Outward Definitive Edition: Survival Guide

A practical guide to surviving Aurai in Outward Definitive Edition: the opening debt, survival needs, combat, skill trainers and breakthroughs, mana, factions, regions, and the DLC content included in the Definitive Edition.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the October 2025 Unity-security patch (no gameplay changes since). Outward 2 is in development, with its Early Access launch delayed in June 2026. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

What You're Playing

Outward (Nine Dots Studio) is an open-world RPG with survival systems: you eat, drink, sleep, deal with temperature and disease, and fight with heavy, stamina-based combat. The game autosaves constantly, so your choices and failures stick. Defeat usually triggers a defeat scenario (you wake up somewhere else, robbed, rescued, or captured) instead of a reload.

The Definitive Edition includes both DLCs, The Soroboreans and The Three Brothers, plus quality-of-life improvements. Their big systems are the enchantment system (more than 85 recipes) and rebuilding New Sirocco (a city-building mechanic). Local split-screen and online two-player co-op are both supported.

Outward 2 is Nine Dots' sequel. Its closed beta ran in May and June 2026, but in June 2026 the studio delayed the Early Access launch that had been planned for July 7. This guide covers the original Definitive Edition.

Quick Start

• Pay the 150-silver debt in 5 days (the Call to Adventure quest) or you lose your Cierzo lighthouse. It can be bought back later for 300 silver. The easiest fix is getting the Writ of Tribal Favor from Michel Aberdeen on the southwestern beach by giving him bandages or a life potion.
• Drop your backpack before fighting. A full pack slows your dodge and drains stamina. Nine Dots' own Outward 2 tips repeat this rule because it's that important.
• Keep essentials in your pouch, not your backpack: healing and stamina potions, bandages, and anything you'll need while the bag is on the ground.
• Eat, drink, sleep. Hunger, thirst, and fatigue lower your stats. Carry a waterskin and simple food.
• Read every recipe you find and craft. Cooking and alchemy save a lot of silver.
• Sell junk. Hoarding kills your carry weight. If it won't improve your build, sell it.
• Learn skills from trainers. Skills cost silver and you have only 3 Breakthrough Points total, so plan your build.
• Watch the weather. Cold and heat drain health over time. Dress for the region.
• Co-op is the intended experience. Play with a friend if you can, locally or online.

Survival Systems

Need | What goes wrong | Fix

Hunger | Lower stamina regen and max stats | Cooked food (better buffs than raw)

Thirst | Stat penalties, dehydration | Waterskin from clean water; boil questionable water

Sleep | Max stamina and health penalties | Sleep in a tent or bed. Set guard/repair/rest time when camping

Temperature | Cold or heat damage | Weather-resistant clothing, fires, cooling/warming food and potions

Disease and infection | Ongoing debuffs | Remedies from alchemy or vendors; avoid raw or rotten food

Camping: pitch a tent, light a campfire (fuel plus a fire source), and split the sleep timer between rest, guard, and repair. Repairing restores equipment durability while you sleep.

Combat Basics

• Stamina is everything. Attacks, dodges, and blocking all cost it.
• Dodge is strong but weaker when overloaded. Drop your pack.
• Block with a shield or weapon to absorb hits. Heavy enemies can break your guard.
• Impact and stagger: heavy weapons build impact and knock enemies down. Learn when enemies are stunned and hit hard then.
• Status effects (bleeding, poison, burning, and so on) come from weapons, varnishes, and skills. Coating your weapon with an elemental or poison varnish is an easy damage boost.
• Traps (craftable) and pistols give big openers for co-op or solo ambushes.
• Retreat is fine. You don't have to clear every camp.

Regions and Cities

Region | Main city | Notes

Chersonese | Cierzo | Starting region, easiest

Enmerkar Forest | Berg | Temperate forest; skill trainers

Abrassar | Levant | Desert. Heat protection needed

Hallowed Marsh | Monsoon | Poisonous swamp, dangerous

Antique Plateau | Harmattan | The Soroboreans DLC region

Caldera | New Sirocco | The Three Brothers DLC region; city-building

Travel is on foot and takes real time. Pack food and water for multi-day trips, or pay for caravan travel between cities.

Skill Trainers and Breakthroughs

Each trainer teaches a skill tree. The middle tier has a Breakthrough skill that costs a Breakthrough Point. You only get 3 per character, so you can only fully commit to three trees.

Tree | Trainer | Where

Cabal Hermit | Adalbert the Hermit | Chersonese

Kazite Spellblade | Eto Akiyuki | Cierzo

Mercenary | Jaimon | Levant

Rogue Engineer | Styx | Levant

Philosopher | Alemmon | Monsoon

Warrior Monk | Galira | Monsoon

Rune Sage | Flase | Berg

Wild Hunter | Ture | Berg

Hex Mage (DLC) | Ella Lockwell | Harmattan

The Speedster (DLC) | Serge Battleborn | Harmattan

Primal Ritualist (DLC) | Sinai | Ritualist's hut

Weapon Master (DLC) | Bea Battleborn | New Sirocco

Specialist (DLC) | Justin Garnet | New Sirocco

Plenty of basic skills are also taught by lesser trainers and found in the world, and those don't use Breakthrough Points.

