Kingdom Rush Genesis Updates: Patch 1, Patch 2 and the Royal Ransom Mini-Campaign

Genesis has received two post-launch patches and one announced content drop since its September release. Patch 1 landed on October 6, 2026, Patch 2 — a dedicated balance pass — on October 29, 2026, and the free Royal Ransom mini-campaign arrives on November 17, 2026 with three new stages, two heroes, a new tower and two new spells. Everything below is quoted from Ironhide's own changelogs and news posts, with the exact values they published.

If a strategy article you read elsewhere was written before late October, check it against this page first: several tower costs, skill prices and stage economies have changed.

Patch 1 (October 6, 2026): economy and progression

Ironhide framed Patch 1 as a response to player feedback. The confirmed changes:

• Casual difficulty pays 20% more gold per enemy (×1.2, rounded per enemy). Enemies worth 2 gold — Crow, Spiderling, Skeleton — are unaffected. Normal, Veteran and Impossible income is unchanged.
• Heroes need less XP: reaching level 10 now takes 40% less total XP (120,000 → 72,000). The design goal is a level-10 hero by the end of the campaign, even for heroes you unlock late.
• Spells need less XP at the top: the highest spell level costs 25% less total XP. Spell XP multipliers were also set per mode: ×1.5 in Iron Challenge, ×1.25 in Blitz, and a fixed ×1.1 in Spell Rush.
• 15 unlock thresholds dropped on Steam, measured in stars. The biggest cuts: Ashbite 84 → 64, Drakkan 80 → 54, Illiana 66 → 48, Ignus 58 → 38, Rhodes 40 → 32, Oni 70 → 60, Aspect of Sol 72 → 62. Finishing the campaign with three stars on every stage (54 stars) now unlocks everything up to Drakkan.
• Impossible difficulty now unlocks after completing stage 18 in Campaign on any save slot, instead of the old requirement.
• Stage fixes: stage 3's toughest early waves were eased; stage 7 gained a tower spot near the exit (11 → 12 spots); stage 10 gained one exit spot and unblocked a back-line spot; stage 8's path grid makes Reinforcements blocks easier; stages 11, 15 and 16 had exit grids adjusted so enemies can be hit while still visible.
• Three artillery/nature towers became cheaper and hit harder: Royal Catapult's total cost to level 4 dropped 830 → 780, Dwarven Culverin 900 → 860, Ironbark Treant 880 → 850, with higher damage at every level. Blazing Ball and Fiery Fumes trigger slightly less often to compensate.
• Hero and spell buffs: Rhodes gains movement speed (32 → 40) and +20 health at every level; Gerald's Inspire Courage works while he fights in melee; Bolin's Mine Field now lays mines ahead of him toward incoming enemies; Rain of Fire meteors deal 30–45 → 36–54 damage in a wider 60 → 70 radius.
• Classic Rush received cheaper skills (for example Shrapnel Shot, Death Ray and Polymorph each drop by 150 total gold) and every tower upgrade is active on Impossible.
• More than 50 bug fixes across stages, heroes and towers.

For what these numbers mean for your loadout, see the tower reference and the hero roster.

Patch 2 (October 29, 2026): the balance pass

Patch 2 is a dedicated balance update: it reworks tower and skill costs, retunes several skills, and adds gold to three stingy stages. Ironhide's stated approach: instead of raising gold income everywhere, they lowered the starting cost of many tower skills — sometimes with more expensive levels II and III — so a tower reaches its full potential sooner.

Highlights from the official changelog:

• Royal Catapult fires faster: one shot every 4.75s instead of 5.23s (+10% shots per second), with a small damage reduction per level and a cheaper, bigger Powerball (radius 60 → 70).
• Knights Order was reworked twice: Inspired Protectors now grants 5%/10%/15% armor with no hero nearby (10%/20%/30% with one), and Honor the Fallen triggers on any allied soldier or hero death within range, with a chance to stun for 1 second (10%/20%/30% by level).
• Ironbark Treant's level 4 upgrade costs 300 → 280, its Hay Fever and Gnarly Roots first levels cost 100 instead of 150, and both skills now work in tower and unit modes.
• Wildcat Huntresses: range 175 → 200, respawn 12s → 10s, and stronger Silver Knife and Raining Arrows damage.
• Sunray Master: Minor Elementals scale with skill level — 1, 2 and 3 elementals at levels 1, 2 and 3 — with identical elemental stats at every level.
• Stage gold: stage 2 gains more starting gold, more per-wave gold and one extra tower spot; on stage 14 the cemetery skeletons now give gold; on stage 18 the Magma Elementals Moloch summons now give gold. These three stages keep their difficulty shape but stop being the map's worst economies.
• Additional tuning for Cursed Crossbows, Gold Prospectors, Arcane Forger, Dwarven Culverin, Elven Elite Ranger and Light Priestess (Sanctuary's level 3 armor rises to 35% and its cooldown drops 16s → 12s), plus further bug fixes.

The upgrade planning page explains how to re-baseline your notes after cost changes like these.

Royal Ransom: the free mini-campaign on November 17

Ironhide's announcement (November 5, 2026) describes a bandit story running parallel to the main campaign, unlocked after finishing terrain 1: the princesses of Niroma are kidnapped near Hushwood, and the trail leads to a hidden camp where a younger Kingpin — before he became Linirea's most wanted — is making a name for himself.

What the loot bag contains:

• 3 new stages deep in Hushwood, ending at the bandits' hidden camp.
• 2 new heroes: Osnir, a Hush Clan warrior who rides a mighty stag, and Dalia, King Denas's younger sister, trained by the finest fighters in the realm.
• 1 new tower: Owl Riders, hunters of the Hush Clan who patrol the skies on giant owls.
• 2 new spells: Wild Sage, a forest druid who heals your troops, and Polymorph, which turns enemies into sheep.
• New enemies recruited from the Kingpin's gang.

Availability, as stated in the FAQ: the new stages and the Wild Sage spell are free for everyone; on Steam and Google Play Pass the rest is included as you progress; on the App Store and Google Play, the new heroes, tower and Polymorph are in-app purchases. Ironhide also confirmed another mini-campaign in December and a longer roadmap ahead.

Once Royal Ransom is live we will update the campaign planning guide and the tower and hero pages with its additions after verifying them in game — not before.

FAQ

Is Royal Ransom free?

Partly. Per Ironhide's FAQ, the three new stages and the Wild Sage spell are free for everyone. On Steam and Google Play Pass the heroes, tower and Polymorph spell are included; on the App Store and Google Play they are in-app purchases.

What did Patch 1 change for heroes?

Hero XP to level 10 dropped by 40%, fifteen star-unlock thresholds were reduced (Drakkan 80 → 54, Ashbite 84 → 64), Rhodes received speed and health buffs, and Gerald and Bolin received behavioral fixes.

Do the patches add new towers?

Patch 1 and Patch 2 rebalance the existing 15 towers but add none. The first new tower, Owl Riders, arrives with the Royal Ransom mini-campaign on November 17, 2026.