It isn’t easy being an outlaw. Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor sounds simple enough. But considering the long hours, nonexistent health benefits, and constant threat of imprisonment, there’s a reason it’s not the most sought-after profession in Nottingham. Sumo Digital’s Hood: Outlaws & Legends does provide plenty of reasons to play, though.
This uniquely designed heist game tasks two teams of outlaws with infiltrating a military stronghold in hopes of stealing a treasure chest. The odds are stacked against them. Not only must they contend with their rivals, but they’ll also have to maneuver around a slew of deadly NPCs.
Thankfully, our Hood: Outlaws & Legends beginner’s guide below will help would-be Robin Hoods find success.
Hood Outlaws & Legends Beginner’s Tips and Tricks
Tip #1: Form the Right Team
In most cases, the best team in Hood: Outlaws & Legends is a balanced team. Having one of each character class provides players with the most options during a given match. Unfortunately, this sentiment is frequently ignored during matchmaking.
Hood: Outlaws & Legends has four different classes:
- Robin Hood (Ranger)
- Little John (Brawler)
- Marianne (Hunter)
- Tooke (Mystic)
Each one brings something unique to the table.
The Hunter’s small stature and invisibility magic make her the best assassin in the game. The Ranger can spot/tag enemies from great distances. Even better, he can drop most anyone with a well-placed arrow to the skull.
The Brawler, on the other hand, can use his strength to open alternate routes in and out of a given stronghold. He’s also the best when it comes to carrying the heavy treasure chest. And the Mystic is the only support character and is able to heal and buff his teammates whenever possible.
There’s more to each character class, of course. Their passive abilities allow for interesting strategies; having two Brawlers could be beneficial given how quickly they can winch away the stolen goods.
That said, choosing to play as the same characters only works when everyone is on the same page about what it is they are trying to do. And that’s almost never the case when matched with random players who’re reluctant to use voice chat.
Basically, being flexible with your character choices will help when entering a lobby full of Robins.
Tip #2: Consult the Map
Most of the maps in Hood: Outlaws & Legends are large. There are several points of interest – a barracks, encampment, keep, etc. – multiple routes in and out of a given area, and plenty of opportunities to ambush the rival team. There are also random elements like the Sheriff of Nottingham’s whereabouts; players will need to swipe his key to unlock the vault containing the treasure.
Learning your surroundings is key. Pulling up the map from time to time will help in this regard. Just hit “TAB” on PC, and you’ll get a full layout, complete with little green dots representing your teammates.
Note: For some reason (at least on PC), the game doesn’t provide this information; it wasn’t located in the controller or mouse and keyboard settings at the time of this writing. We were only able to find it on accident after hitting “M” failed to produce the desired effect.
Tip #3: Share Information with Your Team
Hood: Outlaws & Legends utilizes a ping system. By pressing the middle mouse button (left bumper/L1 on console), you’ll be able to highlight items, points of interest like doors, enemies, and more. When this happens, your character will not only call out whatever you pinged, the item or enemy will also glow for a few seconds.
There are several reasons to share information with the team. One has to do with sharing experience and gold. When someone takes down a foe you pinged, you’ll get assist points that help in powering your special ability.
You can also warn people of impending danger. A quick ping might prevent a teammate from being assassinated by a sneaky hunter or prevent them from accidentally walking into the powerful Sheriff.
The most important bit of information comes from the keyholder. Only the person with the key is told where the vault is. So, it would make sense to share that info with your teammates before running off on your own. This can be done through voice chat or via the coms wheel – by holding down the ping button and selecting either “Go Here” or “Come to Me”.
Tip# 4: Alert the Guards
It’s wise to take a stealthy approach in Hood: Outlaws & Legends. Sneak past guards or quietly assassinate them. Take an alternate route into a stronghold. Avoid the seemingly unstoppable sheriff. Essentially, don’t draw any unwanted attention. Unless, of course, it’ll help your team secure the treasure.
Usually, alerting the guards is a bad thing. They’ll call for reinforcements, chase you about, and potentially kill you. The worst thing they can do, though, is lock down a given area. Having a large gate lowered, preventing the person carrying the treasure from leaving a stronghold, is rough.
So why not alert them when the opposing team is trying to escape? Better yet, why not lead the Sheriff straight to the opposing team? This walking behemoth can’t be killed; he can only be stunned for a short duration. That said, he can kill anyone in arm’s reach.
While your rivals are busy dealing with these additional threats, you can sneak up on them and take them out — or steal the treasure when they aren’t looking.
Tip #5: Divide
It’s always good to have some backup during a skirmish. The last thing anyone wants is to be attacked from behind or assassinated by a rival while battling one of their teammates.
Staying near your allies is a smart move. That said, sometimes it’s good to separate from one another.
Hood: Outlaws & Legends is all about the heist. However, there are other objectives to worry about. Take a map’s spawn points, for instance. Each one provides two main spawn points (one for each team) and three optional points located in key areas. Capturing one or more of these allows fallen teammates to quickly rejoin the fray.
Straying away from the action to lock down one of these points could be the difference between winning or losing. This is especially true during the final moments of a match. It’s much easier to finish securing the treasure when your opponents are forced to march halfway across the map to stop you.
Another reason you’d want to venture off on your own is to gather information. When the opposing team grabs the treasure, they’ll start heading to one of the map’s exit points. At that point, it’s a race against time to stop them. The thing is, the game only discloses their general location when someone on your team sees the person carrying the treasure. Once spotted, the chest’s icon will appear on everyone’s hud, making it easier for your teammates to track it down.
Tip #6: Conquer
Hood: Outlaws & Legends rewards strategic play. Use stealth to sneak about. Assassinate NPCs to charge up your special ability. Check the map from time to time. Split up when needed. And don’t engage multiple enemies alone.
The biggest thing to remember is that you don’t have to complete every objective in order to win the match. It’s possible to let the rival team do most of the heavy lifting. Sure, you’ll miss out on some bonus gold and experience points, but the biggest payday comes from securing the treasure chest.
For instance, it’s possible to scope out your enemies without them knowing. I was able to do this on several occasions as the Hunter. Instead of rushing to attack the rival team as they loaded up the gold, I’d wait in the bushes near the exit point. From there, I’d ping each of our opponents, giving my teammates – who were running towards us – strategic information before the ensuing brawl.
Our rivals couldn’t hide. They fought back, of course, but they didn’t know that we knew where they were. This led to several assassinations and us ultimately stealing the win.
Tip #7: Have Fun
Hood: Outlaws & Legends is a third-person heist game that utilizes an entertaining PvPvE structure. It’ll take a little time to learn the ropes. Even more so to “get gud.” Getting better at the game doesn’t mean much if you aren’t having fun, though.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Be kind in chat, and mute toxic players. Being an outlaw is tough. That doesn’t mean your time in-game has to be unpleasant.
