Quick answer
The Week 1 Update (PC, 2026-08-29) changes three big things: Glimpses and Tarcores are no longer finite, so every Shell and Tarstone can be maxed in one playthrough; a new Mether’s Severance item lets you fully respec a Shell Bond; and riposte damage now scales with enemy health. It also adds Fragile Tarstones (including Fragile Justiciar’s/Gloombound), new Egon’s Stone and Glimpse Stone items, daytime-only Beacons in Fainweald and Mammon, and a broad balance pass over Obsidian Hammer, Great Martyr’s Blade, heavy weapons and most bosses.
Patch status and how to read this page
The patch is live on PC as of 2026-08-29 (the “Week 1 Update”). Console versions follow the same build on their own schedule, so check the installed version before treating any of this as active on PS5/Xbox.
This page is a player-impact summary, not a copy of the official changelog. It focuses on what actually changes how you play, and which guides on this site were written against the older build.
The economy is no longer finite (biggest change)
The launch build treated Glimpses and Tarcores as scarce. Several guides on this site (including the Glimpse guide) said “you cannot max every Shell” and “save Glimpses”.
That advice is now wrong:
- Glimpses and Tarcores are no longer finite resources. All Shells and all Tarstones can be upgraded in a single playthrough.
- Mether’s Severance is a new respec item: give it to Zhirelle, the Shell Keeper to sever your bond with a Shell — it resets the Shell and returns every Glimpse you spent on it.
- Fragile Tarstones are a new stone class: they break after losing durability, and when they break they drop a tarcore.
- Tarstones now yield more Tarcores when broken. If your save already has leveled-up Tarstones, a compensatory cache of Tarcores is added to your inventory.
- Merrick’s stock expands as you progress, and he also sells Mether’s Severance.
If you were holding off on upgrading “the wrong” Shell or stone, that constraint is gone. Level freely, and use Mether’s Severance to redo a Shell if you change your mind.
New items that change builds
| Item | What it does | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Fragile Tarstones | Break after losing durability; yield a tarcore when they break | Not unique — you can find several per playthrough |
| Glimpse Stone | Wears down as you defeat enemies, then breaks into Glimpses | A repeatable Glimpse trickle while fighting |
| Egon’s Stone | Revives you at a dungeon entrance when you die inside; when it breaks it prevents Gloom loss for that death | Save-cheese for dungeon runs in Night Mode |
| Fragile Justiciar’s Stone / Gloombound Stone | Now fragile with increased passive effects and new break effects | Existing copies were converted |
| Mether’s Severance | Respec item for Zhirelle; resets a Shell and returns all spent Glimpses | Full respecs now exist |
Certain enemies drop the new fragile stones, several dungeons reward them, and Merrick sells the important ones once you have enough Ova. The Collector now carries Tarcores as well.
Combat: ripostes got a real scaling pass
- Player riposte damage now scales with enemy health, so ripostes stay relevant in late game, NG+ and Night Mode.
- Invulnerability windows are now consistent and last through the end of the animation.
- Many riposte recoveries end sooner, so you regain control faster.
- Riposte damage is now calculated by the riposte itself (previously it could apply twice or not at all).
- Riposte animations no longer slide you through walls.
Weapons that actually changed
| Weapon | Change | Effect on tier lists |
|---|---|---|
| Obsidian Hammer | Full balance pass — hits substantially harder | Launch-version “too slow/niche” takes are stale. This is now a real heavy-hitter |
| Great Martyr’s Blade | More damage (“even stronger now” — it also missed the last patch) | Already top-tier after Balance Patch 1; stays there |
| Heavy weapons (general) | Poise and damage pass | Most slow weapons get more value |
| Salvaged Trebuchaxe | Tiltshot redesigned — was simultaneously overpowered and broken | The old “bugged/OP” takes are obsolete |
| Axatana | Weapon ability now grants invulnerability frames and inflicts Fragile stacks; Tarstone active now triggers correctly | Its build value goes up; pairing with Fragile Tarstones is now a real interaction |
| Weltcap | Stronger in active and passive forms | Check the new values before dismissing it |
The gist for builds: Best Weapons tier list was written against Balance Patch 1 and needs a refresh — Obsidian Hammer and Axatana both moved.
Exploration: new Beacons and a teleporter
- New Beacons appeared in Fainweald and Mammon — they are only active during the day.
- A teleporter now appears in one dungeon after the Grisha pit fight, removing the walk back entirely.
- Two new cosmetic rewards unlock after certain questlines; new items added to the world; problematic chests reset.
- Mini-Beacons no longer award a Glimpse.
Shell fixes that change build assumptions
- Eredrim: Shoulder Bash no longer permanently stows your primary weapon — the launch build had a real bug here, and the Eredrim build relied on it.
- Genessa: dashes fixed (including the corrupted version); Intangible now works during grab attacks; losing a Shell no longer breaks paired animations; astral copies no longer drift; Doubles now switch targets when their original dies.
- Proxima: Biosampler fixed; no longer stuck in her hook shot; riposte alignment fixed against The Silent Sester.
- Smert: can destroy projectiles in permanent fight stance.
- Gragu: Heart of Vatra no longer trails after you in sheep form.
Bosses that changed (if you read old health/damage takes)
Most bosses got a polish pass. The ones that materially change how you play:
- Monolith: broad combat polish — laser and spin attacks now have consistent, readable timings; fixed a bug that allowed double damage on some hits.
- Zmey: tail grab no longer takes both Shell and Harbinger from 100-0 (it still does in Night Mode). Ring waves align to the ground.
- The Lost Child: no longer launches you across the arena; bite anticipation retimed; a rare endless blood effect fixed.
- Hexapod: area attack deals more splash damage; arena smaller with a lit beacon light — the fight is much easier to read.
- Warden and Urrig, the Executioner: both reworked with retuned attacks, new ice attacks and corrected effects. Urrig’s spin now gives a proper “unparryable” warning.
- Bloodcursed Lithopod: damage, turning and jump attacks retuned; no longer nudges you into the air.
- Droeg / Sir Isaac / Vrannic / Magdalena: arena navigation and alignment fixes, plus Vrannic’s new projectile trails. Lower difficulty impact; mostly read an update that fixes visual bugs.
Atari’s take: boss guides quoting “X hits to stagger” remain launch-version numbers. The official notes do not give new stagger thresholds for most bosses, so this site does not invent them.
What to recheck on this site
- «Glimpse guide» — the “can’t respec / scarce / max one Shell” advice is now outdated. Mether’s Severance + non-finite Glimpses change the strategy entirely.
- «Tarstones explained» — new Fragile class, Glimpse Stone, Egon’s Stone and break-yields-tarcore behavior are not in the old page.
- «Tarstone tempering» — Tarstones now yield more Tarcores when broken, and pre-patch leveled stones get a compensation cache.
- «Best weapons» — Obsidian Hammer, Axatana and the Trebuchaxe changed the picture.
- «Fast travel» — new daytime Beacons and the Grisha teleporter belong in the travel page.
- «Eredrim build» — Shoulder Bash bug fix plus riposte scaling makes the Break/riposte loop stronger than the old page implies.
Known issues
The official notes list one known bug: Malborn Offspring can misbehave with Grisha Remnant Summon during a boss fight. No safe strategy for avoiding it is documented beyond waiting for a fix.
Last verified: 2026-08-30 (official Steam announcement for the Week 1 Update).