Outriders: Worldslayer entices players to return to the deadly world of Enoch with a brand-new story, enemies, weapons, gear, a PAX skill tree, Ascension progression system, Apocalypse tiers, and a vast Endgame dungeon called the Trials of Tarya Gratar. Developer People Can Fly promises hundreds of hours of additional content as players brave through enemy encounters in their quest to defeat the Altered Erishkigal. With its June 30 release nearing, fans should prepare to push their characters to the limit with hardcore weapons, mods, and armor.
Tarya Gratar is designed to be played multiple times, offering ramping difficulties to challenge even the fiercest warriors. It also features story content entrenched with the Worldslayer campaign, offering new lore and history to Enoch's native species, the PAX. Game ZXC spoke with Square Enix brand video creator Lucy Hale, Square Enix external studios creative visual designer Sven Liebold, and People Can Fly associate lead for balance design Lukasz Osinski about the exclusive Outriders Endgame content featured in the Trials of Tarya Gratar.
Explorable Locations in Enoch
One of the first features Osinski stressed regarding Tarya Gratar was player choice within the dungeon. Included in Tarya Gratar are Crossroads, locations off the beaten path that are meant to serve as detours to engage with enemies and win rare loot. Osinski stressed these are not open-world environments; instead, Crossroads allow players to explore, take a break, and enjoy the views. While carrying some reprieve and scenic value, these detours also lead to mini boss arenas called Troves which offer high-risk, high-reward encounters capable of ending one's run.
Liebold said that within Troves, players could amass their collection of Legendary and Apocalypse gear as they face off against new enemies and bosses. Furthermore, each Trove rewards a specific slot of gear, allowing players to choose which Trove they want based on the piece of equipment they need. With this style of farming, players can aim to build up their Apocalypse weapons, armor, and mods faster than before. Lastly, Boss Arenas provide the toughest enemies for players to challenge, barring progression until they are defeated.
New Enemies and Bosses in Worldslayer
Outriders: Worldslayer has many new enemy types for players to confront, all tied to the story campaign. With these new variants, Hale assured fans that the challenge won't disappoint, as players must face off against enemies that are relentless, powerful, and able to utilize the environment to their benefit. Within the walls of Tarya Grater, there are even more unique enemies that belong solely to the Endgame, invoking the powers of the Anomaly to bring destruction unto their foes.
Contributing to the enhancement in difficulty, Liebold said enemy mechanics change through every run. This is especially true for Troves and Boss Arenas, ensuring that no battle or attacks become stale. Other enemy types can affect players directly, using a new "silence" feature to disable or block all Outriders' powers, forcing reliance on only weapons to survive. So far, Tarya Gratar has revealed two enemies:
- Shadowbeasts: Assassins and guardians of Tarya Gratar that roam in small packs. Their sensitivity to the Anomaly allows them to cloak themselves even when in motion and can "silence" all Outriders' powers.
- Beast Lords: Powerful and experienced Feral Hunters with tamed Shadowbeasts to use as trackers. Their prowess and skills are devastatingly deadly.
Apocalypse Gear and Mods
Like Legendary weapons, armor, and mods, Apocalypse gear is for the Endgame Trials, where hardcore Outriders need the most elite equipment to survive. Equipped with a third mod slot, these pieces are enhanced by a new Apocalypse challenge tier; the higher the Apocalypse tier, the better loot players can obtain. With Troves enabling Targeted Apocalypse Gear Loot Farming for specific pieces of equipment per-Trove, players will be able to hunt and destroy for the equipment they need to maximize the deadliness of their respective builds.
Osinski said over 100 Apocalypse weapons, armor, and mods have been added to the Outriders: Worldslayer expansion, benefitting the Devastator, Pyromancer, Trickster, and Technomancer classes. While a third mod slot is locked, Liebold said its real benefit lies in its infusion of power from the other classes. Now, class builds can hybridize aspects from every archetype, truly diversifying the types of forms that can be constructed.
"What makes these new mods incredible is how they borrow aspects from the other classes to bring to the current build players are using. Playing as Pyromancer but want to use some abilities of a Trickster? Now you can."
What to Expect Before and After Outriders: Worldslayer Drops
Despite its June 30 release date, players can begin their prep for the new expansion today. Hale stressed that while there may be repetition in completing the current Expedition challenge tiers to beef up any Outrider character, completing these Expeditions rewards valuable new resources among the traditional loot system. These resources will be vital to upgrading the new Legendary and Apocalypse gear coming in Worldslayer.
While not every Expedition is open simultaneously, players can continue to filter through the options, reaping the new rewards of defeating their many enemies. With several weeks left until release, the potential to amass an ample supply of resources means that many characters will hit the ground running, ready to tackle the immense challenges that Outriders: Worldslayer will bring.
For those players also following Outriders through streaming services, Hale said Twitch Drops are launching during the first week of Outriders: Worldslayer starting June 30. Twitch Drops will reward viewers for watching their favorite streamers as long as they sync their respective game accounts to the platform. Viewers can receive hand-crafted guns and gear designed for each class as they watch the stream. This gear will be claimable, expected to help set players on the right path as they begin the expansion. However, the developers said more information regarding Twitch Drops will be revealed closer to launch.
Outriders: Worldslayer is sure to be a massive update. With the addition of the Trials of Tarya Gratar, players will have to consolidate their builds, master their classes, and obtain the best loot possible to defeat the myriad of enemies that await. Explorable locations, Apocalypse tiers and gear, unique enemies, and the ability to start farming now mean it has never been a better time to jump into the world of Outriders. Liebold stressed how massive this expansion is, and what the team has done to try and ensure player satisfaction.
"More monsters. More enemies. Lots of content. So much I don't think people realize just how much there is to Worldslayer . Our fans wanted more to explore, more to fight, tougher challenges, and we've done that. We urge you to explore everything there is to offer as we've created a unique, challenging experience."
The Outriders: Worldslayer expansion releases June 30, 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.