Greedfall 2 aims to turn around a disastrous early access launch with a combat overhaul and a big new boat

GreedFall 2 | 1st Major Update - YouTube

PC Gamer's Fraser Brown wrote in his September 2024 preview of Greedfall 2 that the decision to completely overhaul the combat system of the original game and release it in a rough, early access state, was a "risky gamble" for developer Spiders. Prophetic words, as it turns out. While Greedfall is quite well regarded, especially among fans of ye olde Eurojank, Greedfall 2 is struggling badly.

"The reactivity and close-quarters combat in real-time have been significantly improved," Spiders wrote earlier this week in a pre-patch teaser on Steam. "Attacks now trigger sooner and chain together more quickly, with snappier animations and smoother transitions—there's no more returning to idle poses between strikes.

"Your character keeps their momentum more effectively, and micro-movements are better handled, especially when using abilities or when changing directions—the start of attack's movement blending with the change of direction to be more reactive and dynamic."

Character movement is also faster and "more fluid," and the target lock system has also been improved. Spiders shared a few before-and-after gameplay videos, and it definitely looks faster.

GF2-Improved Combat Snippet 2 - YouTube

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GF2-Improved Combat Snippet 3 - YouTube

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GF2-Improved Combat Snippet 4 - YouTube

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So it's welcome changes all around, and beyond the much-needed combat rework today's update also includes an entirely new region called Olima, a new companion, and the addition of the Hub, which is actually a ship (not a boat, sorry, a ship) where you can rest, manage your party, access your workshop and chest, and all that sort of inter-mission RPG business.

Whether it will be enough to kick off a turnaround for Greedfall 2 remains a big question, though. The original Greedfall, released in 2019, had an all-time peak concurrent player count of more than 16,000, according to SteamDB, while Greedfall 2 has thus far topped out at just 375. That's only one metric and can't be taken as the entire tale of the tape, but it's definitely not great: Spiders 2 is in a deep hole on this one and it's going to take some serious work to get out of it.

One other thing to note: Given the number of changes and additions made by this patch, existing saves will not be compatible. You'll need to start a new game once it's installed. Such is the way of early access, I'm afraid.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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