Valor Mortis Update 1.004 Patch Notes: All Fixes (2026)

What is in Valor Mortis update 1.004

One More Level released the first major title update for Valor Mortis on October 16, 2026, three days after launch. Billed as "a first round of bug fixes and optimization," patch 1.004 (version 1.004.000) is live on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, including the Game Pass version. It targets the two biggest launch complaints — random crashes and progression blockers — and adds a quality-of-life feature that warns PC players about outdated graphics drivers.

This page tracks everything confirmed in the official patch notes, plus the one manual fix the developers recommend for early players. If you are still hitting performance problems after updating, pair this page with our Valor Mortis best PC settings guide.

Progression fixes: Chapter 4, Chapter 12, and a Chapter 5 sidequest

The most important fixes in 1.004 unblock the campaign. Before the patch, some players could not finish the story no matter what they did:

• Chapter 4: progress was not always saved after defeating the boss and watching the cutscene, which in rare cases left players permanently stuck repeating the fight. The save trigger now works correctly.
• Chapter 12: a progression blocker that stopped players from continuing the main story has been resolved.
• Cutscenes and lanterns: several edge cases where cutscenes failed to trigger or the next lantern did not unlock have been fixed.
• Chapter 5 sidequest "In the Name of Art": an issue that could prevent starting or advancing this questline has been fixed.

If you hit a wall in any of these places before the patch, update and reload your save — you should not need to restart the game.

Crash fixes and performance improvements

Valor Mortis launched with widespread performance complaints, and 1.004 takes the first swing at them:

• Fixed several of the most common crashes reported across all platforms.
• Added GPU driver detection on PC: an automatic pop-up now warns you if your graphics drivers are outdated. The studio says updating drivers has produced the biggest performance and stability improvements for players so far.
• Turned down error logging, which could cause minor performance loss in rare cases.
• Fixed graphical issues on Xbox, with more work ongoing.

The developers are still investigating remaining performance reports, and media and players alike expect at least one more hotfix while the launch window continues. Bookmark this page — we will update it with every new patch.

The official fix for stutter if you played the Demo or Playtest

This is the single most useful tip in the patch notes. If you played the Valor Mortis demo or the earlier playtest and now suffer stutters or major frame drops in the full game, delete your old settings file:

AppData\Local\ValorMortis\Saved\Config\Windows\GameUserSettings.ini

Legacy settings from the demo builds can conflict with the release version. Deleting the file makes the game regenerate clean defaults on next launch. After that, re-apply your preferences using the profiles in our PC settings guide.

One combat change: no more free backstab kills

The patch also fixes a stealth exploit: Volunteer enemies could stop attacking entirely after being backstabbed while patrolling, giving you free kills. Backstabs still open fights, but a stabbed Volunteer now fights back properly — so approach patrols with an escape plan.

More Valor Mortis guides

• Valor Mortis tips and tricks — 20+ tips for the early hours
• Valor Mortis beginner guide — early weapon comparisons and first-chapter milestones
• Valor Mortis system requirements — can your rig run it?
• Valor Mortis controls and keybinds — five layout options for controllers