As has been thoroughly covered by now, Bethesda and Arkane Studios’ Redfall launched in a less-than-ideal state last month, with rampant bugs, issues with combat, and other problems hobbling the experience. While Arkane has released a few hotfixes for Redfall since launch, today they’ve dropped the game’s first major update.
The update largely focuses on one of the game’s key sore points – enemy AI and challenge. The patch adds more enemy encounters to the world, and makes those enemies more responsive and challenging. Some improvements to lighting should also make for a better-looking game. Unfortunately, the promised 60fps performance mode still hasn’t surfaced. You can check out some of the changes included in Redfall ver. 1.1, below.
Gameplay
- Increased enemy encounter spawn rates across the open world
- Improved ADS (aim down sight) visibility when looking through sniper rifle scopes
- Breakable glass will now shatter on first impact from all guns
- When using additional ammo storage skills, ammo collected above the standard weapon capacity will now persist between gameplay sessions
- Players can move without interruption when performing melee attacks against enemies
- Bribón no longer idles in place after performing the Siren ability
- Devinder’s Translocate ability is now more reliable when used in the Black Sun boss arena
- Updated various mission descriptions and mission summary texts across all languages
- Nests now unlock at the correct time when playing in New Game Plus (after completing A Voice in the Dark, and starting giving You Tomorrow* | or in the reverse order)
- Added medical supplies to the path leading up to the Bloody Tom boss arena
- General mission fixes and improvements
Combat
- Fixed multiple instances of enemies appearing unresponsive in combat
- Improved Vampire melee attacks to increase chances of hitting players in motion
- Cultist and Bellwether enemies received general improvements to their combat behaviors, including faster reaction times
- The Rook is now more relentless and will now hunt down all living party members. Kill or be killed
- Rook Storm lightning bolts will no longer hit players through rooftops and most other unexpected situations
AI/NPC
- General improvements to human enemy navigation, including animation timing and responsiveness
- Dormant Vampires are now more susceptible to waking up from player-generated noise
- Enemies are now drawn towards the greatest threat during combat. This could be a player, Bribón, or an opposing enemy faction
- Improved enemy pathing options across open world areas in both districts
- Added mouth blood to additional Vampire facial variations
Environment
- Players have higher chances of encountering additional and varied enemies while exploring the world
- Enemies are no longer able to shoot through certain walls in the Fire Station
- Vampire Nest exit door will now appear correctly in the Shipyard heart instance
- Improved many instances of visual issues at a distance, including materials and model adjustments
- Mission Briefing sequences are brighter
- Improved lighting and audio processing in many interior spaces in both districts
- Skybox updates to prevent extreme star flickering
- General improvements to collision detection and asset placement throughout both districts
Redfall ver. 1.1 also includes a variety of smaller performance and stability improvements and other tweaks. If you need to know about those, you can check out the full, unabridged patch notes here.
Redfall can be played on PC and Xbox Series X/S. Update 1.1 is available now.
