Outlaws is coming to Steam with a big update that brings major changes to sneaking and fighting.
Star Wars Outlaws isn’t a bad game, but sales and player numbers are believed to have fallen short of expectations for Ubisoft.
In order to win new fans, the open-world game is now also being offered on Steam and a major update is being released at the same time, which is taking great strides to address criticism of combat and stealth missions.
What’s in update 1.4.0?
Of course, the patch notes list a lot of bug fixes and comfort improvements. But there are also a total of five major changes that we want to summarize briefly.
- Sneaking is optional: With the new update, missions in Syndicate territories will no longer end if you are discovered. You can then grab your blaster instead and fight your way through the area.
- Sneaking is getting easier: After stealth missions were already removed with past patches, Ubisoft is now making it easier to sneak around. You will now be notified when your opponents are about to detect you, allowing you to change your tactics in time.
- Weak spots for enemies: In combat, you can now target newly introduced weak spots. A hit can trigger explosions or cause enemies to die in a spectacular way.
- Weapon Tuning: Both Kay’s Blaster and pick-up weapons have been adjusted. Among other things, you can now carry two-handed weapons in more situations.
- Graphics Improvements: Facial animations look better, you can disable cinematic lenses, and distant highlights are more visible.
Those were the most important changes in the update. You can find the complete patch notes on the second page of the article.
Patch Notes
PATCH DETAILS (version 7309905):
- PlayStation®5: 7.44 GB (version 01.004.000)
- Xbox Series X|S: 10.18 GB (version 1.0.4.0)
- PC: 8.83 GB (version 1.0.4.0)
NOTABLE CHANGES:
- Notable updates to camouflage and combat, giving players more choices, including using camouflage or their blaster, even in urban Syndicate areas.
- Improvements to enemy AI and detection, notifying players when they are discovered and allowing them to choose whether to escalate or change tactics to remain hidden.
- Added enemy vulnerabilities to reward strategic gameplay that, when targeted, can trigger explosions or cause enemies to die in spectacular new ways.
- Kays Blaster and pick-up weapons have been rebalanced to improve the combat experience, including the ability to dual-wield in more situations.
- Facial expressions and animations in dialog scenes have been improved, the option to turn off the cinematic lens during gameplay has been added, and the visibility of distant lights has been improved.
FULL PATCH NOTES:
General Gameplay
- Fixed an issue where players could become unable to take off with the Trailblazer after certain missions
- Kay now holsters her dual wielded weapon in more situations, such as when climbing, grappling, or when using the speeder
- Improved AI speeder use
- Improved enemy detection
- Improved tactical decision making by enemies in combat to encourage more active management of their positioning
- Reduced enemy damage per shot while increasing damage cadence over time
- Improved camera feeds and feedback
- Player’s state (ducked, standing) is now preserved after movement actions
- Fixed an issue where only one NPC would alert when whistling
- Fixed an issue where the player could remain undetected while performing aggressive actions in tall grass
- Combat is now possible in parts of the Syndicate Districts
- Weak spots have been added to various enemies
- Weapon aiming (scatter, recoil, etc.) has been adjusted to allow for more precision and control
- The weapon damage values for Kay have been updated for all weapons
- Increased headshot damage when hitting enemies
- Improved Blaster Module utility (Ion and Power)
- Removed player blast damage from Power Module
- Added enemy stagger on blast
- Added body part specific death animations for improved combat satisfaction
- Improved use of NPC cover during combat
- Fixed Kay putting away his holotracker when crouching
- Fixed an issue where enemy NPCs would sometimes be flagged as friendly and could not be damaged by blaster fire
- Jumping has been adjusted to give more control over where you land in midair
UI, HUD and Settings
- Added a visual indicator to show when an NPC has detected the player
- Added text highlighting to indicate which blaster module should be used when targeting heavy guards, droids, and cameras
- The prompt to ping the target being followed is now more distinct and is affected by the HUD visibility settings
- Icons have been added to environmental objects that require unlockable abilities
- Improved Nix quick action icon to highlight button when it has an active target
- Made it more obvious if a takedown can initiate combat
- Added NPC tags above their heads (works with existing colorblind settings)
