The temperature might be dropping, but the last update of 2023 is coming in hot! Winter Tales is here to see you through the festive period and the first part is the update.
Gifts From Above - Event
Get ready for Winter Tales as Villedor becomes covered in winter's frost. Baka is back with new bounties and rewards for an upcoming event. Remember to write a letter to Santa because he is probably near the city, and gifts are falling from the sky. However, be wary, as they might be protected by Naughty Infected, who are invading the city again.
This year, snow has arrived in Villedor, so remember to visit your favorite spots in the City and prepare your camera for festive snaps. Be sure to check out the Bazaar, where survivors have started decorating the Christmas Tree. They may need some help with that.
Event will be available to you till 5th January
New Enemy Variants
With the Update, a new wave of enemy variants will show up on the streets of the City. Watch out for biters, carrying the deadly gas tanks on their backs. You can encounter three new variants:
Don't get too close to the Toxic one - he will release a deadly cloud around himself Stop your enemies where you want them - Freezing biter will prevent them from moving Watch incinerating biter throw fire puddles around him - but not from too close, or you will be engulfed in the fireball he turns into!
Virals also turn more vicious - some of them will spit in your direction to keep you away. You may also encounter them carrying gas tank.
Don't get surprised by the new Goon variant - their scream will alert banshees, waiting in the dark corners to attack you.
New Weapons - Polearms
Diversify your battlefield tactics with the arrival of Polearms! This new weapon type offers extended reach, allowing for strategic engagements and versatile playstyles. Pick them up from the cold dead hands of enemies that carried them before, or visit weapon vendors. Don't forget to visit Shen Xiu (Chapter 2 Agent) and Pilgrim Outpost! And of course, the new weapon type comes with its unique finisher.
Nocturnal Weapons
We are introducing a new type of weapon specifically designed for better effectiveness during night fights. Nocturnal Weapons come only in higher rarities - from unique to exotics, so just because of that they’re already quite formidable. But what sets these weapons apart are their special affixes (triggered during the night) and cool, fluorescent appearances. Some of these weapons are designed to focus on handling specific types of infected, so choose wisely which one you will bring into the night. However, keep in mind that, as powerful as they are, they also drain your immunity faster, so using them is a classic risk-and-reward mechanic. Participate in Night Encounters, and fight Volatiles, Backpack Biters, and several others to obtain them. Make sure to visit Harper and Pilgrim Outpost. Explore the night and discover your first Nocturnal Weapon.
Throwable Weapons
New Throwing Knife - Want to wreak havoc among hordes of enemies while slashing through them? We have the perfect solution: throw a new PK tool, an exploding knife, at your enemies, watch out for a short beep beep beep, and enjoy the small explosion, giving yourself much-needed space in tight situations.
Shurikens - What's better than one shuriken? Three thrown simultaneously. Combine them with a katana, and you can be the one and only ninja in Villedor.
New Finishers Your enthusiasm for new features doesn't go unnoticed; we've heard you clearly. Get ready for a fistfight and check 2 new hands finishers, waiting to be mastered in the midst of battle. In addition, you can now get a chance to perform a finisher after successfully performing Perfect Dodge, Perfect Parry, X-Ray attack, and even when you release yourself from the Biter grab.
Nightrunner Tools in NG+ After completing a game and entering New Game+, all your Nightrunner Tools will stay with you. Players who already were in New Game + before this Update will receive missing Tools on level 2*
*The tools will be accessible in Open World free roaming, meaning several missions will prevent you from using them to ensure a smooth experience. Adequate information will be shown in those cases.
Game Update We’ve also introduced the following fixes and improvements to the game:
Gameplay
[PC] Players can now choose another key to bind the Expert grappling hook
We adjusted Korek Charm to 40% damage buff at 25% of weapon durability
Fixed an issue where Skullface will remain idle
Fixed issue when objective marker displays improper information
Fixed an issue where players could lure infected into Stamma’s Room
Carnage Manica Shield blueprint accessible from the vendor, Manica can now be dismantled.
