BuildKit Brief — Gaming & Tech — July 09, 2026

0.5.4b Patch Notes

0.5.4b Patch NotesBoss Improvements Removed a majority of the stun and freeze immunity windows from all versions of the Tor Gul, the Defiler boss fight. Improved the Minion Phase in the Tasgul, Swallower of Light fight.

• Removed a majority of the stun and freeze immunity windows from all versions of the Tor Gul, the Defiler boss fight.
• Improved the Minion Phase in the Tasgul, Swallower of Light fight.
• Fixed a bug where It That Was Esh could sometimes fail to advance phases properly.
• Fixed a bug where the Arbiter of Divinity could rarely drop loot in an unreachable location.
• Defeating the Arbiter of Divinity now re-enables the exit elevator.
• Extended the time the player has to get into the first Flame Seed during the combo skill that begins with the Large Laser in the Arbiter of Ash boss fight.

Path of Exile 2 at gamescom 2026

Path of Exile 2 will once again be heading to gamescom in Cologne, Germany. Play a special demo available exclusively at the event, snap some photos with our eerie display, and pick up exclusive merchandise. We'll be sharing more details closer to the event, and we hope to see you there!

Path of Exile 2 Build Showcase: Frogmancer by Yuzo TV

If you've ever wanted to solve your problems with an unreasonable number of exploding frogs, this build may be exactly what you're looking for. Doedre's Undoing is a Lineage Support Gem that transforms curses into areas of cursed ground.

New Transfigured Skills in Path of Exile: Curse of the Allflame

For the past few Path of Exile expansions, we've continued expanding the roster of Transfigured Skills, bringing unique alternate versions to gems that didn't yet have one. Each offers a fresh way to play a familiar skill, opening up new build possibilities.

Path of Exile: Curse of the Allflame Releases on July 24 PDT

Beneath the deep, an ancient curse awaits. GGG Live GGG Live will begin at 1PM on July 16th PDT at twitch.tv/pathofexile. During the livestream you'll learn all about the 3.29 expansion for Path of Exile, its challenge league and other content.

League check: Ancestors is live

Current PoE1 challenge league: **Ancestors**. Started Jun 25, 2026. Ends in ~7 days (Jul 16) — plan your next character.

Play the Return of the Ancestors Event on June 25th PDT

The Ancestors have heard your call. The beloved Trial of the Ancestors mechanics return to Path of Exile in a three-week event starting June 25 (PDT)! Harness the power of Phrecian Ascendancy classes and new Tattoos to challenge the legendary Karui chieftains.

• Start Date: 3PM June 25th PDT
• End Date: 3PM July 16th PDT
• Based on: Mirage
• Standard, Hardcore, Standard Solo Self-Found and Hardcore Solo Self-Found versions available. The event also has a Ruthless mode available which uses the sam…
• This event is not voided. Items and characters will transfer to parent leagues at the end of the event. Upon migration, your characters’ Ascendancy points wi…

Counter-Strike 2 Update

Premier Season Five has begun Added Cache to the Active Duty Map Pool Removed Overpass from the Active Duty Map Pool Re-designed effective range and extent of C4 explosion damage on all official defusal-mode maps.

• Premier Season Five has begun
• Added Cache to the Active Duty Map Pool
• Removed Overpass from the Active Duty Map Pool
• Re-designed effective range and extent of C4 explosion damage on all official defusal-mode maps.
• Damage is now applied according to precomputed simulation values, baked into the compiled map.
• Explosion shockwave damage now rapidly expands from the center of the explosion instead of being applied instantly.

Season 5, Armory, and More

Reporting for Active Duty Cache has officially arrived, and replaces Overpass in the active duty map pool. Put your hard-earned strats to the test and rise through the Premier ranks in CS2's newest battlefield. Get out of there, it's gonna blow!

The Jackass Sticker Capsule

Today we’re excited to release the Jackass Sticker Capsule in association with Paramount Games Studio, Jackass graphic artist Andy Jenkins, and community artist TheDanidem.

