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Full Steam announcements and update articles for this title.
NEW FAIRY UPGRADES
- Auto-Sell Useless Gears - With the latest fairy update, gears that drop with completely worse stats can now be automatically sold.
- Aggressive Sell - The useless gear system can be more aggressive: items are only kept if they are better than the currently equipped gear, otherwise they are automatically sold.
BUG FIXES
- Fixed an issue where some story flows could be skipped when "Skip Dialogs" was enabled, even though they were not supposed to be skippable, causing required events not to trigger and blocking progression.
- Fixed an issue where the dialog history was always showing the oldest conversations instead of the most recent ones.
Hello Heroes,
We’re excited to release v3.0.0 - Darkness Awakens, one of the biggest updates ever made for Desktop Heroes.
This update introduces a major new direction for the game: a story-driven campaign that unfolds across the maps. Progression is now more connected, more structured, and more immersive, with a new Quest System that guides players through the game’s world and development step by step. Along the way, you will encounter brand-new NPCs and experience a more narrative-driven adventure than ever before.
One of the biggest additions in this update is the arrival of Tier 3 Bosses. These powerful late-game enemies are now integrated directly into the storyline and come with meaningful progression rewards, including special loot, rare items, and unique quest-related drops.
We also completely reworked Boss Stones. They now follow a Rarity-based system, allowing each stone to summon bosses from multiple tiers with different probabilities. Higher rarity stones increase the chance of spawning higher-tier bosses, making boss encounters more dynamic and rewarding.
This update also adds several important new systems and items:
A new Death Scare effect and expanded use of Vampiric
Level Up Potion, a rare item that instantly increases a hero’s level
Royal Seal of Conscription, a new item used to unlock heroes
Quest Items tied to storyline progression and boss encounters
A new Quest Tab for tracking current objectives
A new History Tab for reviewing recent cutscene dialogue
On top of the new content, we made a wide range of improvements across the game. Several UI screens have been updated to support the new story and quest systems. Mob animations and projectiles have been revised and improved. The indicator system has been rewritten for more consistent highlighting and tab behavior, and the Flee button now only appears when a boss encounter is active.
We also made several important progression and balance adjustments:
Hero unlock costs now use Royal Seal of Conscription instead of Magic Orbs
Map Keys were moved from Tier 1 bosses to Tier 2 boss drop tables
Dice rewards were rebalanced for better and more consistent item outcomes
Drop Rate was removed from weapon and armor drops
Boss Stones were redesigned to support the new rarity-based structure
Tier 3 Bosses now drop special progression-related loot, including unique quest items and valuable rare rewards
In addition, this update includes multiple bug fixes. We fixed an issue where Effects and temporary stats could sometimes apply incorrectly to heroes, resolved several mob animation issues, fixed multiple edge-case bugs in the mob spawner system, and addressed various skill bar related bugs.
For returning players, we also added migration scripts to keep older save files compatible with the new systems. Some players may need to complete certain newly added quests up to their current progression point. Because quests are tied closely to the storyline, they were intentionally not skipped automatically. Players who want to move through this process faster can enable Skip Dialogs in the settings or skip cutscenes manually.
Darkness Awakens is a major step forward for Desktop Heroes, expanding the world, deepening progression, and laying the foundation for more content to come.
Thank you for your support. Your next adventure begins now!
The v2.5.4 update is officially available for all players. This update introduces Team Formation and quality of life improvements.
Thank you to everyone who supported the game and shared feedback. Here is what’s new in v2.5.4.
New Team Formation
Dynamic Hero Healthbar positioning (when heroes overlap, healthbars will now move vertically to avoid covering each other)
New “Legendary and below” item selection button in Inventory Edit
New “Useless Gear” selection button in Inventory Edit
The “Useless Gear” selection will only pick items that are strictly worse than your currently equipped gear with the same stats.
In other words, it targets items you realistically won’t ever need or use, and leaves out anything that could still be situationally useful.
This system is designed to be safe rather than aggressive, so it won’t touch items that might have different stat combinations or potential future value.
Also, this is just the first step:
In a future update, this logic will be used for an auto-useless-sell upgrade for the Fairy as well. 🧚♂️
Important Notes:
About a month ago, we introduced a new stat calculation system. Items obtained before that update still work, but they may cause minor issues. The new “Useless Gear” selection does not support these old items.
