Worldslayer is the first paid expansion for Outriders. We take a closer look at the new features and help you decide what to buy
Outriders was one of the biggest games of spring 2021, but that was almost a year and a half ago. The interim radio silence around the loot shooter can be easily explained: Before the release, the developers repeatedly emphasised that Outriders would not be a service game. They kept their word.
The result: shortly after release, the number of players dropped again quickly. After the initial teething problems, an extensive free update with end-game improvements was released in November. After that, there was once again radio silence. Now Outriders: Worldslayer wants to tell a new story and further upgrade the end game.
Whether it”s worth it for former players to return to Outriders or whether the add-on can even convince new players, you can find out in our test.
This is what the campaign is good for
In Outriders: Worldslayer, you face off against the rebels once again, either alone or with two other players. The first Altered Ereshkigal has taken control of the rebels and threatens the delicate peace on Enoch. At the beginning, there is an impression of a classic shooter story: “This is the enemy and you are the only person who can help us.”
After a short time, however, this assumption turns out to be wrong. Unlike the main game, the story of Worldslayer picks up traction more quickly. After a certain point, the events overlap and the game provides you with interesting background information on the anomaly and the planet Enoch.
The story follows the plot of the main game. The game does not reintroduce old characters and knowledge of the main storyline is assumed. All DLC content starts at level 30, and you can take over existing characters (at level 30) or start with a boosted character. Outriders remains true to its narrative. In cutscenes and in radio messages, the game drives the plot forward. The conversations and facial expressions continue to feel forced.
The Endgame, the trials of Traya Gratar, is again tied into the story and rewards you with more information about the backstory of the planet. Only when you have defeated the final boss of the end game will you see the credits. Depending on how you play, you will have completed the story and all the missions that are important for the background information of the final game within about six hours.
Table of Contents
Familiar level design with fast pacing
Within the storyline, Outriders: Worldslayer takes you through varied biomes. In the beginning you will find yourself in a snow biome and later in an oasis, among other places. Some levels have more dynamics than the static environments of the main game: you can observe deer-like animals or dodge the projectiles of siege engines.
Worldslayer restricts the freedom of movement a little more than the main game. The nine missions have a more linear structure and the battle areas follow each other with greater frequency. You will search in vain for side missions.
As in the main game, some environments seem artificial, others more believable. Overall, the levels feel varied without tiring with monotony. In the DLC, you can explore both new and familiar locations. The latter have sometimes changed a lot compared to the events of the main game.
In the final game, the Worldslayer level designers flex their muscles. For example, you will travel through extensive cave systems and caverns and marvel at sparkling crystals and inscriptions of the natives. Compared to the story campaign, the areas here are again more extensive and larger structures such as palace complexes naturally delimit the action.
Fight and claim
Within the levels, Worldslayer gives you more of the familiar gameplay. Your weapons provide powerful hit feedback and vary greatly in handling. The existing arsenal gets even more choice. You will now find more variants of all weapon types with new designs. Nice: The appearance of the weapons matches the environment. If you find guns in a snowy area, they will look “frosty”, in a swampy area leaves can decorate the guns.
With your skills you also put new enemies under pressure. These sometimes have new characteristics. Some can teleport you or block your abilities after an attack. If you can no longer use your abilities, the battles quickly become even more exciting. If you were in a superior position just a moment ago, the situation will tilt to your disadvantage, because with blocked abilities your self-healing will also be suspended for a short time.
The adjustable difficulty level gives you the freedom to experience it the way you want. You can choose to mill your way through the hordes of enemies or use your skills cleverly to avoid going down. In this way, you also compensate for the fluctuating demands of the plot in places. However, according to the developer People Can Fly, they still want to work on the balance until the release.
More and better loot
In Worldslayer, the loot is more valuable than in the main game. In our run-through, we only occasionally found items with a rarity lower than “rare”. In addition, each class receives two more legendary armour sets.
Practical: If your character dies or leaves an area without collecting the loot, the game adds the corresponding items to his inventory. There is no need to search the battlefields.
The gameplay innovations in Worldslayer
Apocalypse levels
The quality of the loot depends on the difficulty level set. The apocalypse levels, 40 in total, expand the previous world levels – but function identically. You can choose whether the game automatically raises the level as soon as a new level is unlocked.
You can also play the story of the basic game – all story events before Worldslayer – with the apocalypse levels. This gives you a kind of new-game-plus with stronger enemies and better equipment. Alternatively, the main story can be played with the previous world levels. All end-game content – expeditions and the trials of Traya Gratar – can only be played with the apocalypse levels. Similar to the world levels, you will also receive a gift box of equipment with the Apocalypse levels.
You can only play Worldslayer content with the new Apocalypse system. When Apocalypse levels are active, you will have the chance to receive Apocalypse gear. These items have one modification in addition to the normal two. Apocalypse gear is not craftable and the third trait cannot be customised. So to get fully optimised gear, you”ll have to trust to chance and grind until the desired loot shows up.