Added new visual and audio effects showing elemental damage affecting the player
Adjusted knuckledusters attack animation to look more natural
Co-op
Fixed issue when Steam players couldn't join players that were using Epic Games Launcher
Fixed issue when Epic Players couldn't join Steam Players
Fixed the issue of the game crashing after joining coop sessions
Fixed an issue when the objective disappeared after a short time after starting the generator in the “Bridge the Gap” Mission
Fixed an issue when some infected could be seen walking in the air by the host in “Bridge the Gap” Mission
Fixed an issue when the objective won’t progress after killing all enemies
Fixed an issue where Volatile would ignore flashlights
Dev Tools
Over 600 Hellraid assets are added to the DevTools library
Implementation of LODs
UI
Fixed an issue where an unknown key appeared in the tutorial when toggle crouch was turned off
Fixed an issue where the challenge weapon had a red background icon and was shown as worn out in certain challenges
Implemented cosmetic changes to the Tooltip in the Inventory UI
Technical
Fixed issue with improper lighting on Howlers when they were standing in the sunlight
Updated animations for various aspects of the game (including cutscenes, NPC animations, and more) with re-mocap involved
Fixed issue with invisible collisions during “Kill the Renegades” objective
Fixed Infected noises
Fixed game crash after performing a quick resume
Fixed graphical issue after entering the hospital
Fixed issue for not getting trophies related to map activities
Fixed Volatile AI and patrolling routes near VNC Tower, Highway, and Hills
Fixed an issue with when GRE Aberration could be one-shot in spawning animation
Fixed Cricket Bat icon during challenges
Fixed Opera Machete balancing
Fixed VFX during the fights in the Opera Arena
Fixed an issue where a player could get stuck between textures
Fixed issue where AI was not reacting to players
Fixed an issue where the camera clips through the Kensei Outfit when healing
Fixed an issue where the Mission Canceled title does not appear after canceling the mission
Fixed visual effect of torches at the opera building entrance
Fixed sound when players are under the influence of ongoing elemental damage
Fixed an issue where players could get stuck on top of the ceiling near the Bazaar entrance
Fixed an issue where Anomaly could be seen passing through the environment when leaping
Fixed an issue where Cricket Bat, Scrapper Hammer, or Buccaneer failed to appear in the weapons wheel
Fixed gaps between buildings in the city
Fixed an issue where the map was blurred and shook while being affected by the howler’s scream
Fixed an issue where a dot indication of a new item reappears on all items in the stash
Fixed an issue where the trophy “Into the Unknown” was not chained to the rest of the main quest
Fixed an issue where the camera would jitter while opening certain doors in a Dark hollow zone
Fixed an issue where players were able to cut the enemy in half with knives
Improved Far-jump animation making it more immersive
Hi, it’s Tymon here. I’d like to start with a huge thank you for your warm reception of our latest Community Update. According to the poll on Pilgrim Outpost, 93% of you were pleased with its content. We’re super glad and motivated, ready to continue working on giving you more!
It’s December, and so it’s the time for winter celebrations in the game! And, boy, do we have some surprises. We’ve prepared a couple of gifts, I can’t wait for you to unpack them! Be ready for a Winter Tales Event, wintry outfits, as well as a little cherry on top: the Winter Tales Update, arriving on December 19th. Small, but so, so juicy!
We know you’re excitedly awaiting Firearms & Tower Raids – let me assure you that they are happening, the team are working behind the scenes to introduce these features as soon as we can. Guns are being especially heavily tested in the game right now and tweaked, with the hope they’ll be ready before long.
But let’s get back to our smaller-scale Winter Update to get you going. New weapons? For sure! You can expect polearms and nocturnal weapons. The former is a new type of melee weapon to poke the infected with. What’s interesting is that not only the players shall do the poking. We gave some to the enemies as well, so beware of the new, more aggressive, and harder to defeat version of our good pal, the Spearman.
