In this update1
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Full Heretical update
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Repeated intro
Greetings lost souls!
What changed
- Gameplay
- Fixes
Heretical changes
First off, thank you for your patience. We know this last update took a long time, and if you’ve been waiting, checking in, or wondering what’s going on behind the curtain, well, now you know.
The truth is, this one grew bigger than we planned. What started as a content patch turned into a full-on expansion, and we didn’t want to release it until it felt right. That meant extra time for testing, polishing, and occasionally throwing things out and redoing them from scratch.
That said, we’ve learned a lot from this process, and going forward, we’re changing how we do things.
Instead of saving everything for massive updates, we’ll be releasing content more frequently and in smaller, more manageable chunks. This means quicker improvements, better pacing, and more regular reasons to revisit the game.
This update is the foundation for that.
With this release, the world just got a whole lot bigger, and sharper.
At the heart of the update are two massive new regions:
The Ministry: a towering cathedral of arcane authority, where pilgrims kneel beneath the Archon, hoping salvation will answer their prayers.
The Foundry: a seething crucible of fire and steel, where fallen Sanctorite is refined into power, and the air hums with divine residue.
Each region comes with its own enemies, mechanics, story threads, and secrets. They’re some of the most ambitious environments we’ve built so far.
But this update isn’t just about new content. We’ve also spent a huge amount of time going back through the existing world, fixing things, reworking encounters, improving visuals, and adding small touches that (hopefully) make a big difference.
So, what’s next?
Now that the update is out, our immediate focus is clear: We’ll be listening closely to your feedback and squashing any bugs that inevitably sneak through. This is a big patch, and while we’ve tested it thoroughly, we know the real stress test starts now, in your hands.
Once things settle, we’re diving into something new and exciting: the Healing Potion.
If you’ve played Heretical before, you know healing has always been scarce, and intentionally so. But we’ve been experimenting with a system that gives you a bit more control: a potion you can refill and use strategically during your run. It won’t make things easy, but it will open up more aggressive and tactical playstyles. We’re excited to see what you do with it.
Our idea is that potions are a new type of item, a consumable item. It has a fixed number of uses and will restore a fixed amount of hit points when used, and an additional smaller amount over the next 6 seconds. The idea behind this is that we don't want you chugging these all at once, but rather space out consumption as they're not replenished easily.
Besides this basic mechanic, potions will drop like any other items, will be tiered based on the region they're dropping in, and will have affixes, but unlike other items in the game, these affixes will only be applied during the healing over time effect of the potion.
This also means that the old system which healed you when you leveled up will be removed, and "Heal on level up" stat will be replaced with "Additional Healing from potions" or something similar.
Also coming soon: a brand new playable character — the Alchemist. They’re still in the lab (and occasionally exploding), but we’ll have more to share on them soon.
And of course, beyond content, we’ll continue improving the game feel. From smoother animations to more impactful combat feedback, and all the little touches that make everything feel better moment-to-moment. Thank you.
If you're still here, still playing, or even just reading this, thank you. This project means the world to us, and seeing people connect with it makes all the late nights worth it.
Source
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