CoD’s most popular game mode is coming to XDefiant—but fans aren’t convinced

It might be a disaster.

Two operators square off in XDefiant.
Image via Ubisoft

XDefiant takes a lot of things from Call of Duty and puts its own spin on it, including the game modes. One more CoD mode is coming to the game, but fans believe the XDefiant version might not work out so well.

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The executive producer of XDefiant, Mark Rubin, wrote in response to fans on June 5 that the Search and Destroy mode from Call of Duty is coming to the game. While many fans are excited about the upcoming mode, others are wary it might end up “horrible” and “unbalanced” due to in-game abilities.

Echelon faction in XDefiant.
A reminder that Echelon doesn’t appear on the minimap regardless of your actions. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Search and Destroy is a popular round-based bomb mode in Call of Duty, but unlike XDefiant, CoD doesn’t put too much emphasis on abilities. In XDefiant, there are multiple factions, each with unique abilities, and quite a few are much stronger than others.

“They need to disable abilities for like the first minute of the game or something in SnD, or rushing would just land you with a spider on your face, or the whole team pre-aiming you because of an intel suit,” one player wrote on Reddit. And we’re not even talking about strong Ultras like the Sonar Goggles or passive abilities, like the increased health for Phantoms and Incendiary Rounds for Cleaners.

Players agreed there should be some form of balancing when it comes to abilities in the Search and Destroy mode. Whether it’s disabling abilities for the first minute, starting with cold abilities, or limiting their usage in this specific mode.

The details regarding the Search and Destroy mode, including its release date, are currently unknown. A capture-the-flag mode is reportedly coming to XDefiant with season one, and if that ends up being true, we might only see Search and Destroy arrive later in the season.

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Image of Edward Strazd
Edward Strazd
Freelance News and SEO Writer for Dot Esports, covering everything from live service games like Destiny 2 and Fortnite to new releases. Writing about games since 2021. When he's not writing, he's probably grinding for loot in Destiny 2.