Sharper Steel, Steadier Spells

Balance work rarely makes headlines, but it changes how every fight feels. This roundup gathers the combat and magic changes from 2024 to 2026 that were never announced.

Steel

sunder lets a fighter with a slashing or bludgeoning weapon strike an opponent's weapon or shield. Win the opposed roll and the item drops into their pack, and they lose a few seconds recovering. Without Improved Sunder, the attempt provokes an attack of opportunity. It knocks the item loose; it does not break it.

Gear level limits are enforced again. Your usable item level is your character level plus one-fifth of your Use Magic Device skill. When a find is too advanced, downgrade can bring it within reach.

Sorcery

• Mage Armor and Shield each grant +4 armor class instead of +2. They still do not stack.
• Weapon Focus, Greater Weapon Focus, and Superior Weapon Focus in ranged weapons each add +1 to hit with Eldritch Blast.
• A large batch of spells moved to their correct schools, and several classes gained Detect Poison as a cantrip.
• Bards learn Dispel Magic and Greater Dispelling.
• Turn Undead used on a player character now deals damage instead of forcing them to flee or destroying them outright.
• Smite Evil and Smite Good now work against any target, and still hit hardest against the foes they were made for.
• Staff-only spells, such as city recall and rapid buffs, no longer appear in player spell lists.

Magic items with rules

A September 2026 fix makes wands, staves, and scrolls follow their written rules. Without the spell on one of your class lists, a wand or staff needs a Use Magic Device check at DC 20. A scroll must first be deciphered, then needs a check at DC 20 plus its level. help use spells it out.

The wand and scroll rules are in development. Everything else here is in the game build recorded as running in production in August 2026.