Back 4 Blood December update targets offline campaign progression, difficulty, and more

Let it burn, let it burn, gotta let it burn

Co-op zombie shooter Back 4 Blood is getting its December update this week, and it’s both adding and addressing quite a lot. Alongside the often asked-for offline campaign with progression, new cards and unlocks are also arriving, as well as some seasonal décor for Fort Hope.

The update will go live on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET. That’s tomorrow, as of this time of writing.

The offline campaign with progression was a frequently asked-for option in Back 4 Blood. Though it had a solo campaign option, that mode simply unlocked all options and seemed to be more of a ‘test your build’ mode. Hopefully now, players can get a feeling of forging ahead in their progression with the new offline campaign option.

A new card type, called Burn Cards, also arrive in the December Back 4 Blood update. These types are acquired through the new Roving Merchants Supply Lines, and can be played in each Saferoom to gain temporary boons. Maybe you want some instant healing or a bump in currency? Burn Cards are here for you. Three new (non-Burn) cards are also joining the deck: two increasing Quickslot Inventory, and one increasing Team Quickslot Inventory.

Holiday decorations are also being added to Fort Hope and the Firing Range, and a Ridden Practice Area is also being opened up in Fort Hope.

A lot of gameplay balance changes are also arriving. These address some common complaints, like “speed running” builds, as well as the difficulty curve of Veteran and Nightmare. Back at launch, I found the difficulty curve of Back 4 Blood a little surprising. It really seemed to ramp up fast, and attempts I’ve made since to tackle the higher difficulties have not gone well.

Changes to health, first aid cabinet usage, trauma healing, and friendly fire values should hopefully soften the leap between levels. “One of our goals this patch is to decrease the disparity between the various difficulties,” reads a Developer Note on the Back 4 Blood December update page. “So there isn’t as much of a jump from Recruit to Veteran to Nightmare.”

You can find the full update page here, but it seems like it’s hitting a lot of the common complaints and wants from the community side. I really enjoyed the runs I did of Back 4 Blood‘s campaign, and with a sizable roadmap of new content ahead from Turtle Rock, it’s nice to see them hitting some of these early, before the expansion arrives.