Outriders griefers are kicking players out of endgame missions before they can get their loot
Toxic effect.
Outriders griefers are kicking co-op players out of endgame missions before they can get their loot.
The game's endgame, dubbed Expeditions, features a number of rock hard encounters that, if completed, reward powerful loot.
These Expeditions only reward loot upon completion. After clearing the final encounter, you trot over to a drop pod, activate it, and it spits out your loot. This is where the trolls are stepping in to ruin their victim's day, kicking them out before they can reach the drop pod.
"I joined in early on an expedition, helped the guy all the way to the end and right before we opened the drop pod he kicked me," said FancyTangerine3312 in a post on the Outriders subreddit.
"This was totally unfair... the same way someone can't join after the last encounter starts, should be the same for kicking someone."
FancyTangerine3312 is not alone. Over the past week, as more and more Outriders players get stuck into its endgame, I've seen an increasing number of reports from players who were kicked before they were able to get their loot from Expeditions.
Redditor TxDieselKid is another affected player. "It's 2021 and people are still kicking before loot drop?" they said. "How is this even a thing? I actually do not understand why someone would do this. How do people enjoy doing this?
"PCF really need to address this ASAP. Maybe a 20-second timer once the mission is cleared from being kicked?"
TxDieselKid uploaded a clip, below, showing what happened when they were kicked during a session.
Players are now saying they're put off playing multiplayer because of the risk of getting kicked.
"Imagine joining a lobby, finishing a ct15 gold and then getting kicked right after you finish it," said redditor trickmalpas.
"I've heard of it happening. Finally happened to me tonight, it really puts people off of doing multiplayer. Don't be that guy if you're gonna have your party open don't be like that. It's really easy to not play with other people. I don't know who pissed in your bowl of cereal."
"I understand that there are legitimate reasons to have the option to kick a player but this is getting out of hand," said Garecules.
"I am currently stuck at CT7. I don't get a ton of time to play but when I go I get kicked from the game I just spent 20 minutes on and hoping to get those sweet bronze level drops when my screen freezes and I get that all too familiar message that I have been removed from the party."
Video games have suffered from griefers ever since multiplayer sprung into life, and getting kicked from an online session is hardly a new phenomenon. But it seems Outriders does not have the kind of safeguards other games have used for some time to combat this kind of toxic behaviour. (We've already reported on how players are kicking Devastator class players from endgame over a perceived lack of damage output.)
What can be done? Players have outlined a number of solutions, including making it so you can't kick players during the final encounter in an Expedition. I imagine the developers at People Can Fly will want to look at this one again.