Highguard Releasing Big New Update for February 2026

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Wildlight Entertainment has released Episode 2 for its online shooter, Highguard, bringing a new character (the Warden), a new map, a Ranked mode, and other additions to the game. Following a quiet reveal at The 2025 Game Awards, the developers at Wildlight went silent for about a month, leaving fans wondering what the game would actually be like before its January 26th release. It appears their strategy, similar to how they launched Apex Legends, was to surprise players with a sudden release, given the team’s experience from Respawn Entertainment.

The game launched with a special preview of its Highguard gameplay, immediately opening up its 3v3 raid shooter to players. Initially, the game saw a surge in players, likely driven by curiosity. However, within a week, both the player base and viewership on platforms like Twitch dropped significantly. Despite this, Wildlight Entertainment is committed to improving the game, actively responding to player feedback with updates and consistently adding new content.

Wildlight Entertainment launched a new 5v5 version of its Raid Mode in early February, and players are responding well. This was just the beginning for Highguard, as Wildlight is now delivering on its big plans for after the initial release. Episode 2 arrives on February 6, 2026, and includes a wealth of new content like the first new Warden character, a brand-new map, a Ranked play mode, and other exciting additions.

Highguard Adds Monster Slayer Warden

The upcoming Episode 2 of Highguard, scheduled for 2026, introduces a new playable character named Ekon. Developed by Wildlight, Ekon is a renowned monster hunter with the unique ability to transform into a dire wolf. This wolf form replaces the need for a mount, boosting his speed and allowing players to attack or use a third-person view for better situational awareness. Ekon’s passive ability, called Dread, visually marks injured enemies with a pulsing effect until they are healed or defeated. His tactical ability, Wolf Spirit, summons a spirit wolf to target the nearest enemy, applying the Dread effect – though enemies can destroy the spirit wolf if they react quickly. Finally, his ultimate ability, Fearsome Howl, applies Dread to all opponents and increases Ekon’s movement speed.

Image via Wildlight Entertainment

Along with Ekon, Highguard is now including the Skydrift map in its 3v3 and 5v5 game modes. The map is located west of Headwall and features unique areas like carved-out caverns, an old stone circle, and large chain bridges. Players can also find a palace in the clouds, accessible by using special jump pads scattered throughout the map.

Plus, two new mounts are being added: the Dire Wolf and a special version called the Shadow Wolf. You can unlock the Shadow Wolf simply by playing 10 Ranked matches, regardless of whether you win or lose.

Ranked Mode Arrives in Episode 2

Episode 2 introduces the new Ranked Mode, which lets players compete in 3v3 raids to earn Ranked Points and climb through 7 different ranks. Each rank has 3 divisions, starting from Bronze 3 for all players. At the end of each Episode, you’ll receive rewards like Banner Frames based on your highest rank. To keep things fair, the game includes bonuses for solo players, protection against losing points due to teammates, and penalties for leaving matches early.

Image via Wildlight Entertainment

Episode 2 Changes

Episode 2 includes a large update addressing many issues and bugs, but also significantly changes how the game plays, based on feedback from players. A major point of criticism was the ‘Gear Up’ phase in Raid Mode, where players quickly search for equipment. To improve this, Wildlight is increasing the quality of loot found at locations on the map. Red Weapon chests will now contain Masterwork weapons with better stats than usual, Ultimate chargers will be easier to find at these locations, and new Waypoint markers have been added to help navigate. Speed gates will also remain active whenever a player is nearby.

Players can now view their in-game stats from the very beginning, all the way back to Episode 1, thanks to a new Stats menu. We’ve also expanded the data available for Episode 2, adding details like Raid Attack and Defense success rates. Plus, Orange Weapon Mods are now available, making the already powerful weapons of Highguard even more formidable.

Highguard Episode 2 Patch Notes

QUALITY OF LIFE & NEW FEATURES

We’re constantly working to make the game better based on your feedback, and we’ll keep a running list of updates, bug fixes, and new features right here. If a change needs extra explanation, we’ll share “developer notes” to explain our reasoning.

