New free-to-play shooter Highguard hasn't even been out for a week yet, and it's already adding a new mode! As part of today's latest update, the dev team has introduced an "experimental" 5v5 Raid Mode playlist to the game.

In addition, there's a new base called "Soul Well" along with various performance optimisations for both console and PC. Very few specifics have been provided about these, but we do know that the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S version now benefits from a motion blur toggle and an anisotropic materials toggle.

Before we get into the patch notes, it should be mentioned that the 5V5 Raid Mode is only described as a "limited time" offering as things stand — we'll have to see how well it fares, and whether it ends up becoming a permanent addition.

Don't forget that we recently covered Highguard here at Pure Xbox in a "Hands On" feature before today's update went live — we'll share a link to our impressions of the game below. Here's a peek at the 5v5 mode as well:

Here are the full patch notes for today's Highguard update on Xbox and beyond:

5v5 Raid Mode - Experimental Playlist

We heard the feedback! For the weekend, we are experimenting with a 5v5 Raid Mode. This is a separate playlist and not meant to replace 3’s. 3v3 Raids are still there for people who enjoy it! The lobby has been updated to allow for parties of 5 while the mode is live. Grab 4 friends and jump into some hectic raids! A few small tweaks for this mode:

  • Raids are now 10 lives instead of 6
  • Respawns are slightly longer during raids to allow generators to be planted/defused

Dev note: As most of you know, we are working on optimizations across the game. Many are in this patch and 3v3 should see good improvements! But… adding 4 more players to the game is not going to improve performance, right? Please keep that in mind as you try 5v5!Dev note 2: Firing Range does not support 5v5 at this time, so the Play button will be grayed out if your party is over 3.

New Base - Soul Well

Soul Well is a dark relic from a lost age. The Iron Vigil has now prepared this base construct for use in the field where the dead still speak. This new base will be added to the rotation in all modes.

Optimizations

This patch contains several optimizations that touch on animation performance, projectiles, draw submission times, and other gameplay systems. These optimizations benefit console and PC, but every PC is different, so the exact speedup to overall framerate is dependent on GPU, CPU, and other factors.

Quality of Life

Enabled these visual settings on PC and consoles

  • Motion blur toggle for PC and consoles
  • Anisotropic materials toggle for consoles (PC has this already)

Will you be checking out Highguard after this? Tell us down in the comments section below.

[source x.com]