XDefiant is officially the new kid on the block now that it’s fully released, and while not perfect, it’s certainly doing its best to go in all guns blazing against CoD.
Call of Duty is the standard bearer when it comes to the most popular first-person shooters, and I think even the most dedicated Counter-Strike fans would be hard-pressed to disagree. After starting out as a largely single-player-focused title competing with Medal of Honor‘s stories, it’s now the ultimate multiplayer juggernaut—and XDefiant isn’t having it.
The latest effort to thwart CoD‘s dominance, Ubisoft’s XDefiant has plenty of time to catch up, but I can already tell you several ways it’s a better proposition than modern-day day Call of Duty.
Is XDefiant better than CoD?
In its current state, I don’t think XDefiant is better than Call of Duty; however, there are a few key areas where the new multiplayer FPS is outperforming its rival.
No SBMM
The people have been asking for years—and XDefiant has finally listened to those cries. Call of Duty fans have wanted a lack of skill-based matchmaking to allow lobbies to take a more natural feel with players of all skill levels coming together for matches of pure anarchy.
This is now possible, as there is no SBMM in XDefiant—outside of Ranked. You may have an elite-level player having to carry a full team of underlings or get a team of beasts mercilessly squashing those not fit to shine their boots. This is the beauty of no SBMM, and it’s a sign Ubisoft is listening to the first-person shooter community’s pleas.
Free to play
Yes, Warzone is free to play, but for a fully-fledged FPS multiplayer experience with shorter matches and gunfights galore, XDefiant ticks the bargain box.
Battle Passes and paid Weapon Boosters would always be part of the package, but they are optional. If you want to feast on fast and furious FPS fighting but don’t want to give into the Activision machine, XDefiant fills the void.
Fewer attachments
Call of Duty‘s fixation on attachments is well-documented by this point. It takes a week to cycle through Modern Warfare 3‘s exhaustive selection of underbarrel parts. Me personally? I sorely yearn for the older days when you only had to worry about which dot sight you wanted, meaning I could concentrate on allowing myself (and my gun) to do the rest of the work.
While not quite as minimal in its simplicity, XDefiant offers far fewer attachments to worry for each gun, and unlocking them is quite easy to understand.
Install size
XDefiant‘s download size is 31 GB, whereas MW3‘s file size requires 149 GB.
I don’t think much more needs to be said. This comparison alone shows you how poorly optimized Call of Duty is and it’s a big drain on storage. When you factor in space needed for Warzone too, the generous XDefiant file size is a big positive on all of our hard drives.
Mastery Camo grind is reasonable
I have never completed any Call of Duty‘s Mastery Camo grind, and to be honest, I think I’ve attempted it twice in about 10-15 years. Why? It’s too long, completing challenges compromises my playstyle, and it definitely stops people from playing objectives—myself included.
On the other hand, XDefiant asks you to stick with one weapon and level it up, with ways to level guns up faster, and it makes XDefiant‘s Mastery Camo grind easier to digest.
