What Happened to XDefiant?

[@epicgamerzfail4575]

A great to think of it: everyone wanted xdefiant to be an old school cod to escape modern cod. Instead we got bo4 2.0

[@Syxysypyrmyn]

How I felt exactly

[@gmgz]

They even copied the hit detection issues from BO4

[@CoreyArsenault-c8t]

Cant compare xdefiant trash to the masterpiece bo4

[@MrKing-he3eo]

Has better gunplay than bo4 tbf

[@ShadowMark3_]

This cannot be said enough

[@Mookie12911]

No content and I’m still getting shot through walls. Recently it’s been happening more than ever I feel. The game is fun but there’s nothing to do and getting shot around corners is extremely frustrating

[@Syxysypyrmyn]

I think a lot of people don't realize that bullet penetration is a thing in this game. You can shoot through walls by design

[@13LesTadO13]

@@Syxysypyrmyn I get shot when behind solid cover

[@winterwolfsden]

​@Syxysypyrmyn yeah but most people w any type of FPS experience can tell the difference between walls/locations/situations where bullet penetration should and shouldn't happen.

[@CarlosColon-m7i]

@@13LesTadO13everyone line of defense is “Skill issue”

[@Devious.official]

Literally bullet penetration

[@martinduebner]

I never got why people thought this was a Black Ops 2 revival. BO2 wasn't about heroes with abilities pushing payloads. This is basically to CoD what Valorant is to CSGO. Only the shooting is similar.

[@latrelldub]

that analogy is completely false imo, Valorant has become a staple in video games today that stands alongside the top dogs like Cod, Fortnite, and CSGO.

[@u12bdragon]

The shooting is nowhere near similar in valorant to CSgo

[@martinduebner]

@@latrelldub I didn't say anything about staples. The analogy was that Valorant is CSGO gunplay with Overwatch Heroes. And XDefiant is CoD gunplay with Overwatch Heroes.

[@martinduebner]

​@@u12bdragon Out of XDefiant, CoD and Valorant? Valorant is definitly the most similar to CSGO out of the three.

[@latrelldub]

@@martinduebner ah

[@CChubbz]

I really think you're overthinking it. The singular reason that Xdef was ever hyped/popular to begin with was that it was supposed to be "Old School CoD without SBMM," but instead we got Overwatch with CoD-like shooting.

[@psycho_stan199]

F**k overwatch

[@iDrKx]

This; imo everyone is ignoring how powerful and game warping abilities are; I go on point I'm playing vs a shield, I 1v1 there's healing, I midrange 1v1 I take dot fire damage; it's a little bit too much hero/class/passive based when I simply want to use my gun; and is sad because the gunplay feels good for me if I wouldn't have to fight sensor + shields + healing + dot every 15 seconda cycling :(

[@PSNMirru]

I swear. Abilities don’t belong in arcadey shooters. It’s the dumbest shit and I’m glad CoD got rid of it. People will just always play the most busted abilities.

[@Renegade-re4vs]

​@@iDrKxwhy play a hero shooter if you just want to use your gun?

[@liammbiscwit]

@PSNMirru the dumbest shit is not thinking abilities belong in arcade shooters ahaha its the only place they belong my dude!

[@Lord--Farquaad]

What really killed XDefiant for me was when I realised that as time went on, more casual players were dropping out and the actual dedicated fans are staying. So essentially, the game is getting sweatier and sweatier by the day - and I'm not opening up XDefiant to play hyper sweaty. I want it to be a more casual experience, especially in contrast to the super strict EOMM we get in CoD.

[@timmypowers5926]

Sounds like you need to play against bots if you like being manipulated nj exactly why cod fucking sucks now

[@Lord--Farquaad]

@@timmypowers5926 what? are you old enough to have a youtube account my man?

[@ianday5604]

If you want a game to be a casual experience, then you actually want EOMM (which is deliberately Anti-Competitive so that Average to Below average players never have to realize that they play like they have no thumbs)

[@ShrimpCup]

So ur the kind of ppl EOMM protects

[@Lord--Farquaad]

@@ShrimpCup ...no? Wtf is that even supposed to mean? If you didn't have shit for brains you'd know that EOMM affects every single player in the game, screwing or protecting us back and forth endlessly. My point literally could not be simpler, it's not even about EOMM lol.

[@skeDarguy]

I hate hero abilities. That's what killed it for me. It adds too many inconsistencies to gunfights and with the high TTK that it has as it is, it just makes the game feel messy and slow. We need a game that plays like old COD. We just do, and this isn't it.

[@naps7039]

yeah im not a big hero shooter guy myself, i honestly havent even played any fps games in a few years because COD just got insanely greedy and i hated the wall running and dumb hero units but its activision what can you expect. Then i was bored one day and saw black ops 6 had open beta and i played it and actually enjoyed it, ended up buying it. Since realizing that i still have fun with fps games, I wanted to find another game to play while i wait for black ops 6 and ended up installing ironsight and xdefiant. Ironsight does feel like old school COD and i like that about it but it just feels like a wish version of cod and im pretty sure their anti cheat isnt great because I had people head shotting me and team mates through walls before I even was visible so then went to xdefiant and i like it but at the same time the hero skills plus time to kill just make me not enjoy it as much. Like all i want is an old school feeling fps game without gimmicky bs, no hero skills, no hackers, sensible time to kill, at least 5 good maps(i honestly dislike most of the maps in xdef while ironsights basically copied old cod maps and made their own versions which is nice) and oldschool mw3 and black ops 2 gun skins that you can earn instead of buying. I was eyeing BO6 for zombies because i miss that aspect and their campaign looks like it might be good, i am just hoping the multiplayer is fun. Not to mention I really hated how they changed KDS into eliminations? Like if you hit one person and dont kill them and someone else does you still get counted for killing him as well? thats just cheap and to make beginners invested, its lame and i dont like it. You're an assistant not a pro at that point lmao

[@toptiertech7291]

The fact that they called this old school cod then gave it abilities was insane 😂

[@Xenos118]

TTK is not high in xdefiant. U can kill people really fast. TTK is high in the finals for exemple.

[@jcaashby3]

I agree that once BO6 drops I just do not see Xdefiant gaining momentum no matter what they add or subtract. The game just feels unfinished at this point. The biggest plus is no SBMM but most matches I have played are very intense. Like you see an enemy...if you miss a few shots...your basically dead!!

[@ShrimpCup]

Bruh bo6 gunna be huge dumpster juice, people gunna come back to XD after a few months

[@sarossoras5054]

That's because no sbmm creates an endless cycle of players quitting except the top players of the game.

[@Buglife.352]

​@@ShrimpCupkeep thinking that bud

[@spambunny123]

Happens every year everybody sick of cod by end of season 2 and are looking to the next ​@@Buglife.352

[@awepossum1059]

@@ShrimpCup xd is shit

[@lllXanderlll]

It's crazy how people went from "COD KILLER, COD KILLER" to "game dead lmao" in like three months ? And the biggest complaint I have consistently heard was that there's no reason to grind ie mastery camos. Then they're also annoyed with the movement spam Also Ubisoft themselves are on borrowed time with how poorly their last major releases went and how their stock prices keep declining. Plus the whole fiasco with Assassin's Creed

[@dgeneratio1]

Was the same for Temtem and Palworld being Pokemon killers. People can't help themselves.

[@anthonybonds6804]

They never dealt with the casual players that really wanted to play. It was not very inviting. The jumping and sniping were out of hand. It's like because a lot of people don't like SBMM they refuse to recognize that the lack of it has cost players.

[@tenshimohagon7790]

People think that sbmm is terrible when cod has had it or a matchmaking similar to it since the nostalgic games the community loves. They are just too stupid to realize it now. No sbmm only kills player count.

[@awepossum1059]

@@tenshimohagon7790 90% of the time the people complaining about SBMM are exactly who SBMM protects

[@tenshimohagon7790]

@@awepossum1059 where’d you get that statistic or is that your opinion? Because from my understanding it just sounds like your opinion

[@awepossum1059]

@@tenshimohagon7790 Activision released a report that showed that only the top 10% of players had increased playtime when EOMM was removed. Everyone else had decreased play time.

