Surprise! Highguard has another “heaping pile of fresh, free content” for you, including a new warden, map, a ranked mode, mount, and a variety of QoL tweaks, too.
The new free-to-play PvP raid shooter hailing from some of the creators of Respawn’s Apex Legends and Titanfall only released a couple of weeks ago, but that hasn’t stopped developer Wildlight from dropping a second “major update” in as many weeks, this time introducing Episode 2.
New warden Ekon is described as a legendary monster-slayer who shapeshifts into a powerful direwolf to track and hunt his prey. The last of a long line of ancient magic wielders known as the Wildwalkers, once thought extinct, Ekon jumps into action when his mentor, and closest thing to family, goes missing in the lost land of Highguard.
His passive ability, Dread, reveals the heartbeat of wounded enemies, and their heartbeats will continue to be visible until they are dead or regen their health. His tactical, Wolf Spirit, lets you hunt the nearest enemy and apply Dread — even across long distances and through walls and rocks — and ultimate ability Wolf Form sees him turn into a powerful direwolf that can track and hunt mounted enemies.
As for the new map Skydrift? Coming to the 3v3 and now permanent 5v5 rotation, wardens can navigate through hollowed-out caverns once home to great winged-beasts, spar off against one another in an ancient ring of stone, and ride across huge chain bridges and through “remarkable Sky Jumpers to reach Skydrifts highest point — a palace above the clouds.” The full notes are included below.
Highguard Episode 2 Patch Notes — Out February 6
A NEW WARDEN ARRIVES — EKON
A legendary monster-slayer who shapeshifts into a powerful direwolf to track and hunt his prey. Ekon is the last of a long line of ancient magic wielders known as the Wildwalkers, once thought extinct. When his mentor, and closest thing to family, goes missing in the lost land of Highguard, there is no monster or warden this great predator will allow to stand in his way.
Dread (Passive)
Reveal the heartbeat of wounded enemies. Once an enemy Warden is low health, they are highlighted in pulsing beats until they are dead, or their health regenerates.
Wolf Spirit (Tactical)
Unleash a spirit wolf to hunt the nearest enemy and apply Dread. This Wolf Spirit travels long distances, moving straight through rocks and structures to find its prey. If seen in time, it can be shot down. This ability can be cast in human form, or in Wolf form.
Fearsome Howl (Ultimate)
Apply Dread to all enemies across the map and increase your movement speed. This ability can be cast in human form, or in Wolf form.
Wolf Form
Ekon doesn’t ride an animal into battle, he becomes one — transforming into a powerful direwolf that tracks, hunts, and runs down mounted enemies. While in this form, Ekon’s speed is unmatched by other mounts. Through a full third-person point of view, the direwolf can see around cover. When moving in for an attack, weapons are laid down in favor of Ekon’s deadly bite attack, which will dash forward and bite a prey before immediately transforming back to human form to finish off the job. Attacking without a target will allow Ekon to perform a small air dash to traverse maps more athletically. In addition, while in Wolf Form, Ekon can track an enemy’s scent that they leave in their path. Ekon can use all of his other powers while in Wolf Form.
A NEW LOCATION IS DISCOVERED — SKYDRIFT
Far west of Headwall, beyond the vast, uncharted lands of Highguard where the maps go blank and expeditions go missing lies the fabled lost city of Skydrift recently awakened.
Wardens can navigate through hollowed out caverns once home to great winged-beasts, spar off against one another in an ancient ring of stone, and ride across colossal chain bridges and through remarkable Sky Jumpers to reach Skydrifts highest point – a palace above the clouds.
Skydrift is added to the map rotation in 3v3 and 5v5.
THE STAKES HAVE NEVER BEEN HIGHER — RANKED MODE
Gain Ranked Points (RP), earn point modifiers and climb the ranks to claim your rewards. Go from Bronze (Hare) to Grandmaster (Leviathan) if you’ve got what it takes! Visit the Headwall menu in game to see more information.
