Patch History — Combatants of Creation

Oct1320261:11 PM ET

Update 35

Latest

Private Lobby Bots & Ping Wheel

Private lobby hosts can now remove bots, choose their classes and set their difficulty, and a new ping wheel puts eight team callouts on the middle mouse button. The post-game summary no longer closes by accident, each key now does one thing, and a rare freeze while loading into a match is fixed.

Full notes· 16 changes

Parties & Matchmaking

Private lobbies: the host can now remove bots to play with smaller or uneven teams, for example 2 v 1. A removed bot leaves an Open Seat that anyone can take, and the host can add the bot back. Each team needs at least one combatant.
Private lobbies: the host can choose each bot's class, or leave it on Auto for a balanced team. A team can have the same class more than once.

Interface

New ping wheel: press the middle mouse button to open a wheel of eight callouts around your crosshair: Enemy, Attack, Astral Cache, Group Up, Need Help, Defend, Fall Back and Danger. Move the mouse to a callout and let go to place it where you aimed; let go in the centre, or right-click, to cancel.
Callouts show in the world, at the edge of the screen and on the minimap for your team, and post a line in team chat. Like every ping they last 5 seconds; Enemy follows the enemy you aimed at and Need Help follows you. G still places the plain team ping.
The post-game summary no longer closes on its own. Only a click on RETURN TO LOBBY (available after 2 seconds) takes you back early; Space, Enter and ability keys no longer do.

Settings

Keybinds: a new Ping wheel action, on the middle mouse button by default; Team ping now uses G only.
Interface: a new Ping wheel option, on by default. Turned off, the Ping wheel key places a plain ping instead.
Keybinds: a key now does one thing only. Binding a key that is already in use moves it and tells you which action lost it. Spectate next now defaults to R.

Bots

Private lobbies: the host sets one bot difficulty for the whole lobby: Easy, Normal, Hard or Expert. Hard is the default and matches the bots in public matches.
Easy and Normal bots react more slowly and aim less precisely, only notice enemies they can see, only read attacks they are facing, and sometimes pick the wrong ability.
Expert bots focus the weakest enemy together, interrupt healers, protect their own healer and save their dodges for the big hits.
Public matches keep today's bots, unchanged.

Performance & Stability

Fixed a rare freeze at 99% while loading into a match.
If the game ever stops responding while loading into a match, it now closes with an error report after 30 seconds instead of hanging.

Launcher & Website

The game and launcher icon is bigger and sharper on the Windows taskbar: the emblem fills its space and stays bold at small sizes, with a thin dark edge so it reads on light and dark taskbars. A pinned shortcut may keep the old icon until Windows refreshes it; unpin and pin it again to see the new one.

Bug Fixes

A player whose game stops responding while loading no longer takes their seat back from the bot that is covering it.

Oct1320267:54 AM ET

Update 34

Combat Feedback & Weapon Grip

Buffs and debuffs now show with icons and timers, crowd control gets a clear alert, hits sound and feel like they land, and healers can self-cast. Matches start where you stand, First Crucible loses its invisible walls, and every class now truly grips its weapons.

Full notes· 26 changes

Combat

Self-cast: hold Self-cast (default Left Alt) while pressing Absolution, Communion or Mending Verse to cast the heal on yourself, wherever your crosshair aims.
When the match countdown ends, nobody respawns or is moved: everyone's match stats, class state, health, resource, cooldowns and guard refill where they stand, with no spawn protection. A combatant without a living character still spawns at their team start.

Classes

WardenIntercept now puts its barrier on the Warden as it is cast, even if the dash reaches no ally, and on the ally it reaches. Its tooltip is updated.

Maps

First Crucible: removed invisible walls at the Inferno gate's front corners that stood up to 5 m past the visible Gothic walls, along both arms and inside the court. The visible walls are now the walls, and the Inferno starting zone stays sealed while the portals are closed.
First Crucible: removed the invisible cover boxes around the four mid-field shrines; the statues themselves are now the cover.

Interface

Every buff and debuff now shows with the icon of the ability that applied it, a gold (buff) or red (debuff) frame and its time left, on your status row, the target frame, ally frames and nameplates, after the crowd-control icons.
This covers barriers, protections such as Bulwark and Edict of Stone, class buffs and marks, lingering spells such as Anathema, and damage or healing fields while you stand in them.
New crowd-control alert under the crosshair while you are KNOCKED DOWN, KNOCKED BACK, STUNNED, ROOTED or SLOWED (with the slow's percentage), showing the seconds left and a draining bar.
Damage numbers are about 1.6 times larger, with crits larger still.
When you are hit, the edge of the screen flashes red.
Crosshair hit marks now also show with Reduced motion on (without the flare), and the kill mark now also appears on the killing blow.
The large count in the last 10 seconds of regulation now uses the pre-match countdown's cream lettering at a smaller size (was large gold numbers).

Settings

New Settings > Interface > Damage number size slider, 60% to 150% (default 100%, the new larger size).
New Settings > Interface > Crosshair > Crowd control alert (On by default).
New Settings > Accessibility > Camera shake when hit (On by default; always off with Reduced motion).
New Self-cast keybind under Settings > Keybinds > Combat (default Left Alt).

Characters & Gear

Every class now truly grips its weapons: rigid gauntlets sculpted per gear set, the weapon seated in the gauntlet's grip, and shields and off-hand items held by their handles.
Gaps that open in armour mid-swing now show a faction under-armour with faint ember cracks (sky blue for Cosmic, red for Inferno) instead of bare body.
Pauldrons now follow the arm as it moves.
The Cosmic Assassin's throat now fits cleanly under the mask's throat plate.
In the Lobby and Armory each class now stands upright and relaxed holding its weapons and facing forward, with no flourish. Teammates on the Lobby altars use the same stance.

Visual Effects & Audio

You now hear a confirm sound for every hit you land, heavier on a critical and distinct on a kill; an area attack hitting several enemies plays it once.
A move's impact sound now plays only when its blow actually lands, never on a missed swing.
Blocks and parries now ring with a clang.
When you are hit you hear a body blow that scales with the damage, and a hit of 5% of your maximum health or more gives the camera a small kick.
The last 10 seconds of regulation are now counted aloud by your faction's countdown voice, replacing the tick.

Oct1220266:08 PM ET

Update 33

Combat Flow Overhaul

Basic attacks now build resource and abilities do the damage, with much shorter cooldowns across all six classes. Every move can be used on the move, slows are stronger, the Exorcist is a true healer and health regenerates out of combat.

Full notes· 39 changes

Combat

Builder and spender: your basic attack now builds resource and your abilities do the damage. Ability cooldowns are much shorter and resource is now what limits casting, so weave your basic between abilities to keep casting.
Melee basic attacks (Riven Strike, Shielded Strike and Twin Rend) now swing at most once every 0.5 s. As with ranged basics, a press up to 0.2 s early is remembered.
Every move can be used on the move: you steer through every wind-up and follow-through, heavy moves and supers included. Heavy moves no longer lock your walking during their follow-through.
Casts are cast at full run and are never cancelled by moving.
Leaps and dashes keep their flight and hand control back when you land, at no more than running speed.
On the move, attacks and casts play on the upper body over running legs; leaps, dashes and airborne slams still use the whole body.
Letting go of movement in the middle of a move now slows you to a stop instead of snapping.
Backpedalling straight back is now 65% of run speed, easing back to full speed at a pure strafe.
Slows are stronger (see each class below); the overall 50% slow cap is unchanged.
A dodge while slowed now covers less ground: (1 − slow) of its normal distance, so a 40% slow leaves 60%.
Health now regenerates at 2% of maximum per second after 6 seconds without taking a hit (40 per second on 2,000 health). Any hit, tick or shield soak restarts the wait. It does not count as healing and shows no numbers.

