Developer Blog 5: Outposts and Enemy AI

Outposts are a crucial part of the gameplay in Ashes of Oahu. The more outposts the Raiders control, the stronger they are. You’ll want to destroy the Raiders and repurpose the outposts under the flag of your allies to increase your standing with the other factions on the island.

Once you’ve killed all the enemies and cleared an outpost you can choose one of your allied factions to repurpose the outpost for. Rebuilding an outpost requires materials that you’ve salvaged across Oahu. The new faction will then occupy that location, influencing the encounters nearby. For each outpost rebuilt under the control of an ally, Kai will also be awarded a reputation gain with that faction.

Hanauma Parking Lot Outpost is the first that you will come across in the game. It is heavily guarded by Raiders. In addition to holding the outpost, these Raiders have also captured Jimmy, a member of the Islanders, and are holding him hostage.

There are several ways you can assault an outpost. Sometimes you’ll be best served by sniping guards from long distances, at other times you’ll want to sneak up on guards using the bushes to provide Kai with cover. Each outpost, however, will require slightly different tactics and you’ll want to adjust accordingly. Some outposts may not provide any bushes where you can hide, while another is in a location where the player has no mana to pull from. The Raiders will actively patrol the outposts searching for intruders. You can use this to your advantage and toss rocks to distract a Raider. If a Raider sees something suspicious, it will call out to other Raiders in the area. If they detect a disturbance, like the corpse of another Raider out in the open, they could send up a signal flare to call in reinforcements. You’ll also find some Raiders hiding in structures that prevent you from attacking them at long range, you can use a rock to make a sound to get them to come out and investigate. Additionally, the Raiders have a few other tricks up their sleeves (the ones that have sleeves that is) to prevent Kai from killing them like fish in a barrel, but you’ll just have to play the game and discover those for yourself.

Taking an outpost has an impact on the area surrounding the outpost as well. The owner influences the nearby encounters so that you will see more activity from the allied group that you’ve helped, and reduced Raider activity as well once an outpost is secured. Choosing a faction to build an outpost for can be a critical way to earn additional faction rating as well, unlocking higher level skills from that faction.

Outposts are just another way in which the players’ decisions ultimately shape the world of Ashes of Oahu to create a unique experience each playthrough.

You can pre-order Ashes of Oahu now and receive access to the upcoming closed beta as well as 3 days early access once the game is released. Be among the first to assist the T.R.I. and the Islanders in their efforts to reclaim Oahu or turn them into your mortal enemies as soon as the game launches!

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