Defend The Train Update 0.8.5 arrived on 28 October 2026 with weapon and class balance changes, Halloween content and fixes for Classic mode. Two hotfixes followed on 28 and 29 October. The important correction is that the Gunslinger Leverage penalty introduced in the first release was reverted in 0.8.5b.
Siphoner, Silent Partner, Peacemaker, Judge, Mini-Dragon and Scapegoat all received adjustments. The developer’s before-and-after figures are below, followed by the bug fixes and the changes that were reversed in the hotfixes.
Defend The Train Update 0.8.5 weapon changes
These figures come from Banded Top Hat Games’ original 28 October changelog. Both the starting stats and upgrade limits matter when comparing weapons, particularly where a higher base damage comes with fewer upgrades.
| Item | Before | After 0.8.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Pressure starting EXP | 5,000 | 10,000 |
| Scapegoat Suspicion Gain | 6% | 8% |
| Scapegoat Suspicion Loss | 3% | 2% |
| Siphoner damage | 6 | 5 |
| Siphoner damage upgrade price | 200 | 300 |
| Dead-Man’s Gambit firing interval | 1 sec | 0.8 sec |
| Peacemaker projectile speed | 300 | 400 |
| Peacemaker fan spread | 1 | 0.6 |
| Silent Partner reload buff | 40% | 20% |
| Silent Partner duration upgrade step | 2 sec | 1 sec |
| Silent Partner ammo reserve upgrade cap | 3 | 2 |
| Judge damage | 3 | 4 |
| Judge damage upgrade cap | 4 | 3 |
| Mini-Dragon damage | 2 | 3 |
| Mini-Dragon damage upgrade cap | 3 | 2 |
Siphoner’s damage fell from 6 to 5 and its damage upgrade now costs 300 instead of 200. Silent Partner’s reload buff was halved, while its upgrade steps were reduced. Judge and Mini-Dragon gained base damage but have lower damage-upgrade limits. Check both columns before deciding how to spend upgrades.
Gunslinger Leverage in Defend The Train Update 0.8.5
The original patch added a penalty for completely missing with Gunslinger’s Leverage, alongside sound feedback for meter gain and loss. But on 29 October, version 0.8.5b reverted the Leverage track-hit penalty. The extra sound feedback is still listed; the penalty is not part of the latest hotfixed rules.
Dead-Man’s Gambit now fires every 0.8 seconds instead of one second and displays its critical-damage threshold. Peacemaker’s bullet speed increased from 300 to 400, with its fan spread reduced from 1 to 0.6. The result is a faster projectile and tighter spread, without a listed increase to base damage.
Defend The Train Update 0.8.5a hotfix
The 28 October 0.8.5a hotfix stopped Pack-A-Punch from granting Classic boosts incorrectly, fixed Ammo Bag uses resetting when picked up and repaired the missing texture on the Broom weapon skin’s viewport. It also removed Thundergun from Kill contracts, not from the game.
Pressure also starts with 10,000 EXP instead of 5,000. Scapegoat’s Suspicion gain rose from 6% to 8%, while its loss dropped from 3% to 2%. Those class changes matter just as much as the weapon damage numbers for anyone adjusting an existing setup.
Defend The Train Update 0.8.5b hotfix
Version 0.8.5b fixed enemy perks appearing in Classic, the healing hitmarker setting not working and misplaced Halloween adverts. It also updated the Gallery and removed the newly introduced Leverage penalty.
Banded Top Hat Games says the 0.8.5b fixes are available in new servers. If you’re still seeing a Classic perk or healing-hitmarker issue in an older session, try joining a new server before checking again.
Other Defend The Train Update 0.8.5 fixes
The main update fixes Wizard hit detection and hitboxes, overly short melee hit cooldowns, enemies falling between train gaps and kamikaze explosion hitboxes. Difficulty no longer affects vehicle speed scaling, and Classic’s Heal Gun can now earn EXP from corpses.
Other fixes include Thundergun autofiring at vehicles on mobile, Kalashnikov’s spread-bar display, Deflector moving the mouse position and Gasoline’s duration on direct hits. The no-healing icon also now takes Primaries Only mode into account.
What does the Halloween update add?
Defend The Train Update 0.8.5 introduced the limited Swamp track in Endless, new character and weapon skins, styles, badges, an emote and Classic cosmetics. The event ends on 27 November 2026. A skin is awarded after the event if you finish Swamp alive.
For the Swamp skin, event deadline and full cosmetics list, see our Defend The Train Halloween 2026 guide. For weapon balance, remember to use the updated 0.8.5b rules, especially the reverted Gunslinger penalty.
Related Guides
Official source: Banded Top Hat Games: Defend The Train 0.8.5, 0.8.5a and 0.8.5b changelog.