Classes

ReaverRiven Strike deals 90 / 100 / 140 across its combo (was 105 / 115 / 170) and 90 as a running opener (was 105). It swings at most once every 0.5 s and restores 6 Fury per hit (was 10).
ReaverRuinous Charge deals 350 damage (was 140), cooldown 8 s (was 14 s), and slows by 40% (was 25%).
ReaverCleaving Verdict deals 425 damage (was 170), cooldown 6 s (was 10 s).
ReaverCrushing Descent deals 650 damage (was 260), cooldown 6 s (was 12 s), and slows by 50% (was 30%). It now carries your run in a locked direction until you land.
ReaverFinal Sentence deals 550 damage (was 220) and 950 against a target below 35% health (was 380), cooldown 8 s (was 18 s). It now hits every enemy within 3 m of where the sword lands (was 1.75 m), and the leap stays in flight until you land by your sword.
WardenShielded Strike deals 40 / 40 / 55 across its combo (was 70 / 75 / 105) and 40 as a running opener (was 70). It swings at most once every 0.5 s and restores 4 Guard per hit (was 8). Guard regenerates 3 per second (was 5).
WardenIntercept cooldown 10 s (was 12 s).
WardenRepulse deals 300 damage (was 100), cooldown 4 s (was 14 s).
WardenBulwark cooldown 15 s (was 20 s) and it no longer slows you (was a 15% movement penalty). Its description now reads "Take 30% less damage for 4 s."
WardenEdict of Stone cooldown 12 s (was 20 s); its slow is 25% (was 12%), up to 35% (was 18%).
AssassinTwin Rend deals 80 per press across its two hits (was 90). It swings at most once every 0.5 s and now restores 2 Vigor for each hit that lands (was none). Vigor regenerates 10 per second (was 14).
AssassinVeilstep deals 480 damage (was 210), cooldown 4 s (was 8 s).
AssassinSplintercut deals 350 damage (was 150), cooldown 5 s (was 10 s).
AssassinCircle of Knives deals 310 damage (was 135), cooldown 6 s (was 14 s); its slow is 35% (was 20%), up to 45% (was 30%).
AssassinUnmake deals 960 damage (was 420); cooldown unchanged at 55 s.
TempestariiPrimal Spark deals 40 damage (was 62) and restores 8 Aether when it lands (was 2). Aether regenerates 5 per second (was 6).
TempestariiCooldowns shortened: Stormlance 4 s (was 6 s), Arc Cascade 5 s (was 10 s), Faultwake 10 s (was 15 s). Worldstorm stays at 60 s.
TempestariiWorldstorm and Faultwake now move with you, following your feet.
ExorcistCensure deals 28 damage (was 48) and restores 6 Conviction when it lands (was 2). Conviction regenerates 7.5 per second (was 5.25), enough to keep healing without weaving damage.
ExorcistAnathema deals 180 on impact plus 90 over 4 s (was 100 plus 50), cooldown 5 s (was 7 s).
ExorcistHeals are cheaper: Absolution costs 22 (was 28); Communion costs 30 (was 36) with a 10 s cooldown (was 12 s); Vesper Sanctuary costs 44 (was 48) with a 15 s cooldown (was 18 s).
ExorcistAbsolution and Communion now home on the ally nearest your crosshair within 15 degrees. If no ally is in that cone the heal falls back to you, and if the ally goes out of sight during the cast it goes to the ally now nearest the crosshair, otherwise to you.
HierophantInvocation deals 30 damage (was 48) and restores 7 Concord when it lands (was 2). Concord regenerates 6.5 per second (was 6.75).
HierophantCooldowns shortened: Judgment Verse 4 s (was 6 s), Confluence 6 s (was 10 s), Balance Field 12 s (was 18 s).

Interface

Melee basic attack tooltips now read "0.5s between swings".
Ability descriptions updated to match: Primal Spark, Censure and Invocation say they restore 8 Aether, 6 Conviction and 7 Concord; Twin Rend says it restores 2 Vigor per hit; Worldstorm says it moves with you; Final Sentence gives its 3 m strike radius.

Bots

Bots now move while casting, like players.

Bug Fixes

Fixed grey boxes appearing on the ground: Exorcist Anathema (both factions) and Reaver Crushing Descent debris now show as rock, and the Cosmic death impact no longer draws a grey box.

Oct1220264:06 PM ET

Update 32

Party Invites & Portal Fade

Group codes are gone: you are always in a party and invite players by name with a one-click banner. On First Crucible the starting portals fade smoothly and every visible piece of the map now blocks attacks and heals.

Full notes· 12 changes

Combat

Homing projectiles such as Primal Spark, Invocation and Censure keep their lock only while they can see their target. Once a wall is between them, the shot flies straight on and can no longer bend around cover into a starting zone.

Maps

First Crucible: the starting portals now fade away as one on their 1.6 s dissolve. The glow dims with it, the fires and their roar fade from the moment it opens, and the opening flash swells in and dims out instead of popping.
First Crucible: every visible piece of the map now stops attacks and heals, including the Inferno gate's ember window panels, candles and wax, pentagrams, the brazier, the Gothic tower spire and the fountain and river water. Movement and the camera are unchanged.

Parties & Matchmaking

You are now always in a party: a party of one with you as host, made when you enter the Lobby, after Leave Party and after being removed.
Group codes are removed from the game, along with Create Party and Join Party.
Any party member can invite from the Friends panel in the Lobby or Armory: INVITE on an online player's row, or type their exact username (not case-sensitive). An empty Invite Player row opens the Friends panel.
INVITE is hidden for players already in your party and disabled while the party is full. You see one line back: "Invite sent to X.", "No player named X.", "X isn't online.", "X is already in your party." or "Your party is full."
Invited players get a banner "<name> invites you to their party" with the inviter's portrait and level and ACCEPT / DECLINE. It lasts 60 seconds, up to three stack, and it shows in the Lobby, the Armory and during a match.
ACCEPT leaves your current party and joins the inviter's lobby. If you were Ready or matching, your queue is cancelled; the Armory stays open.
Accepting during a match shows "You'll join X's party after this match." and you join when you return to the lobby (also if you leave early), within an hour. Accepting an invite from a party that is in a match puts you in its lobby to wait.
Leave Party gives you a fresh party of your own and is hidden while you are alone. Kicked players can be invited again.
Private lobbies are now joined by invitation instead of a group code.

Oct12202611:16 AM ET

Update 31

Private Lobbies & Altars

Private lobbies let a host set the teams themselves, groups now stay together after every match, and your teammates stand beside you on the Lobby altars. The match loading screen has a new look.

Full notes· 17 changes

Lobby & Armory

Your two human teammates now stand on the side altars beside you in the Lobby, in their class and exact equipped gear. Bot or empty seats leave the altar empty.
In a private lobby everyone on the altars, you included, wears your team's faction; public lobbies show each player's presented faction.
In a public group the host's crown now sits right after the host's name, as in private lobbies.

Parties & Matchmaking

New PUBLIC / PRIVATE dropdown in the Lobby's Game Mode panel. Only the host (marked with a crown) can change it, and PUBLIC can't be chosen with four or more members.
Private lobbies (Casual · PRIVATE · 6 MAX, "Set the teams yourself. No matchmaking."): up to six players in three Cosmic and three Inferno slots, with bots in any empty slot. The match is exactly the seats chosen and is never filled from outside.
In a private lobby, new members take the first open slot and anyone can TAKE SPOT on a bot's slot. The host can MOVE a member (swapping with anyone in the way) or KICK them; a kicked player can rejoin with the group code.
Faction preference is not used in private lobbies; your slot sets your team.
Private matches pay the same progression as public matches, and Party chat in a private lobby reaches the whole lobby.
In a private match the host has END MATCH in the Escape menu (with a confirmation) from the countdown on. The team ahead wins; a tie is a DRAW with no win bonus. Everyone earns the full completion rewards and sees the post-match summary with a DRAW banner. A tie at the end of regulation still goes to sudden death.
If the host leaves, drops, never arrives or loses their held seat, the host role passes to the longest-standing member and stays there.
Public groups now hold at most three players.
Groups stay together after every match, public or private: you return to the lobby with the same members, host and slots, everyone un-readied, and can Ready again without re-joining.
A member who left a match early can leave the group while the rest are still playing.
Members inactive for 90 seconds drop out of an idle group.
Changing your class in the lobby now reaches your group straight away, instead of only when you Ready.

Interface

New match loading screen: MATCH LOADING in gold lettering with a slow sheen, a gilded progress bar with a molten gold fill (the same bar as the level-up screen) and gold numbers. Reduced Motion holds the animation still.
This replaces the old loading bar, which drew as a plain white bar without its gold fill. Loading itself is unchanged.

Oct1220262:37 AM ET

Update 30

Match Tooltips & Smoother Starts

Ability tooltips now work on your action bar during a match, and online matches start reliably when a party member is slow to connect. Includes small cursor, Friends label and Armory keybind fixes.

Full notes· 10 changes

Parties & Matchmaking

When a party member is slow to connect, the match now waits up to 60 seconds after the first member is in and loaded, then starts.
A bot takes each missing member's seat and holds it for 60 seconds. The player takes the seat over when they arrive (their loadout locks then); otherwise the seat is released and they earn nothing for that match.
If the only player leaves before the countdown, the match is closed after a 60-second reconnect window instead of keeping a match server busy for up to 20 minutes.
An online match that no player reaches within 180 seconds is closed and its server freed for other players.

Interface

Hover any of the five abilities on your action bar during a match, including your basic attack, to see the same tooltip the Armory shows. It appears beside the action bar and always at 100% size, moving above the resource readout if there is no room.
The in-match tooltip hides while you hold a mouse button, while you are dead or spectating, and behind the Escape menu, Settings, scoreboard and chat. Clicks always pass through to the game.
Ability tooltips in the Armory and in matches have a cleaner detail line: a plain word for the ability's delivery (Melee, Projectile, Cast, Dash, Instant, Leap, Teleport, Self, Ally, Area, Ground, Cone or Directional), no zero cooldown, cost or range, cast time only when there is one, and ranged basics show "0.75s between shots".

Bug Fixes

In Windowed mode the mouse is no longer briefly locked to the window at launch.
The Friends button's "0 ONLINE" label no longer overlaps the gem on the top bar's frame.
Armory ability tiles now show a changed keybind immediately, instead of only after reopening the Armory.

Oct11202611:18 PM ET

Update 29

Ranged Pacing & Match End

Ranged basic attacks are now paced builders, attacks no longer lock you in place, and matches end with a final countdown and a full post-match summary instead of freezing. The Lobby and Armory are easier to read and the mouse stays inside the game window.

Full notes· 30 changes

Combat

Ranged basic attacks (Primal Spark, Invocation and Censure) now fire at most once every 0.75 s, however fast you click. Haste and Alacrity do not shorten this.
A basic attack pressed up to 0.2 s before it is ready is remembered and fires the moment it comes back.
Light attacks now give way to movement as soon as their blow lands, so you are no longer stuck finishing the swing.
You can now dodge during any attack except a dash. Dodging during an attack's wind-up calls the attack off (no refund).
Heavy moves and supers (Cleaving Verdict, Crushing Descent, Final Sentence, Unmake and Worldstorm) still keep their follow-through while you walk, but a dodge always ends them.
Strikes and Censure no longer root you in place during their recovery.

Classes

TempestariiPrimal Spark deals 62 damage (was 78) and restores 2 Aether when it lands. Aether regenerates 6 per second (was 8).
HierophantInvocation deals 48 damage (was 60) and restores 2 Concord when it lands. Concord regenerates 6.75 per second (was 9).
ExorcistCensure deals 48 damage (was 60) and restores 2 Conviction when it lands. Conviction regenerates 5.25 per second (was 7).

Lobby & Armory

Lobby and Armory text and panels are now drawn at full size (they were shrunk before) and re-laid out to fit.
The top bar was re-laid out: your Astral Essence and Badges amounts now sit centred with their icons instead of running under them.
The group code panel is shorter so it no longer overlaps the chat window, and the Faction Preference panel is taller so its caption clears the frame.
The Armory's View As control is now a strip, and the Armory footer and Back button no longer sit under the Chat button.

Interface

Final 30 seconds of a match: the match clock grows and pulses red, a 30 SECONDS REMAINING banner appears, and the last ten seconds are counted down in large numbers under the clock with a tick each second. Kill and Astral Cache callouts move below the count.
A match tied at the end of regulation now shows a SUDDEN DEATH — NEXT KILL WINS banner.
New Post-Match Results summary over the dimmed, blurred arena: the victory banner, both teams' kills, deaths, assists, damage and healing, the rewards you earned and any account level-up.
After a match, RETURN TO LOBBY takes you back straight away; otherwise a RETURNING TO LOBBY IN countdown brings everyone back after 30 seconds.
Level-ups now play in the post-match summary with the lobby's sounds and are no longer replayed when you reach the lobby.
With Reduced Motion on, the end-of-match pulses hold still.
The basic attack slot on the action bar now shows a sweep while it recovers, without a countdown number.
Ability descriptions now say the crosshair decides who is hit: "the enemy under your crosshair" for Stormlance, Primal Spark, Invocation and Censure, and "the enemy in front of you" for Splintercut and Unmake. Primal Spark, Invocation and Censure also say they restore 2 resource when they land.
The mouse cursor now stays inside the game window in Borderless and Fullscreen on every monitor. Windowed leaves it free, Alt+Tab releases it and it locks again when you return.
In a match, holding a mouse button to turn the camera now hides the cursor and holds it in place; it reappears where it was when you let go.
Every gold-framed button (Title screen, Lobby, Armory, Escape menu and Settings) now lights up with a hover glow that fits its frame exactly, and all of them ease smoothly on hover and press.
Button ornaments keep their size while a button is pressed, Armory keyboard focus uses the same gold glow, and the Ready button's crossed swords are now a clean cut-out.

Settings

Interface scale now also scales the Lobby top bar and panels, up to the point where they would overlap.

Bug Fixes

Fixed the end-of-match freeze: when a match ended, players could sit frozen for about a minute before being dropped with a connection error. Everyone now returns to the lobby normally.
If the match server goes quiet for 5 seconds during the results, or your connection drops then, you return to the lobby normally without an error.
Leaving during the post-match results now frees your seat at once and counts as having completed the match.
The Lobby no longer offers to rejoin a match you have just finished.

Oct1120261:54 PM ET

Update 28

Smarter Bots

Bots now move, aim and fight like capable players: they track enemies, work as a team, use every class's full kit by situation and fill out matches as a balanced team.

Full notes· 9 changes

Bots

Bots now turn their body with their aim. Previously a bot's body never turned, so its melee swings, blocks and leaps went in the direction it spawned facing.
Bots aim at a human rate with a little aim error instead of snapping instantly.
Bots follow paths around the map smoothly, strafe on a varied rhythm, keep space from their teammates, free themselves when stuck and step out of enemy area spells.
Bots now dodge or block a strike they see coming, after a human-like reaction delay.
Bots remember enemies they have seen, been hit by or had a teammate spot, react to a new target after a human delay, prefer healers and wounded enemies, and focus targets with their team.
Bots now choose what to do by situation: engage, kite, support, fall back to a healer when low, roam to the fight with their team (sometimes over the flanks and balconies) and claim the Astral Cache when it is quiet.
Bots use every pre-alpha action with situational rules, including interrupts, gap closers, finishing blows on enemies below 35% health, area moves when enemies are inside, heals based on missing health with no overhealing, and team buffs.
Bots that fill a match now make a balanced team of one frontline (Reaver or Warden), one support (Exorcist or Hierophant) and one damage class (Assassin or Tempestarii), varied each match and chosen around the classes the human players picked.
Bots play at Standard difficulty; difficulty only changes reaction time, turn rate, aim error and defensive reads, never combat stats. Bots keep their bot names so you always know who is a bot.

Oct1020268:27 PM ET

Update 27

Hitboxes, Blocking & Dodge Sync

Combat now uses one fitted hitbox for every class with clear rules for who blocks attacks and heals, and dodges, strike lunges and combos stay in sync online without rubber-banding.

Full notes· 14 changes

Combat

Every class and faction now shares one combat hitbox fitted to the armour (legs, chest and shoulders, and head), used for aiming, range, melee reach, area spells, projectiles and lines of fire.
Aim help is now a body-sized margin (50 cm for ranged moves, 100 cm for melee) instead of the old 12 and 25 degree cones.
Attacks are taken by the first enemy in their path and are never blocked by your teammates; heals are taken by the first ally in their path and are never blocked by enemies; walls and other map geometry stop both.
Homing projectiles can now be intercepted by an enemy in their path, and casts and heals are no longer cancelled by bodies in the way.
Melee swings now hit the nearer enemy and are stopped by walls.
Area spells now reach any part of a body inside them and are stopped only by walls; other bodies never shield you from them.
Dead bodies no longer block anything.
Offensive moves such as strike step-ins and leaps now pass through teammates; map geometry still stops them.
Dodges are now exact online: you can no longer dodge before a charge is full, and dodging no longer rubber-bands. You still have 2 dodge charges, each refilling one at a time over 4 seconds.
Strike lunges and combo swings now stay in sync with the server at high frame rates, removing the rubber-banding and mismatched combo swings that could happen at 144 fps.

Classes

ExorcistCommunion taken by an ally standing in front now continues on to the ally it was aimed at.
WardenIntercept now passes through enemies; map geometry still stops it.
AssassinVeilstep now passes through teammates.

Interface

The dodge charge diamonds now fill smoothly and evenly instead of in chunks; a refilling diamond is darkened with no glow, and a full one keeps its glow and pops when it becomes ready.

Oct920269:05 PM ET

Update 26

Map Load Crash Fix

A stability release that fixes an intermittent graphics crash in the first moments after loading into the Lobby or a match.

Full notes· 1 change

Performance & Stability

Fixed an intermittent crash (the graphics card hanging) in the first few frames after loading into the Lobby or a match, seen on NVIDIA graphics cards. Visuals and performance during play are unchanged.

Oct920264:10 PM ET

Update 25

Keybinds, Escape Menu & Gothic Lobby

Every gameplay action can now be rebound in a new Keybinds tab, the in-match Escape menu has been redesigned, the crosshair now decides who your moves hit, and the Lobby and Armory platform has been rebuilt in Gothic stone.

Full notes· 24 changes

Combat

Targeting is now crosshair-first: the crosshair decides who a move hits. Your Tab or click target is still shown (target frame, nameplate and ground ring) but no longer redirects, refuses or blocks a move.
With nobody near the crosshair, projectiles fly straight and can miss, and single-target spells land where the crosshair points.
Heals with nobody near the crosshair now fall back to the caster.
Your camera aim is now sent to the server and checked there, so what you aim at on screen is what the server uses.

Classes

ExorcistCommunion now falls back to healing the Exorcist when no ally is near the crosshair.
AssassinVeilstep now dashes its full range along the crosshair when nobody is near it.
WardenIntercept now dashes its full range along the crosshair when nobody is near it.
HierophantConfluence that misses now heals no one.

Lobby & Armory

The Lobby and Armory platform has been rebuilt with a Gothic white-stone base: a central drum with evenly divided lapis panels, marble stairs and daises, stair parapets, Gothic goblet posts and an arcaded rim.
The upper towers and side bays are kept, now carrying a new Gothic centre arch with an open gable and a rose window, open to the sky.
The surrounding hills are now planted with woods, scrub, rock outcrops and grass, with a mirrored flower and grass border and framing trees around the platform.
The Armory's centre dais now has a glowing inlay and light ring under your character.
The six fire goblets and the two faction banners remain.

