‘Skydance’s Behemoth’ Update Rebalances Combat After “Controversial” Reception, Patch Notes Here

Skydance’s Behemoth (2024) has received a significant update to address the controversial response to the game’s combat, according to developer Skydance Games.

While some players were fine with the combat at launch, a good number of players had issues following its release on December 5th for Quest 2/3/Pro, PSVR 2, and PC VR headsets via the Horizon Store (Meta only) and Steam.

Skydance Games has now released a patch across all supported platforms to address the physics-based game’s combat mechanics, which heavily involves melee combat against human enemies.

“Combat has been controversial. Some players love it as is, so we’re not making radical changes,” the studio explained. “But we also heard feedback from players frustrated by stamina drain, parrying challenges, and narrow dodging windows.”

The patch has fine-tuned the systems to make stamina, parrying, and dodging more forgiving, enhancing the experience for all players, according to Skydance.

In addition, Skydance’s Behemoth now includes a ‘Freestyle Mode’ in beta, which reduces Combat Stamina drain to minimal levels, except for climbing challenges. The patch also addresses issues with boss fights, enemy AI gameplay, pathing, and overall performance stability across all platforms.

You can view the full patch notes for spoilers or an abridged version without spoilers.

QUEST SPECIFIC

Player Experience

• Added “Shader compiling” loading screen at game boot to reduce confusion during shader re-creation.
• Added haptics to the Main Menu.
• Fixed crash in Arena Mode [BETA] under certain conditions when the gong was struck.
• Improved climbing interaction and collision handling in key areas.
• Fixed progression blockers, including Nightscraper fight and Ragnar disappearing during the tutorial.

Gameplay

• Improved collision to prevent players from phasing into geometry.
• Fixed rare clipping issues with Dreddstag and Shacklehide’s leg climbing interaction.
• Keys now respawn correctly in ghost form after saving and reloading.
• Enhanced hit reactions and state transitions for enemies in combat.
• Refined hand grips and IK for ropes.

Art & Audio

• Improved environment textures and lighting, especially on Quest 3.
• Reduced visual popping issues.
• Fixed floating assets like arrows and rubble.
• Music now persists during Shacklehide battle.

ALL PLATFORMS

Progression Blockers

• Fixed issues with enemies like Kragjaeger and Shacklehide not appearing correctly or causing soft locks.
• Fast Travel enabled post-campaign for continued exploration.

Combat Updates

• Tuning Adjustments:

  • Dodge now has 0.5 seconds of invulnerability.
  • Exposed headshots on standard enemies are one-hit kills.
  • Improved parry/block forgiveness angle for easier execution.

• Combat Stamina Drain Adjustments:

  • Tuned for balance across all difficulties.
  • “Freestyle Mode (BETA)” allows for minimal stamina drain (achievements/trophies disabled in this mode).

• Tenderfoot difficulty further adjusted for reduced enemy damage.

Miniboss and Boss Tuning

• Adjusted difficulty and fixed glitches for minibosses.
• Ragnar’s health and attack rate increased.

Level Updates

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

Miscellaneous Fixes

• Stability improved with significant crash fixes.
• Lighting, visual popping, and VO timing issues resolved.
• Trophy Room collectibles rearranged to prevent glitches.