Combat#
Every NPC and every weapon has new numbers, and shields stop gambling and start soaking.
Goblin Shield 11
Bronze 22
Iron 44
Steel 66
Mithril 88
Ebony 110
Verdite 154
Tyrian 198
Shields block a set amount
- Every hit a shield can block now loses a fixed amount, with no roll. Before, metal shields had a 25% chance (wooden and goblin shields 15%) to block a hit completely.
- Wooden, Goblin and Goblin Round shields block 11. Metal shields: Bronze 22, Iron 44, Steel 66, Mithril 88, Ebony 110, Verdite 154, Tyrian 198.
- The tooltip shows "Block +66" instead of "Block chance +25%".
- Rooted boots: your shield blocks 12% more (was +3 block chance).
Why: shield blocks were the one dice roll left in how much damage you take. A set amount is something you can plan around, and it's sized to match the old chance against the NPCs of each shield's tier.
How shield blocks work
- The block comes off the hit after a critical hit is worked out and before your armour, and never takes a hit below 0.
- A hit the shield takes all the way to 0 shows Block and lands no on-hit effect. A hit that gets through lands normally, effects and all.
- Example: you carry a Steel Shield (66). A goblin swing of 40 is fully blocked. A troll's 300 becomes 234, and then your armour takes its share.
- On special attacks the block comes off the normal hit before the special multiplies it, so it shrinks the special's damage too. Paired daggers lose it on each strike.
- A higher-tier shield shrugs off weaker NPCs almost completely: a Tyrian shield blocks nearly every goblin hit, while a bronze one only dents a Swamp Troll.
Every NPC rebalanced
- Almost every NPC has new health, armour, magic resistance and damage, so many fights feel different. Levels only change for some goblins and hobgoblins, Reavers, the bosses and the NPCs they call in, and Lamplit Miners (see NPCs).
- Animals, trolls, dragons and other beasts now wear real armour, so magic gets through them far better than blades and arrows.
- Trolls get through your armour more. Most goblins and hobgoblins get through it less, and so do Pit Knights, Garrow's Guard, Smuggler Brutes and Fallhaven Guards.
- Some NPCs hit much harder: the Greenbound Foreman, Greenbound, Lamplit Miners, Garrow's Guard, and the Wicks and Coven Acolytes that the Snuffer and Hespera call in. Some hit softer: Fallhaven Guards, Smuggler Brutes and the Dark Witch.
- Small animals (Rabbits, Rats, Foxes, Geese, Cows) have more health.
- NPCs with a shield block a set amount off your hits and hit over a third softer. NPCs with a bow hit a little softer when they shoot.
- What an NPC wears no longer changes its armour. The Codex shows every NPC's new numbers.
Why: two NPCs of the same level could be completely different fights. Now an NPC's level tells you how tough it is, whatever it is.
Every NPC's new health, armour and magic resistance
- Hen (1): health 100 → 106, armour 1 → 4, magic resist 1 → 2
- Rooster (2): health 200 → 220, armour 2 → 10, magic resist 1 → 3
- Rat (2): health 100 → 210, armour 1 → 8, magic resist 1 → 5
- Fox (3): health 200 → 321, armour 2 → 14, magic resist 1 → 7
- Deer (3): health 300 → 332, armour 3 → 17, magic resist 1 → 5
- Goose (3): health 200 → 332, armour 3 → 17, magic resist 1 → 5
- Rabbit (3): health 100 → 311, armour 1 → 12, magic resist 1 → 8
- Goblin Runt (3, was 2): health 500 → 325, armour 1 → 13, magic resist 1 → 5
- Goblin Scout (4, was 3): health 500 → 420, armour 1 → 16, magic resist 1 → 10
- Cow (5): health 400 → 600, armour 8 → 39, magic resist 1 → 3
