The tremor in my fingers wouldn’t stop as I hovered over the “Update” button. Would this patch finally fix the resource grind that had stalled my progress? Or would it introduce a new set of headaches, turning my carefully constructed world into digital rubble? Here’s what you need to know about Hytale’s Update 2.
Hytale Update 2: A Fresh Coat of Paint and Some Engine Work
Think of a classic car—a beautiful chassis, but with an engine that needs constant tuning. Hytale’s first update added some shiny new features, but Update 2 is about tightening the bolts and polishing the chrome, focusing on cosmetics, customization, and essential gameplay balancing. Let’s break down the changes.
Cosmetics & Customization
I remember spending hours customizing my character in another game, only to realize my carefully chosen outfit clipped through my armor. Hytale’s latest patch takes player expression seriously, focusing on visual polish and providing more flexibility in avatar design.
- New avatar options: Bandit Mask with Side Knot, Blindfold variants, Bandage Blindfold variants, Vampire Mouth, Cute Mouth, and Orc Mouth.
- White color option added to fantasy cotton cosmetics.
- Visual updates for haircuts: Single Side Pigtail, Hair Stick Bun, Simple Bobcut, Fighter Buns, Smart Elven, and Windswept.
- Armor visibility toggles added directly to the character panel.
- Server hosts can now enforce armor visibility rules.
- Improved cape animations while running.
Gameplay & Balance
It’s always frustrating when one weapon or tactic overshadows everything else. These Hytale patch notes aim to smooth out the gameplay experience. Combat, mining, and enemy encounters have all been re-evaluated for fairer and more engaging gameplay.
- A new item raises skeletal minions from bone piles, dropped by Praetorian Skeletons.
- Adamantite now requires a Thorium or Cobalt pickaxe.
- Mining progression and pickaxe effectiveness reworked.
- Lower-tier pickaxes deal significantly less damage to higher-tier ores.
- Higher-quality pickaxes require fewer hits.
- Polar Bears have been buffed.
- More decorative light recipes added.
- Bison, Boar, Cow, Horse, and Warthog now drop Medium Hide.
- Magma Toad adjusted with reduced tongue damage and a new Headbutt attack.
World Generation
Ever loaded into a world and felt instantly bored by the repetitive landscape? World creation sees significant improvements, promising more diverse and interesting environments to explore. Ore placement, templates, and creative tools have been revamped to improve exploration.
- WorldGen V2 prepared for public documentation.
- New Default_Flat and Default_Void templates added.
- Creative Hub Portal now uses WorldGen V2 flat generation in new worlds.
- Clear weather and reduced fog in new creative worlds.
- Major refactor to ore placement across all zones.
- Old worlds require new chunk exploration to see ore changes.
- Increased ore density, especially in Devastated Lands underground.
Farming
I once lost an entire crop because I accidentally swung my sword, destroying weeks of progress. Farming updates focus on quality of life and long-term sustainability.
- Eternal crops no longer break from accidental weapon hits.
- Increased tilled soil lifetime to around 1.2 to 1.5 days.
- Fixed soil decay under fully grown crops.
- Torches can now be held in the offhand while farming.
- Fully grown Eternal crops drop their seeds.
- Harvested crops can be placed on the ground while crouching.
- Adjusted hoe crafting costs and progression.
- Hoe tiers reworked across farming benches: Copper moved to Tier 2, Iron to Tier 4, Thorium added at Tier 6.
UI / UX
Have you ever been frustrated by clunky menus? The UI and UX improvements focus on clarity across menus, maps, and tools. Navigation is designed to be faster, visibility improved, and customization menus now communicate better.
- Improved editor block tooltip descriptions.
- Avatar color options now show color names.
- Hotbar active slot visibility improved with higher contrast and a diamond indicator.
- Memory categories now sort alphabetically in The Heart Of Orbis.
- Scripted Brush quality of life updates and cleanup.
- Improved inventory double click handling.
- Shift-clicking armor equips it directly if the slot is empty.
- Added QERT shortcut keys for inventory quick actions.
- Tooltips now show shortcut keys.
- Added FPS counter overlay option in settings.
- Player markers now appear on the compass.
- Removed Player prefix from map markers.
- Player names always render on the map.
- Added map and compass visibility toggles.
- Height indicators added to compass markers.
- Added Ophidiophobia mode that replaces snakes with hatworms.
Audio & Visual Effects
Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference. Sound and visual feedback receive subtle improvements, helping environments feel more consistent.
- Added missing Rex sounds.
- Updated bone item drag and drop sounds.
- Fixed an issue with a Howling Sands cave track.
- Updated food particle color tints.
Bug Fixes, Tech & Stability
Ever experienced a random crash that erased hours of progress? The largest portion of the patch notes focuses on backend systems and long-standing issues, delivering gains in stability.
- Full server auto-update system with new commands and config options.
- Introduced UpdateModule core plugin for staged updates and notifications.
- Added UpdateConfig options to server configuration.
- Added a new shutdown reason for update restarts.
- Update-related server commands and messages added.
- Release workflow updated with launcher scripts.
- Improved shadow rendering.
- Fixed middle click pick block behavior in creative mode.
- Asset Editor now shows documentation in tooltips.
- Fixed mantling detection issues.
- Keybind clearing now persists between sessions.
- Improved weather transitions.
- Fixed teleporter collision issues.
- Rail carts now consume and place correctly.
- Fixed bed respawning in unloaded chunks.
- Fixed collision checks failing with no loaded chunks.
- Major improvements to server stability, validation, ECS, localization, and timeouts.
- Refilling containers now targets the nearest water source.
- Fixed oversized placement previews.
- Fixed Berserker haircut texture tiling.
- Fixed glasses lens color inheritance.
- Added permissions for world map teleporting.
- Fixed player marker updates when the map is closed.
- Fixed player marker flickering on hover.
- Improved name readability on the map when zoomed in.
- Fixed Emerald Wilds dungeon and other environments, with new music triggers.
With all these changes, which ones will truly reshape the Hytale experience for you?