Outward Walkthrough — Start to Endgame

Outward is an open-world survival RPG where you play as an ordinary person — no chosen one narrative, no power fantasy. You're a villager paying off a debt while exploring a hostile world where every expedition requires preparation: food, water, warm clothes, healing supplies, and a plan. The game's defining feature is its consequence system — dying doesn't reload a save but triggers a unique defeat scenario (dragged to a bandit camp, rescued by a stranger, washed ashore). Magic isn't innate; you must sacrifice max health permanently to gain mana through a dangerous ritual. The Definitive Edition includes the Soroboreans and Three Brothers DLC expansions, adding new regions, mechanics, and faction content.

This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. Follow this path to avoid common traps that stall most players.

Quick Progression Summary

Phase 1: Getting Started — Cierzo

The starting town on the coast. Your home is at risk of being taken in the opening quest if you can't pay 150 silver within 5 days. Cierzo provides basic merchants, crafting, and the initial questline. The beach has easy enemies for early combat practice.

Level/Difficulty: Starting area Key Rewards: Home base (if debt paid), starting quests, basic equipment

What to Do in Cierzo

1. Learn survival RPG. Survival mechanics include hunger, thirst, temperature, sleep, and disease. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
2. Pick Mage as your starting build. It's the most forgiving option.
3. Drop your backpack (dedicated key) before every fight. The movement speed and dodge improvement is dramatic and can be the difference between life and death.
4. Acquire your first equipment upgrade — Horror Bow or whatever's available.
5. Clear all main content before moving on.

Phase 1 Checklist

• Understand survival RPG fundamentals
• Mage selected and functional
• Cierzo main content cleared
• Ready for Berg

Phase 2: Early Game — Berg

A mountain town and home of the Blue Chamber Collective faction. The surrounding Enmerkar Forest is lush with resources but dangerous. Berg merchants sell advanced recipes and cold-weather gear.

Level/Difficulty: Early-mid game Key Rewards: Blue Chamber faction, cold-weather gear, forest resources

What to Do in Berg

1. Work on no hand-holding. No quest markers, no minimap icons, no GPS waypoints. This system becomes critical from here on.
2. Farm for Horror Bow if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
3. Sleep in towns or use the Camping skill in safe areas. Sleeping in the wild triggers random ambush events that can kill you before you wake up.
4. Complete all objectives before pushing to Monsoon.
5. Consider whether Warrior might suit your playstyle better than Mage.

Phase 2 Checklist

• no hand-holding integrated into gameplay
• Horror Bow acquired
• Berg fully cleared
• Ready for Monsoon

Phase 3: Mid Game — Monsoon

The Holy Mission of Elatt's headquarters in the Hallowed Marsh. A swampy region with unique enemies and environmental hazards (disease from swamp water). The Brand weapon is available through quests here.

Level/Difficulty: Mid game Key Rewards: Holy Mission faction, Brand Greatsword, swamp resources

What to Do in Monsoon

1. Master backpack management. Your backpack determines carry capacity but also affects combat — wearing a large pack slows dodge rolls and movement. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
2. Start working toward Brand Greatsword. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
3. The magic ritual at Conflux Mountain permanently reduces your max health. This is intended — magic is powerful enough to justify the tradeoff. Sacrifice 3 times for 30 mana, which is sufficient for most builds.
4. This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
5. Start investing in split-screen co-op for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.

Phase 3 Checklist

• backpack management mastered
• Brand Greatsword acquired or in progress
• Monsoon fully cleared
• Ready for Levant

Phase 4: Late Game — Levant

The Heroic Kingdom's capital in the Abrassar desert. Heat management replaces cold management. The desert contains the game's hardest dungeons and the Jade Lich. Levant has the best merchants.

Level/Difficulty: Mid-late game Key Rewards: Heroic Kingdom faction, desert dungeons, best merchants

What to Do in Levant

1. Finalize your build. You should be running Warrior or Mage with optimized gear.
2. Brand Greatsword should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
3. Pack water skins (multiple), food that doesn't spoil (travel rations), and warm/cool clothing for every expedition. Running out of supplies mid-journey is the most common death cause.
4. faction quests optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
5. Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Harmattan.

Phase 4 Checklist

• Build fully optimized
• Brand Greatsword upgraded to max
• Levant fully cleared
• Ready for Harmattan

Phase 5: Endgame — Harmattan

The Soroboreans DLC region with a new town and faction. Features a corruption mechanic and the game's most challenging combat encounters. Accessible after completing one faction quest line.

Level/Difficulty: Late game (DLC) Key Rewards: DLC content, new faction, corruption mechanic, endgame challenges

What to Do in Harmattan

1. Harmattan tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
2. Faction choice is permanent and defines your endgame. Research all three factions' rewards before committing. The Holy Mission gives the best magic abilities, Blue Chamber gives the Horror Bow, Levant gives the Manticore weapons.
3. The endgame loop: run Harmattan, optimize gear, push harder content.
4. Experiment with Mercenary for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
5. This is where faction quests mastery separates good players from great ones.

Phase 5 Checklist

• Endgame content on farm
• Best-in-slot gear acquired
• Harmattan fully cleared
• Ready for challenge content

Common Progression Mistakes

• Not paying the 150 silver debt in the opening quest, losing your house. The house provides free storage and sleeping — losing it early significantly complicates the game.
• Fighting with the backpack on. The combat mobility difference between wearing and dropping a backpack is enormous. Always drop it before engagement.
• Choosing a faction based on aesthetics rather than rewards. The faction rewards (weapons, abilities, spells) define your endgame build. Research them first.
• Hoarding supplies at home instead of bringing enough on expeditions. You need food, water, and appropriate clothing for every trip. Under-packing kills more players than enemies do.
• Ignoring magic because the health sacrifice seems bad. 30 permanent health lost for access to powerful spell combos is one of the best tradeoffs in the game.

Key Tips for Smooth Progression

1. Drop your backpack (dedicated key) before every fight. The movement speed and dodge improvement is dramatic and can be the difference between life and death.
2. Sleep in towns or use the Camping skill in safe areas. Sleeping in the wild triggers random ambush events that can kill you before you wake up.
3. The magic ritual at Conflux Mountain permanently reduces your max health. This is intended — magic is powerful enough to justify the tradeoff. Sacrifice 3 times for 30 mana, which is sufficient for most builds.
4. Pack water skins (multiple), food that doesn't spoil (travel rations), and warm/cool clothing for every expedition. Running out of supplies mid-journey is the most common death cause.
5. Faction choice is permanent and defines your endgame. Research all three factions' rewards before committing. The Holy Mission gives the best magic abilities, Blue Chamber gives the Horror Bow, Levant gives the Manticore weapons.

For detailed build optimization, see Outward builds. For quick wins, check tips & tricks.