You can now open common system menu pages directly during play: on the keyboard, M opens the Map, J the Active quest list and I the Inventory; on a gamepad, D-pad ↑ opens the Map, ↓ the Active quest list, ← Character and → Growth. Keys can be changed in Key Bindings under Settings → Controls.
The hint bar at the bottom of the system menu now lists the buttons you can use on the current page and at the selected spot. With a gamepad it shows button icons (with matching icons for Xbox and PlayStation controllers), and it switches when you change between keyboard and gamepad.
Added a "System Menu" tutorial: it appears the first time you close the system menu, and you can read it again any time on the Tutorials page.
On the system menu's Equipment page you can now scroll the stats list with the gamepad's right stick (before, the lower groups of the list couldn't be reached with a gamepad).
Changes
Sweeping Onslaught's Damage Reduction now reaches 100% at max level (up from 90%, with the other levels raised too), and the damage you take yourself when the dash rams an enemy is now reduced by Damage Reduction as well. At max level you lose no HP from being hit mid-dash or from ramming into a crowd, so you can charge around freely.
Basic attack impact: hits now add a brief hit-stop, camera shake and gamepad vibration; new blade trails and updated swing and hit sounds; enemies' upper bodies twist with the force of the slash; every enemy struck by one swing gets a blood splash, and the 4th, 8th and 11th hits add sparks; regular enemies are pushed back by hits, and the 4th, 8th and 11th hits also push back bosses and elites (except during skills, jump attacks and grapples), who now stagger back a step instead of sliding. Attack speed and boss strength are unchanged.
Movement weight: falls now speed up; legs stay bent in the air and stretch out just before landing; landings bend the knees to cushion the impact and kick up dust with a slight camera dip, and a fall from a height briefly slows you down; starting and stopping have inertia, and you can only turn slightly in the air; the camera follows height changes more smoothly.
Gamepad controls in the system menu now follow the usual console layout: LB/RB switch the main categories at the top, and LT/RT switch tabs within a page (for example area and world on the Map, Inventory categories, quest filters, settings pages and tutorial categories). Locking items and adding them to quick slots in the Inventory also moved to LT/RT. Keyboard controls are unchanged.
Enlarged the text in the system menu, shops and the Forge (especially the smallest descriptions), so it's easier to read on a TV or a high-resolution screen; text that doesn't fit now wraps onto the next line.
Reopening the system menu now takes you back to the page you last viewed (before, it went back to the first page of the category).
New system menu look: the background is now semi-transparent so you can see the paused game (darkened around the edges); the category bar at the top has a glow and a gold line, the frame has a shadowed bronze border, and their colors follow the UI Color Theme; the categories at the top and the pages on the left now have icons.
Bug Fixes
Fixed the character hanging in midair instead of falling when attacking, using a skill, blocking or getting hit in the air.
Fixed being able to jump again while still in midair once the jump animation had finished, when jumping down from a height.
Fixed the landing sound sometimes playing before the character touched the ground. It now plays when the feet actually hit the ground.
Fixed shop text and interface looking smaller than other screens at high resolutions such as 1440p and 4K.
Fixed two rows of button hints appearing at the bottom of the system menu's Inventory page, and the Inventory and Equipment pages saying "B/Esc Close" when the gamepad's B actually returns to the left column.
Fixed part of the Forge sometimes ending up off screen, hiding the button hints at its bottom, after changing UI Scale or the resolution.
Fixed the character striking the landing pose in midair when jumping down from a height or a small ledge, so it looked like floating. Past the top of the jump the character now falls with the jump's bent legs and straightens them just before landing.
Fixed the Softbody slider in the toolbox always showing at the far left, not matching the character's actual softness (for example after loading a save or applying an outfit preset).
Fixed text errors in the H scenes of Rex, the Blazing Swordshade; Oskar, the Ironwall Commander; Kael, the Warlord of Darkness; and Victor, the Ravager of Ruin.