- Goblin Warrior (5, was 3): health 500 → 583, armour 4 → 34, magic resist 1 → 4
- Goblin Shaman (6, was 5): health 600 → 619, armour 1 → 10, magic resist 6 → 9
- Skeleton (6): health 500 → 723, armour 9 → 48, magic resist 1 → 3
- The Big Runt (8, was 9): health 2,000 → 1,911, armour 7 → 62, magic resist 1 → 4
- Alderwic Guard (9): health 800 → 1,007, armour 22 → 56, magic resist 1 → 16
- Alderwic Ranger (9): health 800 → 1,007, armour 40 → 56, magic resist 31 → 16
- Hobgoblin Runt (9, was 7): health 700 → 1,088, armour 10 → 73, magic resist 1 → 4
- Wick (level 3 → 9): health 1,000 → 975, armour 1 → 39, magic resist 1 → 15
- Hobgoblin Scout (10, was 8): health 800 → 1,019, armour 1 → 38, magic resist 1 → 32
- Hobgoblin Warrior (11, was 9): health 900 → 1,338, armour 13 → 92, magic resist 1 → 4
- Hobgoblin Shaman (12, was 10): health 1,000 → 1,219, armour 1 → 10, magic resist 14 → 17
- Hobgoblin Healer (13, was 18): health 1,100 → 1,310, armour 1 → 5, magic resist 30 → 19
- Stag (13): health 1,100 → 1,508, armour 16 → 93, magic resist 1 → 16
- Reaver (14, was 7): health 700 → 1,427, armour 73 → 53, magic resist 73 → 44
- Coven Acolyte (level 14 → 15): health 1,500 → 1,517, armour 1 → 9, magic resist 20 → 22
- Lowland Troll (17): health 2,600 → 2,088, armour 21 → 149, magic resist 1 → 4
- Wild Bull (18): health 1,900 → 2,203, armour 26 → 156, magic resist 1 → 5
- Mangy Wolf (20): health 2,100 → 2,468, armour 29 → 178, magic resist 1 → 3
- Possessed Hobgoblin (20, was 21): health 2,300 → 2,470, armour 31 → 179, magic resist 1 → 3
- Fallhaven Guard (21): health 2,200 → 2,592, armour 282 → 187, magic resist 2 → 3
- Fallhaven Ranger (21): health 2,200 → 2,116, armour 91 → 77, magic resist 92 → 72
- Smuggler (24): health 2,600 → 2,416, armour 121 → 88, magic resist 121 → 83
- Dark Witch (27): health 2,900 → 2,716, armour 1 → 9, magic resist 39 → 38
- Smuggler Brute (28): health 3,000 → 3,467, armour 208 → 253, magic resist 121 → 3
- Giant Rat (30): health 3,100 → 3,628, armour 41 → 251, magic resist 1 → 16
- Lamplit Miner (level 34 → 39): health 3,400 → 4,838, armour 50 → 355, magic resist 1 → 4
- Forest Bear (39): health 3,500 → 4,457, armour 44 → 268, magic resist 1 → 59
- Shardbound (40): health 3,800 → 4,016, armour 1 → 8, magic resist 60 → 57
- Seep Spider (44): health 5,800 → 4,886, armour 34 → 269, magic resist 1 → 87
- Pit Knight (44): health 6,000 → 5,463, armour 58 → 402, magic resist 1 → 4
- Mountain Troll (50): health 7,200 → 6,212, armour 63 → 458, magic resist 1 → 4
- Smuggler Ringleader (51): health 7,000 → 5,119, armour 151 → 185, magic resist 152 → 179
- Greenbound (52): health 7,000 → 6,463, armour 68 → 478, magic resist 1 → 4
- Garrow's Guard (54): health 4,500 → 6,351, armour 470 → 412, magic resist 51 → 56
- Greenbound Foreman (58): health 7,800 → 7,213, armour 76 → 534, magic resist 1 → 4
- Swamp Dragon (59): health 6,900 → 6,939, armour 69 → 451, magic resist 1 → 62
- Vein Gargoyle (65): health 9,000 → 7,929, armour 80 → 563, magic resist 1 → 27
- Green Dragon (67): health 6,600 → 7,993, armour 88 → 539, magic resist 1 → 54
- Swamp Troll (90): health 13,300 → 11,211, armour 113 → 834, magic resist 1 → 4
Weapon damage
- Each tier's weapons now hit about as hard as the NPCs of their level. From mithril up most weapons hit harder. Bronze to steel greatswords, spears and axes hit about the same or a little less.
- Each Strength, Dexterity or Magic level now adds 2.5 to your hits (was 3.5; glaives 1.25, was 1.75), so more of your damage comes from your gear.
