Outlast Trials Rebirth & Relapse Guide: Endings, Upgrades

The Outlast Trials adds another way to push past the max level: players can use Rebirth to unlock one of the game’s endings while also earning XP, and can then Relapse after hitting the level cap to pick up a permanent upgrade by resetting their level. Rebirth comes in two styles—Solo and Communal—and both versions can turn punishing fast, especially once you begin higher-stage runs.

Rebirth basics: requirements, rewards, and what doesn’t reset

Rebirth is started by speaking with the guard across from the Terminal in the Sleep Room, but only after you have 100 Rebirth Tokens. Token earning and limits are straightforward: you can earn 5× Rebirth Tokens for an MK Trial and 10× for an ending Trial, and you can hold up to 1,000 tokens at once.

Completing a Rebirth grants 10,000 XP, 100 Stamps, and randomized rare cosmetics. Importantly, Therapy Level is not reset and cosmetics are not reset. Your existing Rigs, AMPs, and Prescriptions also carry over.

If you fail, the system is designed to keep you trying: your Rebirth Tokens are refunded, allowing unlimited attempts. In Communal Rebirth specifically, you also unlock one random Newspaper for The Director, with 46 total available.

Solo Rebirth: mansion return, escalating modifiers, and enemy roster

Solo Rebirth drops you back to the mansion (from the tutorial) and forces a set of objectives to escape. Each successful Rebirth increases difficulty by adding tougher pressure to the run—tracked through changing enemy behavior, traps, and item availability.

Low Enemy Density begins the climb with fewer enemies and no variators.
Subsequent stages raise the threat by adding stronger, more lethal enemies and more deadly traps.
Limited Items ramps up to “very limited” item availability as difficulty increases.
The trial perspective can become mirrored to mislead reagents.
Higher stages include Increased Threat II with maximum population of brutal enemies.

The Solo objective structure stays consistent: you must See the Words by activating the generator with a gas can and placing the film reel, and Hear the Words by activating three frequency boxes.

Enemy composition also escalates by stage. Your first Solo Rebirth features Grunts in upper rooms and Big Grunts in lower areas. Starting with your second Rebirth, additional threats appear: Night Hunters, Screamers, Berserkers, and Pouncers. From your second Rebirth onward, a Prime Asset will chase you as you reach the Employees Only exit.

Communal Rebirth: 1–4 players, MK-Challenge trial twist, and hidden variators

Communal Rebirth supports 1 to 4 players and places teams into a random MK-Challenge Trial with a twist. The trial is randomized, the perspective is mirrored, and in addition to the primary objective, players must complete two extra tasks: find and activate three frequency boxes (“Hear the Words”) and deliver individual Rebirth records (“Who Are You?”).

Communal success also works differently than a typical run. If you die but at least one teammate escapes, the game still counts the Trial as a success for the whole team.

Every Communal Rebirth includes a Classified Variator: a random variator is added to the trial, but the game does not indicate which one it is ahead of time. Variators can include bleeding from damage (with bandage use), sudden cold air and a cold snap cycle, fire-filled environments with hazards like fire mines and flame throwers, restricted health requiring special pills, persistent Jaeger presence, permanent freezing conditions, permanent damage that can be removed with pills, additional Prime Assets (potentially two at once), single-use rigs that still come with upgrades, surveillance cameras that trigger shocks and alerts, and toxic gas that inflicts permanent damage with its own 90-second toxic shock cycle.

What comes next: Relapse after the level cap

Rebirth and Relapse are not the same system. Rebirth is used to unlock one of the endings, while Relapse is how you Prestige after you reach the max level. Relapse grants a permanent upgrade, but it requires you to reset your level.

With Rebirth, even failure isn’t the end of your run plan—since tokens are refunded—players can keep iterating on Solo or Coordinated Communal attempts until they can clear the escalating objectives and modifiers.