Interface

The in-match Escape menu has been redesigned as a centred, faction-neutral charcoal panel with gilt trim and the game emblem over the dimmed, blurred match, replacing the full-height side overlay.
The Escape menu shows the score, the match timer and your kills, deaths and assists, with Resume, Settings, Keybinds, Leave Game (in crimson) and Exit Game.
The new Keybinds button in the Escape menu opens Settings straight to the Keybinds tab.
Every key prompt in a match (ability slots, scoreboard, Astral Cache, spectating) now shows your own key bindings.

Settings

New Keybinds tab in Settings (now seven tabs: Display, Graphics, Audio, Controls, Keybinds, Interface, Accessibility).
Every gameplay action can be given a primary and a secondary key or mouse button: movement, dodge, abilities 1-5, block, select, cycle and clear target, claim Astral Cache, team ping, scoreboard, open chat, spectate previous and next, and the gear-upgrade keys 6-9.
To rebind, click a slot and press the new key; Backspace clears the slot and Escape cancels.
If a key is already used by an action that could fire at the same time, you are asked to Replace or Cancel; actions that only work while alive and actions that only work while fallen may share keys.
Changed keys are marked, and Reset Tab restores the defaults. Mouse look, camera zoom (mouse wheel) and Escape cannot be rebound.
Key bindings are saved on your PC and take effect immediately, including mid-match.
Clear target is now on the left mouse button by default and only clears when you click on empty space; a new Controls > Targeting option turns this off.

Oct820265:47 PM ET

Update 24

First Crucible Starting Gate Fixes

Fixes for First Crucible's starting zones: the invisible wall left behind when the portals open is gone, the open spots at the back of both starting zones are closed, and the Cosmic and Inferno gates have been tidied up.

Full notes· 5 changes

Maps

First Crucible: when the starting portals open, nothing that belonged to them blocks you any more; the invisible barrier that could leave players and bots stuck at the doorways is gone, and all six starting exits (three per side) can be walked through from the moment the match begins.
First Crucible: a low invisible lip across the floor of every portal doorway has been removed, along with hidden collision that stuck out beyond the visible doorway edges.
First Crucible: the open corners and gaps at the back of both starting zones, where the sky could be seen through the edge of the map, are now closed with cliff rock matching the surrounding mountains.
First Crucible: the four torches on the front of the Cosmic gate now sit properly on the tower walls.
First Crucible: the lava-crack marks around the base of the Inferno gate and in front of its exits have been removed.

Oct8202611:46 AM ET

Update 23

Armour Fit & Weapon Grip

Armour on all six classes in both factions now moves cleanly with the body instead of stretching at the joints, gaps between armour pieces no longer show black, and gauntlets close properly round held weapons.

Full notes· 4 changes

Characters & Gear

Armour no longer stretches or warps during animation on any class in either faction: each plate now moves rigidly with the part of the body it covers, and only a narrow band right at each joint bends.
Pauldrons now ride with the upper arm, hip plates swing with the thigh, trousers follow each leg, and flaps between the legs hang from the belt.
Gaps between pieces of armour now show a matching surface taken from the neighbouring armour instead of the black under-layer.
Gauntlet fingers now close round held weapons and keep their grip through every animation, and a free hand closes on the handle of a two-handed weapon; this is most noticeable on the Assassin's previously open-clawed gauntlets.

Oct8202610:23 AM ET

Update 22

Match Loading & 30-Second Countdown

Matches now start together: the game waits until every player has finished loading, then runs a shared 30-second countdown with a voiced final ten seconds, and a new loading screen shows real progress while you travel in.

Full notes· 10 changes

Combat

The pre-match countdown is now 30 seconds (was 3), giving every team time to prepare before the starting portals open.
The countdown only begins once every player has finished loading the map and has their combatant in the world, so nobody starts the match still on a loading screen.
The countdown runs on one shared server clock, so it reaches zero at the same moment for every player.

Maps

First Crucible: the starting portals now dissipate and open in sync with the shared match start for every player, instead of each player's portals opening whenever their own game heard the match had begun.

Interface

New match loading screen: the match artwork with a "Match loading..." gold progress bar and a live percentage that tracks the real loading work, and never reads 100% until loading is actually complete.
New countdown display in the centre of the screen: "MATCH BEGINS IN" above a large number inside a faction-coloured ring that drains as time runs out, with "PREPARE FOR BATTLE" beneath; for the final ten seconds the number is larger and pulses each second.
During the countdown the match timer at the top of the screen shows 10:00 with "PREPARING" (it previously showed the countdown seconds with "MATCH STARTS").

Visual Effects & Audio

Each faction now has its own voiced countdown: a voice calls out the final ten seconds, 10 down to 1, followed by a faction battle cry as the match begins.
If you arrive part-way through the countdown, the voice picks up at the current number rather than replaying numbers you missed, and nothing is announced if you join after the match has already begun.

Bug Fixes

If a match refuses your join, the Lobby now clears the connecting screen straight away and shows "Could not join the match. Ready to try again." instead of waiting for the connection attempt to time out.

Oct720269:19 PM ET

Update 21

Missing Shadows Fix

Fixes shadows dropping out, most noticeably in the Lobby at Epic settings, without lowering any quality setting.

Full notes· 3 changes

Performance & Stability

Shadow memory is now sized for the game's scenes: Epic shadows get 8,192 pages of shadow memory (was 4,096), and High and Cinematic are doubled to 4,096 and 16,384 pages. Quality settings are unchanged.

Bug Fixes

Fixed shadows going missing or losing detail, most noticeably in the Lobby at Epic settings.
The 'Virtual Shadow Map Page Pool overflow' message no longer appears over the game.

Oct720266:32 PM ET

Update 20

Spell Effects & First Crucible

Every class gets its own production spell effects and sounds in both factions, melee weapons leave trails, and every match is now played on the new First Crucible arena.

Full notes· 30 changes

Classes

ExorcistCosmic: holy fire and warm gold light with a golden afterglow. Inferno: demonic fire; Anathema bursts into flame on hit and burns on each tick, Vesper Sanctuary becomes a hell-rune field of ground fire and embers, and heals mark allies with a blood seal.
ReaverCosmic: violet void fire on landings, slams and the finisher. Inferno: fire. A trail follows the blade on all five moves, slam bursts land where the blade meets the ground, and Cleaving Verdict's spins scuff the floor.
WardenCosmic: gold light and quartz. Inferno: volcanic flame and a magma shell. Sword strikes leave a trail, and the Warden has its own hit impacts.
TempestariiCosmic: a blue storm. Inferno: a crimson hellstorm with lightning bolts from the sky, chain-lightning forks and an electric tornado.
HierophantCosmic: Tide & Pillar in teal; Judgment Verse now falls as a teal streak and raises a pillar where it lands. Inferno: Blight & Bloom in venom green and black.
AssassinCosmic: Moonshade, with moonlit silver stars, streaks and floor rings. Inferno: Blood & Ink. Both daggers leave trails, and the Assassin has its own hit impacts.

Maps

First Crucible is now the arena for every match, replacing the old test arena.
A heaven-versus-hell 3v3 arena with a playable field of about 146 by 90 m: a Cosmic half of white marble and gold facing an Inferno half of dark stone, iron and fire.
Each team starts behind its own faction's gate; the portals in both gates open together when the match begins (hellfire portals on the Inferno side, celestial portals on the Cosmic side).
At the centre stands a lit sanctuary dome on tall piers, with a statue on a carved pedestal.
Raised terraces run along both long sides, reached by stairs at each end, each with a sculpture on its pedestal.
Processional runways lead from each gate to the centre: flagstones on the Cosmic side, cobbles on the Inferno side.
Twin Heaven and Hell scenes line the field, such as winged angel statues and a vigil of saints facing demon idols and an execution ground, with fountains flanking the Cosmic gate.
Everything visible on the play space blocks movement, projectiles and line of sight.
The arena has its own ambient sound, which follows your Master and Ambience volume settings.

Interface

The match minimap shows the First Crucible layout.

Bots

Bots follow the First Crucible's walking paths to move around the arena.

Characters & Gear

Assassin gear sets now wear a dark under-suit tinted to match the set.
The Tempestarii now holds its off-hand item properly (it lay across the back of the hand).
Head posture corrected for each weapon style.

Visual Effects & Audio

Every class's spells now look and sound different for Cosmic and Inferno: the two factions never share a recoloured effect, and no two classes share an effect family.
Each class's spells and strikes use their own sound families, played in 3D from where they happen.
Attack effects play where the strike lands: on the struck target, where the blade meets the ground, or at the aimed point.
Spells light up their surroundings as they gather, release and hit.
Every lingering area effect now shows a ring at its true radius for as long as it lasts, so you can see where to step in or out.
To keep fights readable, your teammates' effects play at reduced strength without extra dressing, while enemies' effects and your own play in full.
Deaths and knockdowns have their own effect where the body meets the ground.
Fire effects render at both Epic and High quality.
Mild image sharpening restores the fine detail that upscaling softens.

Performance & Stability

Shadows now use virtual shadow maps, which cache shadow detail and cost less per frame in the arena than the previous shadow method.

Oct620262:50 PM ET

Update 19

Friends, Chat & Class Rank

Adds a Friends list and chat in the Lobby, Armory and matches, a Class Rank for every class, accurate Armory stat numbers, and a new Game Guide on the website.