[@tenshimohagon7790]

@@awepossum1059 wait so we were talking about sbmm not eomm. Now you are changing discussion

[@sk84lyfe1211]

XDefiant is the only multiplayer game I’ve played regularly in years. If it wasn’t for this game I’d only be playing single player games (which is also fine). I genuinely love XDefiant and have a great time every time I hop on the game

[@noxuification]

welp i understand the game have issues but its exactly the same with COD - cheaters, desync, stupid TTK etc etc. still cool game imo

[@-Coded]

Same here but honestly the game gets pretty stale after awhile and I put it back down. It's because there's only multiplayer. I don't see them making a campaign mode or battle royale, but something like zombies or a survival mode would really keep players interested and increase the popularity of this game. A lot of the good maps in this game I could see as perfect maps for a zombies mode. Id even be happy with just a party games playlist for multiplayer, like infectd mode.

[@-Coded]

​​@@noxuification every arcade fps is tbh

[@DEANDRE_DTS]

I have fun too

[@4TheWinQuinn]

I’m loving it too

[@bravehawks74]

As much as people shit on sbmm, it really helps the longevity of the game. Xdefiant is a great example of the top 10% absolute decimating the other players because of movement tech that people don’t want to invest the time into learning. The “casual” experience that this game was advertising is just a buffet for sweaty players.

[@calamelli209]

XDefiant could definitely use some form of SBMM to protect new and less skilled players, but it shouldn't be as strict and manipulative as it is in recent CoD games. A lighter and less restrictive form of SBMM like the older CoD games had would be perfect.

[@theflyingtoaster7414]

I remember when XDefiant actively advertised to anti-SBMM channels during the MW3 AI conspiracy. Targeting the deeply egotistical, fickle, and conspiratorial part of the Cod Audience by promising them Sanctuary from fair fights was the most short-term marketing I've seen in a while. "Is having no SBMM be enough to beat CoD" was like hearing dumb Anti-Seatbelt talk from long ago.

[@DavidMachowski]

EXACTLY!!!! The game would do so much better, even if it were like 50/50. 50% of matches were SBMM and 50% were not, so the people that are not as good, get a break and can have fun.

[@Caralh.o]

​@@calamelli209They use. Welcome playlist gamemode.

[@Caralh.o]

There is a game mode with SBMM. Just play it then if its so essential.

[@davidc1961utube]

The movement skill gap without ANY SBMM did it for me. I am a .93 k-d in COD and I was getting slaughtered constantly. Don't tell me to "get better kid", because I am 62. That ain't happening. The movement system in the BO6 Beta gives me vertigo and nausea, so I will have to chose between staying on MW3 and finding another game. A revamped X-Defiant could be that game.

[@XIKaMuIX]

You could try battlefield 1 or the latest one.

[@hoxyheart5479]

The fact that you're not even willing to try to get better is a massive problem

[@zaydyounus9654]

@@hoxyheart5479bros 62 he’s just tryna relax not become a sweat who thinks they’ll make it big on twitch lmao

[@sawerek1]

@@hoxyheart5479 you really think someone who's 62 cares to "git gud" in video games? they probably have more worries in life than that

[@hoxyheart5479]

@@zaydyounus9654 I get that, but saying "it ain't happening" is giving up on himself which is a problem.

[@cabbiecarmvp145]

Imo a big issue with XDefiant is it wasn’t on last Gen consoles, a lot of people play on PS4 or Xbox 1 and the only option for them is COD

[@toptiertech7291]

THIS. Sony said almost half their player base is on ps4

[@majoraccident13]

Its not on steam too

[@Slasher_2ndAcc]

XDefiant will always have a place in my heart, I still like CoD but having XD as a break from cod really helped my game exploration.

[@mniakan754]

Maybe hit up indie games as a break from COD, scp 5k is in early alpha and can be great alternative to zombie modes especially with it's amazing gunplay and simple round based mode with no power ups loot drops to worry about

[@LiamMuzzaMurray]

That’s not game exploration. Actually venture outside the genre. You never know what you may discover.

[@Slasher_2ndAcc]

@@LiamMuzzaMurray that’s what was trying to say, I’m not good with English since my first language is Inuktitut

[@Slasher_2ndAcc]

@@mniakan754 kinda late but that game is underrated. Actually had fun. Even though it’s in the alpha it’s still a 9/10 for me

[@double4697]

Supposed "CoD Killer" Nr. 345 gets announced, people overhype the fuck out of it, only for it to die 2 months after release. Nothing we haven't seen before

[@mre8ballgaming842]

@@double4697 it's a meme at this point

[@cabbiecarmvp145]

No game will be a COD killer until they have a good answer to the Warzone experience, which is why so many people play COD multiplayer these days

[@Ccubed92]

​@cabbiecarmvp145 lol show your numbers because that's not true

[@DamienDarkside]

Not to mention it is UBISOFT. They haven't made a good game in a LONG time. Look at that stock price, sweet baby jebus it's awful.

[@randommobilegames6422]

In a year your gonna be buying another half baked cod for $70 meanwhile x defiant is gonna have 30 maps and dam near 60 guns and it's still gone be free

[@Dylan1202_]

Still watching the video currently but what I want to say is that even if CoD is the main game for you guys, it is important for XDefiant to succeed. Call of Duty NEEDS competition desperately. They have skated by on their name while nickle and diming the player base and holding back on unpaid content. Competition creates an environment where Activision has to step up and I’m hoping we can get back to a point where CoD is made for everyone equally instead of alienating the best players in the community. We all used to love CoD together back in the day and now we are all segregated for money

[@sawerek1]

i agree, but the competition has to work for its spot as a competitor. xdefiant was given a chance to shine and failed to deliver

[@TheErikjsm]

competition needs to be competitive. aka on par with what its competing with. xdefiant is just a worse cod in every aspect except for the sbmm. nobody is gonna pitty play a game. bf was able to compete before because the quality was on par with cod but it offered something diffirent enough that it appealed to people looking to get off cod for a month or two.

[@Tatman2TheResQ]

Then I guess they should have done a better job...? I gave them $20 because I appreciated how far they got and I enjoyed the game for a week or so. But that's all they've gotten out of me. I haven't been back to play. The servers were terrible, the aiming never felt great, and some abilities were obnoxious. Even if they made all of these changes now, I'm sure it's far too late for them to matter.

[@Extirpo]

Amen brother.

[@toptiertech7291]

Cod needs COMPETITION. Not just another shooter who calls themselves the cod killer but puts out a Half finished game

[@smagliaro]

I really enjoy the game overall and would like to see it survive. That said, the lack of things to _do_ in the game makes the experience pretty narrow. No challenges, calling cards, camos, or anything. Just gameplay and "number go up". I also think they really need some party games or alternative modes (e.g. prop hunt) as an escape from the core gameplay loop when people are getting bored or struggling to keep up without SBMM.

[@Michael-ee4uz]

I see a lot of comments like these, and it makes me remember the Halo 1-3 experience where you played it to enjoy it and there was no progression or challenges or even cosmetics until the Master Chief Collection. Ahh, simple times.

[@junyaiwase]

What happened? You people gassed it up like you were going to play because le “no sbmm” then proceeded to go back to your toxic ex

[@raylone13]

The game felt bad sbmm not needed i literally played a early beta long before 1.0 the game felt 100% the same..... So love it all you want i kept quiet and still masses agreed to leave vs those that are the " games " fun crowd.

[@peabrain6872]

The gunplay and gameplay was trash

[@ShrimpCup]

People can play multiple games lil bro

[@braynjohnson4302]

Exactly. People complain about CoD but they still buy/stream/promote it every year.

[@braynjohnson4302]

@@peabrain6872sounds like you were bad

[@lEthereal]

The main reason why I stopped playing was because I couldn’t customize my controls and I couldn’t adjust the deadzones for my triggers. The server issues were also a factor though

[@ScrA-PezZz]

I’m sorry, I know competition it’s good, but that doesn’t mean you can release a half-baked ass game and expect everyone to welcome you with open arms

[@LeSkinner]

People who have been welcoming this game with open arms are mostly pathological cod haters. Anyone with a level head can see how outdated & garbage this game is.