Ranked Structure
The format for Ranked is 3v3We believe 3v3 is the more tactical structure of the game and fits best for comp. We will monitor feedback as we get it.Each episode will have 2 Ranked Splits. Splits will change the map and base list, and introduce some balance changes.All players start Ranked for the first time in Bronze 3.Each Rank has 3 Divisions.There are 7 RanksBronze (Hare)Silver (Goat)Gold (Ape)Platinum (Dire Wolf)Diamond (Gryphon)Master (Manticore)Grandmaster (Leviathan)At the end of each Episode, you will be rewarded based on the Rank you achieved at the end of the Episode.De-Ranking: You can only de-rank inside a Division during a Split. For example, by losing matches you can de-rank from Gold 2 into Gold 3, but you cannot de-rank from Gold 3 into Silver 1.At the start of every Split, you will not de-rank at all. At the start of every Episode, you will move backwards 6 Divisions (2 full Ranks)
Fairness
Play with teammates up to 2 tiers differenceA two person party must be within +/- 1 tier of each otherA full party of 3 can mix any ranks and be able to play. You will queue into the Rank of the top Ranked player.Solo Bonus: If you’re playing without a party, you’ll earn the Solo modifier (details below). You’ll gain more points and lose less per match.Loss Protection: You accrue loss protection for playing matches all the way through. It will get automatically spent to stop you from losing RP.Early Leaver Penalty is more severe in Ranked. Leaving early counts as 2 strikes and resets your Loss Protection.
Scoring System
We think if you win big, you should score big.
Victory has 3 versions, before the modifiers are applied.
Overwhelming Victory: 25 RPThis is winning with 100% base health remainingVictory: 20 RPThis is standard victory where each team was more evenly matchedClose Victory: 15 RPThis is winning where your base had 35% base health or less remaining
For defeat:
Defeat: -25 RPIf you lost without doing damage to the enemy team.Strong Defense: -20 RPIf you lost, but had done some damage to the enemy team.Close Defeat: -15 RPIf you lost, but had done at least 65% damage to the enemy team.
Other modifiers:
Winning Streak Bonus: adds 3 RP for each win in a row, up to 6 extra points per game.Kill Bonus: Earn extra RP for kills, up to a cap of 5 points per game.Solo Bonus: Always earn an extra 4 points if queuing up solo.
Imbalance Protection
If a game is deemed imbalance by player ranks:The favored team will have less points to win and more points to loseThe weaker team will have increased points to win, and less points to lose
Requirements
In order to unlock Ranked Mode, you must Win 10 matches of 3v3 Raid Mode.This is retroactive. If you’ve already won 10 matches in Episode 1, Ranked Mode will be unlocked immediately.
Maps
The Ranked Mode playlist will have a subset of maps and bases per Split.We will change the list every split to keep the rotation interesting, but allow time to build consistent strategies.The first Split will have maps Kingdom, Summit and Rivermark, and bases Hellmouth, Smuggler’s Den, King’s Lair, Soul Well, Frosthold and Wellspring.As more bases get added to the game, we think having a total of 6 bases in Ranked allows players to master certain bases and build competitive strategies over a Split, but still need to master more than 1 base because your first pick won’t always be available.
Rewards
Episodic Reward: Ranked players will earn a brand new cosmetic item called Banner Frames.You will be awarded the Frame that matches the Rank you achieved in the Episode.Frames grow in prestige at higher Ranks!Every Episode will earn a new themed Banner Frame. This Episode’s theme is Ekon and the Wolf and will be awarded at the start of Episode 3.
A NEW BEAST HAS BEEN TAMED — WOLF MOUNT
WOLF
Loyal pack hunter of the wild. The new wolf mount is free to all players.
Try Ranked Challenge: Play 10 matches of Ranked to earn the Shadow Wolf skin.
GEAR UP PHASE UPDATES
One consistent point of feedback we’ve heard is that the Gear Phase needs improvements.
We’re tackling that in 4 ways for the launch of Episode 2, and we’ll continue to work on that phase in the future.
Better POI Loot
Red Weapon Chests in POIs now contain Masterwork weapons.Masterwork weapons have improved stats within their rarity. Blue Masterworks are better than Blues, but still less quality than Purple. Players can still loot upgraded weapons outside of POIs, but the Masterwork versions of weapons each round are only found in POIs.
