Techland has unveiled the highly awaited fan-requested feature Nightmare Mode for Dying Light 2 Stay.
The Nightmare Mode Update adds more features than just the new difficulty – such as general adjustments to the Infected and night experience. Co-op players will now be able to take on the Community Maps with up to three friends. Archers will get reworked power shot mechanics. And personalization connoisseurs will have the opportunity to change the appearance of the Grappling Hook.
The new difficulty also introduces changes to stamina management, called the Tactical Stamina system. Limited HUD options for better immersion, and a flickering flashlight that goes out when used for too long.
Here the complete list of changes. For the latest Patch Notes, click here.
Nightmare Mode
If you like challenges, we’ve got what you need. Nightmare Mode is our new highest difficulty for those wanting to truly experience the nightmarish reality of the Dying Light universe. Enemies are most cunning and brutal. They will put up even more of a fight now, which is important, as you’ll now realize everything you’ve relied on in previous playthroughs aren’t so reliable!
And survival becomes essential with limited information and UI elements. To sum up the Nightmare Mode experience:
- Level 5 Chase with Tyrants
- Being in a menu no longer stops the game — Watch out as you are crafting stuff in real-time! Luckily for you, the Pause menu works as normal though
- Flashlight now dims and flickers when in constant use, and can even cut out
- Lower immunity from each inhibitor
- Higher chance of looting rare quality items
- Survivor Sense shows only weapons and quest items
- Tactical Stamina — Regeneration takes longer to kick in, and when exhausted, you’ll only be able to shove until your stamina is full once again
- Player armor and resistance reduction
- Higher stamina drain when paragliding at night
- Volatiles have shorter sight, but Chases trigger faster
- Stamina regenerates at a slower rate
- Health does not regenerate automatically
- A larger amount of Legend Points is awarded
- Players lose all Legend Level XP towards the next level up on death at Level 50 and above
Efficiency of Boosters has been reduced
Moreover, if you manage to finish the game (or NG+) on this difficulty, you’ll unlock the exclusive Waltz Outfit.
Please note: This reward requires you to complete the entirety of the main story on Nightmare difficulty! Are you brave enough to enter the Nightmare?
Night Changes
The Nightmare Mode Update will also incorporate various changes to the night itself. We grouped these changes into two sections: all difficulties and Easy/Normal.
Changes made in all difficulties:
- Lowering the number of Volatiles, mostly on the rooftops
- Volatiles are also receiving these nerfs:
- Vision arc decreased to from 100 °to 90°
- Recognition time changed for 1-6s (min-max)
- Lowering the number of Spitters in the night population on Difficulty Ranks 1-6
- Reduced range of hearing player’s footsteps for Biters
- Reduced visibility of flashlight for Biters by 50%
- Reduced vision range of Spitters and Suiciders
Changes made only for Easy and Normal:
- Increasing the recognition time for Volatiles:
- 2 secs, if player is very close to a Volatile; up to 7 secs if player is 20 meters from Volatile
- Removal of Volatiles from Chase Level 1:
- No additional Volatiles spawn during Chase Level 1
Co-op for Community Maps
Grab your friends and wreak havoc together on maps created by you, our community, because co-op is here! Try to prove yourself as the best Pilgrim amongst your pals or just enjoy the crazy scenarios designed by our players as a group!
But what’s co-op on Community Maps without the Community Maps? That’s why we’re adding a whole bunch of new DevTools functionalities, so our creators can come up with even more creative, challenging and diverse maps. Your toolbox has been expanded with:
- Pixelated visual filter
- Additional prefabs in the Editor
- More gameplay scripts to be overridden
- Colorful rubber skins for meshes
- Bloody Ties assets!
And yes, we heard you! We’re also adding a low gravity functionality! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Gear Loadout System
In response to your requests, we are introducing the Gear Loadout System to Dying Light 2! In the Inventory menu, you can now switch between 4 customisable loadouts to quickly equip the gear, weapons, consumables and accessories that suit your current needs and playstyle.
Cutscene Improvements
With the Nightmare Mode Update, we’ve updated over 70 scenes and dialogues to improve the overall quality of the cinematics. There’s a lot of changes in terms of improved lighting, smoother (or more advanced) animation, special effects, and many other qualitative changes that should be visually noticeable to the player!
What’s changed?
- Character animation improvements
- Refinement of camera animations
- Improved dialogue lighting
- FX upgrade
- Improved transition from dialogue to combat
- Numerous qualitative improvements to dialogue
- Interaction with some NPCs will be more immersive
Power Shot Skill Rework
We reworked the Power Shot skill to give players more agency. Now, when you charge a power shot, your reticle will begin to shrink. Release it at the right moment to fire a perfect shot for extra damage!
Tactical Stamina Management Mode
We’ve added a new stamina management mode – Tactical Stamina! An intrinsic part of Nightmare mode, with this turned on, stamina regeneration takes longer to kick in, and when exhausted, you’ll only be able to shove until the bar is full again. This preset can be selected via the Game Options panel. And no, you can’t switch it off on Nightmare difficulty!
Main Menu Redesign
The latest update will refresh the design of the Main Menu by enriching its visual layer. Now, the character outfit will be better presented here. Additionally, we want to make the Events & Alterations, Special Offers, and Community Maps more visible by introducing a new information panel on the right side of the screen.
Scalable Player FOV Correction
After the Firearms update, many of you started asking about more FOV (field of view) flexibility and we’ve delivered. With the Nightmare Mode Update, we are adding a slider allowing you to reverse the distortion of the player character when changing the FOV. When set to the default (100%), the player character appears the same regardless of the FOV value and when set to zero, the player character scales accordingly to the FOV.
Grappling Hook Customization
The update also introduces a new skin type, a bespoke one made for one of the most important tools in a Nightrunner’s arsenal: their Grappling Hook! Be sure to visit the Pilgrim Outpost to grab the First Pilgrim Grappling Hook skin for free and swing through the Villedor in style!
Dying Light 2 Stay Human is developed and published by Techland for PlayStation, Xbox and PC via Steam and The Epic Store.