Minor Update - 07-01-2026

- Shiv: Alt Fire ammo cost reduced from 5 to 4- Shiv: Weapon now has fixed pellet spread- Shiv: Slice and Dice is now back to doing spirit damage and reducing Spirit Resistance from enemies- Shiv: Slice and Dice damage increased from 60 to 75- Shiv: Killing Blow T3 reduced from +10% Enemy Health…

Minor Update - 06-30-2026

- King of the Hill objective has been rethemed and renamed to "Unstable Rift"- Unstable Rift no longer requires an Urn delivery to trigger the start of the event. It now has a variable start time of +/- 1 minute. There is a global announcement 25s before it spawns.

Beta Patch Notes - v0.108.0

For all you beta testers who have been chomping at the bit for a new patch to chew on... here it is! Today's beta patch brings a ton of fixes, balance changes, some UX additions, a BIG batch of new multiplayer cards, and new art additions--including some animations for the latest boss, Aeonglass!

• End-of-turn Orb passives now trigger before Doom
• This means that, if a player would die to self-Doom (ex. from Neurosurge card) but also has an Orb with an end-of-turn passive that would kill the last remai…
• Buffed Torch Head Amalgam: increased damage at Ascension 9
• Weak Tackle damage increased from 14(15) → 14(16)
• Tackle damage increased from 18(19) → 18(22)
• Changed Regen Potion: its healing effect now triggers before Doom, preventing the player from dying to self-Doom in certain situations

Major Update #2 - v0.107.1

Hey Slayers, our second major main branch update is here with 4 patches in 1 (not including hotfixes)! While we'll be covering a lot of things that beta players will already be used to, there are also a few big changes that will be totally new for everyone.

• The Bestiary is now available in the Compendium
• Added three more Badges:
• Damage Leader - Dealt the most damage to enemies in multiplayer
• Debuffer - Applied the most Debuffs in multiplayer
• C-c-c-Combo - Played 20 cards in a single turn
• Terminal run modifier can no longer bring a player below 1 HP

The Neowsletter - June 2026

Hey Slayers, it's time for the June Neowsletter! In this issue we're covering a couple of big roadmap items we've checked off our list as of yesterday's main branch patch and answering some of your recent questions. Let's dive in... Dev Update The first feature we want to highlight is the Bestiary.

HOI IV - Open Beta Summer Edition™

Generals! Greetings from sunny Stockholm to everyone, I’m Batya, Game Director for Hearts of Iron. The summer period is upon us and I wanted to share some information with you all. Unlike the norm of armies planning summer offensives, game developers actually do the opposite and take time off.

• Right-click the game in your library
• Select Properties from the drop-down menu
• Select Game Versions & Betas
• Select the beta branch called open_beta
• Battalion Adjusters now scale with the Equipment and Manpower status of the Sub-Unit. E.g. Super Heavy Artillery with Siege Artillery Sub-Doctrine no longer…
• Added Essential (Equipment) Blocks for the following units: Heavy Weapons Company and Motorized Heavy Weapons Company, Light Flame Tank, Medium Flame Tank, H…

HOI IV Dev Corner | Questions about Civil Wars

Hello all! First of all I want to be extra clear - we are not talking about a rework for civil wars. What I am after is understanding how you’ve enjoyed content with civil wars, what feels good, what doesn’t feel good. So!

• How do you feel when you start progressing down the focus tree?
• Do you try to rush down the civil war path, do you do common branches?
• What do you do with your military? (the starting nation)
• What do you do with industry? (the starting nation)
• What annoys you with this type of playthrough?
• What is it that makes the civil war feel rewarding/worth doing?

Thunder at our Gates | Patch 1.19.2

Generals! Today marks the last pre-summer patch with fixes and tweaks to Thunder At Our Gates. After this the team will have limited presence in the office for the summer period.

• Right click the game in Steam
• Go to Properties, then Game Versions & Betas
• Select 1.19.1
• Default Public Version will use the latest public build, in this case 1.19.2
• Expeditionary Leader trait Non-Core Attack and Defence reduced from +15% to +10%.
• Tuned down the "Spirit of St. Bernard" spirit, which in combination with other things could give 105% casualty trickleback and unending armies of resurrected…