Outriders is one of those games where some people love it, whilst others don’t. I recently started playing it myself as it’s now on PC Game Pass, and have been enjoying it. Thankfully, it’s looking to get even better with a much-needed feature!
The upcoming New Horizon update will come with brand new expeditions, skills, and more. My favourite addition, however, is the Transmog system which I feel the game will really benefit from.
For those of you who are unaware, Transmog systems in gear/loot-based games allow you to change the look of your equipment/armour to match something else, whilst keeping the base attributes. Ever had a gear that you did not like the look of, but were stuck with it due to its awesome stats? The Transmog system helps solve that.
It is something that Far Cry 6 and AC: Odyssey have done well in my opinion, making it so that you can switch the look at a low cost, as long as you have unlocked the required gear.
Odyssey was especially fantastic, as it allowed you to change the look easily from your gear menu, something that Valhalla could have benefitted from, as currently you are forced to travel to a blacksmith to do so, killing moments of impulsiveness when you are roaming around.
What makes Outriders’ Transmog system even better is that not only can you change the look of your gear for free, but will be able to do it cross-character. RPG games such as this tend to have gear exclusive to different classes, oftentimes keeping you from some really stylistic looks that you might like.
Outriders does away with these limitations, so now you can Transmog your gear into another class’ set. You still have to find the gear as that class, but it opens up the possibility for some unique looking builds, unrestrained by what you play as. The stats and attributes aren’t affected, of course, so the class-based balancing doesn’t suffer. Changing the look of your weapon will also change how it sounds, based on the visuals of your gun, whilst keeping its attributes.
What impresses me the most is that the developers have stayed away from convoluted requirements or needless costs (looking at you Destiny 2), making the system as user friendly as possible. In fact, all of this can be done in your inventory, wherever you are, without any cost or cooldowns.
Other than user-friendliness, a highly approachable and transparent Transmog system can further encourage you to look for gear that you normally wouldn’t, bolstering your loot engagement. There have been countless times where players have disappointingly skipped getting something, just because it doesn’t mesh with their playstyle but regrettably looks cool.
I really hope that more gear based RPG games will look into creating transparent and convenient Transmog systems, and not bog them down with arbitrary costs or requirements. In my opinion, that initial journey of acquiring a gear itself is the cost, so you’ve already worked for it, and so it should be available for you to use both vanilla and as a Transmog.
Outriders is currently available at no extra cost for Game Pass members on PC and XBOX Series X, as well as Playstation 4 and Playstation 5. The New Horizon update will be available later today!
As We Play 