First Dwarf — patch notes and updates
Stored observation / content update:
Dated developer announcements recorded from Steam. Open the source for the complete update.
| Update | Date | Excerpt / source |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn Winds - Community Update #49 | 2026-10-02 | Hello adventurers! As we continue working on new content, we’re excited to present a new update packed with lots of improvements to combat, as well as various changes aimed at improving the overall game experience. :) We hope you’ll enjoy the changes❗ In terms of combat, we focused on improving the overall feel of fighting with the Mech. Landed hits should now feel more powerful, blocking more impactful, enemy reactions more dynamic, and sounds and visual effects much more satisfying. We've also added a new guard break mechanic. If you block an enemy attack without having enough stamina, your guard will now be broken. We hope combat feels muc |
| UPDATE #48: Achievement Unlocked! Production Expanded | 2026-09-04 | Hello again! Time for Update #48! Achievement unlocked: Achievements! :) Tru is already making room for the first ones, and we didn’t stop there. Settlers can now work for you in the Workshop and Alchemy Station, bringing them to new islands is more flexible, and we’ve added a bunch of balance changes, fixes, and quality-of-life improvements on top. Achievements... oh boy! This one has been sitting on our to-do list for quite a while, and we can finally cross it off! You can check them out here: https://steamcommunity.com/stats/1714900/achievements And yes, we've already got ideas for more. :) Production is expanding! In the last update, we i |
| Update #47: Cook, Craft, Defend! | 2026-08-22 | Hello, adventurers! Well... this one got pretty big! What started as another content update somehow turned into new systems, new structures, new upgrades, new things to cook, craft and discover... and a banner problem. We genuinely didn't know what to put on it. As you can see, Tru took it well :) So, let's see what caused all the trouble. Let's start with a new set of turret upgrades. Each guild's technology tree now includes a new turret upgrade, giving you five different upgrades in total. You can mix and match them across the three available upgrade slots and tune your defenses the way you want. Once you've crafted an upgrade, you can ins |
| Update #46: All Aboard! Or Not. | 2026-07-22 | Good Day, Lads! ⛏️ New update is up! This time, we’re bringing a batch of improvements and fixes that should make your journey through the world of the Shattered Isles even better. All Aboard! Or Not - the choice is finally yours. For those who play with a friend, we’ve improved travelling by airship. From now on, players will no longer be automatically teleported aboard when the other player enters the airship. Instead, the player who stays behind will receive a notification with an option to quickly join their buddy. This way, you can continue minding your own business while the other player freely flies around the island. We’ve also added |
| Update #45: Let the Mana Flow | 2026-07-07 | Hello, First Dwarves, Mech Pilots, Dragon Friends, Co-op Tinkerers, Survival Strategists, and wonderfully creative Colony Builders! Update #45 is here, and this time we’re giving your mana network a new toy to play with: Mana Transmitters. Transmitter It’s a new building that expands how mana pipelines work. Mana Transmitters can pass energy between each other and power nearby buildings within their range. This means you can now arrange your mana pipelines in a cleaner, more intentional way and reduce the number of pipes running through the middle of your colony like someone dropped a bowl of glowing spaghetti. Of course, mana pipelines are n |
| UPDATE #44: Two Mechs & New Ways to Play | 2026-06-25 | UPDATE #44: Two Mechs & New Ways to Play Hey, everyone! Buckle up, because this is a big one. Update #44 is now live, bringing new gameplay improvements to First Dwarf for both solo and co-op players. The headline co-op feature is one of the loudest requests from our community: Player 2 now gets their own Mech! Each player now has their own machine to develop and customize, so you can build different setups, experiment with equipment, and shape your own combat style. Co-op players who wanted more Mech action no longer have to share one machine. Now each player can bring their own idea of what a proper mana-powered walking machine should be. A |
| UPDATE #43: Everything Is Fine | 2026-05-19 | Everything is fine. Really. Well... mostly 😄 One thing we've been wanting to improve for a while has been Addons. The old system made sense logically - since Addons are attached directly to buildings, you placed them in a more contextual way. The problem? For some players, it was just plain confusing: "Where’s the Workshop?" "How do I build this thing?" Fair questions. Now that First Dwarf has grown and there are more Addons to play with, it was time to clean this up properly. UPDATE #43 introduces a much clearer and more intuitive Addon building flow, with a dedicated category, smarter placement behavior, clearer previews, and much better g |
