📋 DEMON LORD: JUST A BLOCK — PATCH NOTES & UPDATE HISTORY
Here you can read official patch notes for Demon Lord: Just a Block after launch. Updates can shift which abilities feel strongest, tweak enemy behavior, and change how some achievements unlock. Bookmark this page if you like to adapt your builds after a patch. For loadout ideas tuned to the latest version, see our Builds Guide.
⚡ CURRENT PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Lightning builds buffed · Ability cap raised to 199 · Ghost Empress now telegraphs jump · Item switch added (Q/LB)
🔧 May 1 Update — Second Wave
📅 2026-05-01
▸ NEW FEATURE
- ▸ Added the ability to switch items by pressing Q/LB (controller LB).
▸ BALANCE — ABILITY BUFFS
- ▸ [Neverending]: Strikes 1 lightning bolt every OTHER turn → every turn.
- ▸ [Focused Lightning]: Lightning count +1 → +3, all strikes hitting the same spot.
- ▸ [Demon Lord Cooldown]: All ability cooldowns -1 → -15%, minimum -1.
- ▸ [Environmental Scapegoat]: When taking damage, randomly destroys 5 environmental objects instead.
- ▸ Normal ability maximum cap raised: 99 → 199.
▸ BALANCE — EARLY GAME
- ▸ Reduced early-game pressure in Royal Dungeon and Starter Village.
- ▸ Ghost Soldier, Ghost Lancer, and Ghost Spider now have increased stagger frames.
- ▸ Ghost Empress now has a visible pre-jump animation telegraph.
- ▸ Chests will no longer drop bombs (prevents Hoist by Your Own Petard on unlucky chest opens).
- ▸ Added boxes next to more chests near the river areas.
- ▸ Added ground under the Gold Skull in a certain area, making it easier to collect through special means.
- ▸ Summoning abilities disabled in Demon Lord's Tomb and Sokoban rooms.
▸ BUG FIXES
- ▸ Fixed [Heart of Fire] and [Vengeance Barrier] failing when both triggered simultaneously.
- ▸ Fixed portals spawning on water tiles.
- ▸ Fixed game freeze during level saves on certain devices.
- ▸ Fixed game crash when triggering too many Harvest effects simultaneously.
- ▸ Increased max saved history records from 50 to 500.
- ▸ Fixed Gold Chest Ability in block-pushing room not granting a new Gold Chest.
⚡ April 30 Update — Second Wave
📅 2026-04-30
▸ BALANCE — ANGEL ROOM
- ▸ [Recycle] ability: Randomly discard 3 abilities → 1 ability, Gold +20.
- ▸ [Salvation] ability: Randomly discard 1~4 abilities → 1 ability, Max HP +5~20.
▸ NEW CONTENT
- ▸ New Soul Contract (Demonic Pact): When HP drops below half, ATK +1.
▸ BALANCE — ENEMIES
- ▸ Yuwave Incarnation: Initial body segments 3 → 4.
- ▸ Baby Demon Lord: Damage reduction per death +2% → +3%.
- ▸ Fire pedestals now more reliably ignite apples and boxes on contact.
▸ BUG FIXES
- ▸ Fixed Yuviathan and Baby Bone Dragon corpses blocking box-pushing mechanics.
- ▸ Fixed Ham Weapon leaving ham on field after pickup.
🔗 What this means for your run
After the May 1 patch, lightning-focused setups gained a lot of strength. Before, Bomb Master and Invincibility Tank were many players' safest top picks. With the [Neverending] and [Focused Lightning] buffs, Chain Lightning is now the clearest all-around powerhouse for most runs.
The ability cap increase from 99 to 199 makes the Discard Engine style more practical — you have more room before you need to thin your deck. The Too Many Cards achievement (hold 99 abilities) is still a grind, but you are no longer pressed right at the old ceiling.
The Ghost Empress telegraph is a quality-of-life buff for Chapter 1. Her jump is easier to read, so Royal Dungeon runs feel fairer and you can rely less on perfect invincibility timing.
🔗 Related Guides
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What changed in the Demon Lord: Just a Block May 1, 2026 patch?
The May 1 patch added item switching (Q/LB), significantly buffed Lightning builds ([Neverending] now fires every turn, [Focused Lightning] gives +3 bolts), raised the normal ability cap from 99 to 199, reduced early-game difficulty in Royal Dungeon/Starter Village, added a telegraph animation to Ghost Empress's jump attack, and fixed multiple crashes and bugs.
What changed in the April 30, 2026 patch?
The April 30 Second Wave patch buffed Angel Room abilities (Recycle now discards only 1 ability instead of 3), added a new Demonic Pact (ATK+1 when HP below half), adjusted Yuwave Incarnation's starting body to 4 segments, buffed Baby Demon Lord's damage reduction, and fixed several physics and corpse-related bugs.
Is the Chain Lightning build still good after the May 2026 patch?
Yes — the May 1 patch actually made Chain Lightning significantly stronger. [Neverending] was buffed from firing every other turn to every turn, and [Focused Lightning] now delivers 3 bolts to the same point instead of 1. This makes Lightning Rod + Neverending + Focused Lightning the strongest damage output build in the current patch.
Were any builds nerfed in the May 2026 patch?
No direct nerfs were applied in either the April 30 or May 1 patches. Both updates were primarily buffs and quality-of-life improvements. The most significant balance change was the indirect nerf to Bomb builds via the patch note that chests no longer drop bombs — eliminating accidental Hoist by Your Own Petard deaths but also removing a rare bomb source.
Can I still get the Hoist by Your Own Petard achievement after the May patch?
Yes. The achievement still unlocks when a bomb kills you. The patch only removed bombs from chest loot — you can still die to Bomb Launcher self-damage, bomb tree explosions, or bombs dropped by certain enemy types.