THE CODEX HAS A NEW BOOK. The L screen was rebuilt on much better art: the cover swings open and shut, the page actually bends as it turns (in three styles, drawn at random each time you open the book) and the side bookmarks slide in one by one, with the open tab reaching out over the paper. The six tabs moved to the other side and now carry an icon instead of a written name; the section name still sits above the book, and hovering a bookmark tells you which one it is. The backdrop behind the book is new too.
YOU NOW ARRIVE IN TOWN ON FOOT. Entering is no longer appearing motionless in the middle of the square: your hero shows up at the entrance and crosses to the campfire on their own legs, walking around walls, with the camera closing in gradually until they stop. Anyone already in town watches you arrive.
THE TITLE SCREEN SHOWS ALL THREE CHOICES.Enter, Options and Quit game, stacked, with the game name in the same column. Quitting is no longer hidden behind the Esc key.
THE ABILITY YOU HAVE NEVER USED PULSES IN THE BAR. Instead of opening a screen mid-fight, the icon itself asks for attention until you use that ability once, then stops.
BODIES CRACK APART ON DEATH. Downed enemies no longer blink out: they break into shards that scatter, and the horde leaves a trail of what you already cut down.
ENEMY SHOTS ARE RED NOW. The hostile projectile's green leaf vanished against the Plains foliage, which is exactly where it needs to be seen. What hurts you now stands apart from the scenery.
TUTORIAL HINTS ARE BACK ON. Anyone who had closed the old intro screen ended up with hints switched off without ever asking for that.
THE THREE HEROES ARE STANDING IN THE SQUARE. Bulwark, Mage and Oracle now exist as people in town: walk up to one and press E to take them into your next run. Each figure shows the level your account has with that hero, marks which one is you, and pulses when a talent point is waiting there — the notice that used to live only inside the collection screen. Switching from the collection selector (key C) still works exactly as before.
Balance
ELITES TAKE 50% MORE PUNISHMENT. They were dying faster than they promise: an elite now costs the time its design asks for.
Fixes
ANYONE WHO PLAYED BEFORE THE GUIDES EXISTED NEVER GOT THEM. An old mark in the save file was read as "I don't want help", and those players never saw a single hint again without ever asking for that. Hints now come back on their own; anyone who turned them off on purpose stays off.
THE OPENING SHOWED THE VOID BEYOND THE MAP. The camera pulled back so far that the town floated in black; it now starts exactly where the screen still fits inside the world.
THE SPAWN POINT WAS INSIDE A WALL. Anyone entering town was born stuck.