[@Minx717]

Have you seen any of the CoD games? They’re so half baked. That may or may not patch it by the next cod.

[@Minx717]

@@LeSkinneranyone who sticks with cod suffers from brain rot.

[@Minx717]

@@LeSkinnerI love cod not whatever the heck acticvison is releasing now. It’s not cod.

[@V4der87]

​@@LeSkinneras if Call of Duty is any better Overpowerd weapons EOD perk that doesn't kill anyone killstreaks suck

[@cipherpac]

If XDefiant had launched during MWII, it could have had a chance. Sadly it launched during MWIII, which has one of the better received MP experiences for a modern CoD, and right before BO6, which has a lot of MP players excited.

[@Caralh.o]

Wait... there is people excited with BO6 😂? Literally has some of the main issues that xdefiant has.

[@I_amTurok]

Mw3 was the worst cod easily.

[@I_amTurok]

@@Caralh.o sounds like you have skill issues

[@Lordoctane12]

@@Caralh.o it was the most played cod beta. cope harder garbagedefiant fanboy

[@Sk8TheBapes]

I agree that the timing of Xd's launch was a big issue.

[@autoscopy]

I felt the real death of xdefiant was simply the lack of marketing. I spoke to several local gamers who loved shooters who simply did not know about it. Even though it was free to play, many casuals had no clue it existed. This in turn made it sweaty because sweats follow all these cod channels talking about xdefiant.

[@AHeroAlmost]

Still playing Xdefiant & I’m hoping S2 will bring it to that next level .. I feel I don’t have to sweat my ass off every game to have fun or do half decent ..

[@JulianY2K12]

Yeah it's great to actually be rewarded for getting better. Sbmm kills every game it touches 😒

[@MR12AMAZING]

I had the complete opposite experience so I went back to COD.

[@Caralh.o]

​@@JulianY2K12Not SBMM normally but COD SBMM.

[@Caralh.o]

​@@MR12AMAZINGEnjoy EOMM and SBMM I guess

[@FireTrainer92]

@@Caralh.o That shit only bothers you if attribute every match to it. That doesn't really apply.

[@naeledro]

I think you nailed it with the points you touched on in the video. Another thing I think would help the player base would be to add a separate playlist with all the game modes but no abilities, active or passive.There are a lot of players, myself included that do no like the active abilities in this game. Personally, the main reason I stopped playing are the maps. They feel too small and cramped so I mainly played the push game mode which has bigger maps, but there are only 4 or 5 of those which gets really boring fast. The final nail in the coffin was that I did not enjoy the F1 map they released in the season one update at all, which I was looking forward to.

[@TerraFirma47]

I play xD every time I can. As a dad with a full time job, that’s really only like 5-7 hours a week but any free time I get, I spend on xDefiant. I’ll play any game that isn’t modern CoD.

[@Runestuf999]

While it has solid bones in the gunplay, movement, and map/mode design, the hero shooter aspects are just too strong in XD without *any* of the appeal of a good hero shooter. Namely fun character designs (Overwatch, Apex Legends, etc.) and mechanics that fit within a congruent visual and gameplay direction (R6 Siege, Valorant, etc.). Needless to say XD has no coherent visual direction aside from "here are characters from every Ubisoft shooter series." You have spider robots and bubble energy shields being deployed while a mix of stealth armored supersoldiers, cyberpunk hackers, and modern third-world guerrilla fighters are shooting at each other with AK-47s and M60s. Meanwhile the abilities and gadgets are all, at best, things that most people just kinda deal with or accept rather than appreciate as a genuine complement to the boots on the ground gameplay of guns, tacticals, and lethals. It's ultimately a decent bit of fun regardless of the excessive fat and tacky style, but fun doesn't pay the bills when you're a F2P live service game. You need people to buy into new cosmetics and new heroes/factions with new abilities, and what's on offer is sadly NOT appealing, so the game's dying. It's a shame, but that's the reality of this monetization model they've chosen.

[@BigBossJ]

fair points

[@mattc7420]

BRO THINK HE A DEVELOPER 💀

[@Runestuf999]

@@mattc7420 BRUH 💀😂🤪🫁👳‍♂️🐈🧉

[@thecommentor3845]

@@mattc7420 and it would seem like you are unable to read if that was somehow your takeaway.

[@andreidmny]

Absolutely on point.

[@cam935n]

Everyone ignored people saying it would be forgotten quickly once bo6 started

[@JJDeAth96]

It got forgotten before that though lol BO6 ain't even out yet and they're already talking about shutting it down

[@rommelthedesertfox3089]

Black ops 6 int out yet and xdefiant is already forgotten 😂

[@ShrimpCup]

Lol bo6 gunna be huge dumpster juice

[@cam935n]

@@ShrimpCup so it won't get more players than xdefiant even though it's free?

[@sdudigumi]

@@JJDeAth96 It’s pretty amusing to see people gloat about XDefiant fizzling out. Let’s be real: in a few months, everyone’s going to be bored of Cod #21 (Bo6) and wait for the next Call of Duty game. When COD #22 drops in the spring, Black Ops 6 will be yesterday’s news and no longer cool. So enjoy the victory lap now, because Black Ops 6 is going to be in the same boat as XDefiant before you know it.

[@Master-GX0]

Ha I knew playing this game would return me back to you. I used to watch your video guides for MW and MW2 back then and I'm very very thankful, they were super useful I'm kinda back to these kind of games now, focusing on XDefiant and it's amazing seeing you playing it, keep it up man, thank you for the content you make!

[@Rayuzx]

I know CoD fans hate hearing this, but there's a reason SBMM isn't going anywhere. With these live service games, it's not about how big start, but how hard the drop is once it starts happening. Outside of the top percentile of gamers, SBMM protects people from having their days ruined because they get on the wrong side of a match where one or two people are better than the rest of the lobby combined. There's a reason why most multiplayer games have SBMM even in casual playlists. And you even have situations like Destiny 2, which that game turned of SBMM in casual playlists yet turned it back on once player counts started plummeting (funny enough, people were saying that Bungie tuned up SBMM during that point in time because they were getting matched with players they were previously protected from.

[@TheSparkynuts]

Yuppppp

[@dickdanson]

That's not really true though, unless you think the current generation of gamers are all soft or something. Cod player numbers were consistently high through the "golden era", long before sbmm was an issue. People would get destroyed once in a while by better players, and they'd want to get better so they could be that player. They didn't just give up lol

[@bundrenscrandad2028]

It's not sbmm though in cod. It's eomm. Manipulating your gameplay and forcing you into wild lobbies just because you played well a game or two. Does way more harm than good. Plus that shit doesn't belong in casual Playlists.

[@epicgamerzfail4575]

Sbmm is not this games problem, there's like 20 other things to fix before sbmm should be looked at

[@R17759]

@@bundrenscrandad2028And how has that affected the cod player base? Oh wait it hasn’t.

[@codyoneil9507]

I think something that’s missing that makes the grind on this game so brutal is the lack of load out versatility. In many fpss you have perks and other things that you combine with your playstyle and operator. I think XD just lacks the customization to the point where it doesn’t really matter what gun you run or how you play the game

[@Ne0x34]

I recently discovered this game, and im really liking it. Havent really played cod in years since it got stale and sbmm just makes everything furstrating. I hope this game stays alive.

[@zanrak3922]

If theres one thing Ubi is good at its keeping their games alive. R6 Siege was the same shit on launch.

[@Ne0x34]

@@zanrak3922 ah thats good to hear! Lol

[@FluffiestWalrus]

My biggest issue is the lack of content. I want challenges, and camos, and prestige, and…. Kind of all that CoD content gravy that is added on top of the bones of the game. The gameplay is awesome! I just need more to “do” than just play matches

[@calamelli209]

Agreed, I'd like to have camos/skins to grind for with challenges besides just leveling up. Maybe even mastery skins for the characters like a few past CoD games had.

