The Blood of Dawnwalker's big October patch aims for better accessibility and tighter combat

Rebel Wolves now has a rough date for the first major update to The Blood of Dawnwalker: the patch is currently scheduled for early October. As reported by Gamereactor España, based on Eurogamer's coverage, the update brings a new, easier difficulty option along with a batch of combat tweaks that address three of the most talked-about issues among players: target lock, the camera and the mechanic for escaping fights.

This is no minor patch. The game's director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, describes it as a genuinely substantial content drop. That matters because these are core systems: when a studio decides to change how you aim, how the camera moves and how you get out of a fight, it is acknowledging that the game's feel can and should be improved. For players looking to master the combat system, or for anyone who records and streams their playthroughs, these changes directly affect the day-to-day experience.

What you need to know

• The Blood of Dawnwalker's first major patch is scheduled for early October.
• It adds a new, easier difficulty, designed for enjoying the story without the friction of combat.
• This new option will take over the Story mode name; the current setting will be renamed, although the studio has yet to decide what to call it.
• The camera, target lock and escape mechanic in combat are all being adjusted.
• Automatic target switching after a crowd-control hit will no longer trigger from a single hit: it will now take three.

What's changing in combat and difficulty

The most eye-catching change is the difficulty. This isn't an extra challenge for veterans, but quite the opposite: a mode that is even more forgiving than the current one, aimed at players who want to experience the narrative without every encounter turning into a brick wall. The curious detail is the name shuffle: the new option will take the Story mode label, while the existing Story mode will be given a different name that has yet to be decided. The move is meant to make things clearer for new players, although it will force those who already know the game to reorient themselves in the menu a little.

On the gameplay side, the most significant change concerns target lock. Until now, taking a crowd-control hit could cause your target to switch on its own, something many players saw as a bug. Tomaszkiewicz clarifies that it wasn't: it was a deliberate design decision. Even so, the studio has chosen to soften it, so it will now take three hits before the lock is lost. On top of that, there are tweaks to camera behavior and to the way you escape from combat.

Our take

Here at Underworld Lordz, we're in no doubt: the target-lock change is the best news in this patch. Having a crowd-control hit rip your target away might make sense on paper, as a penalty for getting caught, but in practice it feels like losing control because of the system rather than your own execution. In any game with demanding combat, legitimate frustration comes from your own mistakes; the illegitimate kind comes from the camera or the targeting. Moving to three hits is a sensible middle ground that preserves the original idea without punishing players so arbitrarily.

As for the new difficulty, we're not going to buy into the argument that making a game easier ruins it. A mode built around the narrative takes nothing away from those looking for a challenge; it broadens the audience and, along the way, benefits story-focused content creators, who will be able to progress without getting stuck on every fight. What does bother us is the name change: renaming the existing mode and reusing its label for a different one could cause confusion in guides, comparisons and community discussions. The fact that the studio still hasn't settled on a final name doesn't inspire much confidence either.

And a heads-up for anyone timing runs or preparing mastery content: any change to the camera, target lock and escaping will alter routes, strategies and even tutorials that are already out there. If you're recording right now, it might be worth waiting until early October so you don't have to redo your work.

What do you think?

Rebel Wolves insists the target switching was intentional, yet it is tweaking it anyway, while also opening the door to an even more accessible mode. Do you think the studio is polishing its combat the right way, or is it giving in too much to criticism? Let us know in the team chat or on our Discord: will you be returning to The Blood of Dawnwalker when the patch arrives?