Highguard reveals patch notes for its final update

High Guardian will receive its final update at 4:00 PM PST today, March 4, as developer Wildlight Entertainment prepares the shooter for an imminent shutdown just weeks after its initial release. High GuardianThe farewell update will be available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC within hours and will bring a lot of new content for players to try out in the final days, including account progression, a skill tree, a new manager and much more.

It was a short life High Guardian. The PvP raid shooter took the coveted final spot at last year's Game Awards, surprising many as titles like Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, and Divinity were all strong contenders to end the show with a bang. Instead, host Geoff Keighley was clearly enjoying his time High Guardian so much so during an early hands-on session that he insisted his reveal be at the event. Developer Wildlight Entertainment, which is made up of industry veterans who have previously worked on similar Apex Legends and Battlefield 6originally planned to shadow drop the game at the end of January. But despite all the other exposure High Guardian failed to find the player base it had hoped for.

Highguard scratches an itch I didn't know I had

Highguard is the newest punching bag on the internet, but while it's far from perfect, it scratches an itch I didn't even know I had.

Highguard is going to release the final update today

Earlier this week, Wildlight Entertainment announced the news that the gaming community has been anticipating for the past few weeks: High Guardian is officially shutting down. The servers will remain live until March 12th, and those who have stuck around since launch will be treated to some brand new content thanks to the final farewell update. The patch will go live for all supported platforms on March 4th at 4:00 PM PST and will mark the end of support for the free-to-play title. According to the patch notes later in this article, the update adds account progression where players can level up and earn XP and skill points that can be spent on a new skill tree. There's also a new Warden, known as Koldo, and a new weapon, the Switchback Shotgun.

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Much like Concordwhich had an even shorter lifespan, the cause High Guardian's failure will be a topic of debate for some time to come. However, a former developer at Wildlight Entertainment believes the shooter was doomed due to the studio leaning too much into the competitive scene. Alex Garner, who was the lead designer for High Guardianhe said that going all-in in 3v3 for the game is likely to be its downfall. The developer noted that 3v3 modes are always the “sweatiest version” of things like Battle Royale, objective modes, and more. “I think that was the biggest thing that put a lot of players off High Guardian” said a former Wildlight developer.

Unfortunately, shutting down the game wasn't too surprising. at startup High Guardian managed to peak at nearly 100,000 concurrent players on Steam. But that number was soon dwindling, and fast. Just last week, High Guardian hit a new brutal low, dropping down to 253 concurrent players on the platform. Of course, this doesn't take into account how many people played on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, but the numbers on Steam can be some indication of how the game is doing. Although we'll never know the official console stats for the shooter, there clearly weren't enough players to keep the game alive.

It is not clear what High GuardianThe termination means for those remaining at Wildlight Entertainment, as it has not yet been confirmed if the studio intends to go back to the drawing board and develop a new title, or if the studio is closing as well. Less than a month after release High GuardianWildlight has announced layoffs at the studio. In a statement posted on its social media accounts, Wildlight said it had made the difficult decision to part ways with a number of employees. At the time, it said the core group of developers would stick around to continue support High Guardianbut it is now unknown what the future holds for those who remained in the studio.

Final Highguard Update patch notes

Account progress

Now you will level up your account just by playing the game. When you return to the lobby, you'll earn XP, level up, and earn skill points to spend on a new skill tree!

Everyone's account starts at level 0 and goes to level 100.

Your first level gained will reward you with 5 skill points. After that, you get 1 skill point per level up to level 40, so you can spend 44 points in total. This allows players to choose a maximum of two skill trees.

Skill tree

The skill tree is designed for players to improve their 4 different playstyles. Each branch has different options for players to choose from, with 2 power levels on all small nodes. Here's a list of what each branch focuses on, along with some examples.

Raider– for players who want to be unstoppable during raids, along with some buffs and abilities aimed at general combat effectiveness.
- Infiltration – when raiding the zipline further into the enemy base
- Juggernaut – Destroying a wall provides short-term protection
- Spearhead – You get Domesplitter and Thumper Charge when your siege tower comes down
Combine– for players who want to increase their Vesper gain and the power of their Warden Ax
- Heavy Swing – you swing your ax with two hands and instantly destroy Vesper Nodes
- Shatter Orb – Destroy enemy soul orbs with a throwing ax or a regular ax swing
- Field Crafting – Craft armor, gear and tools for raids on the battlefield
Treasure hunter
– for players who love loot
- Treasure Seeker – hidden chests can be found and opened at points of interest
- Archaeologist – Can sell items to Merchant Flynn
- Artifact Mastery – Amulets have a bonus magical property when equipped
Protector– for players who enjoy defending and keeping the team together
- Resonant walls – reinforced walls are more durable
- Unbreakable Armor – once every 2 minutes armor loss is prevented on death
- Vanguard – Allies can spawn at you while defending your base

You can easily unequip the ability and reset all your points for free by clicking the button at the bottom.

We tuned the XP gain to be very fast, so players can quickly earn points and enjoy the full spectrum of this feature.

New administrator – Koldo

An old soul committed to protecting the lost continent of Highguard

Koldo was discovered on Highguard. A lost soul long before the continent disappeared, trapped in armor, she searches for answers to her past. Koldo uses the power of his soul to protect his allies.

Passive: Guardian Angel

Protect all friendly orbs around you from being destroyed.

Automatically deploy your shield when reviving allies.

Tactic: Soul Shield

Deploy a shield for you and your allies.

Ultimate: Battle Cry

Koldo raises a standard that creates a protective dome. He can pick up and carry a standard and drop it again at will.

Being inside the dome gives allies faster health regeneration.

New weapon – The Switchback

Long range double barrel shotgun

The Switchback delivers unmatched versatility, comfortably handling close and long range encounters. When used in hipfire, it is a shotgun. Aiming at the sights turns the weapon into a sniper rifle.

The name “Switchback” comes from its unique double barrel design. You can quickly fire twice before needing a magazine, though you can also shoot to keep up a continuous stream of fire.

In the field, many Wardens struggled to control the Switchback. Few have actually learned to master it.

Gold version

Switchback has 2 gold versions that can be found in loot chests or Trader Flynn.