Star Wars Outlaws is a big, big game. Comprised of countless systems that all entwine to create an open-world scoundrel fantasy not often seen in Star Wars games. Because there’s a load to wrap your head around in the initial hours, it’s easy to forget or not even notice key mechanics and systems that can make your experience all the more enjoyable. Here are the things I wish I knew before starting Star Wars Outlaws.
Eating At Diners Unlocks Powerful Treats For Nix
I’ve spoken previously about how Nix is quite the unsung hero in Star Wars Outlaws. Kay’s little critter can do just about everything you need him to. From distracting enemies to pickpocketing unsuspecting Imperials, Nix has a wide array of applications in many facets of the game. One thing the game doesn’t outright tell you, is that Nix can be equipped with different treats to give him new abilities to support Kay.
These aren’t small abilities, either. Che Mosska, which can be found on Toshara, gives Nix the ability to kick grenades away from Kay. While you can always reposition for the same effect, Star Wars Outlaws gets quite frenzied when the combat ramps up. Keeping track of different enemy types, your health, adrenaline meter, and weapon heat means there’s a lot to juggle in the moment to moment gameplay. Equipping Nix with the Che Mosska treat means you can take grenades off of that mental stack, letting you focus on dealing with your adversaries in skirmishes.
Another one of these treats, Duradan Soup, allows Nix to distract multiple enemies at a time, albeit at a shorter range. This is a very powerful ability in stealth for obvious reasons, and goes to show how far these treats go in shaking up playstyle and your approaches to stealth and combat. These treats are acquired by eating at the different diners on each planet, all of which have you doing a cute little quick time event where Kay and Nix share a meal, ultimately unlocking the treat for Nix.
Completing Jet Kordo Vaults Nets You Some Powerful Gear
Introduced towards the tail-end of the Toshara main missions, the Jet Kordo vaults are abandoned vaults filled with resources and gear pieces with powerful passive abilities. Gathering Holodiscs through various means will reveal landmarks of interest on different planets. These landmarks will lead to frequencies that can be used with the Holotracker to track down the hidden vaults.
Finding and looting these vaults nets you Scoundrel gear. These pieces are the highest tier of rarity for gear, bringing powerful bonuses to benefit Kay in and out of combat. The Scoundrel Belt, for example, increases Kay’s Bacta Vial and grenade carrying capacity, increases the recharge speed of the Stun Shot, and contributes to the set bonus that gives an increased window for super cooling, with the first shot after a successful super cool dealing double damage.
On top of that, you’ll also get insight into the story of Jet Kordo and his team as they assemble to undertake their own heist. It’s entertaining stuff that mirrors Kay’s own journey, and following it through to the end is an engaging side story to invest in as you explore the galaxy. Opening the first vault on Toshara will also let you find Miyuki Trade League caches, which are scattered all over the place and are filled with useful resources and components.
Prioritise Unlocking Experts To Expand Kay’s Skillset
Instead of opting for a traditional Ubisoft skill tree progression system, Star Wars Outlaws handles things a bit differently. Kay’s core progression comes in the form of Experts, nine unique characters who excel in particular areas Kay isn’t so adept in. These Experts cover everything from slicing and melee brawling to shooting and handling your speeder.
A good chunk of these Experts are completely optional, making some of Kay’s most useful skills missable. The earliest example of this is Aila Bren , The Slicer, who can drastically improve Kay’s hacking abilities. Not only does it give you access to unique skills to circumvent certain aspects of the slicing minigames, but also lets you craft concussive smoke bombs that can knock a bunch of enemies out of commission – particularly handy when you’re trying to stealth.
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The main story will often give you an Intel Chain to follow so you can locate said Expert. Often they’ll take you offworld, into orbit or to other planets entirely. It’s well worth investing the time in unlocking these Experts to get a jump on these skills earlier and work on unlocking them as you progress through the main story.
Exploring Outposts and Bases Leads To Powerful Upgrades
If you get a head start on unlocking Experts, it’ll also come in handy to explore outposts and bases to loot all of their caches. These can net you resources, gear, and most importantly, crafting components. These components are often needed to upgrade your blaster and unlock some of the best Expert skills.
The map will mark how many caches have yet to be looted in an area, so you can keep track of anything you might be missing in a given area. The game will also give you the general location for certain components, so if you’re hunting a specific part for a skill, you can mark that location on your map and hunt down the caches until you find it.
Clearing out these outposts as you find them won’t just help with Kay’s credit count and general crafting resources, but will often mean you already have the components required to unlock some of the best skills from the game once you find the related Expert. This will help a bunch, especially in stealth sequences where you can’t get caught. It’s also just really handy to build up a surplus of crafting resources and Credits so you can bolster you traversal, stealth, and combat capabilities.
Reading Data Pads and Notes Often Leads To Treasure
While data pads and terminal logs often lead to lore and narrative tidbits in these kinds of games, Star Wars Outlaws uses these chunks of narrative to also point you in the direction of some treasure. Even if you don’t want to spend the time reading these entries, interacting with them will mark relevant points of interest on your map. It’s also really rewarding to stumble on a piece of information related to treasure meant for someone else, only to steal it for yourself.
You can also listen in on conversations in cantinas and bars to similar effect. Criminals will often converse about how they’ve left packages in orbit or have hidden them somewhere on the planet, leaving them ripe for the taking if you want to make a move on them. It pays to listen and look in Star Wars Outlaws, quite literally.
