- "You can't see me. You can't..."
- ―Imposters
Imposters are some of the antagonists in The Outlast Trials. They are Specialist Ex-Pop who will disguise themselves as other Reagents, taking upon their appearances to trick them into a false sense of security, before stabbing one of them with a knife and departing from the Trial almost immediately. They only appear when playing co-op and are meant to encourage players to stick together in a group and pay attention to their surroundings.
Background[]
The Imposters are former General Ex-Pop that have been assigned latex masks from the Murkoff Corporation to imitate the appearance of Reagents, enabling them to seamlessly integrate into a group unnoticed and forcing Reagents to trust no one but themselves. Apart from their masks, Imposters are also left in Trial environments naked, being forced to scavenge clothing from corpses to outfit themselves. They also craft small knives from whatever materials are available, often using shards of glass or bits of metal sharpened against stone.
Characteristics[]
Similarly to the Pusher, Imposters will periodically emerge from various Monster Closets owned by Murkoff as the blaring alarm signals their arrival. Imposters will randomly mimic one of the Reagents present, perfectly imitating their appearance.
Imposters will patrol the Trial area looking for a Reagent while mimicking their movements. Once they spot a Reagent, they will slowly approach them rather than chase them outright in order to lure them into a false sense of security. Once an Imposter is close to a Reagent, they will pull a knife out, lunge at their target, and stab them repeatedly in the torso. When the Reagent is seen sprinting towards them, they will quickly pull their knife and swing at their target instead of grabbing them. After giving up the search or attack the Reagent, they immediately exit the Trial via the Monster Closet.
There are various cues to identify an Imposter. They tend to openly roam around the Trials' environments even when the hostile Ex-Pops are within their vicinity, which can easily give them away. An Imposter's username has a deliberately misspelled version of another Reagent's username, and they are never seen equipped with a rig, allowing an observant Reagent to tell the difference between an Imposter and a real teammate. However, any variators that increases enemy threat may render their name to be completely identical to the real player, and the No Player Names variator can also remove the Reagent's ability to check their username and rigs. If the Reagent is suspiciously approached by another Reagent who happens to be heavily breathing or chuckling like a lunatic, they are definitely an Imposter. Unlike Reagents, the Imposters never use their night vision goggles even in the dark and crouch under the crawlspace.
Imposters can be observed to be fake by watching their behavior, where they will pause their movements and look around a bit aimlessly before resuming their walking. Imposters may try to encounter the Reagents they are imitating, giving the Reagent an immediate alert to avoid them. Much like the Pusher, the Imposters leave after a short period of time but they can still quickly attack any Reagent that tries to intercept their path to the shuttle (unless they had failed their lunge grab, disoriented, or hit by throwable items.)
Imposters can be prevented by maintaining distance until they leave after a short period of time, throwing any items at them, kicking them off a grabbed teammate, disorienting them with rigs, using hiding spots, or intentionally make them miss their lunge grab. If any of these actions are performed, they will be forced to leave the Trial.
Story[]
The Outlast Trials[]
Imposters appear in every trial when multiple Reagents are present. They will spawn near players and slowly approach them. If they get too close, they will pull out a weapon and try to grab the Reagent, assaulting them and dealing sizeable damage before exiting the Trial.
Distinguishing real Reagents from imposters can be done by listening to their breathing noises and looking at their overhead usernames, which always contain misspellings. For example, if their username is "Chris Walker", the imposter may be named "Chwit Wa4kez". The Reagents can evade Imposters by throwing any item at them, attacking or stunning them with rigs, using hiding spots, or making them miss their grab. Performing any of these actions will force them to exit the trial.
Personality[]
Given that the Impostors are intended to look and act like the Reagents into mistaking them for their teammates (until they attack), the impostor's true personality is foggy at best. One thing about them that is illustrated through voice lines is that they remark signs of paranoia and anxiety upon failing to stab a reagent. An example is when they sometimes state "I tried... I promise I tried!", showing that they are worried Murkoff (specifically Dr. Easterman) will punish them for not fulfilling their purpose in the trials. In contrast to this, they show great pride and rejoice in succeeding in attacking a Reagent, likely due to the fact that they know they will receive praise from Easterman as long as they keep it up.
Physical description[]
Imposters perfectly match the appearance of any Reagent in a Trial. Their usernames will mimic those of the disguised player, with minor spelling mistakes (unless the trial has increased enemy type variator) and a lack of rig.
Balance Changes[]
October 26, 2023 (Early Access Update # 3 / Program Geister)
December 13, 2023 (Early Access Update #4 / Winter Kills)
May 28, 2024 (Prime Time)
July 16, 2024 (Season 1 / Project Lupara)
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Trivia[]
- In rare cases, Imposters have managed to steal clothing from Sinyala staff, taking on the appearance of scientists or security guards.
- Imposters and the Night Hunter are the only Ex-Pops equipped with the same night vision goggles as the Reagents. However, unlike the Night Hunter, Imposters won't use their night vision goggles even in the dark.
- Imposters cannot appear in solo play without the More Imposters variator.
- Imposters and the Pusher cannot appear in trials with the Prime Time and Franco Barbi variator.
References[]
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| Minor Characters |