Quick answer: which difficulty should you pick?
The Blood of Dawnwalker now has five difficulty presets: Story, Forgiving, Fair, Challenging and Duelist. Update 1.1 (released October 22, 2026) renamed the old Story setting to Forgiving and added a new, easier Story mode with extra combat assist. You can change difficulty at any time without restarting your save. Most players should start on Fair, the default balance. Drop to Forgiving if fights are getting in the way of the story, and to the new Story if you basically want combat out of your way. Challenging makes enemies hit harder and press harder. Duelist takes away the directional attack indicators, and it's also the only setting that counts for the Uphill Battle trophy, as long as you don't touch any modifier.
Updated October 26, 2026 for Update 1.1 (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S). This page first went up on September 2, 2026 with the four launch presets, and every Update 1.1 change below comes from Rebel Wolves' official patch notes.
The Blood of Dawnwalker is the first RPG from Rebel Wolves, a Warsaw studio led by ex-CDPR developers including Witcher 3 game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. It's published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It's a single-player, buy-once game with no multiplayer and no microtransactions. Its combat is built on directional duelling, so the difficulty you pick decides how much reading and reacting the game asks of you. That's why the first big patch changing the easiest tier matters more than it sounds.
How many difficulty settings does The Blood of Dawnwalker have?
Five, as of Update 1.1. At launch on September 3, 2026 there were four (Story, Fair, Challenging, Duelist). Update 1.1's official notes describe the change in one line:
"Pick between the Forgiving game difficulty (previously called Story) and a new Story mode with additional combat assist." (Rebel Wolves, Update 1.1 patch notes, October 22, 2026)
Here's the current lineup, easiest to hardest:
| Preset | Status in 1.1 | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Story | New in 1.1 | Easiest tier: everything Forgiving does plus "additional combat assist" (exact values not published) | Players who want the plot with as little combat friction as possible |
| Forgiving | Renamed (was "Story" at launch) | Weaker, slower enemies; more stamina for Coen | Story-first players who still want fights to mean something |
| Fair | Unchanged | Default character and enemy stats | First-timers and most players |
| Challenging | Unchanged | More aggressive enemies that deal more damage; less stamina for Coen | Players who want a real test |
| Duelist | Unchanged | Directional attack indicators removed; enemies far more aggressive and deadly; significantly less stamina | Combat veterans and trophy hunters |
If an older guide or video tells you to "play on Story," it means what is now Forgiving. Anything written before October 22, 2026 uses the old name, our own launch-week posts included.
Story vs Forgiving: what is the difference?
Here's what's actually known about the two easiest presets.
- Forgiving is the old Story mode, renamed. At launch, the easiest preset made enemies weaker and slower and gave Coen more stamina. That setting now sits under the Forgiving name, per the official notes.
- The new Story mode sits below Forgiving. Rebel Wolves describes it only as having "additional combat assist." As of October 26, 2026 the studio hasn't published what that assist includes: no damage multipliers, no list of automatic behaviours, no confirmation of whether it auto-blocks or auto-parries. Ignore any guide that claims exact numbers, because they aren't in the official notes.
- Neither one changes the story or the clock. Update 1.1's notes don't mention any change to the 30-day, 30-night structure, and difficulty has only ever been described as tuning combat.
Our take: pick Forgiving if you want combat easy but still readable, with parries still mattering. Pick Story if you've bounced off the directional system entirely and just want to see what happens to Coen's family.
What else did Update 1.1 change about difficulty and combat?
The new preset is the headline, but several other 1.1 changes affect how hard the game feels on every setting. These come straight from the official notes, which list "over 1100 other improvements and fixes":
- Combat feel: "Adjusted animations and camera movements in combat" and "Improved targeting, locking onto, and disengaging from enemies."
- Traversal in fights: "Better responsiveness of targeting and attaching to surfaces when using Shadowstep and Planeshift."
- Animals: "Reduced the health of boars and wolves on higher levels."
- One notorious spike, fixed: in the "Home Sweet Home" quest, 1.1 "Fixed issues that caused significant difficulty spikes" and a bug that "caused Coen to deal less damage than he should." If that quest made you drop your difficulty, try raising it again.
- Quest difficulty markers: "Difficulty Markers will now be applied properly during the 'Fall Before Dusk' quest."
- Upgrade economy: "Rebalanced the cost of upgrading items, especially on higher levels." Better-upgraded gear indirectly makes Challenging and Duelist more manageable later in a run.
The Xanthe fight also lost some exploits. 1.1 fixed Burning Blood damaging her shield "during her invincibility phases" and a bug that let Soul Reaping "continue damaging Xanthe after she disappears from the arena." If you were cheesing her before, expect a harder fight now. For the full list, see our Update 1.1 patch notes breakdown.
What makes Duelist different from a normal "hard mode"?
Duelist doesn't just inflate health bars. It removes the directional indicators that tell you which side an incoming attack is coming from, so you have to read the enemy's animation and choose your block or parry direction yourself. Enemy aggression goes up and Coen's stamina goes down, so trades you could absorb on Fair become dangerous.
That's also true of the lower presets in reverse. Launch coverage consistently noted that easier settings give you a longer window to read and react to attacks rather than switching the directional system off. Difficulty changes how much time you get, not which rules you're playing by. Reviewers were split on whether to start on Duelist. Worthplaying recommended jumping straight in if you want a challenge, while Eurogamer called it "doable… eventually."
Is there a trophy or achievement for Duelist difficulty?
