How The Outer Worlds 2 Lets You Go Wild With RPG Character Building – IGN First

[Note: All footage is from a work-in-progress alpha build.]

Having yet seen The Outer Worlds 2 for myself, it’s wide that leaning into deeper RPG elements was 1 of the priorities for developer Obsidian. Where the archetypal crippled was much approachable with streamlined systems and progression for gathering retired your character, the sequel is astir avoiding homogeneity, and adjacent egging you connected to play successful unorthodox fashion. But it’s not wholly astir being analyzable for the involvement of it. The Outer Worlds 2 wants players to get creative, go much specialized with the things they spec into, and possibly clasp the oddball choices they whitethorn person to make.

“We're looking for ways to incentivize the subordinate to experimentation with antithetic builds, either accepted oregon non-traditional,” plan manager Matt Singh told maine successful a speech astir however the squad has revamped its RPG mechanics. When speaking to the broader approach, helium said “We truly wanted to thin into synergies, looking astatine however subordinate Skills, Traits, and Perks tin each infuse into absorbing builds that play disconnected of different systems.” You could spot immoderate of these ideas astatine enactment successful our exclusive 11 minutes of The Outer Worlds 2 gameplay, wherever the caller gunplay, stealth, gadgets, and dialog were showcased. But for this portion of our IGN First for exclusive sum connected The Outer Worlds 2, we’re focusing connected the nitty gritty of however each these systems person been reworked and what you tin expect from them.

Rethinking the Skill System

“We would often spot characters bully astatine everything, which by the extremity of the game, minimized your idiosyncratic acquisition with your character,” pb systems decorator Kyle Koenig told maine erstwhile reflecting connected the archetypal crippled and considering changes for the sequel. Part of however Obsidian is doing that is by moving distant from the Skill categories that grouped your stats unneurotic successful the archetypal and going with idiosyncratic Skills that person much drastic differences betwixt them. “We wanted to absorption connected making each idiosyncratic level-up and concern truly important. There's little disorder connected erstwhile I should put successful 1 Skill oregon the other. If I privation to beryllium a subordinate that's each astir guns and utilizing aesculapian devices, I cognize which Skills I truly request to attraction about. By having them separated and not successful groupings, it lets characters beryllium much specialized.”

Singh added, “There's much than conscionable a accepted stealth-focused build, combat-focused build, oregon speech-focused build. There's a batch of blending of concepts, playing with different systems and incorporating those into a beauteous broad, but unsocial scope of antithetic subordinate profiles.” He alluded to having definite investments successful Skills manifest successful different ways specified arsenic Observation, which tin item things successful the situation that you wouldn’t beryllium capable to place different similar concealed doors oregon objects to interact with that tin pb to alternate paths forward.

On the surface, that whitethorn look expected for an RPG – if anything, The Outer Worlds was the outlier with the mode it grouped Skills together. However, successful the sequel, it’s astir utilizing the revised Skill strategy to make greater distinctions and unfastened much possibilities successful quality builds, particularly arsenic it relates to the revamped Perks system.

The Perks of Getting Experimental

Obsidian seems focused connected specificity and offering unsocial avenues for play. “We've importantly accrued the fig of Perks with implicit 90 of them – each of those requiring assorted Skills to unlock. As you put successful Skills, it changes however you tin put successful Perks and leads you down galore antithetic paths,” Koenig explained. He gave an illustration with a Perk called Run and Gun for those who similar utilizing shotguns, SMGs, and rifles which allows you to occurrence portion sprinting oregon sliding, and combined with Tactical Time Dilation (TTD), bullet-time enactment tin precise overmuch beryllium portion of your repertoire successful The Outer Worlds 2. He besides teased Space Ranger, which is simply a Perk that gives you definite interactions successful dialog portion granting you harm boosts based connected your Speech stat. “The mode we looked astatine them erstwhile designing them was to look astatine what are each the antithetic modes of gameplay the subordinate has, and what are each the actions they tin instrumentality and however tin we modify them,” helium stated.

“We person a batch of Perks that are catered towards non-traditional play styles,” Singh mentioned, giving an illustration of carving retired a physique for players who fundamentally termination each NPC successful sight. You tin spell down that way and thin into it with Perks specified arsenic Psychopath and past Serial Killer that’ll assistance bonuses, similar imperishable wellness boosts, for playing this way. “Especially successful an Obsidian crippled wherever we let you to termination anybody – the game's going to respond, it's going to rotation with it, and you're going to inactive beryllium capable to implicit the game. It's really a truly amusive mode to play successful a 2nd oregon 3rd playthrough conscionable to spot however acold you tin instrumentality it.”

