- [Legacy Context]: Build 1.85 served as the foundational launch for Age of Sorcery: Chapter 2, introducing the Witch Hunt encounter and the first major pivot toward bounty-hunting mechanics.
- [Pet Meta History]: While this update famously granted a 233% DPS boost to Gorillas, modern players should note these stats were later normalized in the 2025 “Age of Heroes” global rebalance.
- [Inventory Standards]: The expansion of the Apothecary Cabinet to a 40-slot container remains the baseline standard for storage efficiency in 2026 server builds.
For those navigating the rugged wastes of the Exiled Lands, few moments were as transformative as the arrival of Age of Sorcery: Chapter 2. Known colloquially as Update 1.85 on legacy console builds, this patch didn’t just add content—it fundamentally altered the power dynamics of survival. From the terrifying emergence of the Witch Hunt encounter to a radical re-envisioning of animal companions, 1.85 laid the groundwork for the high-level sorcery rituals we master in 2026.
The Evolution of Sorcery: From Witch Hunts to Modern Rituals
Looking back from the current 2026 meta, the “Witch Hunt” encounter introduced in this update was the prototype for modern cooperative world events. At the time, it forced players to track down rogue sorcerers for bounties, a mechanic that has since evolved into the sophisticated thrall-sacrifice systems seen in more recent expansions like Conan Exiles Update v2.17. The 1.85 patch notes also detailed critical fixes for the Circle of Power, ensuring that ritual VFX would no longer persist indefinitely after a structure was dismantled.
Pet Meta: The Great Gorilla Shift
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the December 2022 update was the “Great Pet Rebalance.” In an effort to make companions more viable, Funcom issued a massive 233% DPS boost to Gorillas and a 200% boost to Mammoths. Conversely, the once-dominant Sabretooth saw a 40% reduction in effectiveness. While these specific numbers were later tweaked in the Conan Exiles Update 1.93, the 1.85 patch established the philosophy that no pet should remain the “alpha” forever.
Legacy Build 1.85: Full Patch Notes
Below are the official archived details for the Age of Sorcery: Chapter 2 update, as originally documented by Funcom. These changes remain active on legacy server branches and continue to define the core mechanics of the 1.8x versioning era.
Performance and Stability
- Fixed a large number of crashes and stability issues for improved game consistency.
- Reduced hitching when opening the settings menu on consoles.
- Optimized how Encounters (formerly Events) load and are stored in game memory.
- Improved performance when despawning the Ice Bridge spell effect.
Combat & Sorcery Adjustments
- New Encounter: The “Witch Hunt” has been added. Locate and capture sorcerers for bounty rewards.
- Invisibility Update: Casting Invisibility now removes the player from the “hate list” of nearby enemies.
- Raise Dead: Followers summoned via the Raise Dead ritual now have a reduced inventory size of 5 and always have 0 armor.
- Ritual Costs: The Abyssal Armor ritual now requires 3 heavy armor paddings (up from 1).
- PVP Building Damage: It is now possible to enable both Time-Restrict PVP and Dynamic Building Damage settings simultaneously.
Building and Placeable Fixes
- Apothecary Cabinet: Now serves as a 40-slot container, significantly increasing storage density for alchemists.
- Construction Hammer: Fixed an issue where the hammer would lose functionality when swapped directly from another placeable.
- Rotation Logic: Pillars can now be placed with precise 0-90-180-270 degree rotations.
- Fence Foundations: Can now be attached to the bottom of ceilings, provided they maintain a connection to the landscape below.
Crafting and General Quality of Life
- Repair Logic: Items with less than 1 durability (but not yet broken) can now be repaired.
- Papyrus Replacement: All recipes previously requiring papyrus scrolls now utilize plant fiber.
- Bazaar Preview: Updated the Battle Pass and Bazaar UIs to allow for better mesh previews on the player’s character.
- Visual Polish: New animations for unsheathing katanas and improved female-specific combat running animations across all weapon types.
As we continue to track the evolution of survival titles, the 1.85 update remains a testament to the game’s shift toward the “Age of” seasonal model. For more recent technical audits, see our breakdown of the Crimson Desert Update v1.05.01 or explore the 2026 meta in our latest Marathon Analysis.