| UPDATE #42: Horn Of Taint | 2026-04-28 | Sometimes a feature just clicks... and suddenly the game opens up in a completely new way. UPDATE #42 is one of those moments. With the Horn of Taint, you're no longer just reacting to danger. You can call it. Shape it. Push it as far as you dare - and see if your defenses can actually handle what you've unleashed. And while you're experimenting with the Horn, we've been tightening the world around you - from smarter spawning systems to settlers who finally show how they actually feel about life on these islands. Changelog UPDATE #42 NEW STRUCTURE: Horn Of Taint 😈 Horn of Taint lets you summon a monster wave on demand: Provide an offering - |
| UPDATE #41 Now We’re Talking! 💪 | 2026-04-10 | Hello Adventurers! We’re back from the holidays and bringing a new update! 😈 We hope you enjoyed our little April Fools’ mischief in Update #40. This update includes a bunch of improvements and fixes, as well as the long-awaited ability to build on mana pipelines! You can now place buildings directly on top of mana pipelines. Not only is it possible, but buildings will no longer cut the pipeline and will instantly connect to the mana grid. We’ve also improved settlers’ overall immersion. They will now move out of your way when you run past them, react when you aim at them, and use different walking animations depending on their happiness lev |
| Update #40 THIS IS NOT THE END | 2026-03-31 | Good Day In the life of every game studio, there comes a time for important changes and farewells. Today is one of those days. We’ve grown very attached to our game, we’re just a small team, and we’ve always given it our all. This time is no different! We’d like to officially say goodbye… ...to many bugs and welcome new improvements! You can read about all the changes in the changelog below. 🧌Building Improvements: The grid will now be displayed when building extraction structures around the places where you can build them. Added an extra text hint when placing extraction buildings. An additional visual cue has been added to forests where a |
| Update #39: Infestation Incoming | 2026-03-20 | So soon? Yup! Hello adventurers, welcome to a brand-new update🎉 In recent updates, we’ve aimed to balance adding new content with improving existing features. This build was created with that same vision :) Today, we bring improvements to the hotbar and also introduce a new enemy wave type. Infestation waves target natural points on the islands, such as berry bushes or beehives, sending enemies to taint them. When roaming animals eat from tainted sources, they become sick and eventually turn into tainted monsters. Their behavior changes while they are sick and varies depending on the animal. There is a 30% chance that a wave will be of the I |
| Update #38: Better Building Interface & Fixes | 2026-03-13 | Hey everyone! Outside our window, winter suddenly decided to turn into spring. Birds are going wild, the snow is long gone, and the sun☀️ has finally remembered about us. Not sure how it looks where you live, but here the sudden change gave us a serious boost of positive energy. We pushed one update on Tuesday, and now it’s Friday, and here comes another one. It really feels like the game is moving in the right direction. Your positive reviews and thumbs up 👍 really give us wings, but we’re definitely not slowing down. We keep writing down your cool😎 ideas and adding them one by one. Besides what we already have planned, you keep throwing i |
| Update #37: Essence Collector | 2026-03-10 | Hello Legends, I'm reporting back with another update, bringing us closer to the gameplay loop we envisioned :) This time, we introduce you to a new building called Essence Collector. It collects essence from defeated monsters within its radius and turns it into Knowledge Essence. Knowledge Essence can be consumed to give you instant EXP, but it is also used to craft a newly added Technology Points** Techspark crafting recipe. So now you can farm EXP from waves even if you haven't killed any of the monsters attacking and left all the fighting to the defensive towers! And now, Techsparks are craftable, though not easy to craft; they are now re |
| Update #36: Inventory Overhaul & Scared Settlers | 2026-02-20 | Hello Explorers!We’re back with another update - and pretty quickly this time!But first, I want to inform all of you that we are finally 100% Steam Deck and SteamOS verified! It took some tweaking and testing, but we finally made it 😊In this update, we used the experience gained from the recent settlers management windows and overhauled the inventory tab, merging it with the equipment tab. Equipping and using items should now feel faster and more intuitive.We added hints for the settlers' management options, so it’s now clearer how settlers behave under specific configurations.Settlers have gained the ability to get scared. This status is tr |
| Update #35: Morale Shroom Update | 2026-02-06 | Hello, Legends!The new update is live! It brings new features, bug fixes, balance changes, quests, and quality-of-life improvements. Most importantly, it introduces new mechanics for settler management. Disclaimer: Your feedback on the new morale system and settler settings really matters to us. Maybe morale drops too quickly while working, or maybe settlers work too slowly on Hard intensity. If so, let us know, and we will balance the system. What feels right? What feels off? We hope this sounds good 🙂Settler Morale SystemSettlers now have their own morale value, which consists of two parts:Maximum achievable moraleCurrent moraleCurrent mor |
