Current latest: Update 17

HOTBAR AND MORE was released September 21, 2026. The official announcement was checked Sep 25, 2026; SteamDB cross-checks build 25428008.

  • Official defaults: R/B weapon–spell toggle, PC 1–8 hotkeys and Q autorun; favorites drive the radial wheel and the legacy equip setting remains available.
  • More accurate enemies, an 85% armor damage-reduction cap, rebalanced armor/attribute progression and no automatic HP simply for leveling up.
  • Resting heals away from enemies, but hostile-area rest can be interrupted. Nine summons were added and existing summons retuned.
  • Six alchemy effects, four potion quality levels and over-time restoration; unknown shared effects stay hidden and merchants clear excess inventory every three in-game days.
  • Evidence chests, new fungal-area dungeons, underwater scenery, disconnect alerts and specific companion/co-op fixes shipped.

Changed in Update 17

This page was compared with the official Update 17 announcement on September 25, 2026. The changes above are developer-reported; details requiring in-game testing remain explicitly unresolved.

Major update timeline

UpdateDateFocus
Update 17 — Hotbar and MoreSeptember 21, 2026Hotbar, Controls, Combat, Resting, Summoning, Alchemy, Potions, Crime, Armor, Progression, World, Multiplayer, Co-op, Companions
Update 16September 10, 2026Co-op characters, Companions, Multiplayer, Interface
Update 15September 5, 2026Perk overhaul, Builds, Foraging, World changes
Update 14September 2, 2026Alchemy vendors, Inventory, Co-op fixes, Save UI
Update 13September 1, 2026Perk UI, Co-op settings, Equipment, Quest UI
Update 12August 30, 2026Stealth, Pickpocket, Magic, Weapons
Update 11August 25, 2026Progression, Magic, Equipment, Co-op fixes

Evidence boundary

Exact values, requirements and edge cases stay marked as unverified until they can be checked in the current build.

Current latest: Update 17

Official Steam news lists Update 17 — HOTBAR AND MORE, published Sep 21, 2026, as the current latest named update. The announcement was checked Sep 25, 2026.

Update 16 is the previous named update. Refer to the named update when comparing a guide, save or bug report rather than inventing a decimal version label.

Original guide diagram

Current patch history

timeline

From Hotfix 4 to Update 17

Evidence keyOfficial recordCurrent guide actionEvidence boundary
  1. Hotfix 4Spongestone restoration.
  2. Hotfix 5Unlock-spell fix.
  3. Update 6Controller, companion and broader repair work.
  4. Update 7Navigation, Uruhan and race-change additions.
  5. Update 8Performance, quest direction and balance work.
  6. Hotfix 9Camera, quest and accessibility follow-up.
  7. Hotfix 10Performance-regression and camera follow-up.
  8. Update 11New effects and weapons, linear skill XP, and system fixes.
  9. Update 12Stealth rework, Force Spike, katanas and maces.
  10. Update 13Perk UI, co-op settings and quest-interface changes.
  11. Update 14Alchemy vendor cleanup, save UI and co-op fixes.
  12. Update 15Complete perk ladders and a major perk overhaul.
  13. Update 16Portable co-op characters and companion reliability.
  14. Update 17Hotbar, combat, rest, summons, potion quality and armor progression.
A chronological guide-relevant timeline through Update 17, checked Sep 25, 2026.Not an official in-game map or UI capture.

Update 11 — what changed

Waterwalking, Feather and Burden are available at the spell crafter and on some items. The note says their spell tomes were distributed to vendors only on new game; it does not establish old-save vendor behavior.

Skill XP changed from exponential to linear, and autosave not storing quest state in co-op was fixed. These are current build facts, while exact progression tables and broader multiplayer save behavior remain unclaimed.

This summary preserves the changes that affect existing guides without reproducing the complete announcement. Exact spell magnitudes, alchemy formulas, gated POI names and complete weapon data remain outside the official record.

AreaGuide-relevant official changes
New spells and weaponsWaterwalking, Feather and Burden; maces and morningstars
Skills and levelingLinear skill XP, dramatically lower requirements, Archery HP/Stamina scaling and 2× training cost
Alchemy and inventoryPotion value scales with Alchemy skill; 99,999 stacks, weight and inventory-scaling corrections
Co-op and questsQuest-state autosave fix; Freg/Zan and Dice reward corrections; recut dialogue
Spellcrafting fixesThird-person targeting, regeneration, Slink cost, dropdown colors and Fire damage
Map / POI / worldCertain POIs unavailable at game start; Scarlet Forest dungeon, ghost and Tower-shaft corrections
Controller / handheld / UIController glyphs and ROG Ally inheriting Steam Deck settings
Combat and visualsSpear bonus, hitbox, enemy/item-pool, armor and rigging corrections

Update 8 historical context

Update 8 reported improved performance on lower-end systems and added low-VRAM texture-loss protection, while warning that texture loss may still occur at higher graphics settings. It also changed perks, weapons and spells and moved Bartolomaeus for Mentoring Magic.

The move is useful current quest context, but it does not establish a complete Bartolomaeus route, schedule or every save-state outcome.

Hotfixes 9 and 10

Hotfix 9 documents an exception when Bartolomaeus was already met and spawned in the current save. It also changes custom mouse waypoint placement to right click only and adds POI fast travel under Accessibility; Hotfix 10 repeats that accessibility option.

Hotfix 10 fixed a temporary performance regression from the previous hotfix and remains important history. Update 16 is now the first comparison point for a current report; save age still belongs in quest and navigation diagnostics.

Update 7 changed navigation and races

  • Added Uruhan as a playable race.
  • Added a race change mirror on the southern shore.
  • Added the `changeappearance` command and more race-reactive dialogue.
  • Added more POIs and TES3-style quest-area guidance on the map.
  • Added the option to disable shadows for a significant performance improvement.
  • Refined and rebalanced spell crafting.

Earlier update context

Update 6 added the Jump spell and `resetcamera`, improved map and companion behavior, clarified quest directions, relaxed some quest requirements, increased alchemy XP and addressed several multiplayer and texture-streaming problems. Hotfix 5 added a craftable Unlock spell, teammate teleport through a map marker, quest fixes, NPC persistence work and VRAM or texture changes.

Hotfix 4 records multiplayer stability work, GPU texture work, an integrated-GPU selection attempt and the restoration of Spongestone. These are historical patch facts, not guarantees about every current save.