Here’s How The Reputation System Works In Star Wars Outlaws

During my almost five hour hands-on with Star Wars Outlaws, it became clear to me that MASSIVE Entertainment’s first foray into the space opera epic is densely packed with systems and mechanics. That probably doesn’t come as a surprise if you’re familiar with their work on the Division games. Their design harbours a similar penchant for long-term, game-wide progression that is woven into many of the moving parts of these shared world shooters.

The pivot to a single player experience has fundamentally shaken up how MASSIVE approaches these foundational ideas in Outlaws, though. The most present of which is undoubtedly the Reputation system. As bounty hunting scoundrels, Kay Vess and Nix live and die by their standings in the criminal underbelly of Star Wars. It makes sense narratively, but how does it translate into a system influenced by gameplay and player choice?

WHAT IS THE REPUTATION SYSTEM AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

The Reputation system is what measures Kay’s standings with each Syndicate in Star Wars Outlaws. Your current standings can be viewed under its own dedicated tab in the menu, which is quite handy given how much you’ll be checking it. Every Syndicate starts in poor standing at the beginning of the game, but they will shift between the good and bad ends of the spectrum constantly if my hands-on time is anything to go by.

There’s a few ways that I saw this happen during my time with the game. The most immediate way you see Kay’s reputations change is through main story missions. Three of the four I played in this preview build were bookended by making a decision between two of the game’s four main Syndicates. You might be contracted to do a job for the Crimson Dawn to get dirt on the Pyke Syndicate, but ultimately decide to take the info into your own hands and hand it off to the Pykes instead. In a situation like this, you’ll gain reputation with the Pykes, but lose reputation with the Crimson Dawn.

These reputation gains and losses aren’t limited to main story missions, though. They also pop up in side quests, open world encounters, one-off quests from job boards, and more. Not all of them result in losing reputation also, meaning there’s always opportunity to gain better standing with one Syndicate without falling out of favour with another.

HOW DO STANDINGS IMPACT THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE OF STAR WARS OUTLAWS?

Being in good or bad standings with any given Syndicate impacts Star Wars Outlaws in a few different ways. For starters, it should be mentioned that you aren’t just in good or bad standings. Each side of the spectrum has two stages, so you can go beyond simply being liked or disliked by any given syndicate. Poor standing lies right in the middle of the spectrum, effectively serving as a sort of neutral level where Kay is neither hated nor favoured.

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There are a couple of different ways I saw this manifest in my own good standings with the Crimson Dawn early on in my session. Most immediate was a swanky new skin for Kay’s blaster and access to faction-specific vendors that you usually can’t access. Perhaps most impactful is the ability to enter Syndicate controlled territory with no repercussions. This means access to new items, treasures, and even influences how you approach certain missions.

The trade-off for my good standings with the Crimson Dawn meant that the Pyke Syndicate weren’t particularly fond of me. They’d shoot at me on site in the open world, would immediately halt any trespassing within their territory if caught, and restricted access to their specific vendors. While I wasn’t able to see for myself how these boons and banes change as your reputation gets better or worse, director Mathias Karlson elaborated on how much impact the system has at either end of the spectrum.

“We really tried to hook it into as many aspects of the experience as possible. For example, let’s say you’re being chased by Imperials for whatever reason on Toshara and you happen to cross into the territory of a faction that thinks highly of Kay, they might join and help you fight them off. Some of the game’s most exclusive rewards are found within the Reputation system. Some of the territory even has landing pads that you can only use when you’re in the highest standing with that Syndicate.”.

He continues by talking about the other side of the spectrum; “On the flipside, the really really bad side, you become Wanted. Syndicates will send squads out to take you down and you have to contend with being prey in the open world until you’re able to get your standings in better graces.” It paints a picture of a galaxy where Kay and Nix are a small part of a much larger and dynamic criminal underbelly.

When it comes to narrative Karlson reinforced that while you will feel differences, they really want Outlaws to be a Star Wars story first and foremost. Ultimately it’s about Kay, Nix and their crew, suggesting that your reputation standings won’t have an impact on how the narrative of Outlaws unfolds and concludes when it comes to core story beats.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE IN THE BEST STANDING WITH ALL SYNDICATES AT ONCE?

While I mentioned in my hands-on preview that it feels like MASSIVE have carefully designed the Reputation system to feel like it ebbs and flows as you progress the main story, Karlson did reveal that it is indeed possible to completely max out your reputation with all Syndicates. “A lot of the time you’re facing binary decisions, but there are ways to gain reputation with one Syndicate without sacrificing your standing with another. Having max rep with all the Syndicates is very very hard. I’m sure people will figure it out, they’re always better at the game than we are. It’s part of the fun and will happen for different players at different times.”.

This means for the completionists out there, it will be possible to get all Syndicate-related cosmetics and unlockables, alongside any faction quests locked behind certain reputation thresholds. It’ll no doubt add a lot of replay value and game time onto an already chunky experience for those who want to see everything.

WHO ARE THE FOUR MAIN SYNDICATES IN STAR WARS OUTLAWS?

As mentioned previously, there are four key Syndicates in Star Wars Outlaws, each operating on different planets and in conflict with each other. Some of these are factions you may recognise from other Star Wars media, while others have been created by MASSIVE for Outlaws specifically.

The first group I encountered on Toshara was the Pyke Syndicate, a group I’m sure any Star Wars diehard will be familiar with. Their most notable appearances are in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and The Book of Boba Fett. They’re known for having near-complete control over the production of raw spice, which is used to create a powerful drug. In Star Wars Outlaws, they make shady deals with the Empire to maintain control over Toshara.

In direct competition with the Pyke Syndicate on Toshara are the Crimson Dawn. Formerly lead by Darth Maul, the Crimson Dawn have also appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and played a role in Solo: A Star Wars Story. They’ve been a part of many a conspiracy throughout the galaxy, even waging a secret war against the Empire during Darth Vader’s rule. My time with Outlaws suggests that the Crimson Dawn prefer to operate in the shadows, sowing chaos from unseen corners away from prying eyes.

Another group with a strong distaste for the Crimson Dawn is the Ashiga Clan. This is an entirely new syndicate found primarily on Episode IX’s Kijimi. Their design is very inspired by Japanese culture and their power structure is based around a hierarchical Melitto hive. It’s a novel concept that we haven’t seen in Star Wars and adds further context to why Kijimi is considered a haven for thieves.

The final piece of the puzzle is the infamous Hutt Cartel. A name that’s bound to be familiar to anyone who’s even remotely familiar with Star Wars, the Hutts grew to power in the Outer Rim through smuggling and countless other illegal activities. While I didn’t see much of the Hutts on Toshara or Kijimi, you can bet your bottom credit that they’ll be very present on Tatooine, with Jabba the Hutt confirmed to be making an appearance in Star Wars Outlaws in the base game as well as a Season Pass-exclusive DLC mission.