[@FluffiestWalrus]

@@calamelli209 absolutely! I don’t even care about the skin or anything lol… just want to have challenges to complete

[@Caralh.o]

You want objectives not tons of content then. Im slowly realizing that people confuse "lack" of content with lack of objectives (at least the feel that you have a objective).

[@callofbootyy]

They didn’t listen to the community fast enough. Thus many people lost interest.

[@Dylan1202_]

Cod takes 6 months to a year to fix bugs or bring us changes that are asked for. Most of the time, they don’t listen at all but why aren’t people caring about that?

[@sawerek1]

@@Dylan1202_ because cod has a good base game that people find fun regardless of its issues. xdefiant's problems were at its core and it just became annoying to play quick

[@Dylan1202_]

@@sawerek1 CoD has the same issues but I will say they were far less severe, especially at launch. XDefiant needed their launch to be far better than it was and if the game dies, it would absolutely be their fault. I just believe we need a game like this for everyone and I hope it survives long enough to become what it should have been at launch.

[@iLLWiLLx21]

If that’s the case how is COD still standing? They hate their players lol

[@Dylan1202_]

@@iLLWiLLx21 people make exceptions for the abusive billion dollar corporation that has tons of resources and thousands of devs in manpower

[@raymurkz2233]

I still play Xdefiant a lot, I love it. It's feels very similar to my all time favorite cod Bo4. Pretty much the last good cod before they started implementing shitty strict sbmm matchmaking and other practices that kept me away. I love Xdefiants gunplay, the TTK, the abilities and the movement aspect. I really hope the game succeeds because I would hate to lose such a good game. IMO I think a lot of people are overcritical of Xdefiant, it definitely has it's problems but unlike cod here we have devs that engage and listen to the community, and are doing the best they can. Just one example, cods overall connection experience, the lagging, the packet bursts, the hit registration, it's all legitimately terrible, much worse than todays Xdefiant, yet no one is critical of it because it's a cod game.

[@rommelthedesertfox3089]

Black ops 4 was terrible

[@jg_513]

dead game. Tick tock the clock is ticking

[@pietro0games]

Strong Sbmm started on Advanced warfare, bo4 was after AW

[@D44RK_Iced_Yogs]

@@rommelthedesertfox3089it was still better than anything of recent COD’s. Legit was such a refreshing take at the time and I didn’t put as many hours as I did with bo3 but I definitely would have if everything was there to begin with.

[@rommelthedesertfox3089]

@@D44RK_Iced_Yogs not better than mw2019. Mw2019 is easily the best recent cod we’ve had and it’s not even close

[@DJCinthaBoy]

Honestly nothing feels as good as an FPS than CoD does. They messed up their window during MW2 and should’ve released it then. MW3 fixed a lot of problems MW2 made, has maps everyone enjoys, and just better gameplay without annoying specialist.

[@RadioFW]

The issue is exactly what you said around 1:53, you want it to succeed but it will never be your primary game. The game was marketed as basically a return to form for old call of duty players, but it doesn't feel like that, new call of duty games still scratch that itch better than xdefiant. They will never make a better call of duty than call of duty devs will, and we see that in the player count. They shot themselves in the foot by marketing to cod players, cod players will play cod, they're not leaving.

[@TecraX2]

16:25 - That's why IMO XDefiant's best bet would be to prepare a bigger "Relaunch-Update" for when BO6's "Honeymoon Phase" is over, which will probably be around February!

[@ericbrintonmusic]

ive been playing XD since launch (i support you with my creator code btw) it was disappointing but understandable to see you stop covering the game. Glad you dropped a vid on xdefiant, hope youll do another one for S2. The team has addressed a lot of the initial complaints about the game, although they still have farther to go with the netcode. But I anticipate the game being in a pretty good state come S2, one that will lead to higher player retention. And then I think S3 will be the icing on the cake to establish a decent enough long-term player base. Yes I agree I think they could stand to steal some year 1 end content and stuff it into S2 and 3 to make them a but juicier. But overall, as a classic cod enjoyer, if you have not already, please check out XD. It gets tons of negative press but many are now realizing its a great game. It is absolutely not dead by any means, please dont believe what you see on reddit or youtube etc. I have had exactly zero issues matchmaking at any time of day in northeast USA

[@BlurredWolf]

The biggest problem in my eyes was they made a game more tuned towards the competitive community but released it with no esports plans and afaik it STILL has no private match support.

[@Caralh.o]

They launched with esports plans but the game has to many issues.

[@UnknownDarkness47]

I still love Xdefiant. Its nice to revisit every other weekend for a few hours. I hope they add more content like you said - so there's something more to grind towards. Even weekly events like Cod would be good

[@looyoo0-u6i]

me: hmm i wonder what ace is up to first 15 seconds of the video: "yeah i have a kid and im selling my house and getting a new one" god damn ok adulthood jumpscare holy shit (me realizing everyones getting "old" and so am I)

[@medivh1035]

I am glad you covered The factor that new players are getting stomped. Some other yotuber just refuse to consider that. I got my friend to try it, He went like 3-16 three games in a row, then he was like "l think this game is not for me". He never played it again

[@sam_2193]

It sucks and no game will ever kill cod and their billion dollar Micro transaction empire. It’s not opinion, it’s objective fact. People need to stop hyping games up as a cod killer; cod will die when people stop buying 20 dollar bundles like it’s candy. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk

[@epicgamerzfail4575]

GTA, fortnite, Minecraft etc. show cod isn't an unstoppable juggernaut. Ubisoft did an Ubisoft and dropped the ball by not doing what cod players wanted and taking too long to respond to feedback

[@reygamerz8041]

⁠@@epicgamerzfail4575but they are not fps games so it doesn’t matter but xdefiant took forever to fix or add contents

[@ridhosamudro2199]

​@@epicgamerzfail4575What does those games shows that CoD isn't an unstoppable juggernaut, exactly?

[@epicgamerzfail4575]

​@@reygamerz8041that doesn't matter, if anything the fact a not fps does better than cod is even more notable. Point is cod isn't untouchable, and it's not like Ubisoft is an indie studio.

[@T0anto]

​@@epicgamerzfail4575 All those games just proves that, the day CoD dies is the day FPS dies as a genre

[@SlCKNESS_]

Pretty sure CoD has the exact same hit marker issues, considering I've seen in the Kill Cam people kill me before I even shoot, while on my own screen I put 4 bullets into them.

[@Real_Beaky]

XDefiant was always overhyped and doomed to fail. Every few years we hear about a new FPS "King" that is going to dethrone COD and it never happens. The closest any game came was Fortnite and that was only until Warzone released. People complain about SBMM/EOMM without realizing that they are precisely the players the system is meant to protect. If your KDR is below 1.2 then you are not going to have a good time in a game without SBMM/EOMM.

[@AlexRodriguez-lk1jy]

I just downloaded and am absolutely loving it. Haven't played COD since Cold War and I missed this style of FPS

[@DripVlon]

Update: the person who released this article and gave tom the leaks could be an employee that was released from ubisoft.

[@LD-sx9pr]

For me it didn't feel as fun as COD, especially with MWIII's support and content and fixes it felt lackluster playing XD. if XD launched when MWII was in it's lifecycle like it originally planned, this game would be more alive due to the mistakes IW took with MWII. Hell SBMM was a blessing and a curse when XD came out because as the game got older more better players got and stomped out all the new and lesser skill players out, which is sad to see when COD wins with a system that works against the players. I also didn't like the faction/ hero system since it was ability cooldowns and broken passives like +20hp in a slow TTK game and legal wallhack and the annoying spider bot. The only way XD can survive BO6 is if they drop the BIG update on the Post Honeymoon phase of BO6. When people complain about SBMM, when clickbait KZbinrs say BO6 is dying/dead, when the Redditors come out of the woodwork, when the post launch hype dies down XD may have a chance to steal back COD players who are disillusioned or disappointed with Bo6. There people may be willing to try something else.

[@johnrambo7065]

I‘m still playing this beautiful game: i like the gunplay, the maps, the fraktions, the weapons, fast pace ….. hopefully the game will be supported in the future!!!

