The Outlast Trials December 12 Update: Full Patch Notes Listed

Is surviving on your Christmas list?

Do you like your gore to be full of holiday cheer? Here’s The Outlast Trials December 12 update, with all its patch notes listed.

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The Outlast Trials December 12 Update: Full Patch Notes Listed

The most gruesome asymmetrical horror game has just gotten a festive update! And with it comes the limited time event, Winter Kills. Dive right into this crime against humanity to get as smattering of exclusive outfits, cell items, and cell posters. Let’s dive right in.

Winter has come to the Sinyala Facility! Our Courthouse Mk-Challenges are now available and New Weekly Programs will come in January. Read more to see what’s included in our latest update…

Time Limited Event: Winter Kills

  • “Survivors of Winter Kills will reap the bounty of true suffering.”

Participate in the deadly but rewarding limited-time program Winter Kills,

The Sleep Room has received enhancements with vibrant festive decorations.

All Trials of Winter Kills feature the new variators:

  • Cold Snap – The Trial environment is sporadically filled with piercing cold air. Hide to survive.
  • Find the Gifts – Find all the gifts in the Trial to earn extra rewards.
  • Earn Winter Tokens and exclusive cosmetics by completing Winter Kills Trials.
  • Earn extra Winter Tokens and cosmetics by completing the secondary objective “Find all the Gifts”.
  • Acquire 2 Winter Kills exclusive Cell Decoration Bundles using Winter Tokens.
  • Acquire 15+ Winter Kills exclusive character cosmetics and cell decorations using Winter Tokens.
  • Complete the Winter Kills storyline by finding the evidence documents scattered inside the Trials.
  • The event unlocks Tuesday, December 12th and will last until Tuesday, January 9th 10 AM EDT (GMT+5).
  • NOTE: Acquired cosmetics and tokens will remain available after the Event ends to allow players to purchase their rewards with earned Winter Tokens. After the event ends, it will no longer be possible to earn additional Winter Tokens or acquire new Winter Kills cosmetics.

New Courthouse MK-Challenges

  • Revisit the Courthouse by completing 2 new MK-Challenges set in this environment.
  • Escape the Courthouse: Don’t let the pain of our victims restrict your liberty. Kill the scapegoats; free them of their suffering and you of your bondage.
  • Destroy the Evidence: If there is no evidence, there is no crime. Destroy the proof of our mistakes, and then we never did anything wrong.

Upcoming Event Calendar

Weekly Programs and Special Events starting and ending day will be moved from Fridays 10AM to Tuesdays 10 AM EDT (GMT+5).

The next Event and Weekly Programs are:

  • Winter Kills – December 12th to January 9th
  • Weekly Program: No Meds – January 9th to January 16th
  • Weekly Program: Bad Trip – January 16th to January 23rd
  • Weekly Program: Hardcore – January 23rd to January 30th

Cell Decoration “Bundles”

Bundles are deluxe sets built around one theme and can now be seen in your Cell Customization menu.

Controller Support

  • Added vibration support on controller.
  • All the ‘hold’ actions are now toggle actions on controller.
  • Controller: Added new controller layout ‘MODERN’.
  • Controller: Added new controller layout ‘ADVANCED’.
  • Controller: Added new controller layout ‘TACTICAL’.
  • Controller: Added ‘Ping’ action on Right Stick Click in the layout ‘CLASSIC’.
  • Controller and Mouse/Keyboard: Added analog peeking.
    • Mouse/Keyboard: Hold ‘ALT’ and peek around with WASD keys.
    • Controller: Use the ‘MODERN’ preset. Hold Left Bumper to peek around.

Rigs Balancing

Blind

  • Increased base deploy time to 6s (was 5s). With “DEPLOY TECHNIQUE” to 5s (was 4s).
  • Smoke duration decreased to 10s (was 30s). With “EXTENDED DURATION” to 12s (was 20s).
  • Cooldown increased to 180s (was 120s).
  • The “DECREASED COOLDOWN” upgrade reduces the cooldown by 20% (was 25%).
  • Enemies entering the smoke after detonation won’t be stunned anymore (but their visibility is still affected by the smoke).

Dev comment: The Blind Rig remains a highly favored choice. Our aim for this rig is to transform it into a situational tool that demands planning, rather than being an instantly available lifesaver. This change will also increase the value of the Stun Rig as an instant control/offensive tool.

Heal

  • Heal rig (Poison upgrade): Enemies slowdown decreased to 5s (was 7s).
  • Heal rig (Poison upgrade): Enemies entering the healing radius after detonation won’t be stunned anymore.

Dev comment: The Healing Rig serves as a supportive tool crucial for rescuing the team during intense moments. However, the Poison upgrade has inadvertently amplified its effectiveness against enemies, blurring its intended supportive role and steering it towards functioning more like an offensive rig.

X-Ray

  • Cooldown reduced to 30s (was 120s).
  • Duration reduced to 8s (was 15s). With “EXTENDED DURATION” to 12s (was 30s).
  • Range decreased to 10m (was 15m).

Dev comment: The X-Ray tool holds significant power for players in the role of providing crucial intelligence to the team. Yet, its extended cooldown restricted the frequency of the X-Ray effect’s use, prompting players to exercise caution and reserve it for essential moments. To address this, we have adjusted the cooldown to enhance its frequency. As a result, players can now utilize the Rig more frequently, enabling them to uncover intel and quickly share information with the team.

Additions/Improvements/Balancing

  • Bricks: Revamped the item behavior.
    • Unlimited uses when thrown in the environment.
    • Will instantly break when hitting an enemy or trap.
  • Performance Bonus now also gives Murkoff Dollars.
  • Completing the Secondary Objective now gives XP and Murkoff Dollars.
  • Vaulting over obstacles now consumes more stamina.
  • Prescription “ADVANCED REGENERATION”: Delay before health regeneration begins increased to 12s (was 7s).
  • Amp names added underneath icons in the pause menu.
  • Tutorial flow will now be skipped for players with existing profiles after a game reinstall.
  • New audio feedback when a player is revived.
  • Program structure has been updated.
    • Added one more MK-Challenge per Program (except Program 4).
    • Removed one iteration of the main Trial per Program.
  • Added HDR support:
    • To play in HDR, you must make sure that your setup fully supports HDR.
    • Please note that not all screens are fully compatible with HDR.
    • Ensure that you have activated HDR settings both in Windows and on the screen you are using to play the game.

Fixes

  • Fixed a rare issue where a player could remain stuck in the decontamination shower area of the evaluation corridor.
  • Fixed an issue where players could fall off world by using the SAS door.
  • Fixed some navigation issues in all Trials.

AI

  • Updated Coyle and Grunts reactiveness (reworked some animations). Those enemies should now feel more reactive and harder to deal with in some situations.
  • Many other various updates, bug fixes, and improvements to the AI.

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About the Author

Daphne Fama

A Staff Writer at Prima Games since 2022, Daphne Fama spends an inordinate amount playing games of all stripes but has a soft spot for horror, FPS, and RPGs. When she’s not gaming, she’s an author and member of the Horror Writers Association with a debut novel coming out in 2025. In a previous life, she was an attorney but found she preferred fiction to contracts and forms