| Update #34: Steam Deck & Fixes | 2026-01-16 | Hey Dwarves! 👋 Update #34 is a smaller one on the surface, but an important step for us. A big part of this update is focused on Steam Deck. Over the last updates, especially since Update #32, the game gained a noticeable boost in smoothness and overall performance. This is true across all platforms, but for Steam Deck, we put in extra work to make sure the experience feels right in handheld play. With this polishing pass, our goal is clear: we want to move toward official Steam Deck certification and earn the green “Playable” badge for full compatibility. That means better controls, better readability, cleaner UI behavior, and fewer rough e |
| Update #33: Picking Up the Pace | 2026-01-08 | Hi! 👋 Time for the first update of the year, with lots of fixes, quality-of-life improvements, and optimisations 🙂 The last update was huge for a small team like ours, and we want to thank you for spotting bugs and for your feedback ❤️ Thanks to you, we managed to fix a lot of issues. Our plans for 2026? 🔮 More structures, more features, more fixes. We want to improve the UI and item equipping, add more jobs and management features for settlers, and significantly improve flying with the airship. We will add new NPCs and new quests, and implement skill resetting and fast travel. That is just the highlights 🙂 Before the changelog, we have t |
| 🎄 In-Game Holiday Event – Limited Time!❄️ | 2025-12-23 | •*❆ Hey ❅*• The holidays ☃︎🎅🎄❄️☃️🎁🦌 have returned to First Dwarf, bringing festive vibes, seasonal decorations, and a touch of cheerful chaos. The Holiday In-Game Event is now live, letting you enjoy a bit of winter magic while you continue your adventure and grow your settlement. This is a limited-time event, so make sure to jump in and experience it before it’s gone. Event Features (Limited Time Only!) ❄️ Build Your Own Christmas Tree🎄 Add some holiday magic to your island by placing and decorating your very own Christmas tree. This seasonal decoration is available only during the event, so don’t miss the chance to give your settlement |
| UPDATE #32: Plow & Sow 🌱⚒️ | 2025-12-20 | Hey there, Dwarves and Settlers! ⚒️ We finally get to put farming, food, and real colony life into your hands - welcome to Update #32: Plow & Sow! This update shifts the focus from pure survival toward building something that can actually last. Not just walls and defenses, but routines, food production, and a settlement that keeps working while you are out exploring. Along the way, you will meet Val - a new character whose questline opens the door to farming, seeds, and deeper settlement systems. Through her, you will learn how these mechanics work and how they fit into the long-term life of your colony. Plow & Sow lays the groundwork. Some s |
| 👽❓We Found Mysterious Message❓🛸 | 2025-12-05 | Sorry, guys, this is not a normal update, but we just received a mysterious letter. We spotted a lonely scroll floating among the islands of Driftland. By pure luck, it landed right on the edge of one of them. Our hunch tells us that it's written in the Driftland dwarven alphabet, even if the message itself seems to have been originally written in English 🤔 Does this message hint at changes coming to the world of First Dwarf? |
| The mech has a name! Meet MEG Runebreaker ⚙️ | 2025-12-03 | Hey, everyone, A huge thank you for all the votes and name ideas you shared for our mech. We didn’t expect such a tight race, but the results were almost perfectly split across Steam Community and Reddit. Half of you voted for MEG and half for Runebreaker... Zero chance to pick just one without breaking hearts in the comments. So we did what any respectable dwarven engineering team would do. We combined both winning ideas into one name: MEG is the class of this machine, short for: Mechanized Excavation Gear It fits perfectly with its role in exploration, construction and all the defense and combat you’ve relied on it for. Runebreaker is the n |
| Turns out our mech never got a name 😅 Help us fix that! ⚙️ | 2025-10-30 | Hey everyone! For the longest time, our dwarf pilot Tru and his dragon companion Ragna had their names proudly set in stone. But their mana-powered mech? For us, he was always just... the mech. 😅 After dozens of updates and countless adventures, we thought it might finally be time to give our sturdy metal friend a proper name. And since he’s been part of your journeys just as much as ours - we’d love your help choosing it! We’ve narrowed it down to two ideas: M.dverg mk.I (Mech Dwarf, first model - or just MEG) Runebreaker mk.I Which one feels right to you? Or do you have a better idea? 👇 TL;DR (for those who enjoy reading a bit more): Ever |
