XDefiant Season 1 is now live and although the accompanying update and supposedly nerfed the frustrating Spiderbot ability, many are now labeling the game “unplayable” as things have only got worse.
While a range of new content topped the bill for XDefiant Season 1, a rather hefty patch complemented the update. Throughout the July 2 patch notes, Ubisoft detailed multiple nerfs to the controversial Spiderbot ability.
One on hand, its cooldown was nearly doubled, while on the other, the pesky piece of equipment no longer targets a player that’s just been hugged by another Spiderbot.
However, not mentioned in the patch notes is the fact Spiderbots can no longer be manually shot off your face. Previously, looking down and firing your weapon would damage the robot, removing it as quickly as possible. With that counter no longer possible, many are bashing the game’s Season 1 update, claiming XDefiant is now “unplayable” due to the DeadSec faction ability.
When the Spiderbot ability is deployed, you have three main ways of dealing with it. First is to simply shoot it on the ground, if you’re fast to react. Second is to hack the ability, if you’re also playing as a DeadSec character with the Hijack ability. Last is to time a perfect melee strike, swatting the bug out of the sky as it leaps towards you.
Should you fail those three options, the Spiderbot latches onto your face, covering your screen, and leaving you defenseless for a few seconds. As you can imagine, it’s had the community riled up since the Pre-Season kicked off, and now, the situation is at its boiling point.
“Spiderbot needs a hotfix ASAP,” one player on Reddit demanded. “It’s actually unplayable. You literally can’t counter it anymore. The game is unplayable like this when everyone chooses Spiderbot.”
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“Literally broke the game,” another player agreed. “I’m staring at the bottom side of a spider more than I am shooting at anyone.”
Another thread on the game’s subreddit echoed the sentiment, denouncing the recent surge in DeadSec players following the Season 1 update, all looking to abuse the Spiderbot ability while it’s this powerful.
“It’s such an insanely unskilled passive that leads to a guaranteed kill nearly every time,” they complained. “The rework doesn’t actually matter when there are three Spiderbots on the map.”
Making matters worse is the fact XDefiant doesn’t have any limitations on characters. In theory, you could have a full team of DeadSec characters all running the Spiderbot ability. The constant spam and lack of counters are leaving the XDefiant community more than frustrated.
Developers are yet to address the spike in complaints, though with many calling for an immediate hotfix, it might not be long until we hear more. We’ll be sure to keep you updated here with all the latest.