The new XDefiant patch, Y1S0.3, finally addresses the issues with snipers and jump/crouch-spamming that plague the game.
The June 12 patch is minor overall, mostly making small tweaks in the lead-up to the release of season one on July 2. But the tweaks to some of the most annoying movement features in XDefiant will have a huge effect on the meta.
The sniper fix reads: “Revamped how snipers flinch when they’re tagged by enemy fire, increasing the flinch and keeping it going through multiple hits.” Up until now, sniper flinch under fire was minor, allowing sniper-wielding players to get those one-shot kills with ease before an SMG or assault rifle could do the job. It made the M44 and Tac-50 both menacing challenges to deal with. This patch should allow players who prefer to use SMGs, LMGs, and assault rifles to contest the sniper players more easily at medium and close range.
The jump/crouch-spamming fix reads: “Added aiming penalties for players who go to town on the jump/crouch buttons, aka the nuanced tactic of jump spamming, aka the maddening exploit of jump spamming. Opinions vary.”
This kind of movement spamming was the most frustrating and controversial aspect of XDefiant before this patch. This fix doesn’t make it impossible to hop around and kill players, but it does punish you by reducing accuracy if you choose to do it.
The rest of XDefiant Patch Y1S0.3 is mostly bug fixes and other tweaks, like reducing walking speed when holding your breath during a sniper ADS.
