Outriders has seen success on Xbox Game , the game needs some improvements, and it could be some time before the delayed patch will release.
Published by Square Enix and released in April, Outriders is a 1-3 player co-op RPG-shooter set on the fictional planet of Enoch. Players must battle their way through the hostile environment to find the source of a "mysterious signal," traversing combat-heavy environments as a team or solo. RPG elements include different character classes, as well as unlockable skill trees. The game had a rocky launch, with complaints of server issues and game-breaking bugs, along with criticism of its general gameplay. Despite its problems, the game smashed expectations as a new IP, with Outriders enticing 3.5 million unique players in its first month.
Fans of the game have been waiting for the next patch, which would have introduced various fixes and gameplay tweaks. It was originally planned to release yesterday, July 13, but Outriders community manager thearcan shared the news of its delay to Reddit, explaining just why the development team will be pushing its release until Thursday, July 15 at the very earliest (via PCGamesN). According to the dev, testing of the patch revealed two potentially major issues: one which caused the game to "crash on launch for a small number of testers," and one which could crash the game "when returning to the lobby from a multiplayer session." Describing the decision to delay the patch as "difficult," thearcan has called for the community's thoughts and input on the matter. It's worth noting that the development team is unsure whether or not the crashes are due to bugs within the patch or the game itself, with thearcan writing:
"Our recent community research indicates that both of these crashes may already be present in the game but have never been formally diagnosed until now (because testing didn’t encounter them). If this is the case, then this patch wouldn’t actually introduce any new issues and could be considered 'safe'."
The July 13 patch would have addresses five key points in Outriders including changes to legendary drop rates, appreciation package news, patch news, g-in issues, and general bug fixes. Legendary drop rates would have seen a 100% buff, as well as changes to the system itself, such as the removal of the legendary drop bracket restriction, and an improved luck system. It's not clear whether or not the patch will be released this week, with thearcan explaining that if the discovered crashes are down to the patch itself and not the game, it will need to be "reworked" before release.
Outriders players have been awaiting the release of the patch due to a loot-related griefing problem. Following the game's launch, griefers began to target players in high-level endgame gameplay in order to take their loot after it was discovered that hosts of expeditions could kick party from their group following hard-won battles. The exploit allowed the host to be the sole obtainer of loot intended for the whole party. The patch's focus on loot could have addressed the problem, which has been causing loot-hoarding in Outriders. Players can help developers with identifying game issues in the Reddit post's comments. If successfully fixed, the patch could release tomorrow, July 15.
Outriders is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Source: thearcan/Reddit, Outriders/Twitter (via PCGamesN)
