Reaction to Hytale's Outlander Reveal Post

Screenshot from my ROM hack based on Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Outlander Camp Atmosphere background by Hypixel Studios

The original post may be read here.

DISCLAIMER: This is speculative and based on pre-release information and Minecraft. This is not to be taken seriously; this is just for fun.
Except for official Hytale statements, which can be taken seriously.

After THREE MONTHS of AGONIZING WAITING, Hytale has finally posted, not just one, but THREE blog posts at once! My blood rushed so much at the thought that I roamed around aimlessly just thinking about how amazing the content was. The fan art was extremely innovative as always.
I admit, the July 2019 development update was mostly redundant, but at least they updated the media page to include all of the media from the blog posts plus some media they shared on social media. This way, I can get back to them quickly for research purposes without wasting time digging the blog posts or Hytale's Twitter account.
Besides that, the interesting part was that they've worked on "improvements to [Hytale's] core technology" which implies to me that they fixed bugs and added features to improve the stability of Hytale's engine. (Honestly, there's so much content already revealed to the public that I think Hypixel Studios should be focused on fixing bugs and making combat and PvP. I'm half-glad they took time off of making blog posts.)

But, of course, the crown jewel lies within the Outlander reveal post: one that explained in detail a faction that was only slightly introduced in concept art. Unlike your friendly neighborhood Kweebecs or the deadly-in-a-cartoony-way Trorks, these Outlanders are serious business: they act like a combination of post-apocalyptic survivalists and dark mages or cultists. They are expert hunters, have well-defended settlements, and can control "darker forms of magic than you may encounter elsewhere."

That big masked thing with the helmet that was being fought by two players in the trailer? That's, I think, the Outlander boss--I thought at first that he was just a strong monster, or at most a mini-boss. Turns out, he's human--I just got thrown off by the gray skin, menacing design, and diamonds that resembled the Varyn mark. And he's officially called the Colossus Outlander according to Simon of Hypixel.
I guess Hypixel Studios thought that the Colossus Outlander looked too much like a generic monster, so they increased his muscle mass and gave him a big hand (I don't know if it's a glove, a mutation, blood stains, or injuries) to make him look more like a boss, and the way they reintroduced him in this post was amazing thanks to the camera angle and shaking screen--I was legitimately scared. They also changed his eyes from green to yellow and removed the glowing green light from the diamond on the chest area.
The Colossus Outlander's speed seems slightly faster from the trailer, but he's still slow to the point where I think I can outspeed him. No need to "cry every time".

Alright, enough with the analysis of the lore because I'm lazy. Let's get on with speculative battle tactics.

Outlanders in General

Like how survivors in The Walking Dead fight zombies, Outlanders often have to fight the predators and monsters of the wild. This, I think, is one of their biggest weaknesses because both Outlanders and beasts are so focused on fighting each other that they won't notice me if I sneak-attack and kill them all in one hit each after both sides have sustained injuries.

Outlanders are human and will attack prey and strangers on sight. Turns out, I think I might hate these guys more than Trorks since, unlike Trorks which love meat, Outlanders may also steal crops, judging by their hardened survivalist lifestyle. I'll have to pay more attention when I farm in zone 3. Or, better yet, just farm in a different zone (zone 1 seems to be the best in terms of climate) and bring a ton of food.

Outlanders may have supposedly strong defensive structures, but they don't matter in a Minecraft sense when each block can be easily broken by tools or explosives. A head-on assault won't be so bad.

Outlanders are well-adapted to the cold climate of zone 3, so I think fire magic will hurt them a lot because they're probably not used to excessive heat. (I'm adapted to the strong tropical heat of the Philippines, so I feel very cold even in mildly airconditioned rooms.)
However, I think fire magic will be ineffective if they're accompanied by a particular Outlander leader which I will discuss later.

Also, can I disguise as an Outlander by stealing their clothes? Or can Outlanders identify strangers even when they're dressed like Outlanders? (I have East Asian skin.)

Outlander Rangers

Outlander rangers are the Outlanders' basic ranged unit and are described as "roaming further afield than most of their kind", which may imply that they're more common to find across zone 3 as a whole than other Outlanders which are typically restricted to certain areas. Not only are they "expert ambushers", but their mostly brown or dark-colored clothing camouflages them in the thick forests of zone 3.

Obviously, it's wise to put up light sources in forests to improve our visibility--I think Hytale has colored lighting, so torches can make Outlanders distinguishable from the leaves and tree trunks.
Alternatively, we can chop down nearby trees or set up a base that is far from a forest. The good thing is, unlike Minecraft, trees can "collapse in a big explosion" when the trunk is broken, so I don't need to break leaves or wait for them to decay so I can see and navigate properly.

A Snowy Tundra biome in Minecraft.
A Hytale equivalent would be an ideal place to put up a base to easily spot Outlander rangers.
Screenshot from the official Minecraft Wiki

Of course, shields are a must-have to weaken, if not block, arrow impact. If that doesn't work, then let's trust in good ol' block barriers.
(Or I can use my recent strategy of evading skeleton arrows by pillar-jumping.)

Side note: Hypixel Studios did the Outlander ranger's bow pull-back animation correctly. Well done, guys. (I watched some archery tutorial videos.)

Outlander Priests

Outlander priests are leaders that "bring water magic to bear in defense of their people" and are supposedly "masters of death itself". From the "defense" statement, I think they have water-based support magic, which I imagine to heal and increase defenses, while the "leader" statement might mean that they act as tacticians and are tankier than other Outlanders.

