Highguard launched less than a week ago , with the PvP raid shooter rapidly earning itself a reputation for its underwhelming gameplay that was riddled with pacing issues and more than a few performance issues. One of the biggest complaints about Highguard's gameplay was that the 3v3 gameplay format combined with the looting mechanics and the vast map meant that gameplay felt stagnant. Fast-forward to the end of the launch week, and the developer, Wildlight Entertainment, has announced an update that it hopes will assuage complaints from those who prefer a more action-packed game.

The new 5v5 queue is still an experimental playlist, and it will be available for testing for the weekend following the update. Players will have four additional lives in 5v5 mode, and respawn times are slightly longer. It will not replace the 3v3 playlist, and the developer notes that the game's performance will likely take a hit in 5v5 mode. On the topic of performance, the patch also adds optimizations to animation performance, projectiles, draw submission times, and more for both console and PC. Overall framerate should be improved across the board to varying degrees depending on the system hardware. In addition to the new mode, the aforementioned performance tweaks, a motion blur toggle for PC and console, and an anisotropic materials toggle for consoles, there is also a new base construct for players to take advantage of. The Soul Well, a mysterious, "dark relic from a lost age," is an ancient temple with two generators, a rear keep, an underground fortress, and a tall central altar for a better vantage point to defend all of it from enemies. Soul Well will be added to all gameplay rotations as of the January 30 update. A short gameplay overview for the Soul Well follows.