What changed in Update 16

  • Guests can bring a selected single-player character; regular character progress saves back to that slot while quests and quest items stay host-side.
  • Guest character progress saves every 30 seconds independently of host world saves.
  • Companion permadeath is optional and disabled by default; defeated companions recover after combat.
  • Party status bars, sorting, larger settings text and faster save/load menus improve readability.
  • Movement sync, save-slot handling, weapon transfer and split-screen isolation received fixes.

Why it matters now

Portable guest characters and optional companion permadeath change how players should prepare saves and manage party risk.

Affected guides

  • /co-op — current guidance incorporates this update.
  • /companions — current guidance incorporates this update.
  • /alchemy — current guidance incorporates this update.
  • /controller — current guidance incorporates this update.
  • /updates/16 — current guidance incorporates this update.

Evidence boundary

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