The Blood of Dawnwalker Update — Difficulty & Lock-On Changes

Rebel Wolves' first major post-launch update is coming, and the studio's director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz has confirmed its shape in a Eurogamer interview (reported September 22). Four changes are locked in: a new difficulty below Story, manual target-lock control, easier combat escapes, and PC-focused performance work. The update is expected in October 2026 — it is not live yet, so no numeric patch notes exist; everything below is announced direction, not final tuning.

A difficulty below Story

Plenty of players want the valley's story without its fight curve, and Rebel Wolves is answering with a new easiest tier — gentler than the current Story mode, built around "story and exploration first." Existing difficulties stay in the game but get renamed, because the "Story" name is being reserved for the new floor. If you found the launch game unforgiving, this is the official on-ramp.

Lock-on that listens to you

Current build quirk: after you land a stun ability, Coen automatically swings his attention to another enemy — intentional design, but it reads as the game fighting your inputs in crowd fights. The update hands more of that control to the player, cutting the accidental-target problem without removing the auto-behavior entirely.

Getting out of fights

Disengaging is currently harder than it should be — enemies will chase across absurd distances, and some fights feel inescapable even after a long sprint. The update shrinks pursuit behavior so breaking contact actually works, which matters for time-management runs where a stray fight can eat your last usable segments.

Performance

Optimization work is confirmed, with the disclosed effort aimed at PC first; whether PS5 gets the same treatment is still unannounced. This page will be updated with the official patch notes — including any concrete numbers — when the update ships.

Keep reading:

• Game Overview
• Release Date & Editions
• Leveling Fast — Shrine XP Loop