Co-bot: Titanfall Adding Co-op Survival

A co-op wave survival mode is coming to Titanfall tomorrow in its next big update, Respawn have announced. With that basic news out the way, let's focus on a tiny small bit. When players die in Frontier Defense mode, they don't sit around idly in spectator mode like in many games. Nope, they'll be circling above the battlefield in a chopper, raining inaccurate fire down from afar. That's a lovely little touch, isn't it? Down, but not out. Spectating can ruddy do one.

Soon it'll also get an awfully clever-sounding mode, Deadly Ground, which changes regular levels so "the floor is covered in deadly electrified fog". It's The Floor Is Lava with guns and mechs.

Frontier Defense will pit people against robots, old styles and a few new ones, in the usual wave survival shenanigans. Also you can drop turrets to help out. And, in case I didn't mention it, get to fire out your dropship door while waiting to respawn. It'll work on all maps, regular and DLC.

Deadly Ground sounds brilliant. Take levels people know, then change one part to make them play entirely differently. It's only on a few maps and in a few modes, but I'm still excited. "Flood de_dust," I joked a few months ago. "Drain Wake Island." I meant it too. We come to know virtual spaces from a utilitarian perspective, so tiny changes can make them alien. Splendid. It'll arrive on November 5th as a new temporary 'featured' game mode, which is perhaps good, lest people grow too comfortable in their new electrified worlds.

Ranked play is the other headline feature coming in Update Eight tomorrow, offering a persistent performance tracker. This'll only be available to prestiged-out players and their invited pals at first, though. New achievements and insignia are coming to given regulars new targets to chase too.

Then there's the usual patch stuff: bug fixes, UI improvements, new graphics options for faster PCs, and hey! faster load times! Those are welcome too.

Here, watch some Respawn folks playing a few rounds of co-op: