Outriders is the sort of game that revels in challenging its players directly. It dares you to take on the highest difficulty and rewards you with ever-increasing loot if you can answer the call. Doing so requires taking advantage of the powerful and robust mod system, wherein you customize your weapons or armor with mods to imbue them with special perks.
The right combination of mods gives you the edge to put Outriders higher difficulties in their place and earn the best loot in the game. Since there are 350 of them in the game, we’ve rounded up the best mods in Outriders.
Some are class-specific, and some are only available on the ultra-rare legendary items. This guide will forego those in favor of universal Tier 1 and Tier 2 mods that are more readily available and flexible for all players.
To get a specific mod, you must first find a weapon or armor piece that has it already attached. You can breakdown the weapon/armor to add the mod to your catalog. Our crafting guide tells you how to do that in greater detail.
The Best Universal Weapon Mods
Perpetuum Mobile
Perpetuum Mobile is the must-have weapon mod. This Tier 2 mod automatically replenishes your gun when you kill an enemy with less than 35% ammo left. That’s great in any situation, but paired with an ammo power mod like the Trickster’s Twisted Rounds or the Pyromancers Volcanic Rounds (even after getting nerfed), it is tough to beat.
These ammo powers don’t consume ammunition, and because the magazine is never emptied due to Perpetuum Mobile, these short-term boosts can last for entire missions and expeditions, and definitely come in handy in multiplayer where combat can be more difficult.
Death Chains
Death Chains is one of the best weapon mods for increasing damage output. Shooting enemies wraps them in spectral chains that do significant damage for three seconds. The amount of damage scales with the level of the weapon, making this mod viable at any World Tier or Expeditions Challenge Tier. This is a great fire-and-forget mod; you can move on to your next target while the chains finish the job on the enemy you just shot.
Storm Whip
Channel your inner Zeus with Storm Whip. This Tier 2 weapon mod summons a bolt of lightning from the sky, dealing level-adjusted damage to your opponents. The cooldown is just two seconds. That means as long as you keep shooting, your enemies will be constantly smitten from on high.
This is especially useful on higher difficulties and during Expeditions, where you may only be able to take occasional quick shots at some tougher baddies. Even a single round from your gun, no matter how weak, is enough to summon this bolt from the heavens.
Brain Eater
Brain-Eater is a weapon mod that can completely change your ammo economy. With it equipped, critical shots do not consume ammunition. This can result in bottomless clips, provided you hit your target in critical areas. That means no reloading, and your ammo reserves don’t run dry. This also applies to Ammo Powers, providing some of the same advantages as Perpetuum Mobile.
Bone Shrapnel
Killing enemies is both fun and functional with Bone Shrapnel. Not only do your slain foes explode, but their bones also damage other enemies in a five-meter radius and inflict bleed. The speed with which you can clear mobs using this mod is exceptional, and tougher enemies surrounded by these explosions will take noticeable damage.
The Bleed effect does damage over time and works synergistically with a number of other powers and mods. This is also a fantastic mod if you’re going for the Classy trophy and achievement, which requires you “complete the highest tier of 4 class-related accolades for any class.” Some, like several for the Trickster, are incredibly easy, if grindy, with Bone Shrapnel.
The Best Armor Mods
Mitigation from Death
Mitigation from Death is the ideal survival-boosting armor mod. Activating it is easy: just kill enemies while aiming down your sights. This triggers up to three stacks of a sizable armor boost for 10 seconds. It also stays active for the entirety of most battles, since every subsequent kill made by ADS renews the timer.
The result is a massive, persistent boost to survivability that you don’t even need to think about, as long as you occasionally take the time to aim your weapon.
Emergency Stance
It is easy to get caught up in the joy of eviscerating the teeming masses of enemies that flood combat areas in Outriders, and it’s even easier to fail to notice your health quickly dwindling. That is where Emergency Stance comes in.
As soon as your health drops below 30% it activates Golem, which provides a 65% damage reduction for four seconds. This is a massive boost to survivability and gives you more than enough time to heal and keep yourself in the fight.
Ice Trap
Ice Trap is the perfect combination of an automatically-activating survival mod and a useful tool for crowd control. As soon as your health drops below 30%, a burst of freezing energy extending in a 10-meter radius freezes all enemies (depending on resistance). Now you can escape or turn the tables on the opposition. This is especially great when being gnawed on by a pack of alpha perforos or overwhelmed by cutthroats.
Bloodlust
The aptly named Bloodlust mod is another easy-to-activate armor mod that will be persistent through most battles. This one is very straightforward: killing shots boost firepower (weapon damage), stacking up to three times. Each stack deteriorates over 10 seconds.
Outriders is a game where you are thrashing seemingly endless masses of enemies, which renews the boost quickly. Bloodlust keeps itself fed, and the increase to your damage output is key to defeating enemies at higher World and Challenge Tiers.
Stand Tall
Do you spend a lot of time in cover? Of course, you don’t! This is Outriders, and you are a superpowered one-person army. You have hordes to kill.
That’s why Stand Tall is such a great armor mod. It boosts both Anomaly Power and Firepower when you are out of cover for more than five seconds. For most players this means the mod is active at all times. Free damage boost for all of your attacks? Yes, please.
—
There you have it, our list for the best mods in Outriders. Pick and choose the mod that matches your playstyle, and in no time, you will leave the hostile aliens, feral creatures, and bloodthirsty insurgents broken at your feet. Apply them to the best weapons in the early- and mid-game, and you’ll blast through the story and sidequests in no time. For more Outriders tips and tricks be sure to check out the rest of our Outriders guides.