[@JKershaw]

I’d say the biggest issue the game has is that it’s a Ubisoft game. They just stack L after L. Also, game needs to be on steam.

[@R17759]

What specifically about it being a Ubisoft game has negatively affected it

[@grrinc]

Agreed. I only have Steam. I’m sick to death with all the launchers/stores

[@Chief592]

@@R17759Ubisoft has given us failure after failure and we have lost a lot of trust in them. Trust me I used to have Ubisoft copium, I was a huge r6, AC, and for honor fan but the good old days of Ubisoft are gone. In an age where they give us AAAA skull and bones and a broken engine xDefiant, it’s no surprise people dislike them now

[@Charles-j6v]

Things I love with the game: sniping. Centering is fantastic, dmg is proportional to the handling of the sniper. And also reg gun gunplay. The guns just feel insanely good. And not any one feels way op over the other. Like I will happily cycle through most smgs and assault rifles and they all feel different but all feel good in the hands Things I generally like: the colors and saturation of the game, easy enough to spot people. Ranked rewards. Footstep sound. I also like how with the battle pass you can grind out free xcoins to almost buy the battle pass. So when the next one comes around I will get it for free and it pays for itself. From that point on once you grind it out the first time around. That is very very cool. Things I don’t like: the strafing tech, just a preference really, some people might like it. slide canceling feels useless with anything heavier than a smg. I don’t like zone capture, not really sure why just don’t, same with escort. I do not like the massive amount of settings….it feels near impossible to find the best settings for myself as there is an infinite amount of things to try tweaking. It’s just beyond overwhelming (I carry this complaint to many modern shooters now). Like just give me the sensitivity bar and call it a day. I also wish free for all was a game mode in the game Things I hate: abilities. Dear lord they are so annoying. If this was supposed to be a call back to og cod this one part of the game completely murdered the chances of that being a successful goal. I have to change my entire gunplay while fighting a phantom to an echelon to a healer etc. It’s like overwatch and cod had a baby. Very odd mix. I also dispise what you were explaining with how hitmarkers get registered yet no dmg done. I had no idea what the heck that was but had always been confused when sniping, get a hit marker on a headshot, and them still showing 100 health. Infuriating that one. It is such a ragebait. Lack of kill cam. Lack of prone. Lack of killstreaks. Lack of prestige. Next complaint I hate would turn easily into a huge love with a few changes. The maps. While the general overall layouts are fantastic there are infinite amounts of these little L obstacles. They look generally like three lane og maps but behave nothing of the sort. Even on the smaller maps the amount of pathways to any part on the map while having cover spots every two feet is ridiculoussss. Unless you are absolutely cracked at the game you’re never getting more than like 2.5-3 KD avg. And that’s even really really good for this game. I’m probably avging 1.5-2 right now and I’m on top of the board over half the time. In og cods (the supposed goal to make that og style game) I would do similar but also get the occasional like 5-6 kds. Impossible for me on this game. I simply cannot twitch that quickly between the infinite obstacles. If I was a pro then sure. But you didn’t have to be a pro to do that in cods lol the camo grinds…the lack of creativity with the stock mastery skins is just very disappointing. Don’t get me wrong they don’t look bad in game but the lack of designed ones is just kinda sad. All solid colors except for the rainbow one like…? It feels like I’m just unlocking a chroma over and over for one skin. I have no incentive for that lol Overall this game gets the most important thing right which is how the gun behaves in the hands. Gunplay is so so good. But that just makes all the other complaints that much worse because it feels like that phenomenal gunplay is wasted on abilities and maps handicapping what you can accomplish with your gunplay. To be cracked at this game you have to master twitching your focus to like eight spots simultaneously while worrying about abilities from six completely different operators. It completely removes the simplicity that made og cod golden. It all used to boil down to mastery of gunplay. And mastering gunplay in this game will not make you successful at this game. Whereas before success was 100% reliant on gunplay now it’s a third gunplay, a third awareness of operators and abilities, and a third relying on teamwork to get around said abilities. That’s my biggest takeaway after about 35 hours of game time into it. Still great game but not if we’re looking through og cod standards which again, was the intention behind this game. Look at it through a cod/overwatch/apex lens and you’ll probably give it a 10/10.

[@AcornPlays]

Everyone calling it a CoD killer lol. There's a reason CoD refuses to die, it's actually a much better video game than it will ever be given credit for

[@theclamhammer4447]

How do you manage to type while stroking the schlong of COD?

[@iamahiphopfan3759]

If something is called a killer of another franchise its failure is almost guaranteed.

[@AcornPlays]

@@iamahiphopfan3759 so why do we keep doing it lol

[@benculbertson536]

My mistake with XDefiant was playing Siege before starting to play it. Overtime I got used to the TTK but it just felt like, compared to Siege, really catered towards people with bad reaction times. If I shoot you 5 times in the torso, not the lower torso, mid-upper torso, where the literal heart and lungs are located, and I see you health bar only go down 75%, it gets old really quickly. That and this game should've just been a reskin of MW3 (2011) or BO2. Don't add hero shooter elements when you know that your primary audience (annoyed and burnt out CoD players) have repeatedly said they do not like hero based operators, factions that determine abilities, and a set class system with no customizable perks. I don't even hate this game. I put in a solid 45-50 hours into it, worked my way up to a ~1.75 KD and a fairly high skill rating, and it's just not that enticing to play. It's fun for an hour or so, but I find myself switching back to Siege, Insurgency Sandstorm, or MWIII. I'd rather play games with more customization and way more replayability. I don't even care about needing a massive grind, just give me a wide array of both cosmetic and gameplay customization options to earn and I'm hooked. I'm ignoring the net code issue because it's been beat to death by everyone.

[@Kira_Official_]

Idk I feel that considering people are still talking about this game, means that people still like and care about this game. This is why I hate seasonal content releases. Even though the game desperately needs content, they practically have to wait until the next season to get players what they want.

[@XIKaMuIX]

Thanks for making this video! I hope more ppl will hop to the game.

[@FreedomOfSpeech1.0]

THE FIRST INITIAL JUMP IS WHAT HAPPENED ITS TO OP AND NO MATTER HOW FAST YOU ARE ITS A BTCH TO COUNTER WITH THE DESYNC- FIRST JUMP NEEDS IN AIR INACCURACY

[@nogi2167]

I’ve said it a million times: people THINK they want no SBMM, when what they ACTUALLY want is SBMM that actually works the way it’s supposed to. The middle of the bell curve for most shooters is someone who has a slightly negative KD. Your average player is statistically “mediocre to bad”, so if you design your game to cater to only one end of the bell curve (ie the good to very good players) you risk driving off the majority of people who play your game. I wound up falling off the game because the first few months felt so stale. There weren’t very many maps and only a pittance of game modes. The “challenges” were almost nonexistent, and the ones that were there weren’t challenging, they were tedious. The game got really sorting, really fast when all there was to chase was the win, an anemic battle pass, and some boilerplate “bronze, silver, gold” camos. Say what you want about CoD, but there is NEVER a shortage of unique challenges to chase and rewards to unlock. I started by challenging myself to unlock base camos, then moved on to unlocking Orion, then to unlocking calling cards and now I’m chasing that max skin in MWII. XDefiant didn’t even come close to replicating that. It was just “play the same mode on the same map” over and over

[@Reece_Alp]

I’ve been playing XDefiant since day 1 and I’m personally enjoying the game. I do agree with the idea of adding a lot more content to the seasons and giving people more challenges. In my opinion figuratively XDefiant are trying to win a marathon when everyone else is running the 300 meter sprint, meaning that they are going to slow to catch up with their competitors. XDefiant really needs to make Season Two massive by pulling maps, factions, modes, weapons and challenges form future seasons and bring some much needed changes or those future seasons won’t be happening as they won’t have a leg to stand on once Ubisoft pulls the plug on Season Three

[@TheErikjsm]

that marathon is gonna be cut short by ubisoft

[@Reece_Alp]

@@TheErikjsm quite possibly.

[@MarnixMohrmannPianoTutorials]

I play it regularly (I'm really bad, 0.7 k/d) and love it. Gameplay is great and the objective based modes can get really really tense, especially towards the end. Though, I agree with the progression system and unlucks. Let me do x amount of headshots for a slightly different green cammo. Or even for player calling cards, loved that in MW2!

