Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault News

Patch 1 – Big pass on stuttering, Steam Deck and balance!

[p]Fellow merchants![/p][p][/p][p]We’ve just dropped another patch for Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault. This one features a big broom swing at stuttering, more polished boss fights, an even better time playing on Steam Deck... and more![/p][p][/p][p]But before that, we're incredibly grateful. Your support for Moonlighter 2 has been invaluable, especially after the last hotfix. Thanks to that, Moonlighter 2 has climbed from around 71% to 85% positive reviews in just a week. And it’s still going up![/p][p][/p][p]We’re not settling, though. Let’s dive into the patch notes![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Patch Notes[/h2][p][/p][h3]Performance, Stuttering & Steam Deck[/h3][p][/p]

[p]Big pass on stuttering. We’ve cleaned up a lot of unused or unnecessary data throughout the game. You should now see way less stuttering, and in many cases, virtually none at all.[/p]
[p]Controls, performance, and menus are more Deck-friendly now, ie, Settings and Difficulty selection screen being easier to read and navigate. [/p]
[p]Default Steam Deck graphics settings now use FSR3 – Quality instead of Balanced, for a sharper, more stable look right from the start.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Bosses & Balance[/h3][p][/p][p]The Herald [/p][p]We’ve seen a lot of feedback saying this fight felt too slow and frustrating because of the long invulnerability windows. We’ve reworked the shield loop so you have more to do during the fight and more chances to push phases:
[/p]

[p]His evil blob grenades now appear more often, giving you more opportunities to break his shields.[/p]
[p]Thus, Herald now has 6 shields instead of 3.[/p]
[p]He always starts each phase with all 6 shields active.[/p]
[p]If during a phase you break all 6 shields but don’t manage to push him into the next phase during his vulnerability window, then when he becomes vulnerable again, he’ll only have 3 shields.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Thalaam[/p]

[p]Improved the backpack snap to the bells you throw to break his shield, so it feels more reliable.[/p]
[p]Added a shield bar so you can clearly see how much protection he has left.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Monte[/p]

[p]Added a shield bar here as well, to better show how the fight is progressing.[/p]
[p]Fixed Monte’s interphase cinematic, which was clunky due to a missing animation.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Dungeons, Controls & Feel[/h3][p][/p]

[p]After dying, choosing Retry Dungeon on the results screen now requires you to hold the button. This should stop accidental retries when you meant to head back home.[/p]
[p]We’ve tightened up the roll so it feels more responsive. Some animations were effectively locking you for about 0.5 seconds, which felt bad, especially when dodging The Herald’s waves. That delay has been reduced, so your inputs feel snappier.[/p]
[p]Both gadgets and main weapons now prioritize snapping to enemies over hazards. This was very noticeable in Houtu with the spike flowers during miniboss encounters. Once a spike flower is consumed, snap should no longer “stick” to it.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Shop, Vendors & Relics[/h3][p][/p]

[p]You can still carry relics from the shop into dungeons, but they now lose all quality when you do it. A warning has been added, so this isn’t a surprise.[/p]
[p]There’s now a notification that clearly tells you that the shop can’t be opened at night, so it’s more obvious when the doors are shut.[/p]
[p]You can now see the vouchers you own while buying cosmetics from Mrs. Scratch, making it easier to plan your shopping spree.[/p]
[p]In Codex Relics, Perfect Price stamps are now hidden on relics you haven’t discovered yet.[/p]
[p]Opening the relic panel from the codex now correctly selects the first entry.[/p]

[h3][/h3][h3]Misc.[/h3][p][/p]

[p]The current build is now shown on the title screen, so you can easily check that you’re up to date.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Community Bug Fixes[/h3][p][/p][p]These all came from your reports on Steam and Discord. Thank you![/p][p][/p]

[p]Fixed an issue where the controller's left stick didn’t match the actual movement direction.[/p]
[p]Fixed a blocker where Medic Taalik could leave the room and trap your progress.[/p]
[p]Fixed 4RT-TR4P being able to damage you while you were tased.[/p]
[p]Fixed V3NUS sometimes becoming invulnerable because of a collider issue.[/p]
[p]Fixed Foam Combo perks not working as intended.[/p]
[p]Fixed Sliver’s perk “First Class Adventurer” not functioning.[/p]
[p]Fixed Sliver’s perk “Double Chest on the next 3 rooms” not triggering.[/p]
[p]Fixed a UI/UX issue where trying to remap keybinds related to panels could result in losing input.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Thanks, merchants![/h2][p][/p][p]Thank you again for diving into Moonlighter 2 from the very beginning and helping us improve so quickly. As always, we’ll be reading every review, every thread, and every bug report to see where the game can get even better. And based on your input, we’re already putting together a roadmap that we’ll be able to share with you very soon.[/p][p][/p][p]Until then, keep stocking our shelves with feedback![/p][p][/p][p]– The Moonlighter 2 team[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p]

Nominate Moonlighter 2 for the Best Soundtrack at the Steam Awards!

