The Slow Update
April 21, 2026 — Every fight just got more tactical.
Up until now, combat on Tarnished Crown had one speed: full sprint. You hit someone, they ran. You got hit, you ran. Fights were decided by who could strafe faster while spamming left-click. That's boring. So we fixed it.
Seven classes now have movement slows baked into their kits. Not a plugin bolted on — each slow is hand-tuned per ability, uses Rust's native Modifier system, and the strongest slow always wins. No stacking ten 5% slows into an immovable player. Clean, predictable, and it changes every fight.
What Changed
Cryomancer — Chill Stacks
The ice mage now does what ice mages are supposed to do. Every cold-damage ability applies a chill stack. One stack = 20% slow. Two = 40%. Three = 70%. Four stacks = full freeze (99% slow). Stacks decay after 5 seconds. The Cryomancer was already the crowd control class — now it actually controls crowds. Ice Nova also applies an instant 99% slow for 2 seconds, because sometimes you just need everyone to stop.
Cleric — Hammer of the Sun
The Cleric's stun got upgraded to a 99% slow + disarm for 3 seconds. Your target can't move and can't swing. Their weapon gets stripped from their hands and returned when it wears off. Three seconds doesn't sound like much until you're the Ninja who just got caught mid-backstab with no weapon and no legs. Post-disarm immunity prevents chain-locking.
Vanguard — Heavy Strikes
Every melee hit from a Vanguard now applies a 50% slow for 1 second (3-second cooldown between procs). You can't kite a Vanguard anymore. They hit you, you slow down, they hit you again. The tank fantasy is complete — if the Vanguard catches you, you're not leaving.
Beastmaster — Venom & Third Hit
Venom spears now apply 50% slow for 3 seconds alongside their poison and bleed. But the real teeth are in the new third-hit passive: land three hits on the same target and they eat a 70% slow for 3 seconds. Your pets pin them down, you finish the job.
Ranger — Venom Bow & Crippling Arrow
Venom Bow applies a 30% slow for 3 seconds on hit — light but persistent. Crippling Arrow is the hard commitment: 50% slow for 4 seconds plus poison. The Ranger's job was always to kite and control distance. Now they have the tools to enforce it.
Ninja — Smoke Bomb
Step into a Ninja's smoke cloud and you get 30% slow for 1.5 seconds, pulsing every second for the full 8-second duration. It's not a hard CC — it's a "you really don't want to be standing here" zone. Combined with Vanish + Backstab, the Ninja now has setup tools, not just burst.
The Rules
Strongest slow wins. If you're hit by a 50% slow and a 30% slow at the same time, you're slowed 50% — not 80%. No slow stacking.
Slows have duration. Every slow has a set timer. When it expires, you're back to full speed instantly.
Chill stacks are the exception. The Cryomancer's chill is the only stacking system — and it has its own 4-tier progression with clear counterplay (break line of sight for 5 seconds).
Disarm returns your weapon. The Cleric's Hammer strips your weapon for 3 seconds, then gives it back. No item loss, no inventory shuffling.
Also in This Update
- • Innate Passives Panel — 37 passives across all 10 classes are now shown in a dedicated panel in your skill tree. No more guessing what your class does passively.
- • Barrel Smasher fix — actually works now.
- • F1 grenades blocked — not medieval. Replaced with beancans.
- • One-time faction change — you get one free switch per wipe if you regret your choice.
- • Spawn protection expires on movement — move 5m from spawn and it drops.
Why This Matters
Before this update, the only counter to getting rushed was "be faster." Now every class has tools to control engagements. Cryomancers lock down areas. Vanguards stick to targets. Clerics peel for their team. Rangers enforce range. Ninjas create chaos zones. Fights have phases now — approach, engage, CC, disengage. That's what an RPG combat system should feel like.
See the full ability details on each class page, or check the changelog for the complete patch notes.