. In the menus you will find a dedicated screen featuring where you stand with each one. Being in ‘Good’ or ‘Okay’ will allow you to enter parts of their territory while also gaining new spoils the higher you climb in the ranks.
If you only need a tiny bit of reputation change for a chosen faction, make sure to check all available contracts for a quick and easy quest.
Reach the max level and there is an entire selection of gear in it for you, while sinking down to the very bottom will have certain factions attack you on sight. Reputation will be earned for each syndicate depending on the decisions made during quests, and I found it best to reach max level with one syndicate, and then change sides after seeing everything they had.
Stealth Is Your Best Friend
Outlaws is evil because it dares to include a number of insta-fail stealth missions.Penalties for getting caught by factions and/or imperials aren’t exactly high, but it’s still frustrating. So it’s best to know the ins-and-outs of stealth to avoid getting too mad at yourself.
Make use of long grass, use Nix to distract your enemies, and take advantage of the frankly broken three-hit knock out attacksto slowly but surely take out huge rooms of enemies. Or you could avoid confrontation altogether by being quiet and just sneaking on by.
Star Wars Outlaws
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Star Wars Outlaws follows Kay Vess as she bids to out manoeuver the galaxy’s deadliest criminals. An open-world action-adventure game from Ubisoft, it also features grand space battles and a deep story.
