# Update 9.3 Patch Notes **URL:** \ **Category:** Official News\ **Created:** [July 12, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946 "2026-07-12T22:41:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![cheshirecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@cheshirecat](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/cheshirecat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/127 "2026-07-17T14:43:10Z")
Can’t believe this is intentional! Personally, I would say this is a newly introduced bug. And it really hinders guild war. ---
**Author:** ![Eika](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/eika/32/103088_2.png) [@Eika](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Eika)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 3:54pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/128 "2026-07-17T15:54:54Z")
> [@cheshirecat](#): > > And it really hinders guild war. Aren’t the bug there for everyone, so it is equal for everyone? I am just asking. ---
**Author:** ![cheshirecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@cheshirecat](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/cheshirecat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 4:45pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/129 "2026-07-17T16:45:49Z")
True, but that does not make it alright! Changing traits on your team in response to what the opponent has set is now no longer possible. ---
**Author:** ![Febby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a87d85/32.png) [@Febby](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Febby)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/130 "2026-07-17T20:15:44Z")
![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/gemsofwar/original/3X/4/6/46671315a0649918775253aabecba5f9449a9914.jpeg) I mean, 3 side quests all with traitstones (not even arcane ones!), explore rewards definitely need to be reworked/rebalanced. Scaling them by difficulty aswell maybe? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Risa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@Risa](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Risa)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 8:38pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/131 "2026-07-17T20:38:57Z")
Back in time I needed traitstones, runic ones (especially red and yellow) were much more in need than arcane ones. ---
**Author:** ![Shzzu](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/shzzu/32/100002_2.png) [@Shzzu](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Shzzu)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 2:16am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/132 "2026-07-18T02:16:25Z")
Aha, and those who do need Traitstones don’t even get side quests, cos them ain’t strong enough for high Explore ---
**Author:** ![Risa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@Risa](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Risa)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 6:07am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/133 "2026-07-18T06:07:05Z")
You don’t need E16 to access side quests. E12 is okay. Even E2 has chance to encounter side quest, just lower chance. ---
**Author:** ![Febby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a87d85/32.png) [@Febby](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Febby)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 10:13am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/134 "2026-07-18T10:13:18Z")
Exactly this, E13-16 are basically for endgame players and those players definitely don’t need runic traitstones… ---
**Author:** ![STUB](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/stub/32/74879_2.png) [@STUB](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/STUB)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 12:08pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/135 "2026-07-18T12:08:55Z")
Feel like tbere should be a way to siphon off excess mythstones they seem to stack up pretty quick.. ![Screenshot_20260718-130340](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/gemsofwar/original/3X/e/f/ef15a7e598e5b7f92b0286b44f19324ecc2d8cfd.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Kezef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Kezef](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Kezef)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 1:02pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/136 "2026-07-18T13:02:31Z")
> [@STUB](#): > > Feel like tbere should be a way to siphon off excess mythstones they seem to stack up pretty quick.. I feel the same way, but my solution was to stop doing Side Quests as frequently once I completed the required slog for the trophy. I get through an E16 cycle more quickly, and it gradually spends down my pile of Mythstones, especially if I simultaneously ignore the lantern regions. ---
**Author:** ![fugan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@fugan](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/fugan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/137 "2026-07-19T22:27:23Z")
I see 8 shiny dust as an insult, same as making people wait through the animations. It was done intentionally and I hope peoples spending will reflect that. ---
**Author:** ![Crow](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/crow/32/44074_2.png) [@Crow](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Crow)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2026, 11:09pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/138 "2026-07-19T23:09:55Z")
Yeah the shiny dust is…just an extra. You need 70/75 e16 explore battles to create a token. ---
**Author:** ![Kezef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Kezef](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Kezef)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 12:39am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/139 "2026-07-20T00:39:14Z")
Right now, it’s the only reliable way to farm Shiny Dust and to do so in unlimited quantities so long as you put the effort in. It’s not perfect, or anywhere in the broad neighborhood of the same, but it’s still an improvement over the previous _status quo_. ---
