The first major Balatro patch is here, as 1.0.1 comes to PC in an experimental form for everyone who owns the game to test, if they want to. With plenty to sink your teeth into, the biggest changes in 1.0.1 come in the form of reduced antes making the game a bit easier, alongside some big changes to the later Orange and Gold difficulty stakes.
Keep in mind that this is just the first, experimental version of the Balatro patch. Developer ‘LocalThunk’ says they want to do an extended public test before it goes live “in about a week.” You can test the roguelike game’s 1.0.1 changes for yourself if you’re on PC, Mac, or Steam Deck by going to Properties > Betas > Beta Participation and selecting ‘public_experimental.’
So, what does this Balatro patch actually do? Well, while it makes loads of sweeping changes across the board for the poker roguelike, there are some big progression improvements and some that should see you have an easier time at higher difficulty stakes.
First up, ante scaling has changed for a few stakes, and across the board, this means you’ll need fewer points to progress through specific rounds. We’ve listed the changes below.
- Changed ante scaling in white stake
- Ante 3: 2800 to 2000
- Ante 4: 6000 to 5000
- Changed ante scaling in green stake
- Ante 2: 1000 to 900
- Ante 3: 3200 to 2400
- Ante 4: 9000 to 7000
- Changed ante scaling in purple stake:
- Ante 2: 1200 to 1000
- Ante 3: 3600 to 3000
- Ante 4: 10000 to 8000
- Ante 5: 25000 to 22000
On top of this, the Orange stake’s increasing pack cost of $1 per ante has been scrapped, with a new Perishable mechanic added instead. Here, Jokers have a 30% chance to get a Perishable sticker, which disables them after five rounds. The final difficult stake, Gold, has also changed: you’ll no longer have one less hand to play with, and instead, Jokers have a 30% chance to get the rental sticker, which makes them cost $1 upfront and $3 every round.
If you’re busy hunting Legendary Joker cards to round out your collection, until LocalThunk adds more that is, you’ll be glad to hear that the first Legendary Joker on any Gold Stake random seed will be one that you’ve not won Gold Stake with yet. This means you can find those missing Jokers just a touch easier.
Those of you playing through the early game will get a nice change too though, as the first shop in every single run will now contain a Buffoon pack, meaning you can always buy one for more Joker cards. Upcoming blinds and tags can now be seen in the shop immediately after defeating a boss blind or cashing out, alongside a litany of smaller change to cards, items, and Jokers.
There’s also a really nice reduced motion option, which will stop cards from jiggling and prevent the background from swirling too. You can find the full patch notes in the experimental channel of the official Balatro Discord.
If you were initially as confused as I was by the Balatro Blank Voucher we’ve broken down exactly what it does for you, otherwise we’ve got some excellent card games to try after you’ve successfully pulled yourself away from the poker roguelike.
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