Titanfall 2 Update Adjusts Titans, But Respawn's Taking a New Approach to Patch Notes

A new update for Titanfall 2 has been released, and while Respawn has given a general overview of the changes, it hasn't gone into the nitty-gritty of what's different.

Patch notes for the update were shared on Reddit over the weekend by Respawn community manager Jay Frechette. They highlight a new feature--the ability to play private matches solo--and some bug fixes, as well as a change to Map Hack that makes it so players pulse, rather than always show up.

But perhaps the most notable changes are balance adjustments for two Titans and a weapon, none of which have been detailed to any degree. The notes say Amped LMGs have been rebalanced, as have the Legion and Tone Titans "due to player feedback." The absence of specifics was a deliberate decision, Frechette said.

"The reason why we are not giving you folks specific details on the balancing is because we want you to just play and feel it out and let us know if it works," he explained. "Telling you numbers and details could color your expectations before you play and then you're going into the game with a set perception.

"I've heard of all kinds of ideas of how to balance Legion and Tone for example and if we tweaked something that wasn't what you wanted, you're going in already thinking we did the wrong thing. We want you to go in with open mind and feel it out. You guys know we're all about feel. Let's try this out for now and see how it works."

It's an interesting idea in an era where it's customary for developers to release incredibly detailed patch notes, sometimes complete with graphs or other visual aides to hammer home what's changed.

The response has been more positive than you might expect, though there have still been calls for Respawn to share more. One Reddit comment suggested the exact changes could be explained after players have had time to acquaint themselves with an update, so as to prevent arguments over perceived (but perhaps inaccurate) changes. Frechette replied, "That's a fair point. I'm playing around with ideas of content we could do to provide more context to changes or design philosophies."

Titanfall 2 released late last month, sandwiched between Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. EA has attempted to defend that situation, though the decision still seems questionable. Whatever the case, the game itself is quite good, as you can read about in GameSpot's review.