**Author:** ![Zuul-Emo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/67e7ee/32.png) [@Zuul-Emo](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Zuul-Emo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 2:35am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/140 "2026-07-20T02:35:20Z")
One thing I don’t understand. Before the update, when we wanted to play explore, we had to hit the explore tab (press triangle on PS), then select difficulty, etc. Now, when we want to play explore, we don’t have that button press, just immediately select difficulty or start a battle. BUT, before the update, if we wanted to do anything else, like tasks (L3), crystal exchange (R1), or Kingdom Population menu (R2) we just did it. Now, none of those work, unless we exit out of explore, which now has a set tab (L1). We can still do Trials (Square), set the kingdom as home (L2), and bring up the kingdom info (R3), all without hitting the tab (L1) to exit explore. So, firstly, what is the point of the tab that exits explore??? It takes us back to the kingdom quest, so maybe at low levels it does serve some purpose, but it really seems pointless to me. Second, why aren’t the buttons/tabs consistent??? Why are some locked while explore is available and others are not? I can’t tell if that’s a bug, terrible design, or what. But it’s bad. Very bad. Thirdly, currently, we just got an extra button press for half the stuff, in return for removing a button press for explore. Does that seem like an improvement? It doesn’t to me. Kindly remove that extra press. - When you open the kingdom, just have every tab/button work. It’s simple. Seriously, why is it every time there’s a UI change, it’s so obvious you don’t play the game? It never makes sense from the POV of someone playing regularly, and nothing seems to be consistent, sensible and informative. EDIT: Oh, and if you open trials, and then exit trials, you find yourself on a weird in-between screen. It shows the quest map, not explore map, but you’re still locked out like you’re in explore. You can hit the explore tab (triangle) to go back to that explore map, or the exit explore tab (L1) which moves some fog and stuff around to somehow unlock the other buttons. ---
**Author:** ![Darklord1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea5d25/32.png) [@Darklord1](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Darklord1)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 4:26am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/141 "2026-07-20T04:26:34Z")
Given leveling the kingdoms adds a plus shiny dust amount I would have expected that to be included so if the base is 8 and the kingdom is +8 surely we should get 16, ---
**Author:** ![Zuul-Emo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/67e7ee/32.png) [@Zuul-Emo](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Zuul-Emo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 4:31am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/142 "2026-07-20T04:31:03Z")
> [@Darklord1](#): > > if the base is 8 and the kingdom is +8 surely we should get 16 Pretty sure I remember them explicitly stating that bonus only applies to shiny dust returned from troops in that kingdom, when you get shiny tokens for them but they’re already max shiny. It would make more sense for it to apply to shiny dust from eternal dragon chests, but seems like that might not happen. ---
**Author:** ![MIXAH](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/mixah/32/76447_2.png) [@MIXAH](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/MIXAH)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 11:58am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/143 "2026-07-20T11:58:15Z")
Honestly, I came back a few months ago was enjoying it relatively… however the new animations, and the literal hopeless feeling of actually making inches in progression, I’ve now hung up the game for good. Been a great ride. ---
**Author:** ![NerdieBirdie](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/nerdiebirdie/32/103793_2.png) [@NerdieBirdie](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/NerdieBirdie)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/144 "2026-07-20T20:28:31Z")
> [@MIXAH](#): > > Honestly, I came back a few months ago was enjoying it relatively… however the new animations, and the literal hopeless feeling of actually making inches in progression, I’ve now hung up the game for good. > > Been a great ride. Each to their own, but I’m surprised by this. I feel like 9.2 and 9.3 have made long-term progression much more achievable. Each time I get a new troop, level a shiny, get a new pet, etc., I am making progress towards kingdom prestige. It’s slow, yes, but I enjoy it more than the old system of waiting for ages to get enough books of deeds to upgrade. Plus, 9.3 making shiny dust farmable and E16 giving badges rather than tokens means every explore run is directly contributing to progress as well, instead of hitting your head against a brick wall hoping a merchant selling deeds will fall out. ---
**Author:** ![ESR77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6bbea6/32.png) [@ESR77](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/ESR77)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/145 "2026-07-21T00:23:20Z")
No way this was intentional. Currently this is a game crashing bug on the consoles. A message with a 20 Gem apology gift was sent a day after the update warning us to try our best to avoid looking at hero traits since it would cause a hard crash (which I can confirm happened to me a couple times). ---
**Author:** ![Zuul-Emo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/67e7ee/32.png) [@Zuul-Emo](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Zuul-Emo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2026, 3:35am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946/146 "2026-07-21T03:35:12Z")
> [@Zuul-Emo](#): > > Based on that, I’m gonna be working out if they’re even worth doing, as compared to skipping and doing another explore run instead. 1 run = 4 battles + mini-boss + boss (ignoring mimics) = 6 battles 1 full run = 4 battles +3 side + MB + B (ignoring mimics) = 9 battles Based on doing E16 explore runs with a lantern, in a kingdom that gives 20% mythstone bonuses. Values are aproximates, since there’s a small amount of variance. Side = 24 mythstones Mini-boss gives 220 Run = 220/6 = 36.7 stones per battle Full run = (220 + (24x3)) / 9 = 32.4 stones per battle So, if you don’t care anything about the other rewards (I.E. the side battles are offering traitstones or whatever), you’re better off skipping the side quests. But if you want those rewards, they’re worth doing. It’s just that you get more mythstones per battle if you skip all side quests. Also, if your main focus is shiny dust, you’ll get it faster by skipping side quests and just doing the main battles each run. Interesting. If anyone wants to double check my maths and ensure I’m not messing this up somewhere, that would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. 😁 [Previous page](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946.md?page=6) [Next page](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/update-9-3-patch-notes/89946.md?page=8)