[p]Hello Everyone!
[/p][p]Nominations for the Steam Awards 2025 are now underway, and the Merchants of Tresna kindly ask for your support!
[/p][p]This past year has been an incredible journey for Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault. With your feedback from the demo and playtests, countless improvements, new features shaping the Early Access build, and the continuous growth of Tresna, the adventure has taken form thanks to you.

[/p][p]Thank you so much for your support and for being part of such a passionate and creative community.

Your feedback inspires us every day and helps us build a richer world for your adventures.[/p][p]Now the choice is yours! If you feel that Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault deserves a nomination for Best Soundtrack, Chris Larkin, the brilliant composer behind both Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault and the soundtrack of Hollow Knight: Silksong cast your vote before December 1st!

See you soon,

~ Digital Sun and 11 bit studios Teams[/p]

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault enters Early Access and work is ongoing to improve it on Steam Deck

While it's not quite Verified for Steam Deck just yet, Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault should be a reasonably good experience.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/11/moonlighter-2-the-endless-vault-enters-early-access-and-work-is-ongoing-to-improve-it-on-steam-deck/

[Hotfix #1] - Balance, Performance & Steam Deck Improvements

[p]Fellow merchants!
[/p][p]We’ve just deployed our first hotfix for Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault. This update brings several fixes and a small balance adjustment to core combat and progression, alongside our initial push on overall performance and a better experience on Steam Deck.
[/p][p]On Steam Deck, the game now runs on pre-tuned, optimized settings aimed at more stable performance out of the box, closer to what you see in this video:
[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h2]
Patch Notes [/h2][p][/p][h3]Performance[/h3]

[p]First round of performance improvements. We’ve made changes under the hood as an initial move to reduce hitches, stuttering, and improve overall smoothness.[/p]

[h3]Steam Deck[/h3]

[p]Optimized default settings. Steam Deck now uses a configuration tuned for more stable performance from the moment you launch, so you can focus on looting and selling instead of tweaking options.[/p]
[p]Steam Deck → PC graphics note. If you play on Steam Deck and then jump back to PC, your graphics settings may be set to Low automatically. You can raise them again from the settings menu on your PC. We know this is inconvenient and will work to solve it as soon as we can.[/p]

[h3]Balance[/h3]

[p]Easier Easy Mode. Easy mode is now a bit more forgiving: enemies deal less damage and have less health.[/p]
[p]Herald adjustments. The Herald boss fight has been tuned to feel fairer while still offering a solid challenge.[/p]
[p]Earlier shop unlocks. The first Endless Vault challenge requirement has been reduced from 10,000 coins to 7,000, so players can unlock new content and upgrades sooner.[/p]

[h3]Miscellaneous[/h3]

[p]Ultrawide support. Fixed compatibility issues with 3440x1440, enabling proper ultrawide support.[/p]
[p]Added cursor lock to improve the experience when playing in full screen, windowed and borderless modes. [/p]

[p][/p][h2]Our next goals[/h2][p][/p][p]Throughout next week, we’ll continue improving performance and stability across the board, on Deck and desktop alike. [/p][p][/p][p]In the meantime, we’re carefully reading every review and every Steam thread to understand where the game still struggles for you. Reports and suggestions on our Discord server are also extremely helpful. Your feedback is guiding our to-do list at the moment![/p][p][/p][h2]Keep stocking our shelves with feedback![/h2][p][/p][p]Thank you again for jumping into Moonlighter 2 so early and helping us improve it this fast. We're thrilled to see so many players enjoying the game we've been making for years, as well as creators like Mr. Fruit or Wanderbots praising our work.

This is still the beginning, though. Now we're back behind the counter to make the best possible game together![/p][p]
See you in Tresna![/p][p]– The Moonlighter 2 team[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault is out now in early access with newly roguelike dungeons and more puzzling inventories

It's been seven years since the first Moonlighter, and in all that time, I've somehow never noticed that the title is a reference to sleepless penury. My mind jumped to the association of moonlight with magic and romance, skimming clean over the less enchanting sense of "moonlighting" as working a second job after dark. Luckily, this knowledge has dawned on me just in time to softly kneecap my enthusiasm for Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, which launches into early access today, and appears quite a bit different from its predecessor.