[@joshuawoodford7525]

Xdefiant is a perfect example of why SBMM exists

[@UnhappySanta]

Brain dead take

[@MoreCheddarBayBiscuits]

Brain dead take.

[@MR12AMAZING]

@@MoreCheddarBayBiscuits You're someone that can't see things from beyond their own perspective.

[@MoreCheddarBayBiscuits]

@@MR12AMAZING Bro, I started playing CoD4 and played through black ops 2. I bought MW 2019 and had no fun with the matchmaking. I stopped playing. If your game isn't fun for a wide swatch of skill levels and players, then your matchmaking system has failed. That's an objective fact. It's only fun for bad players because those players making companies money. How is that a bad take?

[@Ccubed92]

​@@UnhappySanta How is it braindead take lol the numbers is proof

[@20vitorneves]

I'm absolutely still loving the game

[@BigGriffDog427]

It got boring fast, so back to mw3 , I hate the hackers in cod but the game is fun when no hackers in the lobby. DMZ was the most fun but needs an update fast before it totally dies.

[@Caesar1804]

Dmz is dead boi lol.

[@shannonjones8877]

I hope DMZ makes a comeback... especially now with open world zombies going away

[@DJP85]

I live this game. I’m an old school cod player. Started on COD 4 modern warfare. I don’t have hundreds of hours to play as I have a kid and work full time. COD gets worse every year and it’s soooo expensive. BO6 looks shocking. So the fact that this is free and plays really nice, is a huge win for me. I’d happily pay for the season pass too if I could invest some more hours into Xdefiant. There’s no BS wall hack perks lol the abilities are good, the movement is awesome and the maps are also a ton of fun. Awesome game I hope it stays around for good!

[@luyaotian7541]

1. Netcode has been and is still horrible in the game. This is the main reason they delayed the game for and after many years, it's still nowhere near decent. They keep stressing that they are working on it and it's top priority but has shown nothing to prove that their technical capability is sufficient to get this issue taken care of. 2. Promise vs. delivery. They have promised so many things for the game: killcam, prestige, spiderbot rework, etc. What they have delivered was not even a fraction of it. If you keep promising things without giving an exact date on when they will be delivered, eventually people will be fed up with all the bubbles and move on. 3. Lack of quality of life updates: Every time they release a major updates, there's a bunch of new bugs also introduced in the game. And stepping into season 1 they have drasically slowed down their pacing on ironing out those issues. We have been facing the annoying battle pass sound glitch issue for several weeks now, and it's still here. Just yesterday I once again encountered the issue where my Ultra just disappeared and won't come back unless I switch faction. These small issues are not deal breakers on their own, but when they pile up and you don't see active progress from developer to work on them, it's pretty hard for me to believe they still care about this game as much as they claim.

[@Caralh.o]

They already said that the netcode issue is a COMPLICATED problem and they hired engineers to fix the net code. It takes a lot time and skill they have. Not a lot of people have that issues and devs are not an omnipresent creature that see everything and every bug. I dont have that problems for example and a lot of people dont have too so its difficult for them to knowledge the existence of this bug. Its not because they dont care.

[@Im__Andy-f6x]

@@Caralh.o shit got delayed for a year and its the same as it was when the beta came out lmfaoo

[@Caralh.o]

@@Im__Andy-f6x They detected many issues (net code was one of the main). The game would be pure trash if they didnt delayed it.

[@DamienDarkside]

How does it feel putting your faith in Ubisoft? They haven't released a good game for almost a decade now, everything else is just a lesser version of something else. Ubisoft doesn't make greatness, they make mediocrity. It was only a brief time with FC3, AC2 and a few Splinter Cells that were a good run. Ubisoft is always going to disappoint you. Always.

[@dgeneratio1]

For me, the biggest reasons for taking a break: 1) No Content - It's coming too slowly and Seasons need to be shorter 2) Season Passes - This needs to be shorter as i went ham on this game in the first month with boosters to finish the pass, my reward is i have to wait 2 months before the next pass so i have to wait double the time it took me to finish it 3) No Grinds other than Camo - I'm not interested in grinding level 500, 600, 1000 (i'm messing with the numbers) for a Camo and need more. Maybe instead of Twitch Drops, make the skins grindable in game, like get 300 kills with this weapon (number can be changed) 4) Net Code - I'm not as fussed about this now but in the past, i'd get bored of dying behind cover or i'd shoot, get enemies down to 20-25% health then lose the gunfight from 100% Log In Bonuses recently has promoted me to log into the game daily for free boosters and xcoins but not really playing until Season 2 starts again. I did try the game yesterday after a month off, i was a lot worse (to be expected) and lasted 2 games. Last time i enjoyed Camo grinding was on Black Ops 2 where i got every gun Diamond. I like COD Hardcore as enemies has less health (or feels like they do) so i feel i can win more of my gunfights. I did enjoy the BO6 Beta despite it being Core primarily due to the OP Jackal and was using UAV skills like Scout Pulse, UAV and lowering the score needed to get them.

[@Rockstarrclarke]

I enjoyed the game… but there is no content. The mastery cano grind change turned me off bad… My first game on that day I got spider botted two times in a row on obj…. I backed out deleted app and haven’t gone back since.

[@DSM423]

I quit playing MW3 for 3 months to play XD because I greatly prefer the gameplay experience but ended up moving back to MW3 because as a solo player I got tired of playing against stacks of high level players where my team stood no chance of winning. As the casuals started leaving, it became too common to get dropped into lobbies where the enemy team was 3-6 high level/high skilled players (sometimes TTV or other streamers) and my team would just get stomped. You frequently see posts about this happening on the subreddit now that the player count has dropped.

[@theshankpain2228]

It’s the abilities that pushed me away. Gameplay was decent, I felt like the guns, and abilities are pretty balanced. But annoying deaths to abilities just ruins it for me.

[@grrinc]

Agreed. Shields and wall hacks are annoying af

[@sawerek1]

true, there's been matches where i was running around a corner and getting blown up by the pyro explosion. respawning, running around for a bit and then dying to the same explosion from the same player because his ability was off cooldown already. it feels too much like a hero shooter rather than an fps

[@seanloranto2130]

When they messed up weapon xp rates the first time it felt like I was set back to square 1 and wasn’t being rewarded for playing in any way so I took a break until it was fixed but then they fixed it and instead of making mastery a reward for completing gold on all weapons they added an additional 200 levels per weapon effectively doubling the grind and it felt like they just took away all the weapon levels I had worked so hard to earn and set me back to square 1 AGAIN and it effectively killed all my motivation to play. I’m not gonna work towards a goal that’s always getting extended so it’s never achievable and aside from camos there’s really nothing else to play for. Really sad because I was enjoying the game too but without something to work towards it’s just not as enjoyable

[@JimmyCrackorn]

Eh, I think the air strafe / skill gap argument is a cop out for people who don't want to address the obvious elephant in the room: exploiting poor engine performance. These characters don't have exosuits and this isn't that trash era of CoD. Air strafing is good for unexpected movement, but most players complaining about bunny hoppers aren't complaining about not being able to hit those players. They're complaining about those players not taking any damage whenever they do it, while the offenders laser beam them in fewer shots than makes sense according to the specs of their weapons. They have inhuman aim, and that's always exposed as cheating regardless of how good a player's centering is. They never overshoot their target, they never waste even a shot of ammo, they eat shells like an Italian Thanksgiving, they always know someone's around the corner, they always pinpoint that target after jumping around blind corners and opaque obstacles, and they're on controller in most of those cases because the ones complaining the most about it are in controller lobbies. XDefiant has worse security than CoD, and hardware injections actually work. Speed hacks work as well. These people are not only spamming inputs to exploit Snowdrop's weaknesses, they're commonly cheating on top of that. Even Scumpy doesn't have that level of consistency when jumping / sliding around corners or such flawless situational awareness. The game tells players when if they were marked, and most of these guys doing it didn't have their victims marked at all. They're walling. Before we can reasonably even mention _skill issue,_ the game needs to be reliably functional and secure. It's much too soon to take that stance because XDefiant has not yet proven it's of sound quality. We have to rule out everything else first. It's the same philosophy we use in tech support. Before we can blame user error, we need to troubleshoot the software or hardware first. More common than not, it's actually not the user's fault something went wrong.

