There’s no denying it: Call of Duty is the king when it comes to arcade multiplayer shooters. But even a king can learn a thing or two, right? That’s what I feel after playing Ubisoft’s recently released free-to-play arcade shooter, XDefiant.

While XDefiant just got released about a week ago, a lot of the game’s elements feel a bit familiar; from its gunplay (netcode and hit registration not withstanding), weapon attachments layout and more. It’s not that surprising given the game’s Executive Producer, Mark Rubin, worked at Infinity Ward and the Call of Duty franchise for nearly 10 years. Not only that, but one of XDefiant’s gameplay designers is Patrick “ACHES” Price, who is a former Call of Duty pro turned developer. Do note that we are not saying XDefiant is better than Call of Duty, but that, Ubisoft’s latest shooter does a lot of right things that Activision should probably do as well.

What Call of Duty Should Learn From XDefiant:

1) Developer Comms

While Infinity Ward and even Treyarch were vocal in asking for feedback and reassuring gamers they are listening, that all changed once the game was actually released. Sure, Sledgehammer Games is a bit better at this with Modern Warfare 3, but XDefiant’s devs have taken it up a notch or two.

Over on Twitter, Rubin and even Price, have interacted with players and if possible, answer questions and concerns even if a lot of people are rude (what’s new?). From upcoming updates, changes, and even tech issues, the devs try and interact with the community as much as they can, and it’s commendable.

Let’s hope they don’t stop this anytime soon.

2) No SBMM

Ah, the dreaded Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM) online mechanic to make sure players win and lose the same rate for most of their gaming time. XDefiant has no SBMM, and it shows. There are matches where you will stomp on enemies, and that doesn’t mean that the next few games will have you going up against what feels like a pro team. You can have another pubstomping match, but it can also go the other way. In short: there is no matchmaking algorithm that artificially controls who gets matched with whom in order to main that 1:1 “fairness.”

3) Weapon Balance

While it’s still early days, it’s pretty evident by now that there is no one meta gun in the game. Sure, some might say it;’s the ACR, but even that is not a clear-cut winner. Just jump into a match, you will see some people use the AK-47, the MP7 SMG, sniper rifles and the like.

Even in terms of gadgets, the grenades are all viable picks with not one item being the best in the category.

While there are some changes that need to be done to faction abilities, it’s definitely more balanced than previously thought, and most are the best choice depending on the game mode. Think of it this way: almost every faction ability is deemed OP (overpowered) by players, which means they are not OP at all. Again, this doesn’t mean that there’s no balancing changes needed, but for the most part, the faction abilities are varied enough that not one ability is deemed as the best one of the lot.

4) No Camping Meta (No Doors, Not Being Able to Mount Weapons)

While there is nothing wrong with camping (it is a kind of playstyle like it or not), it really doesn’t have a place in XDefiant’s objective-based modes. Thankfully, there are no doors that aide that unlike the last few Call of Duty games.

Not only that, but there is no way to mount weapons, which give players almost zero recoil at the cost of not being able to move.

Sure, there might be people still camping, but as a whole it hasn’t been an issue so far in the game, and I doubt anyone is missing it.

5) Keeping Out the Bloat

While XDefiant has its fair share of issues when it comes to starting matches and wrapping them up (a tad too long there, Ubisoft!), it’s an easy navigation from booting the game to entering the match. While the game features a Battle Pass, it doesn’t get in the way of navigating the menus unlike Call of Duty where it constantly reminds you that you can get items so and so if you have the Battle Pass.

Not only that, but in terms of modes, there’s a handful available in the game that should be familiar for any gamer familiar with multiplayer shooters. XDefiant benefits a lot from very straightforward menus and modes and a pretty classic return-to-form for keeping the competitive shooter fairly bloat free. You can easily access loadouts, the faction menus and more fairly fast, and booting the game and then going to matchmaking is a fairly fast process, which we can’t say for Call of Duty anymore since you have to navigate the Battle Pass menu, Warzone and other stuff Activision shoves into our faces.

There you have it! Do you agree with our list? Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts.

More XDefiant Reading:

• XDefiant Cheater Gets “Warnings” From Ubisoft but Still Doesn’t Get Banned After More Than 50 Games
• XDefiant Ping System in the Works, Reticle Customization and Footstep Audio Adjustments Incoming
• XDefiant Weapon XP and Battle Pass XP Gains to Be Evaluated; “Everything” Will Be Looked at in Terms of Faction Abilities Balancing