Stats 1.0

Players want stats! For Episode 2 we have added a Stats menu to Headwall.

The stats tracked here are mostly retroactive from Episode 1.

We’ve begun tracking Raid Attack and Defense success rates with the launch of Episode 2. This data wasn’t available in previous episodes.

We will continue to expand this feature in future episodes.

New Orange Weapon Mods:

We’re continuing to offer a diverse range of orange weapon modifications. For the next update, we’re adding even more options without taking any away.

  • Saber Rifle – Impact Rounds
  • Increased critical damage (headshots) with a slower rate of fire. Fires a two shot burst instead of three. Faster projectile speed.
  • Vanguard – Drum Magazine
  • Much larger magazine, with a slower reload.
  • Corsair – Doubleshot
  • Fire a 12 round burst on each trigger pull

Technical Updates

  • From the last patch, performance optimizations were applied to player replication, movement netcode, and siege tower rendering.
  • Users can now enable NVIDIA Reflex on supported systems.
  • Several optimizations were added to reduce bandwidth utilization.

Gameplay Updates:

  • The Defensive Phase at the start of the game has been reduced to 30 seconds from 60.
  • Anchor Stones fuse timers have been increased to 80 seconds from 60.
  • Dev note: The goal here is to make Anchor Stones a bit harder to win on
  • We’ve added your Kills and Assists to the HUD above the minimap.
  • Many zipline usability improvements, including smoother attaching and riding, and making it harder to accidentally attach
  • Players can now have a maximum of 4 ziplines. When casting the 5th, their first one will automatically destroy
  • Improvements to mantle feel
  • You will be prompted to drop the BigRig when it gets to low or zero ammo
  • Upon being revived, you now get a hint to tap the emote button to say “Thank You”. As a byproduct your character will no longer automatically say thank you.
  • Pinged orange weapons will now show the perk when you hover on them
  • You can now ping ziplines
  • You can now ping Mara darkspawn when it’s highlighted through walls (at the end of a raid)
  • You can now ping Kai’s ice wall
  • Pinging a Shieldbreaker or Domesplitter plant point now has more specific ping VO based on the scenario.
  • The end game podium will now highlight people who had the highest stats on their team
  • Smugglers Den minimap has been updated to be more accurate
  • Adjusted the final Shieldbreaker plant animation to take exactly as long as a normal one
  • The Trader menu will darken and update if his stock changes while you have the menu open
  • Dev note: This is to reduce accidentally purchasing something right as the stock is upgrading.
  • Dead players no longer show up on the minimap
  • Dev note: This seemed confusing and redundant with being able to see a player’s orb through walls.
  • Adjusted Mara’s Soul Armor power description to include that it also works on enemy players (so be careful where you throw it)
  • Added key bindings on PC for Map Screen, Character Info and Loadout
  • AFK timer in a match has been reduced from 5 minutes to 4
  • Firing Range targets have been replaced with new versions that stay open so you can test sustained fire
  • Firing Range can now accommodate parties of up to 5 players

Lobby/Menu Updates:

  • Added an option to leave the party by clicking on party member’s social card
  • You now get a message confirming that you sent a Friend Request
  • Slider bars in the settings menu can now be adjusted by typing in numbers
  • Changing your controller profile will now highlight what buttons are changing
  • You can now unblock players in your Social tab

Weapon Updates:

Vanguard

  • Slightly slowing rate of fire and raising damage. TTK is nearly equivalent. This just reduces the number of bullets required to kill
  • Increased headshot multiplier

Longhorn

  • Repeater – Less vertical kick, faster raise time, faster sprint raise time, less spread (hipfire), slower spread bloom (hipfire)

Viper – Impact Rounds

  • Smaller mag size
  • More kick

Item Updates:

  • Amulet: Bomb Kit
  • Bomb plant time nerfed (2.5s -> 3s). Defuse time is still 2.5s.
  • Amulet: Harvester no longer drops bonus Ultimate Chargers from White Supply Barrels.
  • Slightly lowered the top speed of orange Saddles.