Ultimate Chargers
These items are found in white barrels in POIs, but we’ve seen that players are having a hard time identifying that. In order to make that clear, white barrels that contain Ultimate Chargers now have an obvious gold glow.
Waypoint Markers
When you leave your base in the gear phase, waypoint icons will guide players towards the Points of Interest. They’re also pingable so players can communicate intent without voice comms.
The map will also communicate that POIs contain Masterwork Weapons and Ultimate Chargers.
Speed Gates
Speed Gates are always on when a player is near them, instead of only when a Shieldbreaker is present. This should allow players to get back to fights after respawning,
QUALITY OF LIFE & NEW FEATURES
As we continue to improve the game through feedback, bug fixing and small features, we will document them here. When necessary, we’ll use “dev notes” to give context on why we made a specific change.
Stats 1.0
Players want stats! For Episode 2 we have added a Stats menu to Headwall.
The stats tracked here are mostly retroactive from Episode 1.
Raid Attack and Defense success stats are new for Episode 2, as we are just now starting to track these stats.
We will continue to expand this feature in future episodes.
New Orange Weapon Mods:
We will continue to mix up orange weapon mods. For Episode 2, we are adding variety and not removing anything.
Saber Rifle – Impact RoundsIncreased critical damage (headshots) with a slower rate of fire. Fires a two shot burst instead of three. Faster projectile speed.Vanguard – Drum MagazineMuch larger magazine, with a slower reload.Corsair – DoubleshotFire a 12 round burst on each trigger pull
Technical Updates
From the last patch, performance optimizations were applied to player replication, movement netcode, and siege tower rendering.Users can now enable NVIDIA Reflex on supported systems.Several optimizations were added to reduce bandwidth utilization.
Gameplay Updates:
The Defensive Phase at the start of the game has been reduced to 30 seconds from 60.Anchor Stones fuse timers have been increased to 80 seconds from 60.Dev note: The goal here is to make Anchor Stones a bit harder to win onWe’ve added your Kills and Assists to the HUD above the minimap.Many zipline usability improvements, including smoother attaching and riding, and making it harder to accidentally attachPlayers can now have a maximum of 4 ziplines. When casting the 5th, their first one will automatically destroyImprovements to mantle feelYou will be prompted to drop the BigRig when it gets to low or zero ammoUpon being revived, you now get a hint to tap the emote button to say “Thank You”. As a byproduct your character will no longer automatically say thank you.Pinged orange weapons will now show the perk when you hover on themYou can now ping ziplinesYou can now ping Mara darkspawn when it’s highlighted through walls (at the end of a raid)You can now ping Kai’s ice wallPinging a Shieldbreaker or Domesplitter plant point now has more specific ping VO based on the scenario.The end game podium will now highlight people who had the highest stats on their teamSmugglers Den minimap has been updated to be more accurateAdjusted the final Shieldbreaker plant animation to take exactly as long as a normal oneThe Trader menu will darken and update if his stock changes while you have the menu openDev note: This is to reduce accidentally purchasing something right as the stock is upgrading.Dead players no longer show up on the minimapDev note: This seemed confusing and redundant with being able to see a player’s orb through walls.Adjusted Mara’s Soul Armor power description to include that it also works on enemy players (so be careful where you throw it)Added key bindings on PC for Map Screen, Character Info and LoadoutAFK timer in a match has been reduced from 5 minutes to 4Firing Range targets have been replaced with new versions that stay open so you can test sustained fireFiring Range can now accommodate parties of up to 5 players
Lobby/Menu Updates:
Added an option to leave the party by clicking on party member’s social cardYou now get a message confirming that you sent a Friend RequestSlider bars in the settings menu can now be adjusted by typing in numbersChanging your controller profile will now highlight what buttons are changingYou can now unblock players in your Social tab
Weapon Updates:
Vanguard
Slightly slowing rate of fire and raising damage. TTK is nearly equivalent. This just reduces the number of bullets required to killIncreased headshot multiplier
Longhorn
Repeater – Less vertical kick, faster raise time, faster sprint raise time, less spread (hipfire), slower spread bloom (hipfire)
Viper – Impact Rounds
Smaller mag sizeMore kick
Item Updates:
Amulet: Bomb KitBomb plant time nerfed (2.5s -> 3s). Defuse time is still 2.5s.Amulet: Harvester no longer drops bonus Ultimate Chargers from White Supply Barrels.Slightly lowered the top speed of orange Saddles.