Full notes· 10 changes

Lobby & Armory

New Friends panel at the far right of the Lobby and Armory, showing the other alpha players who are online.
New chat window in the Lobby and Armory with Lobby and Private tabs. Drag it to move it, resize it, and it remembers its place on each screen.
Class Rank: each class now shows Novice, Veteran or Champion, based on the armour and weapon ascensions you have completed for that class's gear (Epic counts 1, Legendary 2). Veteran at half of the total, Champion at all of it (14 for the Reaver and Exorcist, 16 for the other classes). Rank grants no extra power or currency.
Class Rank appears in the Lobby, the Armory, the scoreboard and the match results.
The Armory now shows real stat points everywhere: one point displays as +1 (it used to display as +5). This is a display change only; gear values, costs and combat maths are unchanged.
Armory purchases, upgrades, resets, ascensions and equipment changes are now checked and saved by the account server, so your gear and Class Rank stay the same across reconnects and nothing is charged twice. Gear cannot be edited while you are queued or in a match.

Interface

The match HUD has chat with Party (only the people you queued with), Team (everyone on your team) and Game (public to both sides) tabs.
Typing in chat no longer moves your character or fires abilities; unsent messages are kept when you change screens, and unread messages show a badge.
Chat messages can be up to 512 characters, with at most 5 messages every 10 seconds.

Launcher & Website

New Game Guide on eternalsanctum.com covering classes, gear, Essence, badges, Account Level and Class Rank; the class cards moved there from the home page, which links to it from a new Game Guide menu item.

Oct520263:23 PM ET

Update 18

Regal Borders & Pre-Alpha Date

The front-end menus get new regal gold borders and slimmer Lobby and Armory panels, and the October 14 pre-alpha opening is announced.

Full notes· 5 changes

Interface

New regal gold borders on the front-end menus and controls.
The Lobby and Armory use smaller side panels and a slimmer header, leaving more of the screen for your character.
Astral Essence is now laid out like Universal Transcendence Badges: the title above, the icon and balance below.

Launcher & Website

Pre-alpha opens on October 14, 2026, announced on the website and in the launcher news.
To get the code needed to create an account, join the game's Discord and send the developer a personal message; the website now links to the Discord.

Oct420266:57 PM ET

Update 17

Shift Block & Hit Impacts

Block moves to a held Left Shift with a slow guarded creep, hits now land with faction-coloured impact effects, and characters in the Lobby and Armory stand in their class stance and can be spun round.

Full notes· 10 changes

Combat

Block is now held on Left Shift for every class (was Right Mouse Button, which is also used to turn the camera, so looking around kept the block up).
Block now stays up only while the key is held; letting go returns you to normal movement and animation at once.
While blocking you creep forward at 30% speed (was 50%) using your class's guarded walk.
Using a move while blocking ends the block; press Shift again to raise it.

Classes

AssassinThe Assassin now guards in a crouch and creeps in a crouched walk while blocking, instead of raising an arm.

Lobby & Armory

Your character now stands in its own class's idle stance (the Warden, for example, no longer uses the great-sword idle) and plays a flourish every 9 to 14 seconds.
Drag with the left mouse button over your character in the Lobby or Armory to spin it round and see it from every side.

Visual Effects & Audio

Hits now throw an impact effect on the struck body, facing the attacker, in the attacker's faction colours (Cosmic or Inferno). Every player sees them.
Blocked and parried hits throw parry sparks instead; critical hits show a larger impact.
The white flash on the HUD when you are hit has been replaced by these impacts.

Oct4202611:12 AM ET

Update 16

Six Classes Enter Combat

All six classes now fight fully animated, each with its own weapon style and five actions, on a new action-combat system with crosshair targeting, strike tells, dodging, blocking, parrying, knockdowns and knockbacks. The Lobby and Armory also get named gear and a new sky and landscape.

Full notes· 56 changes

Combat

Every combatant is now animated in matches: walking and running in eight directions, falls and landings, attacks, casts, hit reactions and deaths.
Each class animates with its own weapon style: the Reaver with the great sword, the Warden with sword and shield, the Assassin with paired daggers, the Exorcist with a staff, and the Tempestarii and Hierophant with a sword and off-hand.
Crosshair soft-lock targeting: an ability used without a chosen target picks the enemy nearest your crosshair (melee within 25 degrees with 2.5 m of extra reach, ranged within 12 degrees, line of sight required). Tab and clicking a target still override it.
Healing abilities go to the ally under your crosshair, or to you if there is none.
Melee strikes now have a short tell, land at the moment of impact on enemies in front of you, can miss, and end with a brief recovery. Walking away does not escape a heavy strike's tell; dodging or parrying does.
Melee basic attacks are three-swing combos: press again within 0.5 s of a swing ending to throw the next. Pressed while running, the first swing is a running opener. Basic attacks never move you faster than running and are not on the global cooldown.
Your own attacks start the moment you press them instead of waiting for the server.
Dodge (Space): a 5 m dash over 0.42 s in the direction you are moving (backwards if you are not), with 0.32 s of invulnerability. You have 2 dodge charges; each recharges in 4 s.
Block (hold Right Mouse Button): you take 30% of the damage from hits within the 140-degree arc in front of you and move at half speed.
Parry: a hit landing within 0.20 s of raising your block deals no damage, and a melee attacker is staggered for 0.8 s.
Guard: blocked damage drains your guard, which refills at 60 per second after 1 s without blocking. At zero your guard breaks: you are staggered for 1.2 s and cannot block for 3 s.
Guard depends on class: Warden 450; Reaver and Assassin 300; Exorcist, Tempestarii and Hierophant 180.
Knockdown: the target is put on the ground for about 1.0 s, takes 0.6 s to get up, and cannot be knocked down again for 4 s.
Knockback: the target is thrown away in a low arc (about 0.4 s), is stopped by walls, and stumbles for 0.4 s after landing.
Casts now hold until the server completes them, then release. Taking damage while casting pushes the cast back by 0.0024 s per point of damage, up to 0.5 s per hit. Veilstep, knockdowns and knockbacks cancel a cast outright.
Dashes such as Intercept and Veilstep move you on your own screen at once, with no snap-back online.
Pre-alpha loadout: each class uses five actions, its basic attack plus actions 1 to 4. Any other saved selection falls back to actions 1 to 4.

Classes

ReaverRiven Strike (basic): a three-swing two-handed combo dealing 105, 115 and 170 damage (running opener 105), 3 m reach; generates 10 Fury.
ReaverRuinous Charge: leap up to 12 m the way you face over 0.8 s, stopping on an enemy in your path. The landing hits everyone within 3 m for 140 damage, knocks them back 2 m and slows them by 25% for 1.5 s; generates 15 Fury. No cost, 14 s cooldown.
ReaverCleaving Verdict: plant your feet and spin, striking every enemy within 3.5 m three times for 170 damage in total (was a single 5 m forward cone). Cost 25, 10 s cooldown.
ReaverCrushing Descent: a heavy leaping slam with a 0.65 s tell; 260 damage, knocks the target down and slows it by 30% for 2 s. 3.5 m reach, cost 30, 12 s cooldown.
ReaverFinal Sentence: aim at a point up to 15 m away (was 3 m melee range); the Reaver leaps, hurls the sword there and follows it down. Enemies within 1.75 m of the sword take 220 damage, or 380 if below 35% health. Cost 35, 18 s cooldown.
WardenShielded Strike (basic): now a three-swing combo dealing 70, 75 and 105 damage (was a single 80-damage strike), with a shield-led running opener (70); 2.75 m reach; generates 8 Guard.
WardenIntercept: dash to an ally up to 18 m away and give them a 120-point barrier for 4 s. Cost 20, 12 s cooldown.
WardenRepulse: a shield shove with a short tell; 100 damage, interrupts, and knocks the target back 4 m. 4 m reach, cost 25, 14 s cooldown.
WardenBulwark: a rallying buff; take 30% less damage for 4 s at the cost of 15% movement speed. Cost 25, 20 s cooldown.
WardenEdict of Stone: create a 5 m area that moves with you for 5 s; you and allies inside take 12% less damage and enemies inside are slowed by 12%. Cost 35, 20 s cooldown.
AssassinTwin Rend (basic): a double slash, right dagger then left, dealing 90 damage per press; chains up to three presses, with a running opener; 2.75 m reach.
AssassinVeilstep: blink to an enemy up to 10 m away and strike on arrival for 210 damage, cancelling their cast outright. It cannot pass through walls. Cost 25, 8 s cooldown.
AssassinSplintercut: 150 damage to your target, and up to two other enemies within 4 m of it take 70% of that. Cost 30, 10 s cooldown.
AssassinCircle of Knives: 135 damage to enemies within 4.5 m around you, slowing them by 20% for 2 s. Cost 35, 14 s cooldown.
AssassinUnmake: a visible 0.4 s wind-up, then five hits 0.3 s apart for 420 damage in total on the first enemy struck; the rest stop if it leaves your reach or sight. Cost 50, 55 s cooldown.
ExorcistCensure (basic): a three-shot staff combo, each Rite bolt dealing 60 damage at up to 28 m. Walls block a bolt after it is released.
ExorcistAnathema: a 0.65 s cast dealing 100 damage, then 50 more over 4 s. 28 m range, cost 20, 7 s cooldown.
ExorcistAbsolution: a 0.8 s cast healing the ally under your crosshair, or yourself, for 275. 28 m range, cost 28, 5 s cooldown.
ExorcistCommunion: heal an ally for 190 with an overhead staff throw, then chain to up to two more injured allies within 8 m (lowest health first) for 143 and 105. Cost 36, 12 s cooldown.
ExorcistVesper Sanctuary: a 0.75 s cast placing a 6 m sanctuary where your crosshair points (up to 28 m), healing allies inside for 260 in total over 4 s; leaving it loses the later pulses. The only area ability placed away from its caster. Cost 48, 18 s cooldown.
TempestariiPrimal Spark (basic): a tracking elemental projectile dealing 78 damage at up to 28 m.
TempestariiStormlance: a 0.75 s cast striking your selected enemy for 190 damage at up to 28 m. Cost 22, 6 s cooldown.
TempestariiArc Cascade: lightning strikes an enemy for 135 damage, then chains to up to two more enemies within 7 m for 108 and 81. Cost 30, 10 s cooldown.
TempestariiFaultwake: a 0.5 s cast creating a 5 m field around you that erupts for 90 damage, then deals 120 more over the next 3 s. Cost 38, 15 s cooldown.
TempestariiWorldstorm: a 1 s cast calling a 6 m storm around you that deals 430 damage in total over five pulses across 4 s. Cost 60, 60 s cooldown.
TempestariiThe Tempestarii's kit now runs on the same responsive combat system as the other classes.
HierophantInvocation (basic): a Rite bolt dealing 60 damage.
HierophantJudgment Verse: a 0.7 s cast dealing 155 damage at up to 28 m. Cost 22, 6 s cooldown.
HierophantMending Verse: a 0.7 s cast healing an ally for 210 at up to 28 m. Cost 24, 6 s cooldown.
HierophantConfluence: deal 110 damage to an enemy and heal an eligible ally within 20 m for 135. Cost 30, 10 s cooldown.
HierophantBalance Field: a 0.9 s cast creating a 6 m field centred on you (was placed on the ground) that pulses four times over 4 s for 140 damage to enemies and 180 healing to allies in total. Cost 44, 18 s cooldown.