We mark them with an \ prefix. You can keep using them, but it’s recommended to replace them as you find better ones. They may cause small visual issues or be unsupported by some selection tools.
See you in Desktop Heroes!
The v2.5.0 update is officially available for all players. This update introduces major improvements to loot systems, crafting, progression, balance, and UI, along with numerous fixes and quality-of-life updates.
Thank you to everyone who supported the game and shared feedback. Here is what’s new in v2.5.0.
Items such as Herbs, Dice, and Gear now drop from mob-specific loot tables
New Special Mobs have been added for Dice drops
Each Dice type now requires defeating a specific Special Mob
Mob Detail Menu added
Shows total kill count
Displays possible item drops
Boss levels are now visible
Crafting system reworked
Balance adjustments applied
Recipes updated
New Green Herb added
Snow Map progression updated
Yeti and Santa bosses now drop their own unique items
Map unlocking system moved to the Upgrades Menu
New Gate Keys added as boss drops to unlock maps
Map Selection Menu updated with a new UI
Possible loot drops are now displayed per map
Stat calculation system reworked for improved consistency and balance
Minor updates to map difficulty scaling
Party positioning and movement now play a more important role
Boss and selected mob attack ranges adjusted
Attacks no longer hit only the front character
Further improvements are planned for future updates
Edric animation visual improvements
Fairy’s Blessing
When a hero is revived using a Resurrection Elixir, they gain 4x damage reduction for 1 minute
Fairy Revive Upgrade
Fairy can now use Resurrection Elixirs to revive heroes
Steam Achievements fixed
New Snow Map Achievements added
Fixed the Infinity Sell glitch
Fixed an issue where items could drop above level 500
Fixed Attack stat calculation display issues in the UI
This update sets the foundation for upcoming content and balance improvements. Thank you for playing and supporting the game. Your feedback continues to shape its future.
See you in Desktop Heroes!
Fixed an issue where the initial launch gold amount was not updating correctly
Fixed a bug where mobs killed by recurring damage (e.g. burn) would not drop loot
Fixed incorrect tooltips
Number suffixes were confusing. The old order used K, M, B, T, Q followed by single lowercase letters (a, b, c, d) and then patterns like aa, ab … ba, bb, bc. Single lowercase letters were removed entirely due to visual confusion (similarity to the first pattern and characters like l being mistaken for numbers). The new order is now: K, M, B, T, Q, aa, ab … ba, bb, bc.
Fixed issues with stat upgrade indicators and an incorrect max level behavior.
Fixed an issue where potion amounts in Fairy slots were not updating correctly. This was likely the root cause of some intermittent skill bar update issues as well, which should now be resolved. If you still encounter similar problems, please report them.
Mimics spawn randomly and must be clicked to activate, otherwise heroes ignore them and you miss the reward. This new upgrade gives a chance to auto-activate spawned Mimics. It has 4 levels, and each level increases the auto-activation chance.
The Carpenter upgrade increases the amount of Wood Pieces dropped from the Mimics.
Added tooltips to upgrade buttons that use special or less common items, explaining what the item is and how to obtain it.
Fairy potion slots now have tooltips explaining their usage
A new info box appears at the top of the UI when a Mimic spawns, making it much harder to miss.
The Shared Chest capacity upgrade button has been moved from the inventory view into the Upgrades menu.
Stat upgrade buttons now support press-and-hold for repeated purchases.
Fixed a rounding issue where players could see a cost they technically couldn’t afford. Costs now use ceiling rounding, so if the displayed amount is met, the upgrade is guaranteed to be purchasable.
Fixed an issue where the Player menu icon was incorrectly highlighted green due to skill upgrade indicators.
Minor drop rate tweaks.
Removed floating gold texts for sidekicks, as they were too frequent and visually distracting.
Added information tooltips.
Fixed an issue with the Fairy tooltip.
New Features
Guns for Hire upgrades added, allowing sidekicks to earn a small portion of gold based on their own level.
Improvements
VFX Toggle added to improve performance on lower-end systems.
Healthbar Text Toggle added to hide numerical values on healthbars.
Bugfix
Fixed an issue where dice rolls didn’t correctly check for a full backpack, which could cause item loss.
