One of the great joys in Outriders is shredding hordes of enemies using your guns, altered powers, and wits. While fighting is fun solo, it pales in comparison to playing with a full squad; multiplayer scaling has a direct and significant impact on difficulty, in more ways than one.
Mowing down the bad guys with friends, each of you an unstoppable, anomaly-powered killing machine is pure joy, but it can be hard because of how multiplayer scaling works. Fortunately, we’ve put together this handy guide to help you understand Outriders MP difficulty curves.
Multiplayer Level Scaling Explained
The first thing to understand about Outriders‘ multiplayer difficulty is that enemy level is determined exclusively by the host. World Tier (explained in detail here) sets the enemy level relative to the level of the host, regardless of the other two members in the party.
A large level disparity between the party leader and other players will do one of two things.
- If the party leader is at a higher level, then lower-level teammates will face much more challenging enemies and may find themselves overmatched.
- Conversely, if the party leader is lower level, then the other group mates will be fighting weaker enemies.
Outriders begins to suppress player-level advantage after two levels, preventing enemies from being too easy. This is a one-way street, however, as there is no limit to the level advantage of enemies. Put your over-leveled buddy in as the party leader at your own risk.
Enemy Numbers Based on Number of Players
When playing the main game, adding additional members to the party increases the number of enemies that spawn, the amount of health enemies possess, and the amount of damage your enemies dish out.
A group of two will face more, tougher enemies, and a group of three will face the most and the toughest baddies. It appears that there are roughly 3x as many enemies in a three-person combat encounter as there are in a solo encounter, but we’re still trying to figure out some of the minutiae in that regard.
Expeditions Scaling
Expeditions are Outriders‘ endgame content. They are unlocked after completing the campaign. Multiplayer scaling is slightly different here.
Larger teams still affect the health and damage-dealing potential of the enemies you’ll be facing. However, because these encounters are designed to be high-level challenges, Expeditions are always locked to the maximum enemy group size.
A party of one will face the same number of enemies as a full three-person squad. Soloing is possible, but not recommended.
Friends with (Potentially Limited) Benefits
There are loot implications to multiplayer, as well. The loot level will always be set by the World Tier (for the main game) and Challenge Tier (for the endgame), based on the level of the party leader.
Playing as an overpowered bodyguard with your beginner friend as party leader may be fun, but it will do little to advance your own equipment.
There is also a cap to the maximum rank of the gear you can receive based on the World Tier and your individual level, including the level of the legendaries you can farm. Don’t expect that you can hide out behind the bushes while your max-level squad showers you with riches.
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Outriders multiplayer scaling is important, but not too complicated. Level differences between party members, enemy numbers, and enemy strength are all variable, but in predictable ways. Make sure to read the rest of our Outriders tips and tricks to make the most out of your gameplay. And remember, the apocalypse is always more fun with friends.