- Weapon damage as your tooltip shows it (the part from the weapon, before your skill level):
- Greatswords: Bronze 76 (was 80), Iron 133 (was 130), Steel 200 (was 180), Mithril 295 (was 230), Ebony 390 (was 280), Verdite 580 (was 380), Tyrian 770 (was 480)
- Glaives: Bronze 89 (was 60), Iron 144 (was 98), Steel 202 (was 135), Mithril 281 (was 173), Ebony 336 (was 210), Verdite 439 (was 285), Tyrian 522 (was 360)
- Spears: Bronze 48 (was 50), Iron 83 (was 82), Steel 125 (was 113), Mithril 184 (was 144), Ebony 244 (was 175), Verdite 362 (was 238), Tyrian 481 (was 300)
- Daggers: Bronze 82 (was 50), Iron 125 (was 80), Steel 181 (was 115), Mithril 239 (was 145), Ebony 276 (was 175), Verdite 344 (was 235), Tyrian 371 (was 295)
- Arrows: Bronze 102 (was 63), Iron 161 (was 100), Steel 205 (was 148), Mithril 276 (was 185), Ebony 329 (was 223), Verdite 384 (was 298), Tyrian 429 (was 373)
- Orbs and Bound Blades: I 54 (was 45), II 94 (was 70), III 142 (was 95), IV 215 (was 120), V 288 (was 145), VI 435 (was 195), VII 582 (was 245)
- Axes and pickaxes: Bronze 38 (was 40), Iron 67 (was 65), Steel 100 (was 90), Mithril 147 (was 115), Ebony 195 (was 140), Verdite 290 (was 190), Tyrian 385 (was 240)
- Uniques: Goblin Daggers 66 (was 40), Goblin Axe 48 (was 50), Gobbler 176 (was 138), Smokefang Daggers 263 (was 160), Lampwarden's Lantern 179 (was 108), Lightless Lantern 509 (was 220)
- Arcane Blast starts higher at every orb tier (I 180, was 150, up to VII 1,782, was 750), but each Magic level adds 2.5 (was 10). For a mage in full robes at each orb's own level it hits less than before: about a quarter less with orbs I to III, an eighth less at IV, and about the same at VI and VII. Fireball, Glacial Spike, Exsanguinate, Blink Strike, Crystal Shatter, Lightless Lance and Sanctuary's heal move with it. Heal and Ward are unchanged.
- Daggers get through more armour, matching a bow of their tier: Bronze and Goblin Daggers 14 (was 5), Iron 26 (was 10), Steel 38 (was 15), Mithril 50 (was 20), Smokefang 50 (was 30), Ebony 62 (was 25), Verdite 86 (was 35), Tyrian 110 (was 45).
Why: from iron up, weapons fell behind the NPCs of their own level. Now each tier's weapon keeps pace with them, and your gear does more of the work than your skill level.
Damage colours
- Damage numbers show what kind of hit they are: orange for melee and ranged, blue for magic (spells, orb bolts, burns and magic attacks from NPCs). Magic critical hits have their own blue look.
- Spell cards, orb tooltips and your stats sheet show magic damage in the same blue.
Reach and size
- Melee reach now counts from the edge of your target, not its middle. A longer weapon stops further out and swings first, so a spear or glaive holds a sword off.
- The Attack range on your stats sheet reads from that edge: 0.8 m for most weapons (was 1.5), spears 1.3 m (was 2), glaives 1.8 m (was 2.5).
- Every NPC's size now matches its model. You stand further back from big animals like Stags, Deer, Goats, Giant Rats and Wild Bulls when you fight them, and splash and area attacks catch them by their real size.
- The red ring under your target fits its body, and boss warning circles match too.
Why: reach is the whole point of a spear, so it should keep a shorter weapon at bay.
Bows with any melee weapon
- A bow now stays worn with a greatsword, two-handed axe or glaive, as it already did with one-handed weapons and daggers. Only an orb takes it off.
- From 8 m out you shoot, and up close you fight with your melee weapon.
Spears and Impale
- A spear always fights in the guarded stance, with or without a shield.
- Impale no longer marks an area on the ground while it winds up, since it only ever hit your target.
Weapon specials without a target Player suggestion
- With nothing to fight, a special aimed at one enemy now arms a targeting cursor, like Heal Other. Click an enemy (or press the key again over one) to cast it.
- If the enemy is out of range you walk up first, and once the special lands you keep fighting it.
- This covers Arcane Blast, Fireball, Glacial Spike, Exsanguinate, Crystal Shatter, Lightless Lance, Blink Strike, Smoke Step, Impale and Aimed Shot. Esc or clicking empty ground cancels.
- With a target, the key fires at it straight away as before. Sweeps (Cleave, Flurry, Bloodreap, Crippling Sweep) always fire at once.
Shorter leash timer Player suggestion
- NPCs now give up the chase 7 seconds after you leave their leash, down from 10. Goblins from the camp and trolls from the mining area no longer follow you so far into Alderwic.
Raised players are Protected
- After Resurrect brings you back to your body, you're Protected for 30 seconds. Nothing can attack you, and you can't fight.
- Walking doesn't end it, so you can get clear of whatever killed you before you fight again.
- An effect card with the time left shows while it lasts, and the Resurrect sigil glows under your feet so everyone can see it. The sigil quickens as it runs out.