Ascension System
In addition to stronger equipment, there are other ways to improve your character in Worldslayer. The Ascension System unlocks passive bonuses in four categories. Like the skill trees, you can redistribute the points you use, a maximum of 50 per category, at any time and free of charge. Here you can choose whether you want to further strengthen already improved skills or add more useful bonuses to your build.
For example, you increase your damage for firearms or a life drain from normal bullets. Gradually, the bonuses improve your character noticeably: with the same weapon, enemies take more damage and you continuously regenerate some life with every hit. In addition to the apocalypse levels, the ascension system gives you another “carrot in front of your nose” for long-term motivation. And indeed, each new level rewards you, as the character becomes a little stronger again.
Pax skilltrees
The last innovation are the Pax-Skilltrees. Each class gets two such talent trees, which you can use to further specialise your class. You only invest Pax points in these, which you can also reallocate at any time. Unlike the ascension points or the normal ability points, you only receive the pax points through story progress. For the last point, you have to complete the trials of Traya Gratar. The effort is worth it: each Pax point noticeably increases your character”s potential. However, you should not expect new active abilities here either. Like the Ascension system, the Pax skilltrees only improve your character passively – but significantly.
How the Endgame Works
More powerful characters are crucial especially in the Endgame. Once you reach the trials of Traya Gratar, the game raises the requirements. Here you will be confronted with more and stronger enemies. The number of enemies is designed for three players. The health and damage of the enemies, however, scales with the number of players.
The trials take place on a separate section of the map. You have three attempts to reach the end. If you fail, you have to start again. Important: If you are in a hub and restart the game, you will also lose an attempt.
The horizontal path on the map is relevant for the background story. At the “temple symbols” you will find special arenas where you can specifically grind for equipment. Unlike the expeditions, you receive your loot after each battle area. Long-term progress is thus possible, even if the end is not reached.
This is what the free update offers
With the free update that coincides with the Worldslayer release, all Outriders players who do not purchase the addon will also gain access to the Apocalypse system with the following features:
- Apocalypse levels up to level 15 as an alternative to the world levels.
- Stages act as a new-game-plus in the main campaign with stronger enemies and better equipment.
- The Apocalypse stages are always used in the expeditions.
- Apocalypse equipment with another feature (cannot be made)
Even as a solo player, the battles in the endgame are fun – however, depending on the chosen apocalypse level, they are a bit more difficult than in a well-matched team of three. If you really don”t want any teammates, you can also work towards a “maxed out” character, but then you have to be more tactical in the battles.
In addition to several areas with normal opponents and intermediate bosses, you can take on five elite opponents. The second one in particular breaks with the previous rules of the game and requires you to adapt your tactics. Interesting: Each elite opponent has its own mechanics that make the fight exciting. For example, more standard opponents appear at a boss if you damage the boss quickly.
Analogous to the expeditions, the areas in the endgame of Worldslayer also remain identical with each playthrough. Even though it is enormously motivating to constantly improve the character, the gameplay wears out faster with always the same environments than with procedural generation.
For whom is Worldslayer suitable?
If you have already spent countless hours with friends or family members in the expeditions on Enoch, you can access it without hesitation. Especially for the endgame, Worldslayer offers added value to the basic game with the Pax and Ascension system. The more time you invest in your character, the more powerful it becomes. The core gameplay loop becomes faster and the abilities can be used more often (depending on the skill) or gain in penetrating power.
Pure story players who are not looking for a challenge may be put off by the purchase price of just under 40 euros, but Worldslayer is worth a look in a sale at the latest. The DLC provides interesting background information on the planet Enoch and the anomaly. Like the main game, Worldslayer deals with important problems of our time without trying to lecture the player.
If you haven”t had the chance to play Outriders yet, you can get a complete package of the main game and DLC with the bundle for around 80 euros. You can play Worldslayer directly with a Boost character. However, we strongly advise against this. Worldslayer does not introduce you to the game and requires knowledge of the gameplay and story.
Players who have not yet warmed up to Outriders can safely ignore Worldslayer. The expansion improves existing mechanics. You will search in vain for fundamentally new gameplay.
Editor”s verdict
I had a lot of fun with Outriders: Worldslayer. The gunplay is on the high level of the main game and the passive abilities add more dynamics to the fights. The third mod slot in the apocalypse items creates even more exciting interactions between the equipment and the abilities. Time and again I found myself thinking of new combinations for later builds at the workbench – that”s how it should be in an ARPG-shooter mix.
The DLC provides interesting background information on the story of the main game, without the content giving the impression that it was planned as DLC. Even without Worldslayer, Outriders has a successful storyline, which is rare in the shooter genre. And now, if you”ll excuse me, new apocalypse equipment is calling…
