Ubisoft finally nerfed the XDefiant sniper, but players are demanding more changes

In the early days of XDefiant, its preseason meta was defined by two key elements: jump-spamming and sniper rifles. Predictably, Ubisoft acted quickly and provided a patch that addressed both overpowered mechanics. But even though the former is no longer much of an issue in matches, the latter continues to wreak havoc no matter what game mode you jump into. As a result, players are calling on the developers to nerf the one-shot weapon even more since you rarely stand a chance with it in straight-up gunfights.

Over on Reddit, u/iamRaz, a self-professed sniper abuser, admitted that the high-powered rifle still needs a nerf. As evidence, they attached a clip of themselves dominating an Escort match using nothing but the M44 (and a well-placed Mag Barrier to play around with). Even though they faced multiple enemies by themselves throughout the short video, every opposing player that popped up on their screen barely posed a threat—each one was demolished with the press of a button.

Now, it is worth noting that the XDefiant patch that nerfed the sniper rifle only added a bit of flinch to players when tagged by enemy fire. So, to stand a chance against these weapons and their users, you’ll need to get the jump on them by firing first. Unfortunately, most players continue to find this problematic since long-range duels are still highly advantageous for snipers. Plus, quick-scoping at close range practically negates the flinch effect.

With hit-reg problems continuing to plague matches and a new mode on the way, though, another sniper nerf might not be high on the devs’ list of things to do. That said, the XDefiant team has been highly transparent and communicative since launch, so they will likely provide more details about their plans for the game’s future, whether that includes a second consecutive nerf to the sniper or not.