Wildlight has released its last ever patch for Highguard, with creative director Jason McCord acknowledging the “skeleton crew” that “crunched” to make it happen.
Yesterday, Wildlight announced it would be releasing a final update for its free-to-play hero shooter, before the game would be shut down for good. Resharing the last patch notes (more details on these below), McCord said the remaining Wildlight team members wanted to finish this update, “even if it only gets played by a few thousand people”.
“They weren’t asked to. They asked if they could finish it up and get it out there,” McCord wrote. Now, we have more information on what exactly this patch includes, such as details on Highguard’s new skill tree, weapon and Warden.
Let’s start with the Warden, whose name is Koldo. This chap is described as a “lost soul” who was discovered on Highguard, and he “trapped” inside a suit of armour. Koldo is searching for answers to his past, and can use “the power of his soul” to protect his team mates.
Here are Koldo’s Warden details:
Passive: Guardian Angel
- Protect any friendly orbs around you from destruction.
- Automatically deploy your shield when reviving allies.
Tactical: 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 the standard, and drop it again at will.
- Being inside the dome gives allies faster health regeneration.
On the weapon front, we now have The Switchback, which is a long range double-barrel shotgun for players to wield.
“The Switchback brings unparalleled versatility, comfortably handling both close range and long range encounters. When used in hipfire, it’s a shotgun. Aiming down the sights will transition the weapon into a marksman rifle,” Highguard’s patch notes read. “The name Switchback originates from its unique double-barrel design. You’re able to rapidly shoot twice before needing a rechamber, though you also can pace your shots to keep up a continuous stream of fire.”
Apparently, many Wardens have sought to wield the Switchback in their time, but “only a few have truly learned to master it”. There are two gold versions of the Switchback, which can be found around the world. These are:
As for Highguard’s new skill tree, this has been designed for players to build out their upgrades in “four distinct playstyles”, and each branch of the tree comes with different options for players to choose from. These branches have two “tiers of power on all small nodes”.
Here is a list of what each branch focuses on, along with a few examples:
Raider – for players looking to be unstoppable during Raids, along with some buffs and abilities focused on general combat efficiency.
- Infiltration – while raiding, zipline further into the enemy base
- Juggernaut – destroying a wall provides a short duration overshield
- Spearhead – you receive a Domesplitter and a Thumper Charge when your Siege Tower rolls in
Harvester – for players who are looking to increase their Vesper gain and the power of their Warden Axe
- Heavy Swing – you swing your axe with two hands, instantly destroying Vesper Nodes
- Shatter Orb – destroy enemy soul orbs with your Throwing Axe or Regular Axe Swing
- Field Crafting – Create Armour, Equipment and Raid Tools in the battlefield
Treasure Hunter – for those players who love to loot
- Treasure Seeker – hidden chests can be found and opened at PoIs
- Archaeologist – Can sell items to Trader 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 Armour – once every 2 minutes, armour loss is prevented on death
- Vanguard – while defending your base, allies can spawn on you
You can find full details via Highguard’s Steam page. Meanwhile, when asked why Wildlight is only now adding features such as a skill tree, McCord said:
“None of this was done at launch. Especially the Skill Trees. The team crunched the last few weeks to get it done. Some stuff (Koldo, Switchback) was partially done, scheduled for future seasons. The team picked the stuff that was closest to completion and finished it up.”
Highguard’s creative director added everything being released with this last patch is “compromised to some degree”, with Koldo “missing skins, emotes, and some audio in some certain places”. However, he still believes Highguard’s new Warden is worth taking out for a spin.
“Even the Skill Trees are not as good as they could be,” McCord noted. “We tested them a week or so and then decided to send it. Typically dev time would allot for more iteration, some ideas to be cut and reworked, etc. We didn’t do that this time.”
Highguard closed out The Game Awards 2025, with a trailer introducing us all to a world of battling Wardens and their magical mounts. The game then launched in January, and quickly had a large influx of players on its release. But there were a few complaints as well, with many disappointed with areas such as map size and the 3v3 game format.
The studio sought to address these issues with a number of content updates and patches, while also making its once-limited-time 5v5 mode a permanent feature. However, this was not enough, and dwindling player numbers along with a reported lack of funding have ultimately resulted in Wildlight deciding to cut its losses, and pull the plug on Highguard.
