XDefiant isn’t what it used to be.
The upcoming free-to-play shooter from Ubisoft has seen some pretty important changes since its Closed Beta back in April, and we’re here to go over exactly what players should expect to be improved or adjusted.
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All major changes Open Beta changes in XDefiant
The information in this article was put together by YouTube content creator TheXclusiveAce in a recent video.
9. Console controller input lag
Console controller input lag was something that was talked about a lot in the Closed Beta, but seems to have been addressed moving into the Open Beta.
According to XclusiveAce, the input lag made it extremely difficult to “aim properly” previously, so this is a much-welcomed adjustment that will make the game more responsive for those on a console.
8. Netcode improvements
Something the game desperately needed, improvements have been made to the netcode of XDefiant. It’s still not optimal, but it’s certainly in a better state than it was in the previous play session.
The netcode is still being worked on, and will hopefully be much more ironed out in the official launch. In the meantime, it’s supposed to be more playable now and that’s a big step in the right direction.
7. Aim assist changes
Adjustments have been made to aim assist since the XDefiant Closed Beta, affecting what XclusiveAce refers to as “the bubble” around players.
What this means is improvements to the slowdown areas, directionality, and a fix to issues with aim assist in point blank range. In addition, consoles received a flat 5% increase to aim assist.
6. Libertad changes
The Libertad faction abilities saw some adjustments, and they’re mostly nerfs.
Libertad saw changes to its regeneration along with Biovita getting nerfed to only bring you to max health, no overhealing, and heal you at a slower rate. That’s not all, though, El Remedio also received a nerf with a longer cooldown, a reduced healing rate, and making it easier to destroy.
5. Several other ability changes
Several other abilities saw some adjustments, but not quite at the depth that Libertad did. These adjustments include:
- Echelon saw improvements to its animation to make it feel more powerful
- Digital Ghillie suit black patches are now properly hidden
- EMP no longer cancels the Blitz Shield, and now when wielding it, you won’t take any incendiary damage from those using incendiary bullets.
4. Weapon balancing
There are tons of changes when it comes to weapons, as balancing is always an active component of games such as this.
The first thing to mention is that all snipers saw their aim-down-sight speed increase alongside the aim-walking speed being slowed down. This is to stop overly mobile sniping, and quick scoping being too overpowered.
Next up, the LMG’s saw their ADS and sprintout times changed. The examples given by XclusiveAce show that the RPK-74 saw both its ADS and sprintout time brought from 500ms to 475ms, meanwhile, the M60 saw an increase from 400ms to 525ms and 450ms to 525ms.
The M1911 pistol saw a very slight reduction in the rate of fire, to the point of being almost negligible.
The ACR 6.8 was given a few nerfs, including rate of fire, overall time-to-kill, ADS, and sprintout time.
The MK 20 SSR marksman rifle was given a nerf as well. The headshot damage when using a heavy barrel was brought down from 100+ to 93. This means you can’t one-shot headshot with it anymore.
The P90 saw its headshot damage increase to 24 to the head when close to your opponent.
3. Audio adjustments
Not too much information here, but the developers did share that they made “various improvements” to audio.
2. Base health regen buff
In the Closed Beta, health regen would start five seconds after you took damage. This has been adjusted to now kick in after only four seconds.
This should help players get back into the action faster, and not have to wait too long to take that engagement.
1. Spam penalty adjusted
The penalty applied if you jump repeatedly or crouch repeatedly, has been decreased. In the Closed beta, you were essentially locked in place if you met that spam penalty.
This is to prevent people from over-spamming, but the threshold has been adjusted to not be so harsh.
READ MORE: Is XDefiant free-to-play?