Character Updates:

Slade

  • Fixed a bug where the impact damage from his Ultimate was not dealing damage on uneven terrain.
  • Adding friend/foe identification to Slade’s VFXs. Enemy fire will now take on a darker red appearance.

Redmane

  • Redmane can now break floors he’s standing on with his tactical
  • Redmane’s tactical now hits players more reliably.
  • Leaping into solid geo with Redmane will drop him to the ground faster, instead of bouncing off and floating down.

Mara

  • Mara will now dismount automatically when casting Immortal Coil while mounted, instead of getting an error message.

Una

  • Improved Una minion target acquisition speed (they should shoot at players faster)
  • Fixed Una minions having larger hitboxes than intended.

Atticus

  • Adjusted Atticus’s Ultimate audio to not be occluded by geo. This means you can hear him better in his active Ultimate state even if he’s in another room.

Quest:

The Quest offers tough challenges during each Episode, giving you a chance to earn free rewards and show off your accomplishments. Since the first Episode was short, we’re extending the original Quest through Episode 2. We’ll be launching new challenges and even better rewards with Episode 3.

Bug Fixes:

  • Fixed a bug where characters with movement speed bonuses could double-dip on slide boosts
  • Fixed instances where you would sometimes get bumped off the zipline when respawning
  • Fixed some issues where the Play button would be unresponsive
  • Fixed an issue where loot in chests would show highlights for different rarities
  • Fixed a bug where the Care Package was dropping too low of level loot in the 3rd gear up phase and beyond.
  • Fixed an issue where Emote anti-peek wasn’t hiding enemy mounts
  • Fixed an issue where you could respawn with your initial loadout when dying to environmental hazards like lava
  • Fixed collision issues on Dustline
  • Fixed multiple ways to break Training by leaping and climbing over walls
  • Fixed some incorrect key bindings in the UI
  • Improved the reliability of voice chat icons
  • Fixed an issue where the Shieldbreaker would sometimes drop in inaccessible places if you tried to enter your own base
  • Removed the ability to drop the Shieldbreaker on top of the enemy dome (how cheeky)
  • Fixed rare cases where “Position Revealed” would stay on your screen long after a raid was over
  • Fixed an issue where pressing Esc to leave the Social menu would cancel matchmaking
  • Fixed an issue where Slade’s arms would not reset after losing his Hot Streak
  • Fixed ability to repair large gates in bases
  • Fixed Condor running in place when she uses her Ultimate Power while running
  • Reduced the amount of screen the Longhorn Repeater covers while jumping and firing
  • Fixed some invisible collision blocking bullets above banners on Wellspring base
  • Fixed some cases of your player having a third arm
  • Multi-Lock Rocket Launcher will no longer target trees
  • Fixed mounts not playing proper water audio and fx when running through it
  • Fixed ability for players to ping when riding a zipline
  • Removed the ability to place Mara’s Immortal Coil on open doors
  • Fixed the zipline gun colliding with air in some areas of Summit
  • Fixed Blast Hammers from doing splash damage behind you when used
  • Players are no longer detected by Condor’s tactical when standing still on their mount
  • Fixed Una summoning a Tree Walker in mid air by riding a zipline
  • Fixed some locations in Wellspring base where you would get kicked off your mount
  • Fixed an issue where you would hit yourself with a rocket if fired while running full speed on a mount
  • Improved game performance when mounting or dismounting
  • Improved some translations for different languages, both in text and VO
  • Added localized translations for different languages in the Advanced Training video
  • Fixed the Crossplay setting not saving when changed to off on consoles
  • Fixed rare cases where your controls would be unresponsive after using a mount emote
  • Fixed a bug that would cause ambient audio to drop out
  • Fixed a bug where mouse and controller sensitivity settings weren’t being applied correctly while transitioning between hipfire and ADS
  • Resolved a bug where DLSS presets did not immediately appear or disappear in the Settings menu after modifying the antialiasing mode.

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2026-02-06 00:11