Nighthawks Patch 1.2 Adds Steam Trading Cards and Refines Urban Predator Mechanics

Nighthawks developer 2nd Dinner has rolled out Patch 1.2, addressing a swath of community feedback, cleaning up lingering bugs, and introducing some long-requested quality-of-life adjustments. The update is live now, bringing fixes to everything from progression-blocking issues to specific balance tweaks for the game’s urban survival systems.

Refining the Urban Predator Experience

One of the most notable changes involves the Hunting mechanic. The developers have clarified that Hunting is designed to be a wandering search for opportunities rather than a point-and-click fast travel system. To balance this, the act of Hunting now generates additional Suspicion and Infamy. Players struggling with these rising levels can manage them by speaking to a contact on the police force. The team has also tweaked the Tainted Blood mechanic to trigger less frequently when feeding on humans, specifically in the labyrinthine settings where it was previously causing issues.

Combat and character builds have seen some shifts as well. The team confirmed a slight nerf to various traits and item boosts. While the studio notes this isn’t a massive overhaul, it may cause temporary issues if a player’s current gear exceeds the new requirements for their level. In these cases, players are advised to keep using the equipped items until they choose to swap them out. Furthermore, the ‘Urban Champion’ achievement is now easier to earn, as it no longer requires clearing entire enemy groups, instead tracking only a set number of total victories.

Narrative and Progression Fixes

For players focused on the story, several questline adjustments have been implemented. The ‘Doll House’ quest no longer traps players behind a narrative barrier if they find the contents disturbing, allowing them to abandon the investigation early—though the developers warn this won’t lead to a happy ending. Additionally, the ‘Vampires Below’ quest now provides clearer directions to the feral nest, and ‘The King’s Secret’ allows for a second hospital stakeout if the player brings an appropriately skilled character.

Technical adjustments include a fix for Linux handheld users who were being incorrectly identified as Steam Deck devices, causing input issues. Players can now use the ‘-forcelinux’ argument to bypass the check. On the lighter side, the game now supports Steam Trading Cards and badges for those looking to customize their profiles.

Why it matters

This update is a major win for players who have hit progression snags or found certain mechanics, like the ‘Urban Champion’ achievement, to be unfairly punishing. By softening some of the more rigid quest requirements and providing better guidance for investigation missions, the experience becomes much smoother for those who want to focus on their path as an urban predator without worrying about getting stuck by a bug or a closed story door.

If you have been waiting for achievements like ‘Max Wealth’ or ‘Prestige’ to trigger, this patch should retroactively award them at your Sanctuary at the start of the next night, provided you have a save file from the relevant point in your journey.