XDefiant Announces Changes to DedSec's Spiderbot Ability

XDefiant has confirmed upcoming changes to the Spiderbot ability for the DedSec faction, addressing player concerns about the robot being difficult to counter in its current state. The game, which launched at the end of May after a tumultuous development cycle, quickly gained popularity, attracting over 11 million players by the end of June.

One of XDefiant's strengths is its frequent updates, which not only address bugs but also introduce new content to keep the game fresh. Despite its popularity, the game has faced issues, prompting Ubisoft to release regular patches. Season 1 of XDefiant introduced a wealth of new content, including the GSK faction from Rainbow Six Siege, new maps, modes, and various gameplay changes. However, changes to the DedSec faction's Spiderbot were not sufficient to satisfy many players.

The DedSec faction, inspired by Ubisoft's Watch Dogs franchise, uses gadgets and tech, including the Spiderbot. This small robot seeks out enemy players, attaches to them, and blocks their view for a few seconds. In a fast-paced shooter, these seconds can be crucial, and many players find the Spiderbot highly frustrating and hard to counter. Season 1 attempted to mitigate this by increasing the ability's cooldown and adjusting its behavior, but more changes are planned.

XDefiant Plans More Spiderbot Changes Soon

One major upcoming change is allowing players to shoot the Spiderbot off themselves. This feature was initially a bug that Ubisoft decided to keep but was accidentally fixed in the Season 1 update. The upcoming patch will revert this fix, and Ubisoft plans to continue exploring ways to make the Spiderbot easier to remove. The community has welcomed this announcement, although many players have suggested additional ways to counter the device, such as using the melee button to grab and pull it off.

Season 1 has also seen a fair share of bugs, causing frustration among fans. XDefiant's executive producer, Mark Rubin, remains active on social media, addressing these concerns. Tensions escalated when a player criticized the game as rushed, to which Rubin responded by encouraging dissatisfied players to move on. The game's initial struggle involved adapting the SnowDrop engine, originally designed for the third-person RPG The Division, to suit a fast-paced FPS game.