Highguard Continues to Evolve with Its Second Major Update in Just Two Weeks

Despite a rocky start, the team at Wildlight Entertainment is committed to enhancing Highguard. They recently announced a new patch, the second major update since the game’s launch two weeks ago, set to go live tomorrow.

Dubbed the Episode 2 update, this patch introduces a permanent ranked mode and a new playable character, Ekon. Ekon is described as a “legendary monster-slayer” who can shapeshift into a powerful direwolf, allowing him to track and hunt his enemies. He possesses the unique ability to see the heartbeats of injured foes through walls and other obstacles. Instead of riding mounts, Ekon transforms into a direwolf, making him a formidable presence on the battlefield.

Here’s a breakdown of Ekon’s abilities:

– **Heartbeat Reveal**: Ekon can detect the heartbeats of wounded enemies. When an enemy Warden’s health drops low, they are highlighted with pulsing beats until they are either eliminated or recover.

– **Spirit Wolf**: Ekon can summon a spirit wolf to hunt down the nearest enemy and inflict Dread. This spirit can traverse through obstacles to reach its target, and if spotted in time, it can be shot down. This ability can be activated in either human or wolf form.

– **Map-wide Dread**: Ekon can apply Dread to all enemies on the map while boosting his own movement speed. This ability is also usable in both forms.

Ekon’s combat style is unique; he doesn’t just ride into battle—he becomes a direwolf, allowing him to track and hunt down mounted foes. In this form, his speed surpasses that of other mounts, and he can see around cover from a third-person perspective. When attacking, he uses a powerful bite instead of weapons, dashing forward to strike before reverting to human form to finish the job. If he attacks without a target, he can perform a small air dash for more agile movement. Additionally, while in wolf form, Ekon can track the scent left by enemies.

Alongside Ekon and the new ranked mode, which currently supports 3v3 matches despite the popularity of the new 5v5 mode, Episode 2 also introduces a new raid map called Skydrift. The update brings changes to the “gear up” phase, enhancing loot quality and adding waypoint icons to help new players find upgraded weapons, armor, and Amulets. These icons will also be visible on the in-game map, providing a clear view of nearby loot locations.

Wildlight is clearly dedicated to responding to player feedback and improving Highguard. The latest patch includes various quality-of-life enhancements, bug fixes, and a new feature that displays kills and assists on the player’s HUD above the minimap.

The Episode 2 update for Highguard is set to launch on Friday, February 6, though the exact time has yet to be announced.

Here are the full Episode 2 patch notes:

One consistent piece of feedback we’ve received is that the Gear Phase needs improvements.

We’re addressing this in four ways for the launch of Episode 2, with plans to continue refining this phase in the future.

– Red Weapon Chests in Points of Interest (POIs) will now contain Masterwork weapons.

– Masterwork weapons feature enhanced stats within their rarity. Blue Masterworks outperform standard Blues but are still not as strong as Purples. Players can still find upgraded weapons outside of POIs, but Masterwork versions will only be available in POIs.

– To help players identify items, white barrels containing Ultimate Chargers will now have a noticeable gold glow.

– Waypoint icons will guide players toward POIs when they leave their base during the gear phase. These icons are also pingable, allowing for communication without voice chat.

– The map will indicate that POIs contain Masterwork Weapons and Ultimate Chargers.

– Speed Gates will remain active when players are nearby, rather than only when a Shieldbreaker is present, facilitating quicker returns to fights after respawning.

As we continue to enhance the game through player feedback, bug fixes, and minor features, we will document these changes. When necessary, we’ll provide “dev notes” to explain specific adjustments.

Players have expressed a desire for stats! For Episode 2, we’ve added a Stats menu to Headwall.

The stats tracked here will mostly reflect data from Episode 1.

New for Episode 2 are Raid Attack and Defense success stats, as we begin tracking these metrics.

We plan to keep refreshing orange weapon mods. For Episode 2, we’re introducing variety without removing any existing mods.

The Quest is designed as a series of challenging tasks to complete throughout an Episode for rewards and bragging rights. Since Episode 1 was only two weeks long, we’ve decided to keep the Episode 1 Quest active through Episode 2. Expect more challenges and rewards in Episode 3.