As for much accepted playstyles, Koenig gave immoderate penetration connected quality builds that instrumentality vantage of the elemental aspects of combat by exploiting the antithetic harm types. “Even if you privation to premix and lucifer them, you tin beryllium a quality that's each astir plasma and burning things live portion getting healing from it – oregon utilizing daze harm to scramble automechs and person them combat for you temporarily portion paralyzing creatures and humans – oregon utilizing corrosive harm to instrumentality distant each their armor and marque it truthful each your attacks against them are captious hits that woody insane amounts of damage.”

Singh stressed that determination are different avenues to get experimental, referencing opportunities to opt into detrimental effects that’ll buff different facet of your character. He mentioned mechanics that tin reward you for putting yourself successful harm's way, positing the question, “How bash I conception a physique wherever I'm really incentivized to get successful determination and instrumentality harm truthful that I tin past bash different things effectively? I truly similar those kinds of originative builds that let you to play with that thought and person thing that mightiness beryllium antagonistic into a affirmative facet of your build.” That plan doctrine was portion of the original, but present that’s a driving unit for The Outer Worlds 2, particularly arsenic it relates to Traits and Flaws.

The Positive and Negative Traits

“One of the things successful The Outer Worlds that was a cardinal disconnected of Fallout was you could person antagonistic attributes that would beryllium actively detrimental to your character, but you get a fewer other points to walk determination else,” Koenig mentioned. A mode that manifested successful the archetypal was done the Flaws system, which gave you the enactment to instrumentality a imperishable effect based connected your in-game behaviour successful speech for an other Perk point. But from what I’ve seen frankincense far, this thought is expanding two-fold successful The Outer Worlds 2.

The strategy of Positive Traits and Negative Traits is integral to that give-and-take wherever you tin take a antagonistic 1 to beryllium capable to prime an further positive. For example, you tin instrumentality Brilliant that grants you other Skill points successful quality creation, oregon Brawny that lets you sound targets down by sprinting into them. And if you privation much positives, you’d person to prime a antagonistic specified arsenic Dumb that locks you retired of ever investing points into 5 Skills, oregon Sickly that permanently lowers your basal wellness and tolerance for toxicity. Those are conscionable a fewer of the options I was capable to spot successful these aboriginal stages.

Although I volition spell into overmuch much extent with the revamped Flaws successful different article, I tin accidental that The Outer Worlds 2 is getting overmuch much originative successful goofy and clever ways (and sometimes both). I recovered myself turning down most, if not all, Flaws successful the archetypal crippled since I didn’t person overmuch usage for other Perk points and the compromise often wasn’t worthy it. In this sequel, the crippled itself is inactive monitoring your behaviour and habits, but Flaws are present built with circumstantial conditions that are some affirmative and antagonistic – it’s arsenic if there’s different furniture of the Traits system, but popping up unexpectedly based connected however you’re playing. You’ll inactive person to opt into them, but they volition beryllium a imperishable portion of your character.

Guiding Players and Ditching Respec

There look to beryllium a batch much moving parts successful The Outer Worlds 2, and different absorption from Obsidian was to marque these aspects digestible and clear, whether it beryllium from in-game explanations oregon UI elements. “Right from the get-go, from quality creation, we truly wanted to enactment successful the forefront what are the differences of these skills and what they do,” Koenig told me. It’s not conscionable successful the assistance text, but besides successful abbreviated videos successful the menus that amusement examples of the gameplay impact. The happening that stood retired to maine was being capable to people Perks arsenic favorites earlier unlocking them successful bid to assistance signifier and program retired a definite progression way oregon build. Mapping them retired seems intuitive arsenic good since the requirements are shown disconnected the bat and icons successful the paper assistance signify a Perk’s wide playstyle and Skill it applies to.

It’s evident that Obsidian wants players to cautiously see these choices, however, particularly since determination is nary respec past the introductory series – meaning, erstwhile you’ve invested successful a Skill, Perk, oregon Trait, your quality has to unrecorded with that prime passim your playthrough. Koenig said, “By removing respec, we truly incentivize it to beryllium your experience. It is simply a portion of your acquisition that nary 1 other had, and I deliberation that's truly peculiar astir RPGs and thing that respec tends to lessen.”

As for Singh, helium told maine “Philosophy-wise, we truly consciousness each of your choices should matter. They should beryllium meaningful changes to your gameplay experience. And helium concluded, “This is conscionable 1 of those ways wherever we're asking you to marque a choice, instrumentality to it, and spot however that plays retired successful absorbing and amusive ways.”

We're covering truthful overmuch much of The Outer Worlds 2 successful this month's IGN First. Stay tuned for a breakdown of the caller Flaws system, each the chaotic and wacky weapons, and however expansive its unfastened regions and levels are going to beryllium with our interviews from cardinal developers astatine Obsidian.

Michael Higham is the tech reviews exertion astatine IGN, but is 1 of the RPG sickos connected unit who inactive talks astir Fallout: New Vegas connected a regular basis. You tin find him astatine @brazyazn.bsky.social.