Summary

  • XDefiant confirms changes to Spiderbot ability due to player frustration in upcoming patch.
  • Ubisoft is bringing back the ability to shoot it off, while indicating the team will be looking at more changes in the future.
  • Season 1 brought new content, including Spiderbot changes, but players still want more adjustments.

XDefiant confirms upcoming changes to the Spiderbot ability for the DedSec faction, as the little robot is currently difficult to counter in its current state. It's been an active few months for XDefiant, which finally launched at the end of May after a turbulent development cycle. The free to play shooter was seemingly worth the wait, however, as Ubisoft's arena shooter quickly went on to attract over 11 million players at the end of June.

Outside of being free to play, one of the stronger elements of XDefiant is how often it is updated both to address bugs as well as keep the experience feeling fresh with new content. Even as popular as XDefiant is, the game hasn't been free of issues, with Ubisoft consistently releasing new patches to address problems and community-highlighted issues. In fact, XDefiant Season 1 brought a wealth of new content to the game, including the GSK faction based on Rainbow Six Siege, new maps, modes, and plenty more. The seasonal update also made plenty of gameplay related changes, though one of the faction changes made to DedSec apparently wasn't enough to satisfy many players.

The DedSec faction in XDefiant is based on Ubisoft's Watch Dogs franchise and comes equipped with gadgets and tech, including a little Spiderbot which seeks out and attaches to enemy players and blocks their view for a few seconds. In a fast-paced shooter, those few seconds can mean the difference between life and death and, as it stands now, most players find the little robot highly annoying and tough to counter. Season 1 attempted to lessen the frustration by increasing the ability's cooldown and adjusting the behavior so it wouldn't continually attack the same person. However, Ubisoft is planning on making even more changes to the device in an upcoming patch.

XDefiant Plans More Spiderbot Changes Soon

One of the big changes coming soon to XDefiant is the ability for the player to shoot the Spiderbot off themselves. Interestingly enough, this was at one point a bug that Ubisoft kept, until it was accidentally fixed as part of the Season 1 update. The update will revert the fix, and Ubisoft has indicated that the team will continue to look into changing how it works to make it easier to remove the Spiderbots in general. The announcement has been well received by the community, though many continue to offer opinions on how best to counter the device besides timing a melee to punch it down as it jumps. Many believe using the melee button to grab and pull it off would be fine.

Season 1 has seemingly had no shortage of bugs, which have left fans frustrated at times, reaching out to XDefiant's executive producer, Mark Rubin, who remains very active on social media. Frustrations reached a boiling point, with one player calling the game rushed, prompting a direct response from Rubin telling players that they can move on if XDefiant isn't for them. Part of the game's initial struggle was taking the SnowDrop engine, originally designed for the third person action RPG The Division, and tweaking it to work for a fast-paced FPS style game.

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XDefiant Tag Page Cover Art
XDefiant
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FPS
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Released
May 21, 2024
ESRB
T For Teen due to Mild Language, Violence
Developer(s)
Ubisoft San Francisco
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XDefiant is a free-to-play, first-person online arena shooter where you compete in fast-paced clashes. With cross-play available at launch, you will be able to play with friends on a variety of platforms.

Season 1 introduces the Team Rainbow operators of GS-Kommando leveraging their counter-terrorism training to disrupt their enemies. 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.

While GS-Kommando operators pride themselves on using non-lethal force whenever possible, they are as capable on the battlefield as any spec ops group.

Customized Loadouts: Choose from a large arsenal of weapons, attachments, and devices to optimize the way you play. Combine any weapon with any faction, and unlock new options as you play to perfect your playstyle.

Factions: Factions are drawn from iconic Ubisoft worlds and represent distinct classes, each with unique abilities and ultras. Choose any character from any faction to assemble your team of six players. Change your faction at any point during play to adapt to your strategy.

Maps, Modes, and Mayhem: Play in a diverse range of 14 maps at launch across several different arena and linear modes including Zone Control, Escort, Occupy, and more. Fight in casual matches or climb the tiers in competitive ranked mode.

Publisher(s)
Ubisoft
Genre(s)
FPS