Nocturnal weapons, on the other hand, are another one of our experiments and, in part, an answer to your suggestions that endgame immunity is starting to become too generous. We wanted to create a weapon that gives an evident bonus during fights in darkness, but also is connected to some risk. So, with nocturnal weapons, each hit takes away part of the player’s immunity – but at the same time, they offer huge bonuses against certain enemies or in specific conditions… but only during the night.
While working on new enemy variants, we put a spotlight on our dear Goon. A lot of you said that it’s a slow enemy that does not feel like a threat for the more experienced players. This is why the new Goon will be able to call for allies – it’ll make the encounters much more dangerous. Actually, when designing him, we were thinking about Godzilla, and it was a lot of fun to get reminded of some of the classic scenes from those movies. But the Goon is not all that’s new! We will also see some new variants of the Gas Tank – my personal favorite is the one that can freeze his opponents.
Coming back to the Winter Tales Event I’ve mentioned in the beginning: it’ll be full of entertainment, presents, rewards, and festive atmosphere! Those presents, for example, will come in the form of some DL1-inspired air drops, courtesy of Santa himself! He’s coming to town, bearing gifts, but nothing in Dying Light is so simple – to actually receive them, you’ll need to get on Baka’s good side and run some errands for him. Expect a cool outfit that you’ll be able to earn and collect during the event as well as new winter-themed weapons. I’m pretty much convinced that one of the axes that we have there will bring back some sweet, nordic memories of god-like slaughter. Oh, and one more present from us – free Hakon Bundle! It will be released on December 19th, along with the update and event.
What about snow in Villedor? Why not! For the duration of the event, the city will be lightly dusted with fresh and fluffy snow. And where there’s snow, there are also snowballs, right? Well, snowball fights will be rather brutal, as you’ll be able to throw them at your enemies, freezing them on the spot, and kill them! That’s the holiday spirit, huh? The Winter Tales: Gifts from Above Event will start on December 19th and last all the way into the new year, ending on January 5th. Join the celebration!
I won’t reveal all of the surprises planned for this winter period, but I’m sure you’ll love the festive wonders we have in store for the game. Let us know what you think on our reddit channel!
And this is a good place to thank you all for your support throughout this year. I would like to wish you all the best and Happy Holidays! Stay Human!
They say this is the season of giving, so this winter, we’ve prepared an extra special edition of Dying Light 2 Stay Human that’s perfect for those who are looking to carry on from Harran or are venturing into our universe for the first time. Featuring the base game, the Winter Tales Edition also features the Bloody Ties Story DLC and the festive-themed Nutcracker Bundle.
With updates, events and more planned throughout 2024, it’s the right time to jump into Villedor and take on the zombie infestation. Grab a few friends and have fun wreaking havoc around Villedor or take in the story of the base game, as well as the first DLC that comes included in the package. This edition will only be available until January 4th, so treat yourself, it’s Christmas!
Three new bundles just landed that will make you primed and ready for battle! Which is the right one for you? Well, only your inner warrior can tell you that!
Berserker Bundle contains:
Berserker Outfit - Viking armor, animal pelt and all
Berserker’s Hand Axe + Blueprint - Make your enemies bleed and take their heads to heal yourself
Warlord’s Shield Charm - Decapitate your foe and you won't consume stamina for the next 10 seconds
Viking Faction Paraglider - For when the odds don't look to be in your favor
Kensei Bundle contains:
Kensei Outfit - Dress for the job you want, not the job you have
Kensei’s Nodachi + Blueprint - Razor-sharp, it slices through flesh like it's paper and it heals when you take your foe's head
Hitokiri's Mask Charm - Arms, legs, heads. They're all more likely to come off when this charm's equipped
Samurai Faction Paraglider - Down from the sky! Get the jump on your adversary
Warden Bundle contains:
Warden Outfit - A knight in shining, albeit possibly bloody, armor
Warden's Longsword + Blueprint - Cut your rivals wide open... or just chop their heads off
Footman's Flail Charm - The increased stamina damage will make it easier to stun enemies and perform finishers
Knight Faction Paraglider - Sometimes you just need to retreat and regroup
Hey, it’s Tymon here. Today, I come to you in a contemplative mood, as recently, I got a bit of time (yeah, I know, crazy right?) to sit down and take a look back at the year that has passed. Obviously, it’s not over yet, but I think it’s the right time to give a moment of attention to the huge amount of work we’ve done this year as a team to make Dying Light 2 Stay Human a better game for you. And we’re committed to at least 5 years of post-launch support, so there’s no slowing down!
