Highguard’s First Patch Promises 90% Fewer Crashes and Enhanced Stability Amid Performance Issues

Highguard’s first major update has landed, focusing primarily on performance enhancements, which is a smart move given the game’s rocky launch earlier this week.

After a confusing debut trailer at The Game Awards 2025 that failed to set Highguard apart from the sea of struggling live-service shooters, Wildlight’s hero shooter hit the market to disappointing reviews and low player engagement. While players have voiced a variety of concerns, a common thread among even those who enjoy the game is its performance issues. Wildlight has responded to this feedback with the release of the game’s first patch, which is heavily centered on improving performance.

According to the patch notes for Highguard version 1.0.4, players can now access a range of new graphics and video settings designed to enhance performance control. Features like Anisotropic Materials, Chromatic Aberration, and Bloom can now be toggled on or off to optimize gameplay. Additionally, new DLSS presets have been introduced, and players can choose to disable Global Illumination entirely. Wildlight is also working on a way to safely disable Motion Blur and Depth of Field, though this feature is still undergoing testing.

On the bug-fixing front, Wildlight has addressed several issues, including one that limited laptop users to 60 FPS regardless of their settings, and another that hindered friends from seeing each other online. The studio claims that major crash fixes have reduced crashes by 90%, leading to a more stable experience overall.

While my experience is purely anecdotal, I was intrigued enough by the buzz surrounding the game to dive in myself. I decided to test Highguard on my aging RX 580 desktop rather than my more powerful laptop, and I was pleasantly surprised by its smooth performance, even with some settings cranked up. As for the gameplay itself, I’ll need more time to determine if Highguard truly deserves its “mostly negative” Steam rating, but after today’s patch, I’m left with the impression that it’s actually quite well-optimized.

I really enjoy Highguard’s 2Fort-style sieges—when they actually occur.