Ok, XDefiant has been out a month or so, and now it’s into the first proper season! Season one of XDefiant is live, and it’s bringing with it a few additions!
I’ve not played as much of it as I’d like, but every time I do, I promise to come back to it more regularly.
The feedback from our initial look post before all largely remains the same. It’s a shame we’re not seeing a Deathmatch or Team Deathmatch still, because it feels like that’s how XDefiant will get it’s longevity and pull those Call of Duty daily players away.
I could be wrong!
Anyway, XDefiant Season 1 is here and here’s what it brings with it.
New GS Kommando Faction
Inspired by Rainbow Six, this faction offers enhanced protection and area control. Their passive ability makes them immune to headshot multipliers, while their active abilities include an Active Defense System and Shock Wire.
Ranked Playlists
Season 1 introduces Ranked play with skill-based matchmaking. Players can climb ranks based on their performance, with unique rewards available at season’s end.
New Game Modes
“Capture the Flag” is now available in Unranked Playlists, with a ranked version coming later. Additionally, a new mode called “Bomb” will be introduced, featuring one-life gameplay where teams plant or defuse bombs.
New Weapons
Three new weapons join the arsenal: the LVOA-C assault rifle, the L115 sniper rifle, and a sawed-off shotgun for close-quarters combat.
New Maps
Three maps are set to debut this season. Clubhouse is available now, with Daytona and Rockefeller arriving later. Clubhouse offers familiar indoor layouts with new outdoor areas inspired by Rainbow Six.
Now is the perfect time to dive into XDefiant’s Season 1. For more updates, keep an eye on the official Ubisoft news page.
Patch Notes
Gameplay
Changed the expiration timing of activated Boosters so their lifespan counts down only during match time, when you’re actually playing, rather than all the time, like when you’re folding laundry or whatever.
Lowered the XP threshold for each Battle Pass tier to give Battle Pass progression a little more pep.
Tuned Match Bonus XP rewards: MVP and Victory went from 2,000 to 1,000 XP. Draw went from 1,000 to 500. Completion doubled from 2,000 to 4,000 to encourage player stick-to-itiveness.
Answered a community ask to add a headshot icon to the Killfeed because it feels good to rub it in.
Factions
Added the GSK faction and their no-nonsense announcer: HQ.
These elite Team Rainbow operators from Germany’s Border Protection Command specialize in crowd control and securing territory. They can deploy electrified barbed wire for area denial, counter incoming enemy devices with their Active Defense System, and dazzle multiple foes with flash charges mounted on their G52-Tactical Shield ultra. Call them Grenzschutzkommando because it’s fun and also accurate.
Increased the cooldown of Echelon’s Intel Suit from 30 to 40 seconds.
Tuned the cooldown of the Phantoms’ Mag Barrier from 30 to 40 seconds. Mag Barrier hit points were also reduced from 500 to 400.
The Phantoms’ AEGIS now takes damage from EMP grenades (lob six to put it out of commission).
DedSec Hijack cooldown decreased from 28 seconds (plus the remaining duration of the hacked skill) to 20 seconds (plus the remaining duration of the hacked skill).
For example, let’s say a Mag Barrier has 7 seconds left and gets hacked: The cooldown becomes 20 plus 7 seconds. Failed Hijack cooldown, meanwhile, decreases from 8 to 5 seconds.
DedSec’s Spiderbot cooldown increased from 25 to 40 seconds.
Adjusted Spiderbot behavior so multiple Spiderbots won’t attempt to hug the same face, nor will Spiderbots continue to ignore faces they’ve hugged multiple recent times. Some give and take from the Spiderbot kingdom.
Decreased the cooldown of Libertad’s BioVida Boost from 25 to 20 seconds.
Fixed Libertad’s Medico Supremo so it will no longer disappear after the deploying player respawns as a different faction.
Maps
Added the new Clubhouse map, a two-story hangout popular with international operators. Ideal for firefights in the short- to mid-range. Home to game modes Domination, Occupy, Hot Shot, and the new CTF.
Game Modes
Added Capture the Flag, hereafter referred to as CTF. For the uninitiated: You take the enemy’s flag from their base and bring it back to your own, while protecting your team’s flag. CTF is available on a variety of maps.
Weapons
Improved the hit flinch penalty incurred when being shot with a sniper rifle equipped.
These changes are intended to refine the behavior of hit flinch, prevent instances where the camera would move off the target with the first hit and back onto the target with the second, and improve the experience for players sensitive to wild camera movements. Here’s the nitty-gritty:
The speed of the hit flinch camera transition has been increased by 25 percent.
The camera will now always kick upward rather than up or down at random.
The amount the camera will kick left or right has been increased by 3 times.
Added the L115 sniper rifle, which is not quite as heavy as the TAC-50 and has faster handling, although it deals slightly less damage and is not as effective at penetrating cover.
Added the LVOA-C, a snazzy customized rifle similar to the M4A1. It has a much faster rate of fire than the M4A1, but with that comes more recoil and less range. It also has slightly longer reload and equip times.
Added the Sawed Off secondary weapon. This close-range version of the double-barreled shotgun packs a big boom for its size. Imagine carrying a primary weapon in your secondary slot and that’s this.
Added new Mastery skins: Titanium Violet (unlocked at Weapon Level 300), Titanium Azure (unlocked at 350), and Titanium Prisma (unlocked at 400).
Fixed weapons and optics shake in first-person view while using ADS.
Devices
Added a new and improved visual effect for the flash grenade (replacing the previous effect, which was…intense). The new effect is less retina-searing but still appropriately disorientating.
Removed an exploit where players could respawn with multiple devices after fiddling with the “Copy Loadout” option in the lobby, so nice try.
Social
Added the Creator Code program, which allows players to choose a creator to receive commissions from their XCoin purchases at no additional cost. Choose “Support a Creator” from the store to see a list of eligible creators.
Players were able to create a party with enemy players and voice chat during matches despite being on opposing teams, which seemed shady so that’s fixed.
Disabled whispers in text chat.
Audio
Tweaked the mix of in-game voices and sound effects for volume and clarity.
Miscellaneous
Players who participated in the Closed Beta were supposed to keep Kersey’s Dungaree skin. They didn’t but now they do.
Fixed Challenge-tracking issues with Ubisoft Connect.
Graphical and audio fixes, various.
Additional crash fixes.
Looking ahead
Will XDefiant Season one content help keep their player base, and see it grow?
I hope so. A free Call of Duty competitor that feels and looks great, is such a great opportunity for Ubisoft. Hopefully the community feeds-back and Ubisoft listen.
Perhaps Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch will show up in a later season? Maybe I’m just harping on about a non-issue.
Let’s see. Go give XDefiant a bash if you haven’t already.