- While Protected you can't attack, use a weapon special other than Sanctuary, or Heal or Ward anyone who's in a fight.
Why: raised at a quarter of your health, you often got attacked the moment you rose and died again on the spot.
Try it: Take your usual weapon to the goblin camp north of Alderwic and see how the fights have changed, then try a special with nothing targeted.
Death#
Dying works differently. You no longer lose anything for good.
Worn is worn
- Everything you wear stays on you, arrows too. Before, you kept your 3 most valuable items and the rest, worn gear included, went to your body.
- Each piece you wear loses 10% condition, about an hour and a half of fighting. Gear you can wear below level 21, most boss uniques and tools never wear, so they lose nothing.
Your bag goes to your body
- Everything in your bag goes to your body except Silver Coins, pets and the Alpha Tester cape.
- Your body lasts 30 minutes, and only you can loot it. Go back for it and it's free.
Marlow keeps it for you
- When your body's 30 minutes run out, your things go to Marlow in Alderwic instead of vanishing. Before, they were gone for good.
- Marlow sells it all back for what it's worth, any time, the same ways as before: everything at once, as much as you can afford, or one item at a time. He still sells straight off a body that's lying out there too.
- An unread horse deed in your bag goes to your body like anything else, and buying it back costs its full value.
Telling you what happened
- A You died window now opens when you die. It lists what your gear lost and what a smith charges to fix it, what's on your body and for how long, and what Marlow charges for all of it. Show Marlow on the map opens the World Map.
- While Marlow has anything of yours, he's a pale-gold dot on the minimap and World Map, and Buy back is the top option when you right-click him.
- Chat now names Marlow at 5 minutes and 1 minute left, and again when your body is gone.
- The Kept on death button on the Equip tab is now On death, and shows what stays on you, what stays in your bag and what goes to your body.
Why: a player told us losing a whole bag for good when the timer ran out stopped them playing. Dying should still cost you, through repairs, the walk back or silver, but never lose you anything for good.
How dying works
- Your worn gear stays on and each piece loses a tenth of its full condition. A piece with a tenth or less left breaks, and a Broken piece takes nothing more. Nothing is ever destroyed: repair it.
- Example: a new Ebony Cuirass comes out of a death at 90%. Fixing it straight away takes one Ebony Bar at an anvil or 164 silver at Benny Smith, because repairs round up to a whole bar. Leave it for three deaths and it's still one bar; a fourth makes it two.
- Everything in your bag except Silver Coins, pets and the Alpha Tester cape goes to your body. Your bank is never touched.
- Your body lasts 30 minutes and only you can loot it. After that, Marlow has everything on it, for as long as you like. Several deaths' things all wait with him.
- Marlow's price is each item's full value in silver.
- Every death leaves a body, even with an empty bag, so someone can always Resurrect you.
Slayer#
Handing in
- Handing in a finished task is now a conversation. Talk-to your master (or choose Assignment) with a finished task, and they say a few words about the job and pay you there: "+65 points (15 + 50 bonus) · 153 points in total".
- You're paid as soon as the page opens, so closing it loses nothing. "What's next?" takes you to the Slayer window, which shows what you just handed in until you take a new task.
- Edric Thorne and Osric Fenn each have a few lines they take turns with, plus one for milestone tasks (your 10th, 50th, 100th and so on) and one for party work paid at a part share.
Why: handing in a task felt dry, with no word from the master at all.
Shared tasks and the Codex
- When someone accepts a shared task away from a master, the party cards show who's ready: a green tick on everyone who has the task and an hourglass on anyone who still has to talk to a master to start it. Hover a card for the details. Player suggestion
- If that's you, your Slayer tracker says so in amber, naming whose task it is and telling you to talk to a Slayer master, until you do. Player suggestion
- Right-click the Slayer tracker or a task card in the Slayer window and choose Open Codex to read about the NPC your task is for. Player suggestion
- Buying an Extend for the task you already hold now extends it, keeping your kills. It used to change only the offer card. Player suggestion
- If someone shares the task you already have, the prompt warns you, and Accept reads Accept anyway.
- Boss tasks ask for one more kill: Varric, Ugrot and the Lampwarden 9 (was 8), Hespera 8 (was 7), the Snuffer 7 (was 6). A Hespera task pays 30 points (was 40), because her level is lower.
Stations#
Repairing has moved into the crafting window.
- At an anvil, workbench or fletching bench, Repair is the top category whenever you wear or carry something that station repairs and it has lost condition. Each row shows the piece, its condition and the materials it costs.
- Repairing yourself now takes one craft cycle per piece, with the recipe's animation, and needs the same hammer the recipe does. Moving, being hit or attacking stops it like any craft, and a piece you didn't finish costs nothing.