- White – Neutral
- Orange – Aware
- Red – In a fight
- Adrenaline Rush cost adjusted for each difficulty
- Story Mode – 100% (unchanged)
- Normal – 110%
- Challenging/Hard – 150%
- Improved messages and display of the wanted system
- Fixed an issue where some equipment effect icons were not displaying correctly
Audio
- Improved enemy dialogue when they take cover and leave it
- Fixed an issue where audio would not play through the DualSense controller on PS5
- Fixed an issue where Arcade games would be missing music after starting a new game
Cinematics
- Added facial animations to gameplay dialogue scenes and vendors
- Improved animations and visuals for some dialogue scenes
- Fixed missing ND-5 in passenger seat when starting or landing at Renpalli or Achra
Camera
- Improved camera when shooting, aiming, and moving target
- Improved cover camera, including the ability to manually switch shoulders when aiming
- Improved camera with a better view of each store when interacting with a seller
Worlds, wildlife and flora
- Fixed an issue with destructible flora
- Fixed an issue that interrupted the visual effects of waterfalls
- Increased the distance from which lights can be seen in the world
- Improved the appearance of some grass textures and mud, especially from a distance
Photo Mode
- Added a new clean lens
Accessibility
- Added a custom controller preset to allow individual button remapping. You can select separate button sets for Kay, the Speeder, and the Trailblazer.
- Added a new setting for the “strong” aiming aid
- Added a new option for automatic transmission when climbing, which allows you to automatically switch between climbable objects by moving towards them, instead of having to press a button
- Added new setting to change how large and distinct the effect showing the security camera’s detection area is
- Split sound effects slider into two separate sliders for gameplay sounds and background noise
- Faster menu navigation, settings now with up to 400% speed.
- Menu navigation now highlights lock-picking and hacking mini-games, target hints, and which Sabacc card is currently in your hand when dragging and dropping
- Option added to turn off Cinematic Lens (distortion, border and vignetting effects) for gameplay
- “Fill Screen” is now the default aspect ratio, which means larger text size for the first menus before you reach the aspect ratio setting screen
- “Clear All” added to the “Map Marker Dwell” setting
- Accessibility setting descriptions reworded for clarity
Various
- Fixed an issue where ramming and destroying a ship did not count towards the “Never Tell Me the Odds” trophy/achievement.
- Fixed an issue where the “Shoot First” achievement/trophy and “The Better” skill could not be unlocked at the same time.
- Fixed an issue where killing Death Troopers during certain missions would not count towards the Ubisoft Connect Challenge “Defying Death”
MAIN & SIDE QUESTS(Spoiler alert)
Toshara
- Declined
- Fixed an issue where Kay could not listen at the bar to advance the intelligence mission
Tatooine
- The Veteran
- Fixed an issue where traveling to Akiva before finishing the dialog would prevent the questline from starting
- Partner
- Fixed an issue where the cinematic would not trigger if using Adrenaline Rush while the Rancor hit the hangar doors
Akiva
- Revelator
- Fixed an issue where ND-5 Kay could detect when he stood up from a crouch while sitting on a steam vent
Bug Reporter
We are happy to announce that reporting issues will now be easier with the introduction of the Star Wars™: Outlaws Bug Reporter This website works the same way as for other Ubisoft titles. It is your direct channel to view issues reported by other players and to report any issues you encounter directly to our team. We will actively update this forum to let you know when issues are being investigated and when fixes and improvements will be introduced in an upcoming update.
How to report an error:
- Go to the Bug Reporter website
- First, check the issues to see if your problem has already been reported.
- If your problem has already been reported, simply vote for it.
- If you have a new problem, select “Report an issue” at the top of the page.
- Select a title that best describes your problem.
- Fill out the form below, providing as much information as possible to help our teams identify the bug.
- Select “Validate” to save the report.
Our team will then receive your report and we will contact you for more information if needed.
You can check the progress of your reported bugs via the “My reported issues” tab.
Incidentally, the Steam release on November 21 not only saw the update, but also the first story DLC for Star Wars Outlaws. Kay takes part in a Sabacc tournament and faces Lando Calrissian. In addition to the quest line centered around the famous swindler, the expansion also features new regions to discover.
