It’s only been four weeks since Hytale’s Early Access kicked off, and Orbis Studios is already shifting into high gear. The Update 3 (released February 17, 2026) is officially live, and it’s a massive one.
From the highly anticipated arrival of animal taming to the roadmap for the “Cursebreaker” story arc, there is a lot to unpack. Whether you’re a farmer, a fighter, or a modder, this patch has something that will change the way you play.
🏹 The Roadmap: The Cursebreaker Arc
Orbis Studios isn’t just dropping random items; they’re building a story. They’ve revealed that Hytale’s progression through Early Access will be told through Chapters.
The Cursebreaker Arc is the main narrative thread for Exploration Mode. As we move through these chapters, the world of Orbis will slowly unfold until the full release. It’s a brilliant way to keep the world feeling alive and evolving as we play.
🐾 Taming & Interaction: Your First Companions
The “early version” of animal taming has officially arrived! You can now turn the wild inhabitants of Orbis into loyal friends.
- How to Tame: You’ll need to figure out an animal’s favorite food. Offer it to them, and you might just win a friend for life.
- Life on the Farm: Tamed animals won’t run away from you anymore. You can now pet them (essential!), feed them, and in some cases, milk or shear them for resources.
- Mounts: Yes, some of these creatures can now be used as mounts, making exploration across Zone 1 significantly faster.
⚔️ Combat Refined: Flamethrowers and Necromancy
If you felt combat was a bit “clunky” in the first few weeks, this patch is for you.
- The Goblin Flamethrower: Now available in Creative Mode, this beast uses a brand-new fire spread system. It’s chaotic, visual, and incredibly fun to use.
- Necromancy Buffs: Mages, rejoice! Summons from the Necromancy Grimoire are now faster and more aggressive. Best of all? No more friendly fire. You can blast away without worrying about accidentally de-spawning your own skeleton minions.
- Spears & Ranged: Spears now stack up to 5 and feel much more reliable to throw. Ranged weapon ballistics have also been tightened for better accuracy.
🗺️ Quality of Life: Map Markers & Harvesting
Exploration just got a lot smarter.
- Custom Map Markers: You can finally place markers with custom icons, colors, and names. Even better? You can share these markers with your friends in multiplayer.
- The Sickle: Tired of clicking every single crop? The new Sickle allows you to harvest multiple plants in a single swing. Farming just went from a chore to a breeze.
- Climbing Overhaul: You now have more control on ropes—side-stepping and rotating are much smoother, making vertical exploration feel way more natural.
🛠️ Modding: The “Anchor UI” Revolution
For the server owners and creators, the Anchor UI is the star of the show. This system allows modders to “anchor” custom UI elements (like custom maps or menus) directly into the game. It’s a huge step toward the “limitless” modding promise Hytale was built on.
📅 A New Update Rhythm
Orbis Studios is moving to a new release schedule for 2026:
- Weekly Pre-releases: These will be for testing new features and squashing bugs.
- Stable Updates: Every 2 to 6 weeks, all those features will be bundled into a rock-solid update for everyone.
🔗 Official Source
Want to read every single bug fix (including the Linux crash fixes and memory leak optimizations)? Check out the full technical changelog here: 👉 Hytale Patch Notes – Update 3
⚠️ SERVER OWNER ALERT: Before you hit that update button, MAKE A FULL BACKUP OF YOUR WORLD AND SERVER FILES. Update 3 introduces major changes to the entity and world-gen systems. To avoid losing your hard-earned progress or breaking your current mods, always back up your data before transitioning to a new stable version!