Build archetypes

Archetype | Trees to consider | Idea

Tank/bruiser | Warrior Monk, Mercenary, Weapon Master | Heavy armor, strong impact, sustain

Spellblade | Kazite Spellblade, Rune Sage, Philosopher | Mix weapon hits with elemental magic

Mage | Rune Sage, Hex Mage, Cabal Hermit or Primal Ritualist | Needs mana; glass cannon, strong in co-op

Rogue/gunner | Rogue Engineer, Wild Hunter, Speedster | Mobility, traps, pistol and bow play

Check the wiki for each tree's breakthrough and top-tier skills before committing. Breakthrough choices are the most permanent decisions in the game.

Mana and Magic

• You start with no mana. You unlock it permanently at a Ley Line, such as the one at the Conflux Chambers, by sacrificing some health and stamina. This completes the "Acquire Mana" quest.
• You can come back and trade more health and stamina for mana later. It isn't a one-time choice.
• Some skills and items add flat max mana. Per the wiki: Well of Mana (+40), Ancestors' Memories (+25), Peacemaker Elixir (+20), and Spellblade's Awakening (+15).
• Spellcasting is ritualistic. Many spells combine steps, like laying a sigil and then casting into it, or combining runes in the Rune Sage tree.

Pure melee builds can skip mana entirely and keep their full health and stamina.

Factions

There are four major factions: Blue Chamber, Heroic Kingdom, Holy Mission, and Sorobor Academy. Each has a main questline with four major quests plus a parallel quest showing the same events from another side. Joining a faction is permanent for that character. To see another faction's story, you need a new character.

Crafting, Cooking, and Enchanting

• Cooking at a campfire or kitchen turns ingredients into food with buffs. Better recipes restore more and give longer effects.
• Alchemy makes potions and remedies. Keep a supply of healing potions and disease cures.
• Crafting makes tools, weapons, armor, and traps. Recipes are learned by reading them.
• Enchanting (Definitive Edition) enhances weapons, armor, and trinkets with more than 85 recipes, adding things like damage, elemental damage, and weather resistance.

Money

• Early: loot, sell junk, fish, and do small side quests. The Cierzo side quest "Helen's Fungus" is one the wiki suggests for raising the lighthouse money.
• Mid-game: sell cooked food or potions and clear dungeons for rare items.
• Late-game: faction rewards and enchanted gear resale.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Fighting with your backpack on.
• Spending Breakthrough Points on impulse. You only get three.
• Ignoring the lighthouse debt in the first 5 days.
• Traveling without water or weather protection, especially into Abrassar or the Hallowed Marsh.
• Hoarding weight. Overloaded characters dodge poorly and move slowly.
• Leaving your backpack in the open and forgetting where it is. Mark mentally where you drop it before a fight.
• Assuming reloads fix mistakes. The constant autosave means you live with your choices.

Advanced Tips

• Varnish before fights. Poison or elemental varnish on your weapon is a big damage increase for little cost.
• Stack food buffs. High-tier meals give regeneration and resistances that change hard fights.
• Co-op synergies: one player tanks and blocks while the other uses magic or traps. Two players can pass items and revive each other.
• Leave a stash in each city. City stashes and your house let you store gear regionally.
• Legacy chests let you pass items to a future character. Use them before starting a new faction playthrough.
• Plan your mana trade. A spellblade needs only some mana. A pure mage wants a lot. Don't trade away more health and stamina than your build needs.

FAQ

What's in the Definitive Edition? The base game plus The Soroboreans and The Three Brothers DLCs, the enchanting system, the New Sirocco city-building, and quality-of-life improvements.

Can I play Outward co-op? Yes. Two-player local split-screen or online co-op. The developers say the game is designed to be played in co-op from start to finish.

What happens when I die? You usually get a defeat scenario: rescued, robbed, or captured, then waking up elsewhere. The game keeps saving.

How do I get mana? Visit a Ley Line such as the one at the Conflux Chambers and sacrifice health and stamina.

Can I join more than one faction? No. Joining is permanent per character.

Is Outward 2 out? Not yet. The June 2026 announcement delayed its Early Access launch. Watch the official Steam page for the new date.

Sources

• Outward Definitive Edition on Steam
• Outward Steam announcements (patch notes, Outward 2 beta and delay)
• Outward Wiki: Skill Trees
• Outward Wiki: Factions
• Outward Wiki: Call to Adventure
• Outward Wiki: Mana