Yes, and it's the most important thing to know before you touch a setting. The Gold trophy Uphill Battle asks you to finish the game (saving the people of Laslea) on Duelist, as G2A News summarises it. PowerPyx's trophy guide explains how to lose it by accident. Turning on any assist toggle while on Duelist, such as Auto-Block or the Direction Indicator:
"will change the difficulty preset from 'Duelist' to 'Custom' and voids the Uphill Battle trophy." (PowerPyx trophy guide)
Practical rules for trophy hunters:
- Select the Duelist preset and leave every modifier alone. If the preset name shows Custom, you're no longer on track.
- Trophy guides such as Dawnwalker Tips say Uphill Battle "has to be earned on Duelist from the first minute," so play the whole run on Duelist rather than switching to it late.
- Once Uphill Battle pops, reload a manual save from before the final quest ("A Deal with the Devil") and turn the difficulty down to clean up the other endings. That's the standard one-playthrough Platinum route. New Game Plus is confirmed but not in the game yet as of October 26, 2026, so you can't use it to carry gear into a second run.
Our trophy guide has the full roadmap.
Can you change the difficulty at any time?
Yes. Difficulty isn't locked to your save. You can switch presets mid-playthrough from the in-game settings (the Difficulty Preset option in the Gameplay section), and the new Story and Forgiving presets appear there once Update 1.1 is installed. There's no separate Story Mode button on the title screen. If you can't see five presets, check that your game has updated to version 1.1.
The main catch with switching is the trophy rule above. The usual approach is to start on Fair, learn the directional blocks and parries, then move up to Challenging once they become second nature, or down to Forgiving for a quest that's wearing you out.
What are the RPG Difficulty and Action Difficulty sliders?
Under the presets, The Blood of Dawnwalker lets you tune two layers separately:
- RPG Difficulty covers the numbers: enemy health, enemy damage and similar balance values.
- Action Difficulty covers enemy behaviour: attack patterns, aggression and the timing windows you get to react and parry.
Reported per-value options include enemy health, enemy damage, enemy aggressiveness, the perfect-block window, an auto-block toggle and the direction indicator. That split lets you build a custom setup, for example Fair numbers with demanding Action timing so you aren't one-shot but parries still have to be clean. Changing any slider switches your preset label to Custom. That's fine for a normal run, but it doesn't count for the Duelist trophy.
Which difficulty is best for your first playthrough?
Pick by how you want to spend Coen's 30 days and 30 nights:
- You only care about the story and choices → Story (new). The most combat assist the game offers. A good fit if a boss is the only thing between you and an ending.
- You want the story first, but fights that still mean something → Forgiving. Weaker, slower enemies and more stamina. This was the launch "Story" mode most story-first players used.
- You want the intended experience → Fair. The default most launch guides recommended, Sportskeeda included, which said it "gives you a decent and rewarding experience with both combat and the story." The directional combat takes a few hours to click, and Fair gives you room to learn it.
- You want a real test without a wall → Challenging. You'll need parries, positioning and the right tool for the time of day.
- You want combat to be the point, or the Platinum → Duelist. No indicators, little stamina, maximum aggression, and the only route to Uphill Battle.
How does difficulty interact with the day/night combat system?
Difficulty only makes sense once you know what the combat is. Fights are directional duels: you aim attacks and blocks by direction, and timed parries win exchanges. Every preset tunes the same system, giving you more or less reaction time and more or less stamina.
There's also an assist layer in the controls. Omniattacks and omniblocks on the shoulder buttons pick a direction for you but drain stamina faster, a trade that matters more on Challenging and Duelist where stamina is scarce. The day/night split feeds in too: Coen's sword works at any time, but his vampire claws are night-only, so your toolkit changes with the clock. Our combat guide covers parry timing and both forms in detail, and the beginner tips cover what to learn in your first hours.
FAQ
How many difficulty levels does The Blood of Dawnwalker have? Five since Update 1.1 (October 22, 2026): Story, Forgiving, Fair, Challenging and Duelist. At launch there were four. The old Story mode was renamed Forgiving and a new, easier Story mode was added. You can also fine-tune RPG and Action difficulty sliders, which sets your preset to Custom.
What is the difference between Story and Forgiving in The Blood of Dawnwalker? Forgiving is the launch-era Story mode under a new name: weaker, slower enemies and more stamina for Coen. The new Story mode is easier still, with "additional combat assist." As of October 26, 2026, Rebel Wolves hasn't published exactly what that assist does.
Can I change the difficulty mid-game? Yes. Switch presets or sliders at any time from the gameplay settings, with no restart. The one catch is that going below Duelist, or changing any Duelist modifier, can cost you the Uphill Battle trophy.
Does changing difficulty affect trophies or achievements? Yes, for Uphill Battle (Gold), which requires finishing the game on the Duelist preset. Enabling assists like Auto-Block or the Direction Indicator turns the preset into Custom and voids it, per PowerPyx. Earn it first, then lower the difficulty from a pre-finale save for the rest of the list.
What is the best difficulty in The Blood of Dawnwalker? Fair for most first playthroughs. Choose Forgiving or the new Story mode if combat is getting in the way of the narrative. Choose Duelist only if you want the hardest fights or the Platinum.
Does difficulty change the 30-day timer or the story? No. Difficulty tunes combat only. Update 1.1's notes list no change to the 30 days and 30 nights, and no preset is described as affecting the clock. If you're worried about the clock, see what happens when time runs out.
More Blood of Dawnwalker guides
Building your run? These guides go well with your difficulty choice:
