XDefiant Fans Propose a Shooter Lifecycle and How to Extend It

Whether you are aware of it, or not, most things around us function in some sort of a cycle. If you carefully examine a pattern, you’ll probably notice certain points being repeated. Fans were shocked when one XDefiant player came up with the idea of a shooter lifecycle after studying the patterns.

Most Games Have Lifecycles

PnutWarrior explained the shooter lifecycle and what the developers could do to extend it. They deduced that every shooter passed through eight well-defined points before meeting its demise. This fan said: “No matter the FPS, this is the cycle every single game. From CoD to Rogue Company, Battlefield to SplitGate has gone through this. It’s so reliable it’s basically the water cycle at this point”.

1. The game gets released; novelty brings a bunch of players.
2. Decent players figure out the meta, struggling players stop getting lucky and start complaining about mechanics.
3. Decent players refine the meta, struggling players start leaving, good performing casual players are now at the bottom.
4. Upper casual players can’t keep up with meta-changes.
5. Decent players start railing against the mechanics, which often only allow for 1 or 2 kills per life making them unusable for anyone interested in topping the scoreboard.
6. Cheap mechanics get nerfed; upper casuals leave.
7. Mostly decent players left; sweats return to the game, everyone is unhappy and starts complaining, gradual mass exodus of everyone except diehard players.
8. New release -> the cycle starts again.

The OP added: “That being said, like anything with ‘life’, if it’s healthy and active it can sustain itself much longer than some of its counterparts. The healthiest thing a shooter can do is keep its casual audience around for as long as possible”. As you might have guessed, this opened up the floor for players’ suggestions on how to prolong the life expectancy of XDefiant.

Players Suggest What Needs to Improve in XDefiant

Players rushed to share their pet peeves. Some of them are well known by now, like bunny-hopping and OP sniper, but some we’ve never heard about until now. One-Family shared: “I’m okay with sucking compared to the bunny hopping sweats. That’s fine. I just want THE BULLETS TO HIT WHEN IT SHOULD”. Hit reg was highly ranked on the list of demands.

Another fan, ilikeburgir, stated: “I do not see why there can’t be jumping and sliding fatigue in addition to weapon sway. Each consecutive jump or slide should be lower and shorter if done within the span of a second or two”. SimplyTiredd added: “Jump/ hop fatigue, charge up sniper damage, reticle bloom option, hit reg fix, weapon XP boost. These are the best changes the game could get right now”.

One player, Mitche420, noted: “This is the most accurate post I’ve read in a long time. You really nailed the situation. Can’t see any change ever happening personally”. Most people agreed, but some had their reservations.

AdriHawthorne said: “That would be the lifecycle of an FPS that caters hard to casuals, yes, and that’s exactly why they tend to be yearly releases that slowly decay over time. It’s a lot more fitting to compare this to Ubi’s other multiplayer titles like Rainbow 6 and For Honor. The reason those games are still alive is because the competitive core audiences stuck it out while the casuals come and go in waves”.

Both of these theories are correct in certain aspects. This isn’t exactly rocket science, but it’s a simple reminder that both the developers and the players have an impact on the life expectancy of a game. Fans should always speak up, after all, the game was made for them.