We’ve just recently released Community Update #3 and judging by your comments, you seem to enjoy the content we put out there. Thank you for your feedback, by the way, it really helps a lot! Because of it, we have more clarity when it comes to adjusting the game. And, if you remember, 2023 started with a bang that was the Anniversary Update, when we introduced plenty of changes… let me grab a helpful image, because it sure was a lot:
We’ve also been busy with a new way to present our work to you: live streams. Each time was hugely stressful – I’m speaking for myself here, and also for my colleagues who performed live – but at the same time we were super happy to do something for you, especially as you react so favorably to us showing you what we do.
Since the anniversary, we haven’t stopped for a moment! Next came Gut Feeling Update, where we focused on increasing brutality and juiciness of our combat, but also added numerous other options, like Gear Transmog or Weapon Crafting. Below, you can see the before & after clip that takes “gut-wrenching” very literally:
Personally, I was the most excited about Good Night, Good Luck Update. On that occasion, we focused on increasing the physicality of our parkour – here a special thank you is in order to our Community Council as well as the content creators representation who tested this feature before the release in its beta stage and provided many valuable comments. Special shout out needs to go to Noviex, a long time player of Dying Light 2 Stay Human, influencer, and a true parkour expert, who always pushed us to achieve more in terms of traversal. Thank you!
But that wasn’t the end of it, as we went for a bold move and made the Dying Light 2 Stay Human nights even scarier, bringing back roaming volatiles and the dark and tense atmosphere that you loved in the first game. Obviously, the nights have become very scary now – I even heard some of you saying that they’re too scary – but isn’t that the whole deal with Dying Light? To feel the Volatiles’ breath on your neck?
The second half of the year was also interesting. After moving our bundles to the in-game store and the admittedly bumpy start of DL Points – still working on improving that, no worries – we focused on User Generated Content. For example, we further integrated mod.io, making the maps created by our modding community accessible from the main menu of the game. Right now, everybody can play those awesome (and sometimes unhinged) maps – not just on PC, but also on consoles and Steam Deck.
My personal favorite is the “Return to the Slums” (image below), a great, great take on the Slums map from the first Dying Light. My advice to you is to set the FOV to a narrow 53 (as was the default setting in the first game), put on your headphones, dim the lights… and soak in the superb atmosphere.
Just take a look here to see how it looks when our great Modding Community takes over our dev tools.
To make maps even cooler, we released various asset packs, for example from the first Dying Light or even from Dead Island – and we’re preparing more surprises in this vein!
Later, our Community Update #3 also caused quite a stir – read more about it here – but it’s definitely not the last thing we have coming this year!
Apart from the updates, events were also happening on the regular – I’ve counted around 25 in total this year. They are a neat way to welcome you back to the game and encourage you to check how Dying Light 2 Stay Human is changing for you. Some of those events were crossovers, with Dying Light coming together with world-renowned brands, such as The Walking Dead, PAYDAY 2, Vampire: The Masquerade, or the latest one, For Honor.
Wow. Looking back at all of this, I have to admit that even I didn’t fully realize how much content we added to the game this year. Time flies when you're having fun, huh? As I’ve mentioned, we’re not slowing down, but rather lining up some new surprises for you. The next point on the agenda is the upcoming update, which will be released sometime this winter. It’ll deliver the next portion of changes promised in the Sneak Peak.
