Skydance’s Behemoth: Combat Overhaul After Mixed Feedback – Patch Notes Inside

Skydance’s 2024 release, Behemoth, recently received a significant patch aimed at addressing feedback regarding its combat system—a topic the developers at Skydance Games have acknowledged as "controversial."

While we personally didn’t have major qualms with the combat mechanics at the game’s launch, many players who jumped into the world of Behemoth on December 5th had varied reactions. The game debuted across multiple platforms, including Quest 2/3/Pro, PSVR 2, and PC VR through platforms like the Horizon Store (for Meta) and Steam, and it seems opinions were mixed.

In response to this, Skydance Games has rolled out a comprehensive patch available on all platforms, focusing on the game’s physics-based combat. This patch aims to refine melee encounters with human adversaries, a core component of the gameplay.

“Let’s get straight to it: the combat system has stirred up some debate. Many of our fans appreciate it as it stands, so we’re avoiding drastic changes,” commented the studio. “However, we’ve also received feedback about issues such as stamina depletion, challenging parrying mechanics, and tight windows for dodging attacks.”

In response, Skydance claims the patch has “fine-tuned our systems to make stamina usage, parrying, and dodging more lenient,” aiming to “enhance the experience for all players.”

In addition to these changes, the update introduces a ‘Freestyle Mode’ in beta, which significantly reduces Combat Stamina drain, except during climbing challenges. This update also attends to previously mentioned boss battles, enemy AI behaviors, pathfinding, and overall performance stability on all platforms.

For those curious about the specifics, you can dive into the full patch notes—which do contain some minor spoilers—elsewhere. Below, we’ve provided a spoiler-free summary.

Quest-Specific Changes:

Player Experience:

• Introduced a "Shader compiling" screen during game startup to reduce confusion.
• Added haptic feedback to the Main Menu.
• Resolved crashes occurring in Arena Mode [BETA] under certain conditions when striking the gong.
• Improved interaction and collision handling during climbing in specific areas.
• Fixed progression blockers, such as issues in the Nightscraper fight and when Ragnar vanished during the tutorial.

Gameplay:

• Enhanced collision to prevent players from clipping into objects.
• Resolved rare issues with Dreddstag and Shacklehide leg climbing interactions.
• Ensured keys correctly respawn in ghost form after saving and reloading.
• Improved enemy hit reactions and state transitions during combat.
• Refined hand grip accuracy and inverse kinematics for ropes.

Art & Audio:

• Upgraded environment textures and lighting, particularly noticeable on Quest 3.
• Reduced instances of visual popping.
• Corrected issues with floating assets like arrows and rubble.
• Ensured music continues to play during the Shacklehide battle.

Updates Across All Platforms:

Progression Blockers:

• Fixed enemy appearance issues, preventing soft locks with characters like Kragjaeger and Shacklehide.
• Enabled Fast Travel post-campaign for further exploration.

Combat Adjustments:

Tuning Adjustments:

• Enhanced dodge mechanics to include 0.5 seconds of invulnerability.
• Made exposed headshots on standard enemies one-hit kills.
• Expanded the forgiveness angle for parries/blocks, making them easier to execute.

Combat Stamina Drain Adjustments:

• Adjusted balance across all difficulty levels.

• Introduced “Freestyle Mode (BETA)” with minimal stamina drain, albeit achievements and trophies are disabled in this mode.

• Further reductions in enemy damage for Tenderfoot difficulty.

Miniboss and Boss Tuning:

• Refined difficulty settings and fixed glitches for various minibosses.
• Ragnar’s health and attack rate have been increased.

Level Updates:

• Fixed interactions within critical areas like Shacklehide’s arena, Zephyr’s Pass, and the Throne Room.
• Enhanced puzzle mechanics and improved chest accessibility in Duskhold and other locations.

Miscellaneous Fixes:

• Improved overall stability with critical crash fixes.
• Resolved lighting challenges, visual pop-up issues, and VO timing errors.
• Rearranged Trophy Room collectibles to eliminate glitches.

This patch seems well-rounded, ensuring that Behemoth continues to be an engaging experience for all VR adventurers.