open-world setup where players are encouraged to set out on their own adventure and fight any way they see fit.
But one of Outward’s more defining characteristics is its emphasis on survival mechanics. In order to survive in this world, players need to learn to keep their character fed, hydrated, and well-rested. But they also need to keep an eye on catching diseases or other debilitating effects that can be brought on by the elements.
Sleeping & Resting in Outward
The most important thing to get used to is sleeping. Not only does sleep satisfy the character’s desire to be well-rested, but sleep also allows the character to replenish their vitals (i.e. health, stamina, and mana). Most vitals, especially health, do not replenish on their own. This means unless the player has access to specific items or potions that can instantly heal them, the player will need to rest in order to get the player character back to prime form.
But even if their vitals are perfectly fine, the character still requires sleep in order to satisfy their basic needs. Fail to keep the player character rested and they will suffer from a slower stamina regeneration rate. The same goes for their mana. All of this means the player should almost always have a sleeping item on their person.
For beginners, this means keeping an improvised bedroll in their inventory. It can either be bought in Cierzo or crafted using 2 animal hides. More advanced players will want to invest in a tent, which will also confer the player character additional benefits like a reduction in stamina cost.
But sleeping also has a few other aspects to it. One is how the player can also take some time to repair their equipment. But the most notable aspect is how there is often a chance that the player will be ambushed by enemies while they rest. To reduce the chance of an ambush the player can opt to stand guard for a few hours. But another method, that is usually not mentioned in the game itself, is to sleep near some butterflies. Yes, butterflies. They are often scattered throughout the map and are seen in clusters. Sleep near one of those, and the chance of ambush will drop to 0%. It is not much of an exaggeration to say that sleeping is the best thing a player can do to replenish themselves.
Water Management in Outward
Fail to keep the player character hydrated, then they will become thirsty. This will have players burning through their stamina 3 times as quickly. Get even more thirsty and the player character will deal 25% less damage. So try to keep the player character hydrated.
While there are several consumables like tea that can reduce the character’s thirst, the best and most hydrating option is to drink water from a waterskin. Players can find a free one in Cierzo by the water purifier. They can also be bought from merchants or looted off of bandits. Once a waterskin is acquired, always try to keep it filled up. It can be filled with river water, seawater, etc. Just know that drinking water without boiling it increases the chance that the player will contract a disease or some other status ailment.
To avoid this, players will want to head toward the nearest kitchen station or set up a cooking pot over a campfire. Then it is just a simple matter of selecting the waterskin from the materials menu and then clicking the crafting button. This will produce clean water, which has no chance of giving the player character a negative effect.
Food Management in Outward
Unsurprisingly, another one of the character’s basic needs is food. If the player character gets hungry then they will begin burning through their health 3 times as fast. If the player character gets very hungry then a 25% damage reduction will be added onto that.
While the player can simply have their character eat every edible item they find, a much better approach is to convert it into cooked food. Not only does it fill the player character up more, but it also lasts longer. That is to say, it does not rot as quickly.
Food has its own durability just like items do. But unlike items whose durability is determined by use, food durability is affected by time. If enough time es, the food item in question becomes inedible. This means food durability is a key factor in determining if the player character gets fed. This is especially true if the player wants to travel to a different region. Since the player will be traveling for a lot of time in those instances, the player will want to stock up on travel rations. These rations are easy to make since they can be made with a variety of food items and a single portion of salt. But they last for an exceptionally long time.
But food can be used for more than satisfying the player character’s hunger. They can also confer other benefits like increased stamina recovery or cold weather defense. As such, beginner players are highly recommended to spend some silver buying up some cooking recipes in Cierzo. If the player character wants to cook a meal then they will either need to use a cooking pot over a fire or use a kitchen station.
Temperature Management in Outward
Another thing to keep in mind is temperature. While there are several instances where the temperature is moderate or irrelevant, the player still needs to keep an eye on if their character is getting either too hot or too cold. If the player character gets too hot then they will have to spend 50% more stamina with each stamina-based action. If the player character gets too cold, then they will have 15% movement speed reduction. If either status gets too severe, then the player character gains a higher risk of contracting an illness or gains a penalty to their damage output.
To manage the character’s temperature the player has a few options. Clothing often has either a cold weather defense rating or a hot weather defense rating, which will permit the player to protect themselves against the elements rather easily. But it may come at the cost of damage protection. In which case, the player’s best bet is to rely on crafted items and consumables.
Campfires and torches can affect the player character’s temperature, for instance. But if the aim is to continue adventuring, then it is advised players rely on consumables like bitter spicy tea and cactus fruit which offer cold weather resistance and hot weather resistance respectively. Another option is to enter a new area like a regional dungeon or city. Cities often have a neutral temperature and regional dungeons often have a temperature that is different from what is found outside.
Diseases & Sickness in Outward
Yet another layer to Outward’s survival mechanics is the disease feature. The main diseases are cold, indigestion, and infection. These can be contracted by encounter wild animals, extreme weather exposure, drinking dirty, or eating poorly prepared food.
Provided that the player continues satisfying the player character’s needs, these diseases will eventually fade away on their own. Usually within several days. But to hasten the process, the player can also use certain consumables like soothing tea and fungal cleanser. If they don’t instantly get rid of the disease, then odds are they will at least put the disease in recession. This will give the player character a higher chance of curing themselves of a certain disease if given enough time. But of course, the best way to prevent the player character from suffering any of these disease effects is to simply avoid contracting them at all.
Outward is available on PC, Xbox One and PS4.