Star Wars Outlaws drops biggest ever Xbox patch with major stealth and combat changes

If you’ve put down the controller to dive into other games, now might be a good time to take up the hunt again for those Star Wars Outlaws achievements. Title Update 1.4.0 is out now for Star Wars Outlaws and brings some big changes, which might help boost Star Wars Outlaws as a contender for one of the best open world games. Title Update 1.4.0 is out now, and will be around 10.18 GB for Xbox Series X|S. The biggest changes are the updates for stealth, combat, and enemy encounters. “Our first step in expanding player choice is removing forced stealth from almost all quest objectives,” says Drew Rechner, who recently became the game’s new creative director. “This doesn’t mean that sneaking is no longer a viable or even preferable option in some cases. Rather, if you’re caught while sneaking, the objective won’t fail and reset you to the last checkpoint. Instead, you’ll seamlessly transition into combat. We know many of you enjoy the stealth approach, so it was important to us to preserve that playstyle while also giving you the freedom to decide how to tackle each mission. Ultimately, you’ll have the choice to sneak, go in combat-first, or-— my personal favorite — sneak until you’re caught and then blast your way out.”You can engage in combat in syndicate districts (even in cities) while enemies have been updated so that you can target weak points, with new defeat animations to spice things up a bit. Kay’s blaster can, on the Power module, be used even against enemies behind cover, and she can hang onto enemy weapons for longer. The full list of changes is below, as per the patch notes.Star Wars Outlaws Title Update 1.4.0 patch notesNotable changes:Notable updates to stealth and combat that allow players greater choice, including using stealth or reaching for their blaster, even in syndicate territories in cities.Enemy AI and detection improvements, with players being notified when they’re being detected and can choose to escalate or change tactics to remain in stealth.Enemy weak points have been added to reward strategic gameplay, which if targeted can trigger explosions or cause enemies to die in spectacular new ways.Re-tuned Kay’s blaster and pickup weapons to improve the combat experience, including being able to carry two handed weapons in more situations.Facial expressions and animations in dialogue scenes have been improved, the option to toggle off the cinematic lens during gameplay has been added, and the visibility of distant lights has been improved.General GameplayFixed an issue where players could get stuck by not being able to take off using the Trailblazer after certain missionsKay now holsters a two-handed weapon in more situations such as when climbing, grappling or using the speederImproved AI speeder usageImproved enemy detectionImproved enemy tactical decision-making in combat to encourage more active management of their positioningDecreased enemy damage per shot while increasing the damage cadence increase over timeImproved detection signs and feedback of camerasPlayer state (crouched, standing) is now kept after traversal actionsFixed an issue where only one NPC would be alerted when whistlingFixed an issue where the player could remain undetected in high grass while performing aggressive actionsEnabled the use of combat in parts of syndicate districtsAdded weak points to various enemiesAdjusted weapon aiming (spread, recoil, etc.) to allow for more precision and managementUpdated weapon damage values for Kay for all weaponsIncreased headshot damage when hitting enemiesImproved blaster module usage (Ion and Power)Removed player blast damage from the Power moduleAdded enemy stagger to explosionsAdded body part-specific death animations to improve combat satisfactionImproved NPC cover usage during combatFixed an issue where Kay would put away the holotracker when crouchingFixed an issue where hostile NPCs were sometimes marked as friendly and could not be damaged by blaster fireAdjusted jumping to give more control in the air of where you will landUI, HUD and SettingsAdded visual indication of when an NPC starts detecting the playerAdded text highlighting which blaster module should be used when aiming at heavy guards, droids and camerasPrompt to ping the tracked objective is now more prominent and affected by HUD visibility settingsAdded icons to environmental objects that require unlockable abilitiesImproved Nix quick action icon by highlighting button when having an active targetMade it clearer whether a takedown could trigger combatAdded NPC tags above their heads (works with existing colorblindness settings)White – NeutralOrange – AwareRed – In CombatAdjusted Adrenaline Rush cost based on difficultyStory mode – 100% (unchanged)Normal – 110%Challenging/Hard -150%Improved wanted system messaging and displayFixed an issue where some gear effect icons were not showing correctlyAudioImproved enemy dialogue when they are going in and out of coverFixed an issue where sound wouldn’t play through the DualSense controller on PS5Fixed an issue where arcade games would be missing music after starting a new gameCinematicsAdded facial animations to gameplay dialogue scenes and vendorsImproved animations and visuals of some dialogue scenesFixed an issue where ND-5 would be missing from the passenger seat when landing/taking off from Renpalli or Achra stationsCameraImproved camera when shooting, aiming down sights, and moving aimImproved cover camera, including the ability to manually shoulder swap when aimingImproved the camera by showcasing a better view of each shop when interacting with a vendorWorlds, Fauna and FloraFixed an issue with destructible floraFixed an issue where the visual effects created by waterfalls were brokenIncreased the distance at which lights can be seen in the worldImproved the visuals of some grass textures and mud, especially at distancePhoto ModeA new clean lens has been addedAccessibilityAdded a Custom Controller Preset to allow remapping of individual buttons. You can choose separate sets of button swaps for Kay, the speeder, and the Trailblazer.Added a new ‘strong’ aim assist settingAdded a new auto-transfer option for climbing, which lets you automatically hop between climbable objects by moving towards them instead of having to press a buttonAdded setting to change how large and clear the effect showing the security camera detection area isSound effects slider split into two separate sliders, for gameplay sounds and background soundsFaster menu narration, settings now go up to 400% speed.Menu narration now reads lockpicking and slicing minigames, objective hints, and which Sabacc card is currently highlighted in your hand and while drawing/discardingOption added to toggle the Cinematic Lens (distortion, fringing, and vignetting effects) off for gameplay’Fill screen’ is now the default screen ratio, meaning larger text size for the initial menus before you reach the ratio setting screen’Remove all’ hold input for map markers added to ‘change holds to presses’ settingDescriptions of accessibility settings reworded for improved clarityMiscellaneousFixed an issue where destroying a ship by ramming it would not count towards the ‘Never tell me the odds’ trophy/achievementFixed an issue where the ‘Shoot First’ achievement/trophy and ‘The Better’ ability could not be unlocked at the same timeFixed an issue where defeating Death Troopers during certain missions would not count towards the ‘Defying Death’ Ubisoft Connect ChallengeMain and side quests (beware of spoilers)TosharaRejectedFixed an issue where Kay can’t listen at the bar to progress the intel questTatooineThe VeteranFixed an issue where the quest line would not start if travelling to Akiva before the dialogue finishesPartnersFixed an issue where the cinematic would not trigger if using Adrenaline Rush as the Rancor hits the hangar doorsAkivaRevelatorFixed an issue where ND-5 could spot Kay when going from crouched to standing while on a steam ventThe Star Wars Outlaws team is also unveiling its Bug Reporter as a site to report issues, see what other players have spotted, and to keep updated with Ubisoft’s investigations. Also arriving alongside today’s patch is the first Star Wars Outlaws story pack, Wild Card, continuing the game’s post-launch content.



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