Outridershas been out for a little longer than two weeks, and it’s been a bumpy ride. From server issues and questionable nerfs to inventory wipes,Outriders' reviewshave been mostly mixed. Some love it and some hate it, but at its core, though, many fans are diving into the loot grind and having a ton of fun. The gunplay is one thing, but even on top of that,Outriders' classes are interesting in and of themselves.
Some of the classes have abilities that are incredibly similar, yet all of this does depend on thetype ofOutridersbuilda player is going for. Gun builds became quickly popular (and remain rather strong despite the recent nerfs, if not as powerful), but the variety of abilities tap into raw damage, DPS, control, tank, and more. The four classes all offer something, but with a proper DLC, there’s a strong case for more classes.
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Outriders' Stance on DLC
Game Rant has spoken withPeople Can Flyquite a few times, with one continued emphasis being that Outriders is a all-in day-one package. With the game being release now, this is more obvious than ever. The story comes to a strong close, leaving just enough questions that do not feel like set up, while the endgame content is plentiful. Already,Outriders players are cheesing the endgame, and that’s really just a good sign about how much content the game is packed with.
However, People Can Fly has also indicated that the future of the game will be up to its players. If the demand is there, it doesn’t seem that People Can Fly or Square Enix are adverse to expanding on the game with solid chunks of DLC. This wouldn’t, based on what has been said before, be thin content either, but chunky additions to the game well worth the price. All things considered and despite the flawed launch, communication has constantly been PCF’s greatest strength, so if the demand is there, fans could expect that come to play if it chose so. As such, while newOutridersclassesare unlikely, it’s possible and could be just that: fan service.
What Outriders' DLC Classes Could Entail
Of course, that begs the question of what new Outriders DLC classes could actually entail. There’s a pretty wide net cast already:The Technomancer dominates at long range, control, and support with abilities for disease and cold elements, the Pyromancer hits hard at the mid-range with DoT abilities and fire, the Trickster gets up close and personal manipulating time and the such, and the Devastator (like the earth it uses in its abilities) does not get knocked down. While there’s a strong spread, there’s other areas that could be filled in with RPG-esque classes.
While the Technomancer is, too, a summoner of sorts, this is all focused on machinery. A Beastmaster class inOutriderswould be interesting to see come into action, given the wildlife found on Enoch. Perhaps it would be able to summon some of these creatures to attack enemies, have nature abilities that include vine trap, grabs, and movements, and general bonuses regarding the wildlife on Enoch. The argument could be made that the connection wouldn’t make sense with the confine of the story, but at the same time, the Anomaly is exactly what his players with these powers. Establishing a deeper connection between the player and Enoch could just be taken more literally in this case.
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A Beastmaster would likely join the Technomancer in mastering long range aspects of Outriders, so the Pyromancer really needs an ally in the mid-range aspect. Perhaps, notably, the game builds on the five elements of Hinduism quite well:bhumi (Earth/Devastator), Tejas (fire/Pyromancer), Jala (water, and loosely connected to the Technomancer’s cold), vyom (space/Trickster). A mid-range class focused on the other two, marut (air) ad akash (void) could fit some sort of gravity manipulation. Increased movement speed, wormholes likeApex Legends' Horizon’s ultimate, and more could all compliment mid-range gameplay, with of course more treats added.
There’s already two up-close and personal classes, but theDevastator really needs a buff. Even after then, there’s room as the Devastator is meant to be a tank (and really needs a way to generate aggro), while the Trickster is more or less a glass cannon. A go-between would fit nicely, a front liner meant to constantly be there instead of dipping in and out or taking damage, and a Berserker-Barbarian type would be great. Similar abilities for increased survival and damage makes sense, but it could stand out with melee oriented abilities that add new elements to the gunplay too. A Berserker could stun enemies with swings from a massive hammer, then mow them down with guns. They could feature abilities that are strengthened by melee kills, as well as things that increase gun damage based on melee association
Of course, this is all speculation, but the bottom line is that they are a lot of go-betweens that would fit nicely intoOutriders' gameplay.
Outriders Class DLCs and Problems with Looter Shooters
As interesting as this is, there’s one thing to keep in mind with such a choice: engagement.Outridersoffers plays a lot day one, and while there are certainly those who will be grinding for quite some time (especially when a lot of the technical issues are fixed), many may put it down before a story class comes out. Story-related DLC could help that, but it’s been said before that, in looter shooters, DLC classes don’t do well. For this very reason,Borderlands 3does not have any DLC classes.
On the one hand, without DLC classes, fans may have never gotten beloved characters likeGaige the Mechromanceror Krieg the Psycho. According to the data, though, many didn’t play these classes or go through all the content with them. Given the similarities between the games on a surface level, it makes sense this would be the same. As such, any class DLC would come with the caveat of trying to re-emphasize a playthrough the full game or story DLC that helps the class stands out. Still, while a challenge, it feels worth it.
Outridersis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
