The Blood of Dawnwalker Update 1.1 Guide

The Blood of Dawnwalker Update 1.1 is planned to add the Draught of Mind Rebirth skill reset, a new assisted Story difficulty, and combat, subtitle and PC FrameGen improvements. Prepare a separate save, record your skill allocation, and compare your difficulty setting before rebuilding Coen. The official October 16 announcement schedules the update for the following week; this guide covers that preview, checked October 19, rather than treating it as a release confirmation.

Update 1.1 release window and your installed version

Rebel Wolves announced 1.1 for the week beginning October 19, 2026. Check the version shown by your own game and your platform's update information before looking for its new options. A news headline about the patch does not establish that your installed copy has received it.

Use the official announcement for the release window and the official Steam news feed for PC notices. These serve different purposes: one announces the planned changes, while an installation and release notice establish what you can use now.

What you are trying to do	First useful check
Reset an existing character	Confirm 1.1 is installed, then read the reset item's actual instructions
Find your old Story preset	Look for Forgiving after the update
Use additional combat assistance	Compare the new Story preset with Forgiving
Diagnose a quest that appears stuck	Match the active objective to the relevant walkthrough before replaying a branch

Keep a save named for the quest and its current objective. That is more useful than a generic patch-day save when several characters or ending branches are involved.

Plan a respec with Draught of Mind Rebirth

The announced potion lets you reset Swordmastery, Witchcraft and Vampirism abilities and redistribute the investment. Shacknews's report of the developer announcement also identifies the item. Its practical value is changing an established character's combat plan without replaying the opening solely to try another allocation.

Before resetting, make a short list of the abilities you actually use. Separate survival tools, active attacks and travel skills. Then note which desired replacements need a manual, a particular Corruption level or another prerequisite. Our build and manual guide helps turn that list into a purchase order.

Use this rebuilding checklist:

1. Save in a separate slot and record the current trees, equipped abilities and weapon.
2. Choose one problem to fix: stamina, defence, spell support or night mobility.
3. Check the replacement nodes and their displayed costs before using the potion.
4. Restore a usable core first, then add the new branch and test it against ordinary enemies.

This order is our planning recommendation. The preview does not establish the potion's vendor, price, repeatability or detailed refund rules; use the item's released instructions for those details. Budget around the time remaining in your save rather than assuming a reset rewinds the campaign calendar.

Story versus Forgiving: which difficulty should you choose?

The important naming change is that the existing Story preset becomes Forgiving, while a new Story preset adds combat assistance. If you already liked the easiest launch setting, Forgiving is the name to look for. Choose the new Story option when your priority is progressing through quests with more help in fights.

Launch preset	Announced 1.1 preset	Practical choice
Story	Forgiving	Keep the familiar lower-difficulty starting point
No corresponding launch preset	Story	Use the new additional combat assistance
Fair	Fair	Continue with the familiar named preset
Challenging	Challenging	Keep a demanding combat setting
Duelist	Duelist	Continue the highest named difficulty

This is a preset-name comparison, not a claim that every damage value is unchanged. Read the selected preset's description after updating. For a useful comparison, retry a familiar ordinary encounter with the same equipment before judging a new boss or spending points to solve a difficulty-setting problem.

Lower combat difficulty also does not replace route planning. For a family-rescue run, continue watching hourglass costs and the 30-day deadline. A combat assist and a narrative deadline answer different problems in the same playthrough.

Recheck targeting and movement before changing your build

The published feature overview lists targeting, camera and movement adjustments, including Shadowstep and Planeshift. Start with a short repeatable encounter instead of immediately challenging the fight that previously blocked you. This helps separate a control adjustment from a weakness in your character.

Try three checks: maintain your chosen target while repositioning, defend through a familiar enemy sequence, and use your usual movement ability around an obstacle. Keep your equipment and abilities constant during this comparison. If you change the whole loadout at once, it becomes difficult to tell what improved.

Our combat guide explains defensive practice and encounter troubleshooting. Use it when the problem is execution; use the build guide when an unavailable ability, missing charge or unsuitable purchase is the actual obstacle.

PC FrameGen and subtitle settings to revisit

Revisit the new FrameGen options on PC using a scene you can repeat. Record your previous setting, change one option, then compare movement, camera response and visible stutter in the same area. A frame-rate counter alone does not tell you whether your usual combat inputs feel better.

The preview also announces larger subtitle text and wider dialogue-subtitle coverage. Check readability at your normal viewing distance before an important conversation. This is particularly useful when you need to follow a quest clue while keeping an eye on the scene; choose a size that is comfortable throughout a dialogue.

Protect quest choices while testing the update

Keep an anchor save before an irreversible conversation, and use another slot for combat experiments. Resetting skills is a character-development action; choose your earlier quest save when your goal is changing a story decision. Treat those as separate tasks when naming your saves.

For Blasphemy, keep the branch before accusing Premysl if comparing rewards and Gremla's outcome. For Forge It Anew, retain the post-reforging save while attempting the final ritual. These checkpoints protect specific progress instead of asking you to restart an entire quest because a fight feels different.

Sources and review scope

Reviewed October 19, 2026 using the official October 16 preview and the linked announcement reporting. Version comparison, respec preparation and encounter checks are this site's editorial guidance, not personal tests of an installed 1.1 build. See the editorial policy for our sourcing and correction process.