← Back to News
Outward 2 Open Beta Now Live: Dates, Early Weapons, and Community Discoveries

Outward 2 Open Beta Now Live: Dates, Early Weapons, and Community Discoveries

The gates of Aurai have opened once again. Developer Nine Dots Studio has launched the Outward 2 open beta, giving players their first taste of the survival action-RPG sequel. The beta runs from June 8 until June 22 at 1:00 PM EST, and is fully open to all Steam users with no non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in place.

This public test serves as a major preview ahead of the game's anticipated Steam Early Access launch in July 2026. Players are currently stepping into the starting zone of La Rescapée, navigating early-game survival, and putting the sequel's updated mechanics to the test.

Early Beta Details and Community Challenges

Since the Outward 2 beta is public, players are free to stream, record, and share gameplay clips. The developers are encouraging players to share screenshots and video clips on social media using the hashtags #exploreaurai and #visitaurai for a chance to win early keys to the full game.

Feedback from the playtest is being gathered on the official Discord server, where the community is already dissecting balance changes and performance issues.

Top Early Weapon Recommendations

As players adjust to the combat and balance of the sequel, several early-game weapons have emerged as community favorites for surviving the initial hours:

  • Boar Weapons (Community-Reported): Players report that boar-themed weapons are highly effective and relatively easy to craft early on. You can obtain basic weapons by letting town guards defeat bandits (or doing it yourself) and looting their gear. Boar tusks can be gathered by locating dead boars or hunting the smaller-tusked female boars, as the larger males are difficult to kill early in the game. Crafting recipes can be purchased from the giant merchant in town or found hidden in the palace and surrounding area.
  • Ancient Greatmace (Community-Reported): This heavy-hitting weapon can be obtained very early in the game by rescuing the mercenary tasked with retrieving the tablet. Players can find this encounter by following the main path directly out of town.
  • Palladium Gear (Community-Reported): For those looking to upgrade, the Palladium Mace sold at the town blacksmith and the Palladium Dagger are reported to be solid mid-tier choices, carrying over the reliability of palladium gear from the original game.

Community-Reported Issues and Bugs

As is typical for beta tests, players have run into a few technical hurdles and mechanical changes that have sparked discussion:

  • Save File Crashes (Unconfirmed/Community-Reported): Following a recent beta patch, several players reported that their existing save files crashed the game on load, forcing them to start new characters. If you encounter crashes after a game update, starting a fresh save is the current community workaround.
  • Iridescent Sap Sweetener Issue (Unconfirmed/Community-Reported): Some players have noticed that Iridescent Sap gathered from marbled trees does not count as a "sweetener" in the Gaberry Jam recipe. It is currently unclear whether this is a bug or if the sap must be refined before it can be used for cooking.
  • No Cooking Pot Helmets (Unconfirmed/Community-Reported): In a disappointing turn for fans of the original game's quirks, players have reported that they can no longer equip a cooking pot on their character's head as emergency headwear.

As the playtest continues toward its June 22 conclusion, Nine Dots Studio is expected to release further patches to address stability and balance before the game enters Steam Early Access next month.