XDefiant’s ‘buggy’ snipers set to be nerfed as players reach breaking point

If your XDefiant matches are full of sniper players who love to one-shot everyone and squeeze the fun out of the game, you’re in luck because things are about to change. Ubisoft is making some heavy nerfs to the long-range weapons to offer counter-play.

In an X (formerly Twitter) post on May 29, Mark Rubin, executive producer of XDefiant said, “Right now we are adding flinch, so if you are taking hits, you can’t just turn, point, click, and delete people,” while also adding that nerfs should coming in a later patch.

Rubin said snipers are “bugged” at the moment, and the developers are looking to fix the weapons and “re-evaluate” their strengths in XDefiant.

Snipers such as TAC-50 and M44 have gained fame for being obnoxious, allowing players to miss a headshot yet secure a one-shot by hitting enemies in the body. Due to this unprecedented power, snipers have been hailed as the go-to weapon choice for players since the game’s release.

XDefiant players on Reddit flagged snipers as oppressive weapons, with one player saying, “You can… just spawn with it and start deleting people.” They also said how in other games like Halo Infinite, you need to hit the head to get a one-shot kill, while in battle royale games like PUBG and Apex Legends, you face a lot of risks to get your hands on the overpowered snipers in the late-game.

While XDefiant doesn’t have mechanics like shields or compulsory headshots to discourage sniper users from relying heavily on the weapon, getting your hands through leveled unlock is relatively easy. But if you still need to unlock the gun, it can easily shun you out of the current meta, making the whole experience feel lackluster.