The Outlast Trials Hotfix Notes - Project Boneyard (22nd July 2026)
Red Barrels has deployed a hotfix for The Outlast Trials addressing Invasion 2.0 balance and several bug fixes, including backstab mechanics and Steel Trap tuning.
Red Barrels has rolled out a hotfix patch for The Outlast Trials focusing on Invasion 2.0 balance and connectivity fixes. The changes mark a clear shift toward reining in Imposter dominance, particularly around instant-kill mechanics that have frustrated solo players.
Backstab is the headline adjustment here. Imposters now require 2.5 seconds to charge their attack instead of 2.0, must position themselves more directly behind targets, and will incapacitate rather than instantly kill. That's a substantial nerf that trades lethality for skill expression. Steel Traps have also been toned down across the board: reduced trigger radius, lower damage (12.5 instead of 25), and faster escape times mean Reagents can actually recover health after triggering one. Solo Invasion runs are now capped at 3 minutes instead of 5, and Imposters face a longer respawn camera time (45 seconds minimum) when hunting solo targets.
Quality-of-life touches round out the patch. Syringes now spawn throughout trials rather than in limited quantities, the Regroup button works even with Imposters present, and Stim injection time has been slightly increased to prevent panic-button reactions. Disconnection issues in Escalation runs have also been addressed. The full list, including fixes for the Steel Trap struggle minigame and the MK-Challenge television hint, is below.
Full Patch Notes
▲ Buff▼ Nerf✓ Fix◆ TweakGreetings Reagents,
Our team has deployed a new hotfix patch to address the following issues:
- Improved disconnection issues in Escalation runs.
- Fixed an issue where Imposters would not receive a rank when leaving an Invasion early using “Exit Invasion” from the Pause Menu.
- Fixed an issue where the Struggle minigame would not appear if a Reagent was grabbed by an NPC while entering a Steel Trap.
- Fixed an issue where a television screen was missing a code location hint in the MK-Challenge “Cancel the Broadcast”.
INVASION CHANGES
- Stab/Backstab: Increased charge time to 2.5s (was 2.0s).
- Backstab: Reduced the Backstab angle, requiring Imposters to be more directly behind their target.
- Backstab: Now incapacitates the Reagent instead of killing them instantly.
- Slash: Increased cooldown to 2.0s (was 1.5s).
- Steel Trap: Reduced mash time required to escape.
- Steel Trap: Reduced trigger radius.
- Steel Trap: Reduced damage to 12.5 (was 25), allowing Reagents to regenerate health after escaping.
- Imposter Night Vision: Reworked the visual effect while preserving its reduced effectiveness in darkness.
- Imposter Night Vision: Increased battery duration.
- Imposter Respawn: Increased the minimum camera time of Imposters to 45s when against a solo Reagent (was 30s).
- Solo Invasion: Reduced active Invasion time to 3 minutes (was 5 minutes).
- Stim: Slightly increased injection time to reduce reactive use during encounters.
- Syringes now spawn throughout the Trial instead of being limited in quantity.
- Reagents can now use the Regroup button even while Imposters are present in the room.
Remember that if you encounter any issues in-game, please join our 18+ Official Outlast Discord Server and create a ticket to speak with our support team directly.
Thank you to everyone who has been filling out our Invasion 2.0 Feedback Survey. Your feedback will help us keep refining this game mode. We're also still gathering feedback for the Season 6: Project Judas update, so let us know what you thought about last Season's Therapy.
Catch you in the Sleep Room Reagents!
Team RB
Sources
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Written by
Nathan LeesGaming journalist and founder of XP Gained. Covering patch notes, breaking news, and updates across 160+ games.
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