Lobby & Armory

Every armour piece and weapon now has its proper name: Siegeborn (Reaver), Bastion (Warden), Gloamstalker (Assassin), Vesper Reliquary (Exorcist), Stormbound (Tempestarii) and Concordance (Hierophant).
Legendary weapons are named: Finality (Reaver), Bastion's Edge and The Unbroken Oath (Warden), Shadewhisper (Assassin daggers), Reliquary of the Last Rite (Exorcist), Aetherbrand and Stormheart Conduit (Tempestarii), Equinox and Seal of Concordance (Hierophant).
Armory gear dropdown rows now show each piece's icon for the faction you are viewing.
The Lobby and Armory backdrop has a brighter, green-tinted cosmic sky.
New distant landscape behind the Lobby and Armory: an alien mountain range, rolling hills of muddy, pebbled ground, rock outcrops, fir and beech woods, fallen logs and wind-blown grass running continuously from the platform.

Interface

Dodge charges appear as two pips under the crosshair; your guard appears as an arc under the crosshair while you block or while it refills, and shatters when it breaks. Both are themed to your faction.
New status icons show when you are knocked down or knocked back.

Bots

Bots now react to melee tells by sidestep-dodging or briefly blocking: about 15% of the time on the easiest difficulty, 35% on standard and 55% above that.

Sep3020269:36 PM ET

Update 15

Every Gear Set & Legendary Weapon

Every class now wears its own gear set in both factions in the Lobby and Armory, and holds its legendary weapon. Matches were unchanged in this update.

Full notes· 5 changes

Lobby & Armory

The Armory's weapon slots now show each weapon's picture, matching the faction you are viewing.

Characters & Gear

Eleven new gear sets arrive in the Lobby and Armory: the Cosmic Reaver plus Cosmic and Inferno sets for the Warden, Assassin, Exorcist, Tempestarii and Hierophant. With the Inferno Reaver, every class now has its own set in both factions (twelve sets).
Each set has six armour pieces (head, shoulders, chest, hands, legs, feet), fitted to the shared base body, shown in one fixed pose under every set.
Nine legendary weapons arrive, each with a Cosmic and an Inferno finish: the Reaver's two-handed sword, the Warden's sword and shield, the Assassin's paired daggers, the Exorcist's staff, and a sword with an off-hand item for both the Tempestarii and the Hierophant.
Your character now holds its equipped legendary weapon in the Lobby and the Armory.

Sep3020269:40 AM ET

Update 14

Menu Music & Interface Audio

Menus get their own soundtrack and sounds: a title theme, an eight-track Lobby and Armory playlist, victory music for the winning faction, and interface sounds across every menu. New Music and SFX volume sliders come with them.

Full notes· 10 changes

Settings

Audio: a new Music slider (default 50) controls the title screen and Lobby/Armory music within Master.
Audio: a new SFX slider (default 100) controls sound effects within Master.
Audio: Ambience now controls environmental ambience. The Audio tab now has Master, Music, Interface, SFX and Ambience.

Visual Effects & Audio

The title screen now has its own music.
The Lobby and Armory now play an eight-track playlist: Ash Meets the Snow, Beneath Divided Skies, Celestial Drones, Seraph Rift, Fractured Skies, Heavy, Angels Rise, Demons Descend, and a heavy version of Angels Rise, Demons Descend. Tracks crossfade over 1.5 seconds.
Music fades out when you travel into a match.
Match results now play victory music for the winning faction, for both teams: The Heavens Bear Witness when Cosmic wins and Inferno Reigns when Inferno wins.
Menus now have interface sounds for hovering, selecting, confirming, going back and errors. Hover sounds are limited so fast mouse movement doesn't spam them.
Sounds now play for Ready and Unready, matchmaking start and cancel, match found, party join and leave, XP bar fill, level-ups, rewards, results and connection errors. Refreshing the screen or getting the same update twice no longer replays a sound.
Settings now has sounds for switching tabs, changing values and keeping or reverting display changes.

Sep2920262:46 PM ET

Update 13

Faction Preference & Inferno Reaver

Parties can now choose which faction to queue for and always stay together on one team. Your combatant now stands on the Lobby and Armory dais, and the Inferno Reaver wears its full armour set.

Full notes· 8 changes

Classes

ReaverThe Inferno Reaver now has its full six-piece armour set (Head, Shoulders, Chest, Hands, Legs, Feet), shown on your combatant in the Lobby and Armory. Other classes and the Cosmic faction show the base body for now. Matches still use the placeholder combatants.

Lobby & Armory

Your combatant now stands on the centre of the dais in the Lobby and the Armory, wearing the gear you have equipped for the faction being shown.
The Lobby's right column (Faction Preference, Select Class, Game Mode, Ready) is evenly spaced, and your current faction choice always stays lit.
A new VIEW AS toggle in the Armory (Cosmic or Inferno) changes only how your gear looks in the preview and in the slot pictures. Gear levels and stats stay the same. It follows your Lobby preference, and No preference shows Inferno.
Armory equipment slots now show a picture of each piece, in larger 56 px boxes (were 40 px).

Parties & Matchmaking

A new FACTION PREFERENCE panel in the Lobby, above Select Class, offers Cosmic, No preference or Inferno. Only a solo player or the party leader can set it; party members see the leader's choice.
When you Ready, your whole party is placed on your preferred faction where possible, and bots fill the remaining slots to make 3v3.
Parties are never split across teams. Previously, parties of two or three could be split between Cosmic and Inferno.

Sep2720268:15 PM ET

Update 12

Level Emblems & Level-Up

Your account level now has an emblem that changes every ten levels, and the Lobby plays a level-up sequence after a match that levels you up. The online Lobby now shows your real account level.

Full notes· 7 changes

Lobby & Armory

Seven level emblems now mark your account level, one for each bracket: 1–9, 10–19, 20–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59 and 60.
Emblems frame your level on the Lobby and Armory top bar next to the XP bar, and appear in the Lobby party rows.
Level 60 is the cap and reads MAX LEVEL with a full bar.
After a match that raises your level, the Lobby plays a level-up sequence. The XP bar fills, the level number rolls over and any leftover XP fills into the next level. Continue returns you to the Lobby.
Reaching a new bracket during the level-up sequence flares out the old emblem and settles the new one.

Interface

The F1 scoreboard has a new LEVEL column with each player's emblem. Rows are taller so even level-60 emblems never overlap.

Bug Fixes

The online Lobby now shows your real account level and XP. Previously it read a local save and always showed Level 1.

Sep2720262:16 PM ET

Update 11

HUD Finish Pass & Match Rejoin

This release brings the final match HUD with a minimap and team pings, plus a 60-second window to rejoin a match. Leaving a bot match no longer locks you out of matchmaking.

Full notes· 22 changes

Classes

WardenYour shield value now shows under your health numbers and on Warden nameplates.
WardenThe HUD now shows your Reprisal charges.
HierophantThe HUD now shows your Wrath and Grace charges and your Harmonic Surge stacks.

Parties & Matchmaking

If you exit the game or lose your connection mid-match, your seat is now held for 60 seconds. The Lobby Ready button reads REJOIN MATCH with a countdown so you can jump back in.
Leave Game is now final and releases your seat in the match straight away.
While matchmaking, the Ready button reads MATCHING… Press it again to cancel. If a server is busy, the game tries again on its own.
A match left with only bots is now closed so its server is freed.

