Patch 91.6 — Post-Launch Balance & Fixes
Complete Patch 91.6 notes for Tides of Fortune — Hand Cannon buff, ship structure limits, Sloop balance, ship physics fixes, Tidepup corrections, and treasure system improvements.
Patch Overview
Client v91.6 (Steam, July 9, 2026) is the first major post-launch patch after Tides of Fortune's July 3 debut. Server version v91.8 synchronized clients and servers across platforms. While the headline content update introduced Lumina to Dragontopia, Tides of Fortune received extensive balance tuning, ship physics optimization, and bug fixes that significantly improve the naval experience.
This patch addresses community feedback from launch week: Hand Cannon felt underpowered for its role, Sloops dominated PvP speed meta, ship structure limits felt restrictive for base-building captains, and numerous Shipyard and treasure bugs disrupted core loops. Studio Wildcard responded with targeted fixes rather than waiting for the August Galleon update.
Weapon & Combat Balance
Hand Cannon damage increased by 300%. The close-quarters deck-clearing weapon now delivers on its design promise — massive knockback and lethal point-blank damage against boarding enemies. See our updated Hand Cannon guide for revised combat tactics.
Grapeshot ammo crafting requirements adjusted to be more reasonable, reducing the resource burden for captains who rely on Hand Cannon defense during boarding actions.
Fixed Hand Cannon having no water interaction when hitting water surfaces. Fixed Corrosive Ship Cannonball missing icon, name, and description.
Fixed Ship Skill Smokescreen not working against Outpost NPC Pirate Ships. NPC Pirate Ship inventories are no longer accessible to players.
NPC Pirate Ships and Outpost Towers now target Rafts and can be damaged by player-built Cannons using Regular Cannonballs.
Players can now fire cannons while in first-person view on the ship wheel for more immersive naval combat.
Ship Balance Changes
Sloop max speed and steering force reduced by approximately 10%. This balance adjustment addresses launch-week feedback that Sloops were too dominant in chase and escape scenarios. The Sloop remains the fastest vessel class but no longer outruns Brigantines by an overwhelming margin.
Structure limits raised: Brigantine structure limit increased to 200 (from lower launch values). Sloop structure limit increased to 75. These changes enable more elaborate floating base builds ahead of the August Galleon update, which will introduce up to 4x structure placement scaling.
Ship physics optimized and buoyancy improved across all vessel classes. Reduced desync while piloting, fixed structures appearing invisible on ships, and corrected damage overlay display on ship decks.
Shipyard & Docking Fixes
Fixed Shipyard not correctly checking for obstruction when placing. Fixed docked ships being destroyed too easily from the Shipyard. Fixed ships teleporting to previous dock location when launching.
Fixed custom keybindings preventing ship functionality. Fixed Steam gamepad controls not working with custom keyboard/mouse keybindings.
Fixed newly crafted ships not auto-collecting floating cargo. Fixed ships crafted at Shipyard staying visually anchored in Singleplayer after moving.
Repair resources now displayed on Shipyard repair UI. Cannon selection pulse disabled — selected cannon glow is now static for cleaner HUD.
Treasure & Economy Fixes
Fixed Treasure Map Bottles being lumped with generic loot crates when using the Treasure Hunter skill — maps now correctly separate from standard crate loot.
Improved Bounty Board map-specific creature whitelisting and blacklisting for more relevant contract generation.
Fixed inability to equip the Shovel when owning Tides of Fortune. Fixed Hammock Skin being automatically awarded on Tides of Fortune ownership.
Adjusted various Tides of Fortune skill descriptions for clarity. Fixed Wisp of Industry skill being activatable while seated.
Creature Fixes (Tides of Fortune)
Fixed Tidepup not retaining XP once evolving. Fixed missing "Ready To Evolve" VFX on shoulder-mounted Tidepup in first-person view. Fixed shoulder dino HUD overlapping with shoulder-mounted Tidepup.
Genesis untameable ocean dino spawners no longer spawn close to shores or in playable underwater areas, reducing unwanted encounters near harbor bases.
Post-Publication Hotfixes
Several fixes were added after the initial Patch 91.6 publication: custom-painted structures now display correctly with cosmetic mods attached, structure cosmetics no longer appear as black or flickering, PlayStation mod-related crashes resolved, and an exploit allowing vehicles to be healed by dino abilities was patched.
A one-time Ferox cleanup addressed an exploit that granted unintended advantages. Studio Wildcard also provided character restoration updates for players affected by the Official Network rollback — approximately 95% of reported characters restored by July 10.
Genesis Ocean & General Fixes
Fixed rain on the Genesis Ocean biome not refilling water stat or containers — a critical survival fix for offshore voyages.
Fixed HLNA Ocean Teleports (NE, N, E, W) all teleporting to the same island. Fixed player location inaccuracies on the Genesis Map.
Fixed Aquarium orbit cam rotation when tapping the structure. Revised Aquarium SFX settings. Skill Tree Menu hotbar highlight now shows appropriate tree color when dragging active skills.
Fixed other tribes stealing Outpost mission loot with ships on PvE servers.