Healthbar Toggle was broken and has been temporarily disabled. It will be re-enabled in a future update once fully fixed.
Improvements
Gave the item sorter a motivational speech. It now sorts things like it actually cares.
Added HUD customization so you can finally decide which item deserves to be seen.
Bugfix
Fixed an issue where effects you applied to mobs proudly showed up as team effects. Nice try, mobs.
Stopped items from forcing themselves into gear slots. Consent matters, even for inventory.
Corrected hero behavior. They will no longer dance, stare, daydream, or forget to attack mid-fight. (Yes, we had a whole arc there.)
Convinced the Fairy to stop selling items without our permission.
Had a serious talk with Corin about not dancing mid-battle.
The translator will now try harder, remember your preference, and stop forgetting the selected language after the first screen.
Red Herb Drop Adjustments: Red herb drop amounts now increase with difficulty.
Discord Button added to the Settings Menu.
Upgrade Tab Indicator: The Upgrades tab and its category tabs turn green when an upgrade is available for purchase.
Fixed an issue where the Jungle Map button was not working correctly.
Spider Queen Drop: The Unique Sword was incorrectly dropping for the Hunter class instead of the Warrior.
Character Switching During Boss Fights: Character switching is now disabled while a boss is active, preventing a free-flee exploit.
Desktop Heroes | Update 2.4.4
This update is all about polish, automation, and better flow. Less babysitting, more momentum.
Fixes and Improvements
Ice animation issues fixed
Fairy Features Expanded
Fairy Auto Craft: Automatically crafts selected items for you.
Fairy Sidekick Guard: Fairy now actively protects sidekicks.
Fairy Auto Junk Sell: Junk items are sold automatically.
Fairy Income Slot: A new slot that you can place income potions like EXP, gold and dice potions.
New Potions
EXP Potion: Boosts experience gain.
Walk Speed Potion: İncreases movement speed.
Content Tuning
Water map mobs have been revised for better visuals.
Small version number, meaningful gains.
As always, feedback shapes what comes next.
Crafting Menu UI Update
The Crafting Menu has been redesigned for better clarity and faster access to crafting actions. Navigation is smoother and key actions are more readable.
New Upgrades Added
Item Sell
You can now sell items for half of their original value. A simple way to clean up inventory and recover some resources.
Full Refund
Requires Item Sell. Items can now be sold for their full original value. Bad purchases are no longer permanent mistakes.
Party Potions
A new potion type that heals the entire party at once. Same idea as HP Potions, just less selfish.
Horde Potion Functionality Update
Horde Potions have been reworked. When used, they now increase mob spawn rate to 4x for one minute. More enemies, more chaos, more rewards if you can handle it.
More upgrades and tuning are already in progress. As always, feedback drives the next step.
We heard you.
Based on your feedback, we made the game more idle-friendly and added the ability to play with multiple heroes through sidekicks. By closely following community comments and suggestions, we also introduced many new improvements and refinements. This update is a direct result of that feedback loop.
Team Play and Sidekicks
Heroes do not form a fixed party. Instead, each hero can unlock the ability to summon one or two other unlocked heroes as sidekicks during gameplay. Sidekicks support the active hero rather than acting as full party members.
If a sidekick enters the Near Death state, they cannot continue fighting but continue to gain experience.
Near Death State
Heroes no longer die when their health reaches zero. Instead, they enter a Near Death state. They can still fight, but with reduced attack speed. Revive them to restore full effectiveness. Sidekicks in Near Death state are knocked out of combat but still earn experience.
Hold Craft Button
You can now craft multiple potions by holding the Craft button. Fewer clicks, more potions, less finger fatigue.
Agility, Defense, and Overall Balancing
Agility and Defense stats have been rebalanced to improve build diversity and combat pacing.
Level and experience gain have also been reworked. Early-game progression was too fast, while mid and late game progression became overly punishing. The curve is now smoother and more consistent across the entire game. More balancing passes are on the way.
Combat Improvements
Animation timings and combat delays have been revised to create more natural, readable, and varied combat flow.
Flee Option
If a boss fight is going badly, you can now use the Flee button to escape. Sometimes the smartest move is running away, but it has some costs. Fleeing will cause your character to lose 3 levels.
Upgrade Tab
A new Upgrade tab has been added as a central place to unlock and manage all upgrades. This includes hero skills, party and sidekick options, fairy upgrades, chests, and other progression features.
UI Improvements
Multiple interface improvements for better readability, clarity, and overall flow.
Map Restrictions Updated
Gold and Team Level requirements for unlocking maps have been removed. Maps are now unlocked only based on the current hero’s level.
You can no longer play on difficulties higher than your hero’s current level, ensuring a more consistent challenge curve.
Feedback is always valuable. Push the system. We will rebalance it.
Have fun!
Hey heroes,
We’d like to share a small update regarding our roadmap and the big patch we previously announced for November.
While we are still working intensely on this update, we’ve decided to move the release to mid-December to ensure a smoother, more stable gameplay experience with fewer issues. As a small team, we are doing our best to deliver everything as quickly and as well as possible, and this extra time will help us ship a better experience.
We will also combine this update with the one originally planned for December, meaning you’ll receive a larger and more polished update all at once instead of two separate ones.
Thank you for your patience and support 💛
A great update is on the way and we can’t wait to share more soon!
Hey heroes! ⚔️ We’re excited to share the official Roadmap for the upcoming updates in Desktop Heroes! Here’s a glimpse of what’s ahead:
Playing as Party
Major Balancing Update
New Drop System
New Snow Map
Christmas Event
New Inferno Map
New Feature: Shop
Visual Improvements
Upgrade Tree
UI/UX Improvements
New Character
New Map
New Bosses
New Items
We’re working hard to bring you fresh adventures, better balance, and more ways to enjoy your hero’s journey. Thank you for all your feedback and support. Stay tuned for more updates!
-Team Desktop Heroes
This update brings significant stability, balance, and performance improvements to Desktop Heroes. It also introduces key quality-of-life changes and sets the stage for larger content and balancing updates coming soon.
Added an option in Settings to automatically lock Unique items when they drop.
Various tweaks to balance skill cooldowns and durations.
Settings > Save Tab Improvement
With this feature, players can now;
Download and upload their save data file.
Transfer their progress to another account.
Share the save file with us for troubleshooting purposes. This allows us to both fix issues directly in the save file (so players don’t have to wait for the next update) and also identify and address the root cause in upcoming patches.
Encryption is used to prevent data manipulation or exploitation of the game.
Fixed a rare bug where the next map would sometimes fail to unlock.
This update brings significant stability, balance, and performance improvements to Desktop Heroes. It also introduces key quality-of-life changes and sets the stage for larger content and balancing updates coming soon.
We’ve been investigating reports of save issues but haven’t been able to fully reproduce them yet. As an interim solution, we’ve added an error notification that appears when a save fails. This allows players to notice failed saves early and take corrective action (such as restarting the game). We’re also gathering more feedback to identify when and how the issue occurs. Expect further improvements to error handling in upcoming updates.
Idle gameplay has been optimized for smoother and more efficient progression.
Skill bar slots increased to 8, giving you more flexibility in combat.
Auto Skill Mode: You can now toggle auto usage by holding down a skill icon.
Added clearer Auto Skill indicators for better visibility and control.
Adjusted gear EXP income to better scale with higher-level equipment. At later stages, gear that provides higher EXP income will become more common, improving long-term progression.
Fixed the pause overlay sticking issue.
Cleaned up events not being cleared during dice rolls, improving stability during repeated rolls.
General performance optimizations across multiple systems.
Updated several assets in preparation for an upcoming major balancing update. While this doesn’t include visual overhauls yet, it lays the groundwork for future improvements.
Fixed an issue where the Assassin’s Toxicity skill could prevent the game from saving.
Thank you for your continued support and feedback. Each update brings us closer to a smoother, more balanced Desktop Heroes experience. Keep sharing your thoughts to help us improve even further.
We would like to thank you for your interest in and support for Desktop Heroes. We read and evaluate every comment and review, and we are continuously working to improve the gaming experience for all of you. Although we are a small team, we do our best to provide updates and fix issues as quickly as possible. While we are working on major updates, we are also trying to implement minor changes as soon as possible. Daily updates don't mean we only tweak minor parts.
