May 8, 2026
View on Steam↗Devblog: Incoming Balance Changes
3/5 Moderate
PREVIEWOgryn Crusher spawn rates are being reduced by 30% alongside a major rework to the Uncanny Strike blessing and Veteran Krak Grenade nerfs.
Key Changes
- 1Ogryn Crusher spawn rates reduced by approximately 30% on average
- 2Uncanny Strike blessing reworked from Rending (player buff) to Brittleness (enemy debuff) with lower max stacks
- 3Veteran Krak Grenade replenish timer increased to 90s and max charges reduced to 3
- 4Sapper Shovels and Blaze Force Swords received significant baseline buffs to Carapace armour damage
- 5Havoc mode 'Rotten Armour' modifier changed from Carapace to Infested armour type
- 6Duelling Swords nerfed with lower Finesse scaling and Carapace damage modifiers
- 7Soulblaze and Burn DoT effects buffed against Carapace armour
- 8Shiv Weapon Special direct hit damage increased from 190 to 235
- 9Global enemy spawn limits adjusted to improve game stability and performance
- 10Hive Scum grenade charges and Chem Toxin damage reduced
All Changes
💀Enemies(5)
- changeOgryn Crushers: Lowered Ogryn Crushers spawn amount by approximately 30% on average across ambient, Horde, and Event spawns
- changeHavoc: Reduced Ogryn Crushers, Bulwarks, and Reapers spawns by an additional 15% on average in Havoc mode
- changeHavoc: Changed 'Rotten Armour' modifier armour type override from Carapace to Infested
- changeHavoc: Lowered the spawn rate of Rotten enemies in Havoc mode
- fixGameplay Systems: Adjusted global enemy spawn limits to improve performance during high-tension moments
🛡️Classes(5)
- nerfVeteran: Split 'Demolition Stockpile' replenish timers; Krak Grenades increased from 60s to 90s while Frag/Smoke remain at 60s
- nerfKrak Grenades: Reduced Krak Grenade max charges from 4 to 3 (5 to 4 with 'Grenadier' talent)
- nerfHive Scum: Reduced 'Boom Bringer' max charges from 3 to 2 (4 to 3 with 'Extra Pouches')
- nerfHive Scum: Reduced 'Chem Grenade' max charges from 3 to 2 (4 to 3 with 'Extra Pouches')
- nerfHive Scum: Reduced Chem Toxin DoT damage per tick at max stacks from 400 to 350
✨Blessings(5)
- changeUncanny Strike: Reworked 'Uncanny Strike' to apply Brittleness to enemies instead of Rending to the player
- nerfUncanny Strike: Reduced 'Uncanny Strike' effectiveness on most weapons from max 60-120% Rending to max 40% Brittleness
- changeUncanny Strike: Reduced 'Uncanny Strike' effectiveness on Shivs from max 20-40% Rending to max 40% Brittleness
- nerfOpportunist: Restricted 'Opportunist' Rending bonus to Melee attacks only
- nerfBladed Momentum: Restricted 'Bladed Momentum' Rending bonus to Melee attacks only
⚔️Weapons(30)
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Heavy Relentless ADM vs Carapace from 0.4 to 0.5
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Heavy Relentless ADM vs Flak, Maniac, and Unyielding from 0.75 to 0.8
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Heavy Relentless Damage from {110,225} to {125,250}
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Heavy Relentless Impact from {10,20} to {12,20}
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Heavy Special active second hit ADM vs Carapace from 0.5 to 0.6
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Heavy Strikedown ADM vs Carapace from 0.4 to 0.6
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Heavy Strikedown ADM vs Flak, Maniac, and Unyielding from 0.75 to 0.8
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Heavy Strikedown Damage from {125,275} to {145,295}
- changeSapper Shovel: Adjusted Sapper Shovel Heavy Strikedown Impact from 15 to {12,20}
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Light Vanguard ADM vs Carapace from 0 to 0.2
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Light Vanguard ADM vs Flak from 0.75 to 0.8
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Light Vanguard Damage from {80,160} to {85,170}
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Light Relentless ADM vs Carapace from 0 to 0.2
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Light Relentless ADM vs Flak from 0.75 to 0.8
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Light Relentless Damage from {55,120} to {70,140}
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Light Strikedown Damage from {95,180} to {100,190}
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Light Special active initial and second hit ADM vs Carapace from 0.4 to 0.5
- buffSapper Shovel: Increased Sapper Shovel Pushfollow attack ADM vs Carapace from 0.25 to 0.35 and vs Maniac from 0.5 to 0.75
- buffSapper Shovel: Scaled up Heavy Relentless and Heavy Strikedown damage on secondary targets for Sapper Shovels
- buffBlaze Force Sword: Increased Blaze Force Sword Light Vanguard ADM vs Carapace from 0.01 to 0.2
- buffBlaze Force Sword: Increased Blaze Force Sword Light Strikedown Stab ADM vs Carapace from 0.25 to 0.4
- buffBlaze Force Sword: Increased Blaze Force Sword Light Assassin Uppercut ADM vs Carapace from 0.25 to 0.35
- buffBlaze Force Sword: Increased Blaze Force Sword Heavy Vanguard ADM vs Carapace on secondary targets from 0 to 0.1
- fixObscurus Mk II Blaze Force Sword: Delayed the active window for the Obscurus Mk II Light 2 uppercut to improve weakspot hits
- buffShivs: Increased Shiv Weapon Special direct hit damage from 190 to 235 and Finesse boost from 1.2 to 1.6
- buffShivs: Increased Shiv Weapon Special ADM vs Flak armour from 0.5 to 0.6 (near) and 0.25 to 0.35 (far)
- nerfShivs: Lowered Mk I Shiv Crit boost curve from ~0.8/0.7 to 0.65/0.6
- nerfDuelling Sword: Reduced Duelling Sword Heavy Strikedown Finesse boost from {1.1, 2.1} to {1.0, 2.0} and Crit boost from 0.5 to 0.4
- nerfDuelling Sword: Reduced Duelling Sword Heavy Stab ADM vs Carapace from 0.5 to 0.4 and Finesse boost from {1.2, 2.4} to {1.1, 2.2}
- buffInferno Force Staff: Increased Inferno Force Staff direct hit ADM vs Carapace from 0.25 to 0.35
⚙️Gameplay Systems(3)
- buffBurn: Increased Burn ADM vs Carapace armour from 0.1 to 0.2
- buffSoulblaze: Increased Soulblaze ADM vs Carapace armour from 0.1 to 0.25
- buffSoulblaze: Increased Soulblaze damage per tick at max stacks from 250 to 255
Summary
Overview
This upcoming balance update focuses on addressing the 'Carapace meta' by reducing the density of heavy enemies and adjusting the most dominant anti-armour tools. The goal is to improve game performance and stability during high-intensity encounters while expanding viable player loadouts.
Enemy & Encounter Changes
Ogryn Crusher spawns are seeing a significant reduction across all mission types. The 'Havoc' mode is receiving further adjustments, including a rework of the 'Rotten Armour' modifier to encourage weapon diversity by changing enemy armour types from Carapace to Infested.
Class & Weapon Balancing
High-performing anti-armour options like the Veteran's Krak Grenades and the 'Uncanny Strike' blessing are being toned down. To compensate for these systemic changes, several melee weapons including Sapper Shovels and Blaze Force Swords are receiving baseline buffs to their Carapace armour damage modifiers.