- Repair all goes through every piece you can repair, one at a time like Make All, and stops when your materials run out.
- Pieces you can't repair yourself stay in the list, greyed, with the level you need. Pick one to see what an NPC would charge.
- Repair stations have a Repair right-click option while you have worn gear. It walks you there and opens the window on Repair.
- Benny Smith, the clothier, the fletcher and the Wizards open the same window, priced in silver. Pay for one piece or Repair all, and the window stays open until nothing's left. Prices are the same as before.
- The repair line on an item now reads "Repair it yourself at an anvil for 1 Ebony Bar, no silver (Smithing 57, you have it). Or pay Benny Smith 164 silver." It used to read as if it cost both.
Why: paying an NPC was a quote in chat that you had to confirm with a second click. Anything you pay for should open a window that shows every option and its price.
NPCs#
Bosses
- New levels and health:
- The Lampwarden: level 32 (was 40), health 12,894 (was 9,500)
- Varric the Smokefang: level 32 (was 41), health 12,889 (was 6,768)
- Ugrot the Unrested: level 32 (was 41), health 15,806 (was 10,000)
- Hespera the Bloodwitch: level 47 (was 63), health 18,882 (was 21,450)
- The Snuffer: level 62 (was 85), health 24,886 (was 27,000)
- Ugrot now wears heavy armour (286, was 31). Magic gets through it far better than arrows.
- Varric no longer drinks Health Potions.
- Hespera's Exsanguinate costs her much less of her own health, so her fight lasts longer.
- A Coven Acolyte that reaches Hespera now heals her much more: up to a fifth of her health, less the more you've hurt it.
- Hespera's Crimson Lance is now three beams in a row, each 5 m wide (was one 4 m beam). Each one aims at her target as its warning starts, and each hits for a third of the old beam. She doesn't swing between them.
- The Shardbound in the Snuffer's fight casts Glacial Spike.
- The Big Runt is bigger.
- Combat XP from a boss follows its health, so the Lampwarden, Varric and Ugrot now pay more per kill, and Hespera and the Snuffer less.
Why: a boss's level now says what level of player it's built for. Hespera spent about half her own health on her blood spell, so her fight was over before it got going. And letting an acolyte reach her should cost you.
The Snuffer fights for his lamps Player suggestion
- A lamp he puts out, or a wick reaches, pours out a thick column of smoke for 10 seconds and won't relight until it clears.
- He grows stronger in the dark: +10% damage with three lamps out, up to +40% with all six. His health bar shows it ("+30% · 5 lamps dark").
- With every lamp out he casts Shadow marks over and over until someone lights one.
- Lights Out now doubles with every pulse you spend in the dark, and your stacks stay until you stand in lamplight, even after the spell ends.
- Shadow marks give you 3.75 seconds to reach a lamp (was 3), so you can make it from his side.
- His Furrow hits once for each of its three lines. Close in, where they cross, that's three hits.
Why: you could beat him standing in one lamp's light the whole fight, relighting it each time he put it out. The lamps are the fight, so keeping several lit should matter.
Goblins and hobgoblins
- New levels:
- Goblin Runt 3 (was 2)
- Goblin Scout 4 (was 3)
- Goblin Warrior 5 (was 3)
- Goblin Shaman 6 (was 5)
- The Big Runt 8 (was 9)
- Hobgoblin Runt 9 (was 7)
- Hobgoblin Scout 10 (was 8)
- Hobgoblin Warrior 11 (was 9)
- Hobgoblin Shaman 12 (was 10)
- Hobgoblin Healer 13 (was 18)
- Possessed Hobgoblin 20 (was 21)
- The Goblin Shaman, Hobgoblin Runt, Hobgoblin Scout and Hobgoblin Shaman hit harder. The Goblin Runt, Goblin Warrior, Hobgoblin Warrior and Hobgoblin Healer hit softer.
- Goblin and Hobgoblin Shamans now heal themselves or an ally below 70% health.
- The Hobgoblin Healer drops a Sanctuary at its feet when it falls below 30%. It heals the healer and any goblin or hobgoblin standing in it.
- The Hobgoblin Shaman now holds, fights with and drops an Arcane Orb II (was Arcane Orb I). The Hobgoblin Healer now holds and drops a Restoration Orb II (was Restoration Orb III).
- Goblin and Hobgoblin Runts are smaller now, and the Warriors bigger.
Reavers
- Reavers are level 14 (was 7), with about twice the health, and they hit harder.
Venomous NPCs
- Heath Adders (level 6) hide in the meadows east of Alderwic. They strike alone, only if you step close.
