Star Wars Outlaws is all about doing crime, and to do so, you’ll probably want to partner up with a criminal syndicate. The galaxy is home to four factions of the criminal variety, and Kay Vess – and you by extension – has to carefully manage her reputation with each of them. It’s a difficult tightrope to walk, but it’s made easier by knowing which factions are worth keeping on your good side and which ones can be safely ignored — or annoyed.
In this guide we’ll go over each of the factions in Star Wars Outlaws, detailing exactly when and why you should start earning criminal brownie points with them, and what rewards you get for doing so. Make sure you also check out our guides for easy slicing and easy lockpicking in Outlaws to make your criminal activity spree that much easier.
Crimson Dawn should be the first faction you try to max out. It’s fairly easy to do so, as many of the story choices in the first planet of Toshara involve the Crimson Dawn, and once you get access to faction quests, you’ll mostly have Crimson Dawn and Pyke Syndicate jobs to do. Crimson Dawn’s rewards focus on maximizing your stealth capabilities, and given how big of a focus stealth is in the game, it’s well worth investing into early.
The rewards for high Crimson Dawn reputation are as follows:
Good
Excellent
Max
The Pyke Syndicate should be your second port of call, not necessarily because the rewards are worth it, but because the Pykes control huge swathes of land throughout the galaxy, and being on bad terms with the syndicate makes for a difficult time moving around. We’d suggest saving your Syndicate data for the Pykes, since after helping the Crimson Dawn, it might be difficult to get jobs from the Pyke Syndicate at first.
The rewards for high Pyke Syndicate reputation are as follows:
Good
Excellent
Max
The Ashiga Clan won’t really come into play until you visit Kijimi, but you’ll want to get on their good side early. Not only does it make basically all of Kijimi’s quests easier when you can travel freely throughout the frozen city, but its reputation rewards offer a host of abilities aimed at keeping you healthy.
The rewards for high Ashiga Clan reputation are as follows:
Good
Excellent
Max
The Hutt Cartel is the least important of the four factions, coming into play primarily on Tatooine, where they control a large amount of the land there. We’d recommend getting up to Good while exploring Tatooine, but otherwise you can largely ignore the Hutts if you please.
The rewards for high Hutt Clan reputation are as follows:
Good
Excellent
Max
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There is not a bigger sporting event in North America than the Super Bowl, and tickets are only getting more expensive every year. There is also a ridiculous secondary market for tickets where seats sell for well above the original face value. It is usually fans or ticket resellers going for a quick profit. But as was reported on Friday, sometimes it can be players in the NFL looking to make a profit. According to multiple reports, including the Associated Press and ESPN, more than 100 players are facing fines and potential suspensions for selling their allotment of tickets to this year's Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs for above face value. Players are reportedly facing fines of one-and-a-half times the face value they originally paid for the tickets, while they are also prevented from purchasing tickets to the Super Bowl for the next seasons. The Associated Press obtained a memo from the NFL detailing the violation and investigation. That memo was as follows: “Our initial investigation has determined that a number of NFL players and coaches, employed by several NFL Clubs, sold Super Bowl tickets for more than the ticket’s face value in violation of the Policy. This long-standing League Policy, which is specifically incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement, prohibits League or Club employees, including players, from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket’s face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket, whichever is less. We are in the process of completing our investigation into this matter, but the investigation has revealed that club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of ‘bundlers’ who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value.” If players are not willing to pay the fine, they could be facing suspension from the league. It seems unlikely that any of the players — none of whom have been named, or their teams — would refuse to pay such a fine. It's also one of those moments where you can say, professional athletes — they're still normal people trying to make a quick buck. The most logical answer here is perhaps some of the players caught up in this are younger players who have not yet struck it rich on a big contract or perhaps even practice squad players who are not making top dollar.
