Summary

  • Players debate which XDefiant faction abilities are unfair in the new Ubisoft shooter.
  • Season 1 will bring the GSK faction from Rainbow Six Siege, new maps, weapons, and a Capture the Flag mode.
  • Certain factions like the Cleaners and Dedsec face criticism for powerful abilities that many players find frustrating to play against.

Fans of Ubisoft's new first-person shooter XDefiant discuss the most unfair faction abilities to play against. XDefiant was released just last month and is Ubisoft's long-awaited Call of Duty competitor. Players can pick from five available factions to play as, each hailing from one of Ubisoft's own popular franchises, with a total of ten different abilities to use across the game's five game modes.

Having just launched, XDefiant is currently in preseason. Though that hasn't stopped Ubisoft from revealing the game's first season at its Ubisoft Forward event a few days ago. Landing on July 2, Season 1 of XDefiant will introduce an all-new faction to play as, GSK from Ubisoft's other hit multiplayer FPS, Rainbow Six Siege. Clubhouse, Daytona, and Rockefeller are Season 1's new maps, each set to go live at different points in the season's three-month span. The Season 1 update will also add three free weapons and the exciting new Capture the Flag game mode.

On Twitter, Ubisoft_UK playfully took the temperature of the XDefiant community, asking which of the five launch factions are the most annoying to oppose. Surprisingly, only two of the factions were mentioned: the Cleaners from The Division and Dedsec from Watch Dogs. With the latter, players took issue with the faction's Spiderbot ability, which deploys a small spider-like bot that seeks out opponents and stun-locks them for several long seconds. One player ran into a nightmare of a ranked match which saw the opposing team running four Spiderbots at once.

Players Mention Dedsec and the Cleaners as XDefiant's Most Annoying Factions

Another player's bone to pick was with The Cleaners, who have a passive ability that turns all their bullets into damage-over-time-dealing incendiary rounds, no matter the gun. The player expressed how this passive seems unfair and suggested making the incendiary rounds a limited ability in place of the faction's Incinerator Drone, which they feel is underpowered. It's important to note that while The Cleaners' Incendiary Rounds passive may seem like an unfair advantage, it is countered by decreased damage range. It's surprising that nobody brought up the Ghost Recon Phantoms' Blitz Shield, or either of Splinter Cell Echelon's very powerful abilities that let players go invisible or see opponents through walls.

With Season 1 of XDefiant less than a month away on July 2, Ubisoft has yet to officially divulge the exact set of abilities Team Rainbow's GSK faction will bring to the table. Judging by the trailer, though, it seems Blitz's flash shield from Siege will be one of them. Rainbow Six Siege will undoubtedly serve as a wealth of ideas for new factions and abilities Ubisoft can bring to XDefiant in the future. XDefiant fans should expect to learn more about GSK's kit, and whether their abilities will cause as many headaches as the Cleaners or Dedsec, during XDefiant's XDebrief on July 1.

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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