- Briar Wasps (level 8) nest north of Alderwic, near the hobgoblins. Disturb one and its neighbours join in.
- Fen Vipers (level 20) lie in the Great Swamp just south of Highmarsh. They strike alone, only if you step close.
- Ettercaps (level 24) lurk in the woods east of Fallhaven: big spiders that ambush you from further off.
- Adders and wasps drop the venom for Anti-venom I, Fen Vipers and Ettercaps the venom for Anti-venom II.
Faster respawns
- Every hostile NPC now comes back within 45 seconds, bosses included. NPCs that already came back in 30 seconds keep that pace, and Goblin Runts come back in 15 seconds (was 60).
- Bosses: The Big Runt (was 180 s), Hespera and the Snuffer (were 120 s), Varric, Ugrot and the Lampwarden (were 60 s)
- Were 180 s: Goblin Scout, Hobgoblin Runt, Scout, Warrior and Shaman, Skeleton, Dark Witch, Lowland Troll, Mountain Troll, Swamp Troll, Pit Knight
- Were 120 s: Shardbound, Greenbound Foreman
- Were 90 s: Lamplit Miner, Seep Spider, Greenbound, Vein Gargoyle
- Were 60 s: Goblin Warrior and Shaman, Hobgoblin Healer, Possessed Hobgoblin, Reaver, Smuggler, Smuggler Brute, Smuggler Ringleader
Why: waiting three minutes for a troll to come back was far too long.
Where NPCs are
- More Hobgoblin Shamans, Warriors and Scouts in the camp north of Alderwic.
- More Smugglers and Smuggler Brutes around Fallhaven.
- More Wild Bulls on the way north to Fallhaven.
- More Forest Bears and another Stag west of the Reaver Camp, and two more Foxes north of Alderwic.
- Nearly twice as many Goblin Runts between Alderwic and Marlow's Hut.
- Just north of Alderwic, Goblin Scouts now stand where Hobgoblin Runts and Scouts used to, and three more Goblin Scouts are west of Alderwic.
- Fewer Goblin Shamans and Warriors just north of Alderwic and south-east of Marlow's Hut.
- Crier Bramwell calls one short line at a time instead of long announcements, with two new calls. Ask him about the dead in Hal's mine and he'll point you to Old Hal.
Pets Player suggestion
- Every pet that follows you is now the same height, whether it came from a drop, a boss or your pen. Small pets like the Smokefang wolf pup come out bigger.
- Pen pets now show the full-pen day you got them, not just the date: "Found 16 Oct 2026 · on full-pen day 37" in the collection log, and "Found on day 37" in the pen window. A pen pet you already have gets its day too if it was the last pet that breed gave you.
Alchemy#
Anti-venom I
Adder Venom
Briar Wasp Sting
Anti-venom II
Fen Viper Venom
Ettercap Venom
Anti-venom III
Seep Venom
- Anti-venom I: Alchemy 5, Wildleaf + Adder Venom or Briar Wasp Sting. Alchemist Elias in Alderwic sells it too.
- Anti-venom II: Alchemy 25, Vervain + Fen Viper Venom or Ettercap Venom.
- Anti-venom is now Anti-venom III. Any you already have is renamed.
- Every anti-venom is now a 20-minute ward instead of a cure. It takes a set amount off every venom tick: 10 for Anti-venom I, 45 for Anti-venom II, 135 for Anti-venom III.
- That means Anti-venom III now keeps you safe from venom for 20 minutes (it used to cure you and give 5 minutes' immunity).
- Recipes that take either of two ingredients show as one card: "Adder Venom or Briar Wasp Sting". Make All moves on to the other venom when the first runs out, and the Skills tab and XP calculator list it once.
- The potion's tooltip and the effect bar say what each ward stops and what it only softens.
How venom and anti-venom work
- Venom ticks every 2 seconds. Each bite adds a stack, up to that NPC's limit, and restarts the timer. It keeps ticking after the fight and can kill you.
- Heath Adder and Briar Wasp venom: 2 stacks of 5, so up to 10 a tick, for 60 seconds after the last bite. Fen Viper and Ettercap venom: 3 stacks of 15, up to 45 a tick, for 90 seconds. Seep Spider venom: 3 stacks of 45, up to 135 a tick, for 120 seconds.
- Only one venom runs at a time. A bite from a different kind of NPC replaces the venom you have and starts its stacks over.
- An anti-venom stops venom completely if its ward covers the full tick, and cures it when you drink. Stronger venom keeps ticking, minus the ward.