We’ve received some feedback about the game not being entirely idle. This is correct: Desktop Heroes is not designed to be a game that you can set up and leave running for hours without interacting with it. Unlike other 'bottom-of-the-screen' games, we aimed to create a hybrid experience combining both idle and focused gameplay. Once your character is somewhat upgraded, you can leave them idle in safe maps, allowing you to continue earning gold, collecting loot, and strengthening your character. At the same time, you can return to the game at your own pace, equip better items and explore deeper areas of the maps.
This is not a game where you set up a production system and then collect resources after 24 hours. As an ARPG-style game, the pace of your progress is in your hands. While Desktop Heroes may not be ideal for those who want a fully passive experience, it can be more satisfying for players who enjoy actively engaging with the game. We are working on solutions to make idle play more accessible, but the game will never be fully passive. Our goal is to create a hybrid gameplay style with options for players who prefer a more passive approach.
We will continue to develop and improve Desktop Heroes, and your support and feedback are invaluable. Please keep sharing your thoughts and suggestions with us. We read all of them, evaluate them carefully and implement the ones that fit the game.
Thank you for playing Desktop Heroes! Have fun!
Heroes, the wait is over! Desktop Heroes is out now!
Designed to run just above your taskbar, this unique idle RPG is the perfect desktop companion. As you work, your party of heroes fights battles, collects treasures, and explores a charming pixel world. You can join in at any moment to upgrade gear, unlock new regions, or take down powerful bosses.
⚔️ Highlights:
🧙 Four classic RPG classes working together in one party
⏳ Idle gameplay that rewards both passive and active play
🗺️ Expanding adventures full of secrets, quests, and bosses
🎨 A relaxing, unobtrusive pixel art style that enhances your workspace
🛡️ Special Protect Mode to keep your game invisible during screen shares
Whether you’re in a meeting or grabbing a coffee, your heroes will keep fighting for you. ⚔️ Get Desktop Heroes and dive into an epic idle adventure!
Heroes, the wait is over! Desktop Heroes is out now!
Designed to run just above your taskbar, this unique idle RPG is the perfect desktop companion. As you work, your party of heroes fights battles, collects treasures, and explores a charming pixel world. You can join in at any moment to upgrade gear, unlock new regions, or take down powerful bosses.
⚔️ Highlights:
🧙 Four classic RPG classes
⏳ Idle gameplay that rewards both passive and active play
🗺️ Expanding adventures full of secrets, quests, and bosses
🎨 A relaxing, unobtrusive pixel art style that enhances your workspace
🛡️ Special Protect Mode to keep your game invisible during screen shares
Whether you’re in a meeting or grabbing a coffee, your heroes will keep fighting for you. ⚔️ Get Desktop Heroes and dive into an epic idle adventure!
Your epic adventure begins... at the bottom of your screen!
Select your hero, battle monstrous foes, and collect loot - all while you work. Whether you want to play actively or let your party progress in the background, Desktop Heroes is your faithful companion during the day.
Featuring:
Four classic RPG classes: Wizard, Warrior, Hunter, and Assassin
Idle gameplay that rewards both passive and active play
A relaxing, unobtrusive pixel art style that enhances your workspace
Special Protection Mode to keep your game invisible during screen shares
Virtual Mode for working without interruptions
Whether you’re in a meeting or grabbing a coffee, your heroes will keep fighting for you.
Wishlist now and be ready to play on release!
Select your hero, battle monstrous foes, and collect loot - all while you work. Whether you want to play actively or let your party progress in the background, Desktop Heroes is your faithful companion during the day.
👉 Visit our Steam page and try the demo today!
You can also contact us on Discord here:
Select your hero, battle monstrous foes, and collect loot - all while you work. Whether you want to play actively or let your party progress in the background, Desktop Heroes is your faithful companion during the day.
👉 Visit our Steam page and try the demo today!
You can also contact us on Discord here: https://bit.ly/desktopheroesdc
About
This page aggregates Steam news feeds, patch notes, and developer announcements for Desktop Heroes, sourced from official Steam community posts.
Major updates, balance changes, and seasonal events often correlate with player-count spikes — cross-reference announcements here with the live charts on the main Desktop Heroes statistics page.
Articles link back to Steam for full changelogs. SteamScope refreshes news entries as new posts are published to the game's Steam hub.