s&box

18 September 2026

Areas

52 changes in this update

Progression & Equipment

Riftbinding - spend Rift Sigils to undertake harder challenges and upgrade an item through four binding levels.
Riftbound challenges - face randomized enemy modifiers and compete on separate Riftbound leaderboards.
Tempering - spend Gold to reroll one chosen item affix, selecting from three replacements while preserving Legendary effects.
Legendary effects - newly dropped Legendary items now roll individual effect values.
Skill loadout - equip a fifth active skill, bound to 2 by default.
Guardian modifiers - higher-tier guardians gain additional modifiers, with twice as many during Riftbinding challenges.

Tutorial & Loot

Tutorial skill book - discover and immediately equip Echo Sigil during the cathedral tutorial.
Cathedral ambush - face three additional guards after collecting the book and earn all five ritual sacrifices through combat.
Skill books - discover physical skill books that automatically fill an available skill slot.
Equipment drops - drag unwanted equipment outside your inventory to drop it on the ground.
Guardian loot recovery - the return portal collects reachable nearby loot and warns you when your backpack needs space.
Currency pickup - automatically collect nearby Gold and Rift Sigils.

Combat & Enemies

Demon animations - updated attacks across all seven demon types, including dagger cuts, hammer slams, sword plants, bow shots, spellcasting and boss attacks.
Enemy movement - crowded enemies take short spacing steps and prioritize attacking.
Enemy reactions - enemies can sidestep visible player swings without abandoning attacks already underway.
Enemy awareness - nearby enemies can spot and pursue you across room boundaries.
Combat pacing - faster attack preparation and shorter pauses keep encounters active.
Heavy attacks - committed heavy attacks resist interruption and display an amber warning.
Health globes - Rare champions and completed Magic packs guarantee a globe that restores 25% of maximum health.
Enemy names - introduced distinct names for enemies and guardians.
Defeat sequence - victorious guardians celebrate immediately, with results appearing after a shorter delay.

Rifts & Exploration

Tier progression - reach the former tier-50 progression milestone at tier 25, with enemy health and damage continuing to scale beyond it.
Floor population - enemies are present when you enter a floor instead of appearing as you explore.
Floor layouts - more compact room arrangements reduce unnecessary branching.
Navigation - added onward guidance to the minimap and expanded map.
Floor generation - failed layouts automatically retry during loading.
Camera zoom - adjust your view with smooth mouse-wheel zoom in town and Rifts.

UI & Presentation

Tempering interface - added clear affix selection, replacement choices, drag-and-drop equipment support and an illustrated empty state.
Riftbinding interface - select an item through Equipment and review its challenge, modifiers, upgrade and Sigil cost before departure.
Currency display - Gold and Rift Sigils appear directly in Equipment and Tempering.
Legendary tooltips - rolled effect values are easier to identify.
Portal transitions - the destination HUD appears together with the world through the opening portal.
Combat effects - brighter highlights improve the readability of skills, specializations and Legendary effects.
Stormspindle lightning - branching bolts now radiate outward from the center with smoother, brighter electrical motion.

Environment

Cave lighting - softer illumination follows the player, supported by localized warm lights and updated reflections.
Cave materials - sharper textures, improved surface detail and more consistent rock and ground materials.
Rock formations - added fractured stone details throughout the caves.
Character visibility - improved character contrast and nearby illumination from Arc Lash.

Combat & Exploration

Enemy engagement - visible enemies no longer wait for other enemies to die before joining combat.
Guardian encounters - floor exits can no longer bypass an active guardian.
Stormspindle - lightning now damages enemies throughout its circular area, including the center.
Rock collision - collision more closely matches the visible shape of scattered rocks.
Blocked passages - corrected tunnel caps that could obstruct rooms and prevent valid enemy placement.

Characters & Presentation

Town clothing - residents retain their outfits after returning from a Rift.
Player appearance - town characters and equipment previews respect your Human or Citizen preference.
Echo Sigil - its ground circle is no longer hidden beneath the cathedral floor.
Portal HUD - fixed brief gaps in HUD visibility at the end of arrival transitions.
Arrival lighting - player illumination is ready before the portal reveals the destination.
Missing models - fixed missing player-body and helmet-loot assets in packaged builds.
Dialogue - corrected an unintended character in the Tempering dialogue.

Animation & Lighting

Update 2