Interface

The final match HUD replaces the previous look. Ability slots are evenly spaced gold hexes with exact cooldown sweeps.
The ready glow now shows only on abilities that have a cooldown and are off cooldown, never on slot 1.
Health and resource keep their arch, now with a white ghost bar that shows recent damage.
The cast bar now sits above your faction's crest.
New minimap showing you, your teammates, the Astral Cache and team pings. Teammates who take damage pulse on the map. It stays north-up by default.
New team pings: press G or the middle mouse button to ping a spot for your teammates.
Double Kill, Triple Kill and Unstoppable (four or more) callouts now appear under the score header when your kills land 10 seconds apart or less.
K/D/A now uses your faction's theme, and the F1 scoreboard has been redesigned with a connection column.
Ability debug text that could appear over combatants has been removed.

Settings

Crosshair style now defaults to Brackets (was Steel cross).
New Interface option: Combat ring around crosshair (default Off). Thin health and resource arcs and cooldown pips sit around the crosshair.
New Interface option: Rotate minimap with camera (default Off).

Bug Fixes

After leaving a bot match, pressing Ready no longer fails with "Group request rejected". Before this fix, your seat stayed held for up to 20 minutes.
The Lobby Ready button no longer flickers to CONNECTING during background updates.
Picking a different class in the Lobby than the one last saved on your account no longer sends you back to the title screen when the match starts. You now join with the class you picked and its saved loadout.

Sep2620266:12 PM ET

Update 10

Match HUD & Scoreboard Redesign

This release redesigns the match HUD, death screen and F1 scoreboard. It adds nameplates, floating combat text, kill callouts, teammate spectating after death and fully customisable crosshairs.

Full notes· 16 changes

Interface

The match HUD has been redesigned with dark steel frames. Gold is used only on numbers and on the glow of a ready ability.
Ability buttons are larger, and health and resource now sit on an arch above the action bar.
Every health bar is now blood red.
A slim portrait frame sits in the bottom-left corner, and two ally frames show your teammates. Player frames use account portraits; bots show their class emblem.
Nameplates now appear over every visible combatant, replacing the old floating name labels.
Added floating combat text for your hits and heals, damage-direction indicators and a low-health heartbeat pulse.
A kill plaque announces kills, with Double Kill, Triple Kill and ACE tiers.
Death screen: the camera holds on your fall, then follows a living teammate until you respawn. Press Q for the previous teammate, or E or Space for the next.
Death screen: once you are following a teammate, a compact respawn timer and a killer card show who killed you, plus the finishing ability and its damage. The respawn countdown now runs on the server clock.
The F1 scoreboard has been redesigned. Your team is always on top and on the left of the header, with account portraits, Account Level and alive markers for both teams. The fallen view and the scoreboard blur the scene behind them.

Settings

New Settings > Interface > Crosshair section with five styles: Steel cross (default), Ring and dot, Compass star, Brackets and Dot.
Crosshair colour: White (default), Ivory, Cyan, Green, Yellow, Magenta, Orange or Red.
Crosshair Dot size, Height, Width, Thickness and Opacity can each be adjusted. Setting Dot size to 0% hides the dot, except in the Dot style.
Crosshair Outline (default On) adds a thin dark edge so the crosshair stays readable over bright sky and fire.
Colour over targets (default On) turns the crosshair red over an enemy and green over an ally, whatever colour you picked.
Hit confirm (default On) flashes four small marks around the crosshair when your damage lands.

Sep2520268:23 AM ET

Update 9

Settings Expansion

Settings is now a full six-tab screen covering display, graphics, audio, controls, interface and accessibility. Escape in a match now opens an overlay while the match keeps running.

Full notes· 26 changes

Interface

In a match, Escape now opens a full-height overlay with Resume, Settings, Leave Game (in crimson) and Exit Game. The match keeps running behind it.
Settings can now be opened over a running match. Back returns you to the Escape overlay.

Settings

Settings has been rebuilt into six tabs: Display, Graphics, Audio, Controls, Interface and Accessibility. A description panel shows what each option does, its performance impact and its default. Each tab has a RESET TAB TO DEFAULTS button.
Changes save automatically. Display changes ask you to confirm, and Escape in Settings goes Back.
Display: Window mode offers Borderless, Fullscreen or Windowed (default Borderless).
Display: you can now choose which Monitor the game appears on.
Display: Resolution lists only the sizes your monitor supports. Changing it asks you to keep the new setting within 10 seconds, or it reverts on its own.
Display: Frame rate limit can be set to 30, 60, 90, 120, 144, 165 or 240 FPS, or Unlimited (default Unlimited).
Display: a separate Frame rate limit in menus applies to the title screen, Lobby, Armory and other menus (default Same as match).
Display: added Vertical sync (default Off) and a Brightness slider.
Graphics: Quality preset (Low, Medium, High, Epic) with an AUTO-DETECT button that measures your PC and picks a preset. Auto-detect also runs once on first launch.
Graphics: Render scale from 50% to 100%, or Auto (default Auto). The interface always stays sharp.
Graphics: Anti-aliasing offers Temporal Super Resolution (default), Temporal AA, FXAA or Off.
Graphics: seven detail options: Shadows, Textures, Effects, Post-processing, View distance, Global illumination and Reflections. Changing any of them sets the preset to Custom, and Global illumination on Low turns off dynamic global illumination for the biggest frame-rate gain.
Graphics: added Motion blur (default Off).
Audio: the old Interface volume slider is now Master. A new Interface slider controls menu clicks and hovers within Master. Ambience has its own slider.
Audio: added Mute when in background (default On).
Controls: Mouse sensitivity from 0.10 to 3.00 (default 1.00), with an option to set horizontal and vertical sensitivity separately.
Controls: added Invert vertical look (default Off).
Controls: Camera zoom sensitivity from 0.25 to 3.00 (default 1.00) sets how far each mouse-wheel step moves the camera.
Controls: Field of view from 80° to 110° (default 90°). It takes effect right away, including mid-match.
Interface: Interface scale offers 85%, 100% or 115% (default 100%) and sizes text and panels on every screen and on the match HUD.
Interface: Input hints on or off (default On).
Interface: Performance stats offers Off, FPS or FPS + Ping (default Off) as a small readout in the top-right corner. Ping shows only in a match.
Accessibility: High contrast (solid black panels and stronger outlines) and Reduced motion (no drifting backgrounds, glows or animated menu transitions), both off by default.
First launch now starts in Borderless with Vertical sync off and no frame-rate cap.

Sep24202610:31 AM ET

Update 8

Player Portraits & Escape Menus

Choose one of 20 character portraits for your account, see your party's portraits in the Lobby, and use the new themed Escape menus on every screen, in and out of a match.

Full notes· 14 changes

Lobby & Armory

Lobby party rows now show each player's portrait in place of the class icon. A player with no portrait shows an empty gold ring.
Portrait changes made in the launcher now appear in a running game's party panel within seconds.
Invite rows in the Lobby now light up on hover like the Armory equipment slots.
The Leave Party, Create Party and Join Party buttons now use the Armory's navy button style.
The Ready button now glows and presses like Commence Combat on the title screen.

Interface

Escape menus on every screen have been restyled with an ornate gold panel and divider. Return is emerald, Leave Game in a match is crimson and the other buttons are navy.
Escape menus now show "ESC RETURN" in the bottom-left corner. The Tab hint has been removed, but Tab still moves between buttons. In-match menu labels are now in capitals like the other menus.
Gold-framed buttons now light across their whole face when hovered or focused. This covers the Escape menus, the Armory controls, the Lobby party buttons, Ready and Commence Combat. Before this, the hover light never showed.

Launcher & Website

Launcher: the account card's portrait ring now offers 20 character portraits. It reads "Portrait options available" until you choose one, and clicking it opens a picker below the card. Your choice is saved to your account.
Launcher: the PLAY button's duplicated end brackets have been removed. The winged frame now sits on the button's rails, and the top rail lines up with the fill's bright edge.
Launcher: the dotted line under PLAY has been removed. The download bar's fill now starts under its left cap, and its dark background runs all the way to both end gems.
Installed launchers update themselves to 0.11.4 automatically.
Website: on eternalsanctum.com, the "Combatants of Creation" title no longer overlaps the emblem on fullscreen, scaled-display or phone screens. The hero now scales as one picture, with a dedicated phone layout.

Bug Fixes

The gold-framed buttons on the Escape menus, the Armory and the title screen no longer have a darker strip with a hard edge down their left end.

Sep23202612:39 PM ET

Update 7

Armory Polish & Launcher 0.11.1

A polish pass on the Lobby, the Armory and the title screen, including a new gear dropdown for equipping pieces, and launcher 0.11.1 with layout fixes.

Full notes· 12 changes

Lobby & Armory

Settings opened from the Lobby top bar now opens the same full Settings screen as the title screen and the Armory.
The Lobby party panel now shows each player's account username. Your in-game name is your account username.
Armory action icons now show their description on hover or keyboard focus only. They can no longer be clicked, and a description no longer stays open after a click.
The Upgrade, Ascend and Reset buttons and their confirmation dialogs have been restyled: emerald for the action that commits, navy for the others. The layout is unchanged.
Locked controls and locked stat rows in the Armory now show a brass padlock, and Reset shows the Astral Essence mark.
Stat descriptions in the Armory now open beside the row you are hovering, just left of the right-hand panel.
Equipment slots can no longer be emptied. Clicking a slot opens a dropdown of the pieces you own that fit it. Hover a piece to see its stats, and click it to equip it straight away.
The selected equipment slot, the gear dropdown and the stats card use a new gilded frame with sapphire corners.