I’d like to give thanks from the bottom of my heart to our developers for their work on evolving Dying Light 2 Stay Human into the game it is today. Your recognition is our best motivation, so if you’re enjoying the changes we've implemented, I’d like to use this opportunity and humbly ask you to support us in this year’s Steam Awards. We’re all very happy to be able to share our passion with you – it’s the reason we keep working on our game. And if you like what we’re doing with it, you might consider giving Dying Light 2 Stay Human a shout out in the Labor of Love category by nominating us or leaving a review. It’s reserved for games that receive long-time support from its developers, so I think it’s quite a good fit!
Thank you all for your attention and please remember that you can share your thoughts and feedback related to the Dev Blog on the reddit channel. Maybe you’d like us to address something specific using this format? Let us know!
For those of you who haven’t made their way to Villedor yet, we’ve got you covered. Black Friday is coming and we all know what that means: SALES! For the first time ever, we’re releasing a special Black Friday Edition, which features Dying Light 2 Stay Human and the Bloody Ties DLC at an amazing discount! Simply put, you get the game for half price and you’ll receive the DLC as a bonus! It’s our best sale yet and will only be available during the Autumn Sales. And it’s perfect timing because…
It’s time for battle, Pilgrim! The For Honor crossover event is in full swing. The noble Kensei, Warden and Berserker warriors have invaded Villedor and it’s your job to fight them off. For your valiant efforts, you’ll be rewarded with all the items from the Berserker Bundle, including the unique hand axe and appearance, completely for free! So, let’s hear your warcry!
The Steam Awards are around the corner, nominations are coming in and we’d love to have your vote for the Labor of Love award! Since release in February 2022, we’ve dropped more than 10 free content updates and there’s many more to come over the next few years. In fact, we’re already hard at work on the next one that will drop just in time to keep you warm over winter!
We know how important open communication with our players is as they are the reason we are where we are, and their feedback proves vital when making Dying Light 2 Stay Human the best zombie game around! We hope that our continuous efforts to make the game better and better with each update are appreciated by every single one of you. So please, nominate Dying Light 2 Stay Human for this year’s Labor of Love award as just to be nominated means a lot to us. And if you’d like to go one step further, you can always leave a review. For everyone at Techland, our work on the Dying Light franchise has been a true labor of love!
Hi, it’s Tymon, your friendly neighborhood Dying Light Franchise Director – again! Today, I’ve brought two of my friends with me, so we can talk a bit about the upcoming For Honor crossover, which is starting very soon - November 21st!
But before we begin, let me start by saying that we’re constantly learning and trying to make these events better for you, as we understand there’s always room for improvement. We hear you on that one – and that’s why getting to know your thoughts is so important for us. If you share your feedback and ideas, we’ll definitely take it into account when planning a new happening in the beautiful world of Dying Light 2 Stay Human.
And right now we’re pretty excited, because our next collaboration is not only coming out very soon but it’s also a very special one! This time, we will delve into the quasi-medieval world, where we’ll clash with the iconic warriors of For Honor.
Why did we choose to team up with For Honor? Well, when we’re looking for potential partners, we take into account titles that are either very close to us in terms of the gameplay feel (horror vibes, night as a gameplay mechanic, etc.) or the IPs that we’re especially passionate about as gamers. With Vampire: The Masquerade it was the best of both worlds: dark, tense atmosphere of that universe and the strongest representation of vampires in modern pop culture. In the case of For Honor, it’s a win-win situation once again. This time, we’re dealing with a melee combat game that has similar mechanics to ours and, on top of that, we’re huge fans of the medieval fantasy created by the team at Ubisoft.
So what can you expect? Without spoiling the whole event, let me say that one thing I can reveal is that you can look forward to some new, tough enemies! For Honor is built on the foundation of grueling duels between seemingly invincible medieval warriors from different factions and cultures. We couldn’t possibly think to rob you of that thrilling sensation of clashing blades and battle frenzy! Ok.. I will spill more beans… For this collaboration we worked on 3 new enemies and 3 skin bundles! A little sneak peek below:
We first started talking with Ubisoft about the event about 6 months ago. As the initial brainstorm and exchange of ideas went really well, we quickly moved to defining the elements of the event – and especially the For Honor heroes that we’d like to feature in our world. Clearly, we had to make some adjustments when it came to introducing these enemies into our game, because recreating each and every behavior would be far, far out of the scope of an event. But we came up with a smart solution, where we decided to choose several key movements, taunts, and attacks from the For Honor warriors, and combined them with the ones already existing in our game.