The New York Mets are a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East, but their pitching staff is still injury-ravaged despite the recent returns of Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. Brandon Waddell (hip), Dedniel Nuñez (elbow), Max Kranick (flexor), Paul Blackburn (shoulder), Tylor Megill (elbow), Griffin Canning (Achilles), Drew Smith (elbow), A.J. Minter (lat), Danny Young (elbow), and Christian Scott (elbow) are alll on the Mets' IL. The MLB Trade Deadline is July 31 at 6 p.m. EST, so the front office has one week to add healthy arms from around the league this season. ESPN's David Schoenfield predicted on Thursday that New York would trade for a Minnesota Twins reliever. "One guarantee of the trade deadline: The Mets will add to the bullpen, probably with more than one trade. Though the rotation still ranks fifth in ERA, that was built off a hot start," he wrote. "More importantly, the only Mets starter to complete six innings since June 7 has been David Peterson. As a result, manager Carlos Mendoza has run relievers Reed Garrett, Huascar Brazoban, Jose Butto and Ryne Stanek into the ground. The bullpen had a 2.78 ERA through May, but that figure is over 5.00 since the beginning of June (ranking near the bottom of the majors)." "The Twins have two high-profile relievers in [Jhoan] Duran and [Griffin] Jax, both of whom are under team control through 2027, so they'll be much more expensive than your usual short-term relievers if the Twins decide to trade one or both," he continued. "Duran would be harder to deal -- but bring more in return -- so we'll say Jax will go. Don't be fooled by his 4.09 ERA: He has 68 strikeouts and 12 walks in 44 innings with a 97-mph heater. He's an elite strikeout reliever, the type you want on the mound in October." The Mets are hot despite their injuries, as they're on a four-game winning streak and just swept the Los Angeles Angels. Next up is a road trip against the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. New York right-handed pitcher Clay Holmes (8-5, 3.48 ERA) will face Giants right-hander Logan Webb (9-7, 3.08 ERA) on Friday.
The Cincinnati Bengals have finally reached an agreement with first-round pick Shemar Stewart, putting an end to what became the story of the offseason for the team. Stewart, drafted 17th overall in this year's draft, has finally agreed to a four-year, fully guaranteed $18.97 million deal that includes a $10.4 million signing bonus, according to his agent Zac Hiller of LAA. Now with this deal done, every first-round pick is signed. The road to this deal was a bumpy ride. For months, negotiations between Stewart’s camp and the Bengals front office stalled due to disagreements over contract language, particularly around guarantees. The team pushed to include contract language that could void the deal under certain off-field circumstances, but since other Bengals first-round picks did not face similar terms, Stewart stood firm and refused to sign. Both sides remained firm throughout the offseason, leading to a long standoff and a lot of reports of frustration from both sides. Despite the frustration and disagreement, the Bengals and Stewart’s group continued to engage in conversations, trying to find a resolution to the issue. And finally, after weeks of back and forth and weeks of controversy surrounding what Stewart may be forced to do, both parties appear to have met in the middle and found common ground. For the Bengals, getting Stewart signed and ready for training camp is a major win. Stewart was viewed as a developmental prospect who needed plenty of on-field reps to reach his full potential. Stewart's absence from earlier camps had slowed a lot of his progress. With the contract dispute resolved, he can now focus entirely on gaining important reps and continuing his development over the coming weeks. Now with this contract done and over with, the team can put their full focus on Trey Hendrickson, who is also seeking a long term deal. If the Bengals can get a deal done with Trey before the season kicks off, they would secure their edge-rushing room for not only 2025, but for years beyond. For a team looking to go all in on making the playoffs, signing Stewart was long overdue. Now it will be vital for the team to get Stewart up to speed with the rest of the roster, and allow him to get as many reps as possible before the 2025 season begins.
One veteran NFL defender is ready to trade the football field for the golf course. Former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks announced in a post to social media on Friday that he is retiring from the NFL. Hicks is calling it quits after 10 career seasons with four different teams. “I walk away with peace knowing I gave football all I had, and that the best is yet to come,” Hicks wrote in his post. You can see the post in full here. Now 33 years old, Hicks was a third-round draft pick by the Eagles in 2015. He spent the first four seasons of his career with them and was a member of Philadelphia’s Super Bowl-winning team in the 2018 campaign. Hicks later went on to play for the Arizona Cardinals, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Cleveland Browns as well. The former University of Texas star Hicks was one of the more versatile linebackers of his era, capable of playing all three positions (inside, middle, and outside). He tied for third in the NFL with five interceptions during the 2016 season and also later ranked third in the NFL with 150 combined tackles during the 2019 season. Hicks made 12 appearances in 2024 for the Browns but is now content with walking away from the game. He also dealt with a dangerous physical condition that required hospitalization a couple years ago and has thus decided to move onto his next chapter.