Killing the priests first may lower Outlander morale or fighting skill and cut off their support, so that's what I plan to do--that is, if I can outmaneuver the melee attackers and archers. I imagine that the priests can cast a spell that sends a water current to redirect an arrow harmlessly, so I'd primarily use my fists or spear against them since magic users typically take a lot of damage from physical attacks in RPGs.

Pokémon Silver is one of Thomas Frick's favorite games, and Simon said in an interview with AutCraft that he would pick a Water-type starter Pokémon, so I'm wild-guessing that they know many of the type matchups. The lightning element is Hytale's equivalent of the Electric type, which is super effective against the Water type, so I'd have BoltOLightnin use lightning magic against Outlander squads led by priests.

But Outlander priests raising the dead? NO PROBLEM! My squad and I fought zombies and skeletons from various games before.

Side note: Notice that the back end of the priest's staff has a blade (I think) on it. Does this mean they have a melee attack?

Colossus Outlander

This is going to be HIGHLY speculative because the Colossus Outlander is both a boss and an important member of the Outlanders. As intimidating as he looks with his bulked-up body and "bloody hand", I honestly imagine the actual fight to be easier than I think.

The only move we know he has (or at least had) is a wind-up by pulling his cleaver all the way back, then doing a simple downward swing causing the cleaver to get stuck to the ground for a while. The player with the two-handed mace then did a spin attack to the Colossus Outlander's side. The new Colossus Outlander appears to wield an axe, so I think his axe can get stuck as well. Thanks to "announcing" his attack with a wind-up, this makes it slow and predictable (and makes Skallagrim angry), so I can direct his attention to me while my ranged attackers do chip damage. If possible, I want a finishing move where I can climb his back and stab the back of his neck with a dagger.

Notice that there were skeletons joining the fight; these can distract us when avoiding the Colossus Outlander's attacks. Thankfully, either BoltOLightnin or YoSquid can redirect their attention to the skeletons (or whatever minions the Colossus Outlander has), so I can focus on my job of baiting the boss. If I'm alone, though, I'll keep my distance from the boss and take down the skeletons first.

But what about other attacks?
I'd expect a big, muscular boss to have an area-of-effect attack where it damages the ground including players surrounding it, so an easy solution would be to jump.
The Colossus Outlander seems weak to ranged attacks thanks to his slow speed and his only move being a melee attack, so I think it's a good idea for Hypixel Studios to give him a ranged attack. A ground shockwave that hits faraway enemies in front is plausible, but it can be evaded, again, by jumping. If that "bloody hand" is a mutated tentacle, it could grab or stab faraway enemies, but it should have a similar wind-up to the melee attack in the trailer to remain consistent with typical bosses and allow players to see it coming. Maybe he can even use dark magic since he is the strongest of all Outlanders (which may explain the skeletons in the trailer).

Notice how, near the end of the clip which showed the new Colossus Outlander about to do what looks like a hammerfist attack (I'm not sure if that's really an attack or just for boasting/intimidating/advertising), there's a bit of dark red in the background, which I think is the night sky. Does this mean we can fight him outdoors? I think that's convenient; I specialize in outdoor combat.

Overall Critique

I give the Outlanders an 8 out of 10. I think their reveal post gives the best link between their culture and actions as a whole, considering how cold and dangerous zone 3 is, as well as its dark storyline according to the visual tour of zone 3. This is in contrast to the simplistic actions of the Trorks where they like meat but are distracted by birds, or the currently unexplained friendliness of Kweebecs.
I don't understand why the Outlanders practice dark magic, though; the post does not imply whether they have an evil goal or are just using dark magic to defend themselves. Oh well, I'm happy regardless!

Thanks, Hypixel Studios. You have indeed given me "plenty of food for thought." While I would appreciate it if you give us more within at least 3 weeks, just keep focusing on developing the game. Squash those bugs for us!

Befriending Outlanders?

This is HIGHLY speculative.

In my Hytale play style part 3, I had an alternate bad guy playthrough plan where I befriend the hostile factions and destroy the friendly ones. I'm including Outlanders in the list of factions to befriend (normally, I would destroy them).

I speculate, however, that this would be one of the hardest factions to befriend because they are very distrusting of strangers. I bet, even if I send them gifts, they would be generally suspicious.

So, because of their attraction to "ancient battlefields and ritual sites", I'd probably send them treasure that is heavily linked to the history of zone 3.

If that doesn't work and they attack me, I might incapacitate and disarm them (without killing them). When they wake up, I'll do favors for them.

Or maybe I can just disguise myself. Maybe if I stealth-kill an Outlander to steal their clothes, it won't affect my reputation?

Outlanders, being adapted to the nature of zone 3, would make excellent allies against the wild animals and monsters of zone 3. They probably know almost every animal's and monster's weaknesses--in the first place, they need that information to survive.

Outlander rangers can help with stealth kills or chip damage against dodgy/tanky enemies because of their incredible hunting skills.

And, of course, Outlander priests can protect us from damage. However, I'm worried about them potentially having low defenses as allies, so they might need a lot of babysitting.

I'm certainly not bringing these guys to zones 2 or 4, though--they might die of heatstroke.

Behind-the-Scenes

I kept referring to the Colossus Outlander as an "it" instead of a "he" while drafting this blog post. Sorry, Hypixel Studios, but as much as I acknowledge that Outlanders are human, the Colossus Outlander still looks too much to me like a monster.

This was originally going to be a filler post just for an audio recording assignment, but I'm impressed with what I've written.
As for the recording, I'm actually not trained in voice acting, so I "twisted" my tongue a lot while trying to speak fast and fluid. (I normally speak slowly.)
Speaking of which, thanks again, Hypixel Studios, for helping me dodge a bullet called school work!