Character Updates:
Slade
Fixed a bug where the impact damage from his Ultimate was not dealing damage on uneven terrain.Adding friend/foe identification to Slade’s VFXs. Enemy fire will now take on a darker red appearance.
Redmane
Redmane can now break floors he’s standing on with his tacticalRedmane’s tactical now hits players more reliably.Leaping into solid geo with Redmane will drop him to the ground faster, instead of bouncing off and floating down.
Mara
Mara will now dismount automatically when casting Immortal Coil while mounted, instead of getting an error message.
Una
Improved Una minion target acquisition speed (they should shoot at players faster)Fixed Una minions having larger hitboxes than intended.
Atticus
Adjusted Atticus’s Ultimate audio to not be occluded by geo. This means you can hear him better in his active Ultimate state even if he’s in another room.
Quest:
The Quest is designed to be a set of difficult challenges to complete over the course of an Episode for some free rewards and bragging rights. Because Episode 1 was only 2 weeks long, we decided to keep the Episode 1 Quest active through Episode 2. We’ll be back in Episode 3 with more challenges and more rewards.
Bug Fixes:
Fixed a bug where characters with movement speed bonuses could double-dip on slide boostsFixed instances where you would sometimes get bumped off the zipline when respawningFixed some issues where the Play button would be unresponsiveFixed an issue where loot in chests would show highlights for different raritiesFixed a bug where the Care Package was dropping too low of level loot in the 3rd gear up phase and beyond.Fixed an issue where Emote anti-peek wasn’t hiding enemy mountsFixed an issue where you could respawn with your initial loadout when dying to environmental hazards like lavaFixed collision issues on DustlineFixed multiple ways to break Training by leaping and climbing over wallsFixed some incorrect key bindings in the UIImproved the reliability of voice chat iconsFixed an issue where the Shieldbreaker would sometimes drop in inaccessible places if you tried to enter your own baseRemoved the ability to drop the Shieldbreaker on top of the enemy dome (how cheeky)Fixed rare cases where “Position Revealed” would stay on your screen long after a raid was overFixed an issue where pressing Esc to leave the Social menu would cancel matchmakingFixed an issue where Slade’s arms would not reset after losing his Hot StreakFixed ability to repair large gates in basesFixed Condor running in place when she uses her Ultimate Power while runningReduced the amount of screen the Longhorn Repeater covers while jumping and firingFixed some invisible collision blocking bullets above banners on Wellspring baseFixed some cases of your player having a third armMulti-Lock Rocket Launcher will no longer target treesFixed mounts not playing proper water audio and fx when running through itFixed ability for players to ping when riding a ziplineRemoved the ability to place Mara’s Immortal Coil on open doorsFixed the zipline gun colliding with air in some areas of SummitFixed Blast Hammers from doing splash damage behind you when usedPlayers are no longer detected by Condor’s tactical when standing still on their mountFixed Una summoning a Tree Walker in mid air by riding a ziplineFixed some locations in Wellspring base where you would get kicked off your mountFixed an issue where you would hit yourself with a rocket if fired while running full speed on a mountImproved game performance when mounting or dismountingImproved some translations for different languages, both in text and VOAdded localized translations for different languages in the Advanced Training videoFixed the Crossplay setting not saving when changed to off on consolesFixed rare cases where your controls would be unresponsive after using a mount emoteFixed a bug that would cause ambient audio to drop outFixed a bug where mouse and controller sensitivity settings weren’t being applied correctly while transitioning between hipfire and ADSResolved a bug where DLSS presets did not immediately appear or disappear in the Settings menu after modifying the antialiasing mode.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