- Example: with Anti-venom I, adder bites do nothing, a Fen Viper's full stack does 35 a tick instead of 45, and a Seep Spider's 125 instead of 135. Anti-venom II stops viper and ettercap venom and cuts the Seep Spider's to 90.
- Drinking an anti-venom replaces the ward you have, so drinking a weaker one after a stronger one is a downgrade.
Farming#
Herbs Player suggestion
- Each herb and herb seed you pick pays less XP: Wildleaf 25 (was 30), Vervain 99 (was 120), Moonbloom 195 (was 235), Embersage 300 (was 360).
- A full picking from 12 levels above the herb gives 40 herbs (was 45 at +12 and 50 from +13). With manure, 48 (was 60), and they pick at the new speed too.
- Picking keeps getting faster past 6 levels above the herb, where it used to stop: 2.78 s a herb at +7, 1.92 s at +9, 1.33 s at +11 and 1.25 s from +12 (it was 3.33 s from +6 up). A whole picking now takes about 50 seconds at any level (about a minute with manure), where it took nearly three minutes from +13.
- XP for a whole picking from +13: Wildleaf 1,000 (was 1,500), Vervain 3,960 (was 6,000), Moonbloom 7,800 (was 11,750), Embersage 12,000 (was 18,000).
- Seed pickings pick at the old speed. Potion XP is unchanged.
Why: one Embersage planting paid a quarter of a level at Farming 75.
Bank#
- The bank has 200 slots (was 160).
Worn gear#
- Mithril is now a clear mid blue instead of a pale blue-grey: mithril bars, arrows, weapons, tools and armour, and their icons.
Skills#
- The XP calculator's filter has a third setting, Top: only the actions within 20 levels of the best one you've unlocked.
- The calculator remembers the row you picked for each skill and scrolls back to it.
- With a skill goal set, the goal bar now sits above the level bar instead of replacing it.
- Skill unlock tabs follow the tiers: from level 41 each tab covers a whole 20-level tier (Lv 41–60, Lv 61–80, and so on), the same as the station menus.
Interface#
First-time tips
- The first time you get low on health in a fight, a small card above the action bar tells you that you can't eat during a fight, and to drink a health potion or walk away until the enemy stops chasing you, then eat. Your health potions flash on the action bar and in your bag. If you don't have any, it tells you Alchemist Elias sells them. Player suggestion
- The first time a fight ends with you below three quarters of your health and food in your bag, a second card says you can eat now: one click keeps eating until you're full, and food makes you Well Fed for 20 minutes. Your food flashes.
- Each tip shows once per account, on every computer and in the browser. Tick Don't show tips on the card to turn them off, or use Show tips and Show again in Settings → Interface.
- In a fight, food on the action bar and in your bag is greyed out with crossed swords, and it lights up again when the fight ends. Click it anyway and the slot shakes with Not in combat.
Why: new players got low in their first fights and didn't know food doesn't work in combat but potions do.
- Right-click a friend in your friends list, or someone else's party card, and choose Examine to open their HighScores. If they're near you, you also see what examining them in the world shows. Player suggestion
- Right-click your own party card to Leave party. Player suggestion
- NPC dots on the minimap and world map are bigger when you zoom in and shrink as you zoom out. Hostile NPCs are red, everyone else gold (on the minimap, grey while another party has them tagged, as before). On the world map they have a dark rim and a Hostile row in the key to hide them, and on both maps they sit under icons and place names.
- The General Store in Alderwic has its own icon on the minimap and World Map, a tied sack, with a General store row in the key.
Codex#
- An NPC's combat page now opens with five lines: Hitpoints, DPS, Armour, Magic resist and Weak to. The rest (mana, weapon, hits, crit, speed, range) is in a list below.
- DPS is new: how much damage the NPC deals a second before your armour, split into Physical and Magic. It counts a caster's damaging spells. NPCs that carry a melee weapon and a bow show both, like "35 Physical (27 at range)": they shoot from a distance and switch to the melee weapon when you close in.
- Weak to names the damage type, in its colour: "Physical (+40%)", "Magic (+60%)" or "Neither".
Chat#
- Party chat shows as a speech bubble over the speaker, in the party colour, so you can call plays mid-fight. Only your party sees it. Player suggestion
- Right-click a chat line and choose Copy message to copy it, in the browser too. A player's line copies what they wrote; any other line copies all of it. Player suggestion
- Three new emojis for chat and reactions: thumbs up, thumbs down and angry. Player suggestion
- Drinking potions and picking up or putting down pets now count as filtered messages, so System → Filtered hides them.
