Outward 2 Beta Introduces New Reading System and Survival Quirks

The Outward 2 beta is currently underway, offering players a first look at how developer Nine Dots Studio is iterating on the mechanics of the original open-world RPG. Early testers are already discovering significant additions to character progression, most notably a new reading mechanic. However, since the game is still in testing, players are also running into technical and balance issues that require some adjustments.

How the Reading System Affects Progression

In the original Outward, building a character focused heavily on locating specific trainers and spending breakthrough points to unlock high-tier skills. In the Outward 2 beta, the developers have introduced a reading system to supplement this loop.

According to players in the community, finding and reading books throughout the game world now provides specific passive buffs. More importantly, these bonuses appear directly tied to the acquisition and allocation of your breakthrough points. This change introduces more exploration-driven character building, as players will need to hunt down rare texts to optimize their builds.

Community-Reported Survival and Performance Bugs

While the testing phase has shown off interesting mechanics, community feedback also highlights a few issues that need resolving before launch.

The most common technical complaint involves UI performance. Multiple players have reported that opening the inventory or the map in the playtest causes a brief, two-second screen freeze. Adjusting the graphics settings does not seem to resolve this menu lag, suggesting it is a backend optimization issue rather than a hardware limitation.

On the survival side, players have run into strange temperature simulation anomalies. One community member reported suffering from heat stroke while sleeping in a simple tent at night during a rainstorm, despite having 12 points of warmth weather protection and drinking water before going to sleep. This is widely suspected to be a bug in how environmental factors calculate player temperature while resting.

Unlock Rewards in the #ExploreAurai Contest

For those actively exploring the test version, Nine Dots Studio is hosting a community submission event called #ExploreAurai. Running until June 22, 2026, the contest invites players to post their best screenshots and video clips to platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, or the official Discord.

Selected winners will receive two Early Access keys—one for themselves and one for a tagged friend—delivered three days before the game's official Early Access launch.