| Update #31: Cute & Deadly | 2025-10-22 | Good day, fellow adventurers! In this update, we’ve made several optimization improvements; the game should now perform more smoothly and stably. We've also fixed multiple crash issues. In the next few updates, we’ll continue working on further optimizations! As an expansion to the previous update, we've improved Sursas; now you can tame them! You can build a lair for them, and they’ll produce peat. On top of that, a tamed Sursa will protect its surroundings, helping you defend your base! :) We’ve also added mushrooms that grow in caves and, in the near future, will become an essential part of your settlers’ diet. But that’s not all, mysterio |
| UPDATE #30: Wildlife Awakens | 2025-10-03 | Hello fellow adventurers!We always wanted to make a fully working ecosystem, that’s why this update is very important to us. We are introducing wildlife AI to two "new" animals, Sursa and Brown Striped Fluffgig. They inhabit Canyon and Alltree islands.Sursas are bear-like animals with hard beaks. If you come close to them, they will try to scare you off with roaring. But if you disturb them more, they will protect themselves.Fluffgigs are the opposite of that, they are literally fur balls :D They developed interesting defense mechanisms. We don’t want to spoil all of them, so I’ll tell just one – if they spot Sursas nearby, they will keep clo |
| UPDATE #29: Fly High To The Sky! 🐉✨ | 2025-09-19 | Good Day, Tips Fedora Our goal for Ragna, Tru, and their Mech is to make them as exciting to use for exploring the world of Driftland as our small team can manage. This time, Ragna received the upgrades! Instead of endlessly holding Shift to sprint, tapping it now makes Ragna flap her wings with powerful force, launching her forward in a temporary speed boost. Time it right and you can pull off two quick boosts – BUT with Dragon Boost Plus, you can chain three in a row! Additionally, Ragna can gain a boost by diving. The longer she dives, the longer the speed boost lasts. Combine this with a regular boost to create long, high-speed bursts! We |
| UPDATE #28: Pet the Steam Deck | 2025-09-10 | HIA! In this update, we are giving you the option to tame Ferins (and other animals in future updates). Tamed animals, when given shelter, will produce useful items. But first, you need to figure out how to do that :)We’ve also made big improvements for Steam Deck users. First Dwarf already has the “Playable” status, but we’re pushing further to get the “Verified”✅ badge. Now, when you launch the game on Steam Deck, everything should configure itself automatically. Savegame naming will bring up the on-screen keyboard right away, and text size should be better adjusted to the smaller screen. Enjoy a smoother and more comfortable experience! If |
| User Experience Upgrade ⚙️ | 2025-08-13 | Hey, Explorers! Sometimes it’s the small tweaks that make the biggest difference – and this update is packed with them. 😊 If you enjoy building quickly, navigating menus smoothly, or want your minimap to guide you exactly where to go, you’ll be happy with this one. Plus, we’ve squashed some bugs and made life easier! Here’s what’s new and improved: 🌟HIGHLIGHTS🌟 🔷 Quick Building Shortcuts – Press - in build mode to instantly select buildings in your current category. Icons now show their shortcut number right on screen. 🔷 RPG Menu Exit Shortcuts – Press the tab’s shortcut again (e.g., M for Map) to instantly return to the game. 🔷 Hold-to |
| Update #27:🦊Paws & Battlements 🧱 | 2025-08-01 | Good Day!With every update, the game keeps getting better and better, we hope you’ll enjoy the fixes and new additions! 😊Many of you asked for stone walls, and we added them in the previous update, but why stop there? That’s why, in this update, we’re introducing a new special type of structure/wall called Battlements! They’re much stronger than other walls (and more expensive too), BUT they also act as platforms, making it easier to defend your base using ranged weapons! One more important thing, they add more visual variety for those (like me too) who like to tinker with the aesthetic side of settlements. 🙂💡Battlements will get visual li |
| Rock'n'Stone🪨 Update #26 | 2025-07-11 | Hey, explorers!🧭We’re back with Rock'n'Stone Update #26, built together with you and for you. This time we’re bringing something many of you have been asking for: Stone Walls!Until now, your settlements stood behind wooden palisades. Now it’s time to level up your defenses with solid rock. These new stone walls open up new ways to plan and fortify your base, and we can’t wait to see the creative layouts you’ll come up with.Alongside this, we’ve added more balance tweaks, fixes, and small improvements that make the world feel smoother and more alive, all inspired by your feedback.If you missed the 1st Anniversary Update, it introduced the 5th |
| 1st Anniversary Update (#25) | 2025-06-27 | 🎉Wow, it’s already been a year!Huge thanks to everyone who played, supported us, shared feedback, or just had fun in First Dwarf. This journey has been wild, unpredictable, and incredibly rewarding. Your ideas and reports have shaped the game in ways we never imagined. You’re not just the community. You’re part of the dev team!🚀How Far We’ve ComeOver the past year, the game has grown massively. The world is now four times bigger. We’ve added new islands, weapons, technologies, character progression, and entire clans arriving with fresh challenges. You asked for more freedom in building, so we made it possible for the mech, Tru, and Ragna to |