Interface

Title screen: new navy-framed buttons, a gilded Combatants of Creation wordmark and a restyled SETTINGS corner with a press animation.

Launcher & Website

Launcher 0.11.1: the headline ("The Final Convergence Begins") now sits at the top of the art, and the PLAY button and download bar sit just above the footer instead of overlapping it.
Launcher 0.11.1: the download bar now fills as one continuous bar. Previously a black gap showed in the fill.
Installed launchers update themselves to 0.11.1 automatically.

Sep22202611:54 PM ET

Update 6

Launcher Redesign

Launcher 0.11.0.0 brings a completely redesigned launcher with a live News & Updates feed. The game itself is unchanged from the previous release.

Full notes· 7 changes

Launcher & Website

Launcher 0.11.0.0 updates itself automatically from 0.10.1.0.
Redesigned launcher: new artwork with angel and demon wings around a lightning-and-lava PLAY button, gilded lettering and a sword-shaped download progress bar.
New left rail with Home, plus Store, Battle Pass and Community shown locked for now.
The account card now shows your Account Level and the service status.
New News & Updates column fed by a live news feed. Its first card, Eternal Sanctum, links to eternalsanctum.com, and the launcher keeps the last news it loaded for when you are offline.
The launcher window keeps its proportions when you resize it, and the whole page scales as one.
The metered-connection setting now actually blocks game downloads over mobile broadband; before, it was saved but never used.

Sep2220268:59 PM ET

Update 5

The Armory Rebuilt

A rebuilt Armory set in the Lobby scene adds Transcendence Badge balances, clear Upgrade prices, gear Reset and Ascension. The eternalsanctum.com website also went live.

Full notes· 11 changes

Lobby & Armory

The Armory has been rebuilt. It now uses the Lobby scene as its backdrop through a closer camera, with one slim panel on each side and the central pedestal left clear.
The Armory header shows your Transcendence Badges for the selected class and your Universal Transcendence Badges, with new class badge icons.
Upgrades now show their exact Astral Essence price before you confirm, and each item's Upgrade pips fill with gold as you buy them.
New Reset: reset a whole armour piece, or your equipped weapon set, to get back 90% (rounded down) of the Astral Essence spent on it.
New Ascension: raise gear from Common to Epic (Account Level 10) or Legendary (Account Level 35) in one confirmation dialog, choosing how to split the Badge cost and seeing the before and after values.
Stat ratings are now shown at five times their old numbers. Only the display changed; the stats themselves are the same.
Feet items now explain the Movement Speed option before you spend anything: it uses all 4 Feet Upgrades for +2% movement speed and costs 384 Astral Essence.
A banner now tells you when gear is locked because you are Ready or in a match.
Class icons and ability icons now appear in the Armory, and an ability's description pops up above its tile.
The gold emblems have been removed from the tops of the Lobby platform daises.

Launcher & Website

eternalsanctum.com is live: download the Windows launcher, create an account with your invite code, and check whether the servers are online.

Sep2220261:40 PM ET

Update 4

Match Entry & Exit Fixes

Fixes the two rough edges of going into and out of a match: no more title-screen flash on Ready, and leaving a match takes you back to the Lobby properly.

Full notes· 3 changes

Bug Fixes

Pressing Ready no longer flashes the title screen before the match appears. You now go straight to the match HUD, or to the results screen if that match has already ended.
Leaving a match (Leave Game, the match ending or a lost connection) now returns you to the Lobby scene and Lobby screen, instead of showing the Lobby menu over the frozen match.
After coming back from a match, Ready works again straight away for your next game.

Sep22202612:59 PM ET

Update 3

Lobby Rebuild & Edict of Stone

The Lobby platform is rebuilt in marble and gold with burning fire urns, and the Warden's Edict becomes Edict of Stone, a protective area that moves with the Warden. Citadel and Bloodquake now take effect around their caster.

Full notes· 11 changes

Classes

WardenEdict has been renamed Edict of Stone.
WardenEdict of Stone now creates a 5 m area (was 6 m) centred on you that moves with you for its full 5 seconds.
WardenEdict of Stone: you and allies inside take 12% less damage (was 10%); enemies inside are slowed by 12% (was 15%).
WardenEdict of Stone cooldown is now 20 seconds (was 18). Cost unchanged at 35.
WardenEdict of Stone's damage reduction can now reach up to 14% with stats (was 10%), and its slow up to 18% (was 20%). It stays below Citadel's 15%, and only the stronger of the two applies.
WardenThe Edict of Stone tooltip now shows its live radius, duration, damage reduction and slow.
WardenCitadel now takes effect around you. Previously its area was fixed at one spot in the arena instead of on the Warden.
ReaverBloodquake now takes effect around you. Previously its area was fixed at one spot in the arena instead of on the Reaver.

Lobby & Armory

The Lobby platform has been rebuilt from the ground up in ivory marble, gold and slate.
Six open goblet urns now burn around the platform, with flames and embers rising from their cups.
Warmer Lobby lighting, and real-time global illumination and reflections are now enabled.

Sep2120262:25 PM ET

Update 2

New Lobby Environment

The Lobby is now a 3D scene with a new themed interface for your party, class choice and Ready.

Full notes· 4 changes

Lobby & Armory

The game now opens into a 3D Lobby: an ornate platform on wind-blown grass under a living ethereal sky, with Cosmic banners on the left and Inferno banners on the right.
The title screen now appears over the Lobby scene, and entering the Lobby moves to its set camera view.
New Lobby interface with ornamental borders, a three-position party display showing each member's name, class and Ready state, class selection for all six classes, the Casual mode and a new Ready button.
The shared Lobby and Armory header has been restyled with themed navigation, your Account XP and a Transcendence Badge display.

Sep1920269:35 PM ET

Update 1

First Online Pre-Alpha Build

The first build of Combatants of Creation playable online: 3v3 Team Deathmatch with six classes, bots filling every empty seat, account progression saved on the server, and a launcher that installs and updates the game.

Full notes· 20 changes

Combat

3v3 Team Deathmatch: matches last ten minutes, the team with more kills when time runs out wins, and a tie goes to first-kill sudden death.
You respawn 6 seconds after dying, with 3 seconds of spawn protection that ends early if you leave protection or affect another player.
Tab cycles through living enemies in line of sight, nearest first. You can also click a target, or select an ally from the party frames or yourself.
Abilities share a 0.9-second global cooldown.
Astral Caches: each match has a 20% chance for one cache to appear at a neutral spot. Channel it for 2.5 seconds (moving, taking damage or dying interrupts) to earn 10 Astral Essence for each eligible member of your team. An unclaimed cache vanishes after 75 seconds, and caches never decide the winner.

Classes

Six classes: Reaver, Warden, Assassin, Exorcist, Tempestarii and Hierophant. Each can fight for the Cosmic or the Inferno faction, and both versions play identically.
Each class has a Basic attack and eight Active abilities, and you take four Actives into a match. Classes run on Vigor, Aether or Conviction, depending on the class.

Maps

Matches are played on a prototype graybox arena while the First Crucible map is in development.

Lobby & Armory

Choose your match class in the Lobby. The Armory edits each class's saved loadout separately and shows its five actions with hover descriptions.

Parties & Matchmaking

In the Lobby you can create a group, join one with its code or leave it, then press Ready. A match starts once every human in the group is Ready, and a solo Ready starts straight away.
Bots fill every empty seat so each match is a full 3v3. If a player leaves mid-match, a bot takes over their slot and the match carries on.

Interface

Match HUD: match header, ally frames, your own frame, target frame, cast bar, five-slot action bar, kill feed, K/D/A, an Astral Cache alert and a death screen with a respawn countdown.
F1 opens the scoreboard, listing each team's players with class, kills/deaths/assists, damage and effective healing. Bots are tagged.
Escape opens the in-match menu: Leave Game returns you to the Lobby and Exit Game closes the game.

Characters & Gear

Every new account gets free Common gear for all six classes: six armour slots (Head, Shoulders, Chest, Hands, Legs, Feet) and the class weapon set. Assassin dual daggers, Tempestarii sword and off-hand, Exorcist staff, Reaver two-handed sword, Hierophant sword and off-hand, Warden sword and shield.
Spend Astral Essence in the Armory to buy stat Upgrades for your gear.
Each completed match earns 100 Account XP (+20 for a win), 20 Astral Essence (+5 for a win) and 6 Transcendence Badges for the class you played (+2 for a win). Kills, damage and healing do not change rewards, and leaving a match forfeits them.
Account Level goes up to 60. Each level-up grants 25 Astral Essence and 5 Universal Transcendence Badges.

Launcher & Website

Launcher 0.10.1.0: sign in, download and verify the game, and press Play. Updates come automatically through the launcher.
Online play runs on dedicated servers in eastern Canada, and your progression is saved to your account on the server. Account registration needs an invite code.

That is every update so far.

New releases are added here as they go out, alongside the launcher's News & Updates.