Far Far West Patch 0.2.0.20: Balance & Bug Fixes

The latest patch for Far Far West arrives as a substantial maintenance release, addressing a wide array of technical issues and gameplay imbalances introduced in previous updates. The development team emphasizes that this is not the final batch of fixes, but rather the first priority set of corrections. A critical warning is issued at the top of the patch notes: users with AMD GPUs are advised to manually toggle AMD FSR (Free Style Rendering) on or off if they experience performance drops or crashes. The developers state that AMD is working on a patch to resolve these Frame Generation issues, but until then, manual intervention is necessary to maintain stability.

Balance Changes

The balancing section of the update targets several weapons, spells, enemies, and progression systems. The primary goal appears to be enhancing the viability of utility and melee-focused playstyles while adjusting the economic curve for player progression.

Several weapons have received significant buffs. Knuckles and Lasso have seen their XP multipliers increased from x0.5 to x0.7, making them more effective for leveling up during runs. Dual Revolvers have regained their attack speed upgrade, which had previously been removed or bugged. The Banjo has undergone the most substantial overhaul, with its XP multiplier jumping from x0.6 to x1. It now generates XP based on the amount of HP healed to players, including the user. Its base damage has increased from 8 to 9, and its Slam base damage has risen from 20 to 25. The healing range has also been expanded significantly, with the base range increasing from 650 to 1024, and the Joker Lullabard variant increasing from 1300 to 2048.

In the spell tree, Frost Cube and Frost Breeze have been swapped in the progression order, with Frost Breeze now being the first spell and Frost Cube the third. Additionally, the cast animation for Frost Cube can now be canceled by holding the click button, allowing for faster reactions and better control.

Enemy adjustments focus on the Cryptic Horseman, whose Joker reward odds have been improved. The chance to drop a Joker from a Normal variant has been reduced from 5% to 0%, while the Legendary variant has seen its odds increase from 5% to 10%. The Fine, Prime, and Mythic variants remain unchanged at 50%, 20%, and 20% respectively. The Wandering Trader has also received a price adjustment, with costs decreasing across the board from 10 > 20 > 35 > 50 > 65 to 10 > 20 > 30 > 45 > 55, making early-game purchases slightly more accessible.

Progression costs for Blueprints have been reduced to accelerate player growth. Primary and secondary weapon blueprints now cost 8 instead of 12, while utility blueprints cost 4 instead of 6.

Bug Fixes and Technical Improvements

The bulk of the patch is dedicated to bug fixes, with the developers noting that over 100 minor issues have been resolved. Key technical fixes include the restoration of the Gamma setting and HDR functionality, which were previously broken. A frequent GPU crash has been fixed, along with a specific crash on Linux setups using Vulkan. Crashes when starting a mission and frequent disconnection issues have also been addressed.

Audio and visual glitches have been corrected, including late audio playback for cinematics on HDD users, muffled audio on 5.7 surround systems, and excessive volume when multiple enemies die simultaneously. The "Twitch" tab in the settings has been removed temporarily until it is ready for release. The button to open a player's Steam profile in session settings has been fixed, and UI elements are no longer interactable while the minimap is open.

Gameplay-specific bugs have been extensively patched. The Cryptic Horseman no longer spawns in trees or unwalkable areas and does not fall through the floor. Cryptic Dead Eyes no longer move or rotate while frozen and do not spawn inside ceilings or walls. Ally NPCs have a safety net to prevent them from getting stuck. The Anvil storm now correctly overrides older storms if a new one is started. The Lighthouse mission now properly displays Gold Ore and Coyotes for all players, including clients, after completion.

Weapon and Joker interactions have seen numerous fixes. The Minigun no longer stops spinning after shooting when the ADS toggle option is enabled, and its rev sound no longer stops playing if the aim button is held. Knuckles, Banjo, and Lasso no longer require double right-clicks when using the ADS toggle. The Bow inspect function is disabled while charging to prevent visual desync. The Boomerang lifesteal now works correctly, and the Sheriff Star Draw Speed upgrade now properly reduces pre-fire delay rather than just speeding up visuals.

Several Joker cards have been rebalanced or fixed to work as intended. Joker Swift Shot no longer stays permanently active from hip-fire and only triggers while aiming down sights. Joker Relentless now correctly grants +30% damage instead of +10% while below 30% HP. Joker Last Dance now grants +30% movement speed instead of +36% when dropping below 30% HP. Joker Scout’s Honor no longer drains client shields to 0 and starts generating shield as soon as the game begins if no damage is taken. Joker Switchshot now boosts the damage of the entire shotgun blast rather than a single pellet. Joker Riposte now boosts the entire Boomerang throw and shotgun blast instead of just the first damage tick or single pellet.

Other notable Joker fixes include Joker Tin Man no longer granting shield points before reaching full health, Joker Last Stand no longer over-healing clients, and Joker Vampire now working as intended with melee attacks triggering lifesteal and overkill damage no longer counting toward it. Joker Execute now triggers on-kill Jokers and increments kill streaks. Joker Coinflip damage calculations have been corrected, and Joker Ricochet combined with Joker Eagle Lever no longer resets damage stacks on secondary impacts.

Quality of Life and Miscellaneous

Beyond bug fixes, the patch introduces several quality-of-life improvements. Support for Vulkan SM5 has been added, allowing users to enable it via Steam launch options with the flag -vulkan -sm5. Player inventory caching has been implemented to improve CPU performance in menus. Disconnection error messages have been enhanced with specific codes and descriptions, such as "Kicked by the host" or "The ban hammer has spoken."

Character mobility has been improved, with Arizona Jones' base movement speed increased by 29%. Joker Sky Lash no longer stops player momentum. Undroppable Jokers can no longer be obtained in the Refiner. Aiming with the Minigun now slightly decreases the camera field of view by 5 degrees. The volume of the charge sound for the Bow with Joker Overdraw and Joker Ultra Draw has been increased for clarity.

Additional minor adjustments include adding +1 ammo bag on the Cryptic Train and Cryptic Necromancer arenas. The Acid Geyser + Elec and Acid Geyser + Frost combos are now more reliable and display a "COMBO!" indicator. Players can now drop the music disc in the lobby by pressing the interact button. Player emotes on the leaderboard screen now play at the correct angle, preventing the piano emote from obscuring other players. Chat messages can now be sent during the end-screen cinematic. The Cryptic Vulture no longer chases the player to avoid ceiling collisions, and the dome arena has been scaled down accordingly.

This patch represents a significant step in stabilizing Far Far West during its Early Access phase, addressing critical technical issues and refining the gameplay loop. While the AMD GPU issue remains a notable hurdle for some players, the extensive list of bug fixes and balance adjustments suggests a commitment to improving the overall experience. Players are encouraged to continue reporting bugs to help the development team refine the game further.