Play in browser#
- In the browser, NPCs you aren't talking to, trading with, banking with, targeting or fighting now appear within 35 m (was 60 m). Other players still appear within 60 m, and map dots don't change.
Why: in towns and camps, the browser's frame time grows with every character it draws.
- The freeze when you enter the world is shorter.
- On phones and tablets, graphics now stay on Low memory or Potato. The higher presets are greyed out there: they ran too slowly on every phone we've seen. If you'd picked one, you're moved back to Low memory once. Laptops with touch screens aren't affected.
World#
Less rain
- It rains a lot less. Rain or storm, as a share of the time: around Alderwic and the heartlands about one hour in twelve (was one in five), Fallhaven about one in five (was nearly half), the Great Swamp just over a third (was two thirds).
- Fewer weather fronts come in off the sea, more of them are dry cloud, and they lose their rain quickly over land. Swamp showers stay over the swamp instead of soaking the fields beside it.
- The faint edge of a front is now cloud, not drizzle.
Why: players told us it rains too much.
Warmer light, cooler shade
- Sunlight is a warmer amber, and shade takes its colour from the blue sky, so sunlit ground stands out against cool shadows. Shadows are deeper.
- Sunrise and sunset glow stronger and last longer: the golden light starts earlier in the evening and holds into the blue hour.
- The picture's own colour boost is gentler, since the light now carries the colour.
- On Potato, the light's colours change and nothing else.
- Distant valleys have their haze back: it's thicker and reaches higher, so you see it from the normal camera on every graphics setting.
Why: the day looked flat. The light itself was nearly white and grey, and only the screen's colour boost added any, which lifts every colour alike and can't make warm light against cool shade.
Quests#
- Handing in Learning the Ropes now starts Made to Order and tracks it, and Marlow sends you to Benny at the forge. If you finished it before, Marlow still offers Made to Order.
- In Learning the Ropes, the quest arrow leads you to birch trees for the Birch Log step.
- Sergeant Tom's Scout Sweep asks for 5 Goblin Scouts (was 12).
- In The Alchemist's Apprentice, the arrow leads you to the red cap patches in the meadow on the road to Marlow's hut, and Alchemist Elias tells you where they grow.
- When the quest arrow marks a spot on screen, like a far tree, it now hovers above it and points straight down instead of tilting towards it.
Fixes#
- Inventory: food in your bag flashed yellow whenever you were hurt with any quest tracked. It now only does that during Learning the Ropes.
- Targeting: far-away enemies are easier to hover and click. Past about 25 m, an enemy a few pixels from the pointer or against the sky often couldn't be picked.
- Quests: NPCs who were only one step in someone else's quest kept repeating its closing line after you finished it. Edric Thorne, Benny Smith, Old Hal, Farmer Tobin and Kippy now say their own lines again, and Edric takes Slayer hand-ins on Talk-to.
- Browser: a freeze of up to a minute no longer disconnects you (it used to after 20 seconds). A tab in the background now gets 75 seconds (was 60).
- Phones and tablets: on a slow device, a tap could do nothing at all. Taps now always count.
- Phones and tablets: on a slow device, the area around you could stay on "Loading terrain" for over a minute. It now loads much faster.
- Heal Other and Ward Other: they could be cast on hostile NPCs. They now only work on you, other players and friendly NPCs.
- Quick cast: the range ring follows the ground and shows through buildings and hills. Slopes and roofs used to swallow it.
- Shops: your items in the sell grid show their quality pips and wear bar.
- Social panel: long explanations, like the party credit rules, are no longer cut off.
- Fading: Greenbound's verdite growths and carried milk buckets fade in and out with whoever carries them instead of popping.
- Slayer: NPCs that wander near the edge of an area now count for the task in the area they belong to.
- Codex: a boss's health now matches its real health bar. Some showed thousands more or less than they had.
- Chat: after a long session, reconnecting put your old login chat back at the bottom and hid your recent lines until you relogged. Player suggestion
- Party: a player on a horse showed the horse's neck over their face on the party card. Player suggestion
- Skills: the Lightless Lantern shows under Uniques in the Magic unlock list.
- Lobby: on Potato, the campfire lobby was nearly black. Its lights now stay on.
- Shadows: tree shadows twitched to a new pose every few seconds. On Low, shadows further than about 30 m away also jumped to a completely different shape each time they were redrawn. They now move smoothly like Medium's, and Low draws distant shadows in twice the detail. The light in Low's mist, which shifted in blocks near trees each time, now fades across too.
Questions or thoughts on this update? Talk about it on Discord ›
🤝Social#
Why: a player asked to see their party's drops straight away. Only the owner can take a drop at first, so nobody grabs someone else's boss unique.