Titanfall 2: Respawn to speed up movement, improve Titan meter following technical test feedback

Respawn Entertainment has announced a slew of tweaks and changes to upcoming shooter Titanfall 2, following a multiplayer technical test that took place this past weekend (19-21 August 2016). These include speeding up movement and the time it takes players to be able to summon and pilot the game's Titan mechs

In a blog post on the game's official site, Titanfall 2's multiplayer game designer Steven DeRose explained that the build released to the public was actually completed in June, so many of the problems players noticed have been addressed.

The game, set for release in October on PS4, Xbox One and PC, is the latest from the team founded by Call of Duty creator Vince Zampella. The original became a cult favourite in 2014 thanks to its fast movement and Titans – huge battle mechs that can tear up the battlefield.

DeRose discussed additional changes in more depth. Regarding player mobility, he said: "We'll be tuning air speed and wall-running speed to be faster. While investigating this point, we discovered some unintended side effects that were causing players to lose momentum while wall-running. Players should once again accumulate and retain more speed when chaining wall-runs."

A common complaint from players related to the Titan meter, which didn't charge as quickly as in the original due to changes in how it works. Instead of being based on a timer, in the Titanfall 2 technical test it was based on kills. That has now changed however, with a timer element introduced to supplement the newer method.

"We still want objectives to be the fastest way to get a Titan," said DeRose, "But the goal of every player being guaranteed a Titan per match hasn't changed. Pilots will once again acquire a small passive amount of Titan meter every few seconds."

Discussing the Titans themselves, DeRose didn't list any specific changes but did reveal more about what players can expect from the final product. In it he discusses "rodeo" gameplay, which refers to when pilots hop on to enemy Titans to deal damage.

"In Titanfall 1, rodeo was lethal to Titans, forcing pilots to disembark and engage in a 50 / 50 fight. In Titanfall 2, the rodeo pilot steals a battery and damages an enemy Titan. If they can give that battery to a friendly Titan, the Titan receives a shield and the Pilot gets Titan meter points. As players become more familiar with the system, we expect that Titans will live longer. This is an area we will continue to monitor leading up to launch.

"Another factor is that the balance of Titan gameplay in the Tech Test build is heavily affected by the limited amount of content we released in the build. For example, some Titans that aren't in the Tech Test have strong defensive abilities, certain Titan kits provide defensive upgrades, and even Pilots have a boost that can improve Titan defences."

To read more on Titan mobility, map designs and the game's HUD, head over to the full blog post.

Titanfall 2 is set for release on 28 October.

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