[@merlebyu1]

I agree with your views. Watching your game play was totally different from mine. Most lobbies i felt had those sweats jumping and sliding all over. I would use half a mag to get a kill if they were not able to run away. I would be killed reloading and it felt like one shot kills. I had no time to react or run to cover. It look like you were able to atleast get a few kills before having to reload. I got turned off because of that, I am a console player and the PC players just flick and fly away. I would love to have crossplay off ability.

[@_MalikTheEngineer_]

Honestly, the only reason I stopped playing XD is because there’s no SND and the connection is bad Other than that it’s a good game

[@Chief592]

Yeah me too

[@calamelli209]

Search and Destroy (or as it'll be called in this game, Bomb) is already confirmed to be coming, most likely in season 2.

[@n-a-n-]

i hope the devs take notes on this video. great points ace

[@alphadog115]

So sounds like we need SBMM after all? Casuals gets stomped and leave the game.

[@MR12AMAZING]

That was the case with me lol. COD is genuinely a more enjoyable experience if you're an avg player.

[@Caralh.o]

There is the welcome playlist on xdefiant. No EOMM.

[@CapnBreeze]

@@Caralh.oOnly till lvl 25

[@Caralh.o]

@@CapnBreeze You take hours before getting level 25

[@pjsmith727]

Honestly for me, it’s the lack of score/kill streaks. I know this is a call of duty based system but it adds so much replay ability because it’s so satisfying going on a big streak and dropping a fat streak on the other team. Or saving a game with a big streak. I understand the devs didn’t want to go that way but that’s something that I like in a game!

[@nickfrechen1]

It's a good game. Just needs more content.

[@scottle6]

I’ve been playing a few hours a week, nothing crazy but it still gives me the old cod vibes that I miss, still good fun for me

[@ichigokurosaki8661]

8:09 O.G. Call Of Duty weapon camouflage grind was just about getting kills

[@Randomsmashfan64]

Should add to that because that was before the introduction of the master camos. Once those showed up, the actual camo grind started evolving into the generally more robust grinds of today. Although thank God the actual challenges have become more reasonable.

[@mstutz2319]

One of the biggest reasons I was attracted to CoD when I was a kid (specifically CoD4) was kill streaks. Calling in an airstrike and helicopter was just so cool, and MW2 took that experience even further. As for XDefiant, being more of a hero shooter with ultra's (this really applies to any shooter trying to compete with CoD), the lack of kill streaks really turns me off. And with no kill streaks, the core gameplay better be as great and buttery smooth as CoD, or have some other feature that keeps me wanting to play more. Almost none of those things are there for me with XDefiant and I'm not a huge hero shooter fan, so it's a bit of a let down for me, especially with Mark Rubin leading development.

[@mercifuldeath]

Xdefiant's netcode is better. In the way that dog ass is better than horseshit. Meanwhile, CoD's performance (especially the BO6 beta), it's getting worse. I'm still getting packet bursts, stutters, endless "connecting" and then crash when you try to exit matchmaking. Just something i wanted to point out. Personally, I don't really like hero-based arcade shooters. So it's really hard for me to play more than a match or two. If there was a Barebones mode with no abilities, i would love that. I like Xdefiant for the most part. I love what it could potentially do for CoD more. That being said, it's hard to support Xdefiant financially. Skins are an investment (figuratively, unless you're playing CS), The risk of CoD just dying and your skins being gone are essentially 0 (for at least a couple of years). Xdefiant isn't a staple. It could be gone in 6 months, it could be gone in a year, it could even become a staple, who knows? My point is, it's hard to invest in something so risky, when for the same or similar price, i can invest in a staple live-service game.

[@sambutterfass1299]

The xp grind for weapons and attachments was waaay to high for casual players. I put a few hours per week in for a couple months and it felt like I was getting nowhere with the weapon unlocks. Felt like I was just using the same stuff over and over again because unlocks were so slow

[@randommobilegames6422]

@@sambutterfass1299 a casual player can get 2-4 levels of gun XP in a TDM match and attachments only go up to like level 45, the players going on crazy streaks getting over 10 levels a math and with double or quad XP you just flyyyyy through levels. The higher level camos are meant to be show offs anyways they shouldn't be unlocked in a couple hours the attachments are super fast though

[@xxPhoenixX-sg9tr]

You will never save this game. It was always gonna fail. This game WILL NOT make it to the end of the year before Ubisoft pulls the plug. They missed their time to drop it back in 2022

[@ZanziBreeze]

If xD didn't launch in such a rough state with tons of network issues and if bhop spamming was addressed sooner, the casual playerbase would have likely stuck around longer and there would probably be more player retention.

[@CRL_Panda]

I said it would flop and many were against me but I knew it wasn’t good from the way it tried to be cod and ended up as a worse apex.

[@bannankev]

Nah. It ain’t worse than apex. Not by far. I got over 2k hours in apex. Almost 3k. It’s not even close to how bad apex is. Both are free to play. Play what you like.

[@DavidMachowski]

You're missing a HUGE reason, which is SBMM. It was all fine and good, everyone thought this was going to be the COD Killer, but their is a point where people are tired of getting stomped. I was in a lobby yesterday, where a friend and i were on a team (TDM) 11 (our team) to 60 (the enemy team), and the whole other team, were floating around the screen, and NEVER missing. That gets really old really fast, even in a free to play game. Also here are the other issues that i agree cause decline: 1) Stale content - need more guns and maps 2) Net-Code for sure! 3) Make it boots on the ground and turn off advanced movement, OR turn UP aim assist, to counter the advanced movement. 4) Make the special abilities, easier to get for less experienced players, base it on Score per minute or KDR, or a different metric. That would at least keep people more engaged.

[@SmokingAces-k9t]

@TheXclusiveAce I've tried the beta, and lemme tell you something - the art direction looks awful, the guns take forever to kill (making you feel you have to sweat more), and the animations are so ... stiff compared to Call of Duty. I felt like I had to work harder and sweat even more, for something that can be compared to working for peanuts. And that's already considering the meager XP/Score payout in Treyarch's stingy BO series (even by the BO6 beta), compared to a Sledgehammer/Infinity Ward Modern Warfare. Eight Thoughts and Blame Truth may not like this ... but these are legit concerns that drive people back to COD rather than sway people away from it. I don't know if that video is still up, but one video claimed that Call of Duty's animations (rendered in a naturally smooth 60 fps since COD4: MW in 2007), is the secret sauce that helps hook players year after year, even if its competitors copy everything else.

[@savagereaper6291]

People expected XD to be causal because there was no SBMM. But to their surprised, they were still getting slammed. It wasn't the chill experience they were promised. And once the player base started shrinking, all you had left were the hardcore die hards that made the experience "sweaty" for many. Add in all the other issues, a lot of people decided it wasn't worth it.

[@Caralh.o]

The real problem is that people cant get killed by 1 single sweat or they cry. There is a lot of mediocre and noobs casual players in xdefiant btw (I play daily). People need to learn how to play for fun again without caring to much.

[@savagereaper6291]

@@Caralh.o Everyone is a "sweat". Unless you stand there like a bot and don't move. People need to get over that. There is no FPS game that doesn't have "sweats". I gave XD a try but hung it up during Season 1. Not my thing. Only mode I liked was Hot Shot. I may go back to it one day, but for now...I'm good.

[@Caralh.o]

@@savagereaper6291 I completely agree with you.

