Blood of Dawnwalker Director Says the October Patch Will Make Escaping Combat “Fluid” and Fix Target-Switching Issues: “It Will Be a Big Change for People”

The Blood of Dawnwalker is set to receive its first major post-launch patch in early October, and one of its most significant changes will target an issue that has frustrated players during combat: escaping from enemies. Game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz says Rebel Wolves is reworking how the game handles movement while fleeing, with the goal of making running away feel significantly smoother rather than forcing players to get caught on the environment.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Tomaszkiewicz explained that the team is changing how Coen interacts with the navigation system when attempting to escape. He described the upcoming improvement as something that “will be a big change for people,” particularly players who prefer to disengage from fights rather than defeat every enemy they encounter.

The upcoming update will also address combat targeting, add a new story-focused difficulty setting and continue the studio’s work on performance issues.

Dawnwalker’s October Patch Will Make Escaping Combat Much Smoother

One of the biggest gameplay changes in the October patch will affect how The Blood of Dawnwalker handles escaping from combat. At launch, players could sometimes become stuck on environmental objects or experience clunky movement when trying to flee enemies, making it difficult to disengage from encounters.

According to Tomaszkiewicz, Rebel Wolves realized the problem partly by watching players stream the game and observing how they approached combat differently from the developers. The team is now working on a solution that allows Coen to ignore the navigation mesh while running away, which should make movement considerably more fluid.

“Right now we’re doing the fix where when you run or escape, you will ignore the nav mesh and it will be fluid – it will not be clunky,”

Tomaszkiewicz told Eurogamer.

“We’re working on escaping from combat and running in combat and it will be a big change for people.”

The change will also affect encounters with animals. Players who pass hostile animals while moving quickly in wolf form or using witch-sprint movement should no longer be automatically dragged into prolonged encounters. Animals can still attempt to attack Coen, but if they miss, players should be able to continue exploring.

This could be particularly useful in a game built around time management, where spending unnecessary time fighting enemies can affect how players approach quests and other activities.

Target Switching and Stun Mechanics Are Also Being Reworked

The October update will make another important adjustment to combat targeting. Currently, using a stun-like ability can cause The Blood of Dawnwalker to automatically switch the player’s target to another enemy.

Tomaszkiewicz confirmed that this behavior was actually intentional rather than a bug. He explained that the system was designed after he accidentally attacked the same enemy he had stunned during testing, breaking the stun effect.

However, player feedback convinced Rebel Wolves to change the system. The forced target switch will be removed, while the developers are also experimenting with how many attacks a stunned enemy can withstand before recovering.

Tomaszkiewicz acknowledged that the revised system will need to be monitored after launch because changing one combat interaction could potentially create another awkward experience. The game’s camera and targeting systems are also receiving broader improvements.

A New Easier Difficulty Will Join the Existing Options

The October patch is not only about combat fixes. Rebel Wolves is also adding another difficulty level, although it will make The Blood of Dawnwalker easier rather than harder.

The new mode is intended for players who primarily want to experience Coen’s story without facing much combat difficulty. The current Story difficulty will receive a new name, while the new and even easier setting will take the Story name.

“We will introduce an additional difficulty level, but an easier one,”

Tomaszkiewicz explained to Eurogamer, noting that many players had requested a more accessible option. The developer also indicated that Rebel Wolves considers the existing Duelist difficulty sufficiently challenging.

The studio is simultaneously continuing to investigate performance problems reported by PC players. Tomaszkiewicz said the enormous number of possible PC hardware configurations makes optimization difficult, but the team is continuing to gather hardware information and develop fixes.

New Game Plus and More Enemies Are Being Considered

Beyond the October patch, Rebel Wolves is already thinking about additional post-launch features. Tomaszkiewicz confirmed that the studio is exploring a New Game Plus mode, although he did not provide details about how it would work or when it could arrive.

The team is also considering adding new enemy types to increase combat variety. Tomaszkiewicz said there is a possibility of this happening but declined to reveal more information.

The Blood of Dawnwalker launched on September 3 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S and surpassed one million copies sold shortly after release. With the game already establishing a substantial player base, the first major patch could play an important role in addressing early feedback while making its combat and exploration systems more flexible.