Patch 2.0.5 - Balance overhaul & Fixes

Hi everyone!

The past two days have been intense as we tackled major balancing issues. Some players were able to finish the game in a single run, defeating all enemies in just one turn — not exactly what we had in mind for Sandwalkers! This patch focuses on restoring challenge and progression. Here’s what’s new:

Enemy Scaling & Encounters

• Enemy scaling fixed

Enemy groups were no longer scaling with your caravan, leading to easy fights against low-level (Lv.1) enemies. This is now fixed.

• Unit encounter rework We’ve restructured enemy groups to make encounters more varied and challenging:

  • 2-enemy fights were too frequent and not engaging — most have been removed.

  • Stronger enemy groups have been added across all regions.

  • Each region now features more diverse enemy compositions.

More tweaks will follow — this is just the first step in our balancing effort.

Caravaneer Upgrades Nerfed / Roguelite Bonuses Buffed

Sandwalkers isn’t about a single overpowered caravaneer dashing to Umama. It’s about generations building on each other’s journey.

• Caravaneer upgrades nerfed by ~30%.

• Cristal Library combat upgrades have been buffed to reinforce roguelite progression.

General Balance Tweaks

• Protector

  • Gains +2 Strength/level (up from +1).

  • "Raise Shield" ability nerfed.

• Status Effects

  • Decaying Shield buffed.

  • Infested nerfed.

  • Blinded nerfed.

• Bosses & Elites

  • HP increased, but Strength reduced at levels 3–5.

• All enemies

  • Strength reduced at levels 3–5, but increased from level 7 onward.

• Merchants

  • Merchants in Cities now give more items

Bug Fixes

• Fixed several attacks that dealt pure damage with no type.

• "Ban Hammer" Fetish now correctly targets the launcher.

Known Issues (Still Investigating)

• Rare black screen blocking progress.

• Some units show the wrong sprite when stunned.

• Bosses can be stunned, even when they should be immune.

• Trade with merchants can be broken, allowing players to get insane amount of items

Thank you all for your patience and invaluable feedback — it really helped us identify and fix this core issue. There’s more to come, but this patch should make Sandwalkers feel closer to our original vision.

— The Sandwalkers Team