Mage Arena bug fixes + message to people with AMD Notes (27th July 2026)

AMD users with 9000 series graphics cards have been crashing hard, and today's patch offers two routes out. The confirmed fix is rolling back drivers to version 26.3.1, but that's a hassle most players want to avoid. The easier alternative. Disabling hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling in Windows settings. Worked for Subnautica 2 when it faced identical problems, though the developer makes no promises it will solve the issue for everyone. This is a workaround, not a permanent solution, which means AMD players are still in limbo waiting for a proper engine-side fix.

Beyond the GPU crisis, the patch addresses a cluster of desync problems that have been causing friction in actual gameplay. Boggarts and the bone dog were falling out of sync with the server, and sticky tongue, presumably an ability or spell, was doing the same. These aren't trivial issues; desync in ability timing can tank your run or make co-op feel broken. The fix for exiting polymorph making the book equipping animation weird suggests the developer has been combing through state management bugs, which is solid work but also a sign these issues have been lingering.

The cosmetic changes are modest. Rank and level now display on the main menu, which is a quality-of-life win for players who want to see their progression at a glance without loading into a run. The starting portal now looks visually distinct from wormholes, addressing what was presumably confusion in the early game. Boggarts now randomly emerge from their mounds instead of staying put, which changes how you'll encounter them. They're no longer predictable terrain hazards.

There's a telling note buried in the patch: the developer admits they may have increased dragons breath damage but can't remember if they actually did. That's honest, if slightly alarming. It suggests either the change was made hastily or testing wasn't thorough enough to log it properly. If dragons breath did get buffed, it's a stealth balance shift that won't show up in any spreadsheet, and players will only discover it through play.

What's absent here matters as much as what arrived. There's no mention of a forced client update, so this should download and install without friction. No mention of downtime either, which suggests a hot patch rather than a server maintenance event. The developer hasn't addressed whether the AMD fix is permanent or temporary, leaving those players in a holding pattern. For everyone else, this is a solid bug-squashing patch that removes friction points without reshaping the game.