[@TheSceletonx]

Lets put it simple. I know some CoD player wont like to hear it. But what is killing XD is not enough content in combination with no SBMM (I am not saying we need CoD level SBMM, but some sort of SBMM is required in today games. Netcode, while annoying, doesnt really matter. Thats just and excuse. CoD has terrible netcode year after year, and yes, people are complaining, but still playing it anyway. But why bother playing XD. If you are towards the bottom of the skill level, getting stopmped everygame, without even progressing anything or getting any new stuff for months, you just quit. Which makes next "skill bracket" of players start being the worst, and getting stomped everygame, without having those "noobs" you have previously farmed., so you quit as well. and so on, and so on. XD went game as a service route, but without providing enough content and other means to keep people playing. So surprise surprise, they are not playing.

[@braynjohnson4302]

SBMM isn’t required. Interesting content is. They need to have things to play for that aren’t camos that take 40 matches each.

[@ShrimpCup]

Bro if u truly believe that sbmm needs to be in public matches (not ranked) than you are a part of the problem. Absolutely braindead

[@codykill2]

Love XDefiant, so much fun! Definitely looking forward to more content

[@WillAmbiance]

Badly needs Search & Destroy mode which deeply gets players invested, I’m not even touching it further til that. Next, the free kill and annoyance abilities aren’t competitive and take the passion out of playing your best & knowing it was more based on ur skill. Lastly, it is what it is, but having no killstreaks whatsoever, means that dopamine build isn’t as evident and doesn’t really make me excited to come back for more - Which COD gripped me into off the rip in 2009. They have alot of things that are amazing, but there’s those key issues above and a few others that really hold it back and I wouldn’t be surprised if that holds endless players back, which I’d say are a ton of frustrated COD players like me looking for a dev studio who cares more, especially since its a studio lead by an iconic previous COD leader. Anywho, just my thoughts. Thanks for reading 📖

[@savy957]

It’s a good game and just needs time to flourish with content. I wish you continued your videos on xdefiant, they were the only videos of yours that I watched. I just have no more interest in cod with the extreme eomm

[@Gaelotorres]

Everyone talking about the game and the feedback, but, can we appreciate the fact that Ace is now a great father and also, selling their house to buy a new one for his new family is very impressive 🙌

[@DefinePlays]

we just need some more content and some of the big updates that are on the way. I've had like barely any netcode issues so idk hopefully they can fix that for people.

[@dark_matter8420]

I know people keep denying this, but Xdefiant would feel so much more engaging with scorestreaks in it. Scorestreaks are what engage players to play game after game. They're a mini challenge every time you spawn in and they are PALPABLE feedback whenever you're performing well. Getting the privilege of being in a chopper gunner is a lot more rewarding than just seeing your name at the top of the scoreboard.

[@MoreCheddarBayBiscuits]

Play CoD then.

[@thecommentor3845]

@@MoreCheddarBayBiscuits Well rather unfortunately, it seems likely that is exactly what people are doing.

[@MR12AMAZING]

@@MoreCheddarBayBiscuits We will lol. Enjoy your dead game that will cease to exist in 6 months time.

[@MoreCheddarBayBiscuits]

@@MR12AMAZING It's definitely not dead nor dying. That piece by Tom Henderson could have been misinformation fed to him from Activision. The piece came out a day before the Black Ops 6 beta. Not only that, but they're hiring Devs and the CEO sees lots of opportunity in the game. Doesn't sound like Ubisoft is giving up on and runs contrary to the Henderson article.

[@Ccubed92]

​@@MoreCheddarBayBiscuitswe all will comeback to this comment when they shut this game down in 6 months to a year lol

[@MerrStudio]

Maybe I'm just moving around the maps too fast, but I don't think netcode is as bad as people say it is. Is it good? No, but I think it's just.. meh? Netcode is in the best state it has ever been in XDefiant, but at the same time there's still a bunch of work to do, so I'd just say it is acceptable for a CASUAL shooter. I wouldn't play ranked in XDefiant, but I would also never play ranked in COD. For me the biggest reason why I stopped playing is lack of content and general lack of things to do. The only thing you can do is the obnoxious and insanely huge weapon grind and the battle pass, that's it. I also feel there wasn't a lot of content in this season, I have still yet to try the sawed off since it is so far down the battle pass, and one of the three new maps, Daytona, I have never played because I hate push game modes. On that note, does anybody seriously like the push game modes in XDefiant? There's like 5 dedicated maps for it, imo that is such a huge waste, there should be a variation of these maps for arena game modes too. I personally never play this modes, because if I'd want to play payload I'd play Overwatch, not COD-like shooter. Same for CTF, the only new content for me was TDM, 3 new guns and 2 new maps.

[@PBNIP]

The netcode isn't nearly as bad as at launch. A lot of people are just really bad at fps games and don't know it because they've been protected by sbmm for so long.

[@TheSenatorOfTruth]

8million to 20,000 that's sad 😢

[@XIKaMuIX]

Helldivers 2 has same amount of players as well ☠️

[@TheSenatorOfTruth]

That's a shame I really love xdefiant it's the game that replaced mw3 for me ​@@XIKaMuIX

[@itzimperiumxvi2620]

@@XIKaMuIXjust how gaming is now

[@aarontomaselli590]

At first I was definitely struggling with the movement and pace of the game but once I worked all that out I really started to enjoy the gameplay. But what made it hard for me to keep playing was the progression. I know it’s a free game and it’s never going to be the same as COD for instance, but I just wish we had more challenges or calling cards, camos, even more attachments like different optics and stuff. That’s what the game needs IMO

[@Godric_71]

I have a theory: People played X-Defiant until the blops6 beta came out. People went back to cod before the beta in order to refresh their minds on how cod plays. Then the beta came out, and people played it. Now people are playing cod until blops6 drops.

[@XIKaMuIX]

For me i didnt play cod or (at the time) xdef. Played bo6, didnt enjoy it, started to play xdef again

[@Godric_71]

@XIKaMuIX I've only seen a very little bit of XDefiant. That was on either Exclusive Ace or another channel. It looks a whole lot like cod imo.

[@Godric_71]

@@XIKaMuIX Is Xdef on ps5?

[@XIKaMuIX]

@@Godric_71 yes it is

[@Kyle_Sentz]

I played since launch and I'm almost lv200. What killed it for me was the changes to weapon level progression. At lv50 you got bronze, 75 you got silver and at 100 you got gold. It was fine. The issue was the weapon xp gain rate was way too slow. Instead of just fixing that, they added 300 more levels to each gun slowing the game progression down even further. They could have kept gold at lv100 and released the new mastery camos at levels 150, 200 and 250 respectively but just increased the xp rate gain. Their reasoning was they didn't want people to max out guns and get bored. Well now having to level each gun to lv400 sure is doing that now. Another issue is lack of a hardcore or lower health gamemodes. I still feel the TTK is too slow in some cases. My last issue is weapon balance is off to me. I don't like or use most AR's in the game because they don't feel good to me personally. Most of them have weird side to side recoil and being on Xbox Series X with a controller, you know because you've stated it on your older cod weapon breakdown videos that side to side can be difficult to control on controller. And weirdly some of them have downward recoil from the point of aim and it's like I'm doing gymnastics with my sticks trying to mitigate recoil. For that reason I only snipe and use LMG's because they actually feel good. With Cod dropping in a month, I don't see me re-downloading the game anytime soon. Maybe if hardcore comes and they do a major and I mean major rebalance of the guns, then maybe in the future but for the first few months of BO6. Don't count on it

[@ShlumpGaming]

It is important to note that the matchmaking is bugged at the moment. When the game first came out, the matchmaking was super quick, then when the Season 1 update released, the matchmaking was instantly much slower. Also they still need to fix disbanding lobbies.

[@rosco3]

Lol the copium, the matchmaking isn't bugged, it just doesn't have enough players to find matches super quick

[@ShlumpGaming]

@@rosco3 So what explains the perfectly quick matchmaking when the game launched, then as soon as the Season 1 update releases it becomes slow? And it finds one person at a time often. Explain to me how that happens.

[@theshankpain2228]

@@ShlumpGaminghe explained it already. Low player count. No one wanted a blacks ops 4 rip off, therefore the players jumped ship quickly. It’s unfortunate but it’s the truth.

[@marcelina6741]

@@ShlumpGaming the loss of players playing

[@ShlumpGaming]

@@theshankpain2228 The game had the players, then in one hour when the update was applied they all left???