Dominik Wasieńko, our Lead Character Artist, remembers the preparations: “We had a couple of challenges when it came to adapting For Honor characters into the Dying Light world. These characters had to align with our C-Engine, as the originals were created a long time ago, on a different engine. We had to modify the models themselves, their proportions, details, what we see as a player from the first person perspective – with For Honor being a TPP game. In our case, because Dying Light is in FPP, we know that we needed a good focus on hands, so we had to add the appropriate finishing touches and details, so that it could look as realistic as possible. “A lot of the pieces were recreated in order to get the highest quality. We’ve modified or sometimes even re-textured the characters to be compatible with our technology and visually fit the world of Dying Light. For example, we couldn’t choose characters with long, flowing robes, because they would interfere with the locomotion animations.
“It was an interesting experience, to be able to adjust the characters coming from a totally different universe to our post-apocalyptic world.”
Just look at one of the For Honor heroes with the beautiful city in the background:
It all clicked thanks to the wonderful work of our animators, designers, and AI programmers – among others. What’s more, we also got huge support from the Ubisoft team – they provided us with visual assets, textures, character models as well as sound effects and tracks, such as shouts, taunts, and yells of the enemies. Obviously, we couldn’t hope to bring For Honor warriors to life in our game in their heroic entirety, but I, for one, think that the final effect is pretty, pretty cool. I’d like to see the looks on your faces when you go mano a mano with the Warden for the first time!
Naturally, like it is the case with every event, you can expect new weapons – medieval style, as you can probably imagine. But we won’t spoil all of them now, because the event is going live very soon. Be ready!
Below you can see a new weapon in the game. But can you see the mix of Berserker’s outfit and Warden’s sword? How cool is that?
Our Game Designer, Daniil Shek, talks about the process:
“After our dev team agreed with Ubisoft which characters we were going to use, I started to play For Honor to come up with a list of moves and behaviors that are the most typical for them. I recorded some combos in the game – those references were later used for motion capture sessions. The actors did a really good job of capturing not just the moves themselves, but also the spirit of For Honor warriors!
“There were a bunch of things that we had to work out, like the fact that each warrior in For Honor has their own distinguishable fighting personality. We approached it by boiling them down to certain traits. For example, Warden is heavily armored, but slow, while Berserker is a furious warrior who attacks rapidly, using cheat tricks to break the flow of the fight – but it all comes at the cost of his survivability. Below, you can see a short clip showing Berserker in action!
“Even so, for me, the most challenging thing was balancing these enemies. Dying Light 2 Stay Human has a pretty diverse player base, with different skill levels, but I, personally, love to challenge players of all kinds. And the only way to cover as much player needs as possible is through playtests. This aspect of balancing involves reaching as many players as possible and collecting their feedback and data meticulously.
“One more thing for you to know: For Honor warriors are not always hostile to players. For example, if you help one of them in their duel, there's a chance that he won't attack you. These honorable moments can happen in the For Honor game as well, I love them! So, if a situation like that takes place, I’d say don't kill the non-hostile warrior – show them some mercy!
Once again, please let us know what you think of this event as soon as you have a chance to participate. To be completely honest, working with Ubisoft – similarly to our previous partners – has been a whole lot of fun, so we’re not-so-quietly counting on more! We already have some very exciting projects lined up for the next year, so keep your eyes and ears open.
Your enemies will reap what they sow. Strike fear into the hearts of the corrupted souls of Villedor as you gather crops with the powerful harvest blade. Any intruder that refuses to stay out of your way will be turned into a rotting corpse.
Take on the identity of the fearmonger with the burlap hat and the scythe of death could be yours. Visit the Store via the main game menu to buy the Scarecrow Bundle.