Howdy, partners! Get ready to take your gaming experience to a whole new level with the exciting introduction of the Buff system in Westland Survival! The latest update brings a whole new layer of tactical depth to the game, as food and drinks now play a vital role in enhancing your survival skills, giving the power of permanent and potent temporary bonuses! An expanded list of culinary recipes will keep you well-prepared for the challenges that await in the untamed Wild West. So, saddle up and embark on this spicy adventure as you master the art of survival through the power of delectable buffs!

Major points

Let's briefly cover the key changes so that you don't miss anything, and then we'll dive into the details more thoroughly.

• New buff system — Every meal and drink now temporarily boosts your HP, and may give other bonuses!
• Permanent Buffs — All food and drinks give you a permanent bonus when you eat them for the first time. 
• No more death from hunger or thirst! — Instead, you'll face temporary combat debuffs.
• Heat & Cold — The temperature system has undergone significant changes. Get ready to fight the Heat!
• Cook to be stronger — The new buff system now incorporates a diverse selection of several dozen dishes.
• Combat improvement — Combat and certain gameplay mechanics have been rebalanced to become more engaging.
• Daily Rewards — Your daily rewards have been adjusted to match your game progress, providing more useful items.
• Westland Survival on PC — Google Play version of the game is now available on PC without emulators!

Now, let's talk in more detail about these and other innovations!

New Buff System

Your tactics will now rely on the consumption of food and drinks, each granting various buffs to enhance your character's abilities.

• All types of food and drinks add permanent buffs (when used for the first time) and temporarily increase the maximum health of the character.
• Uncommon food and drinks offer additional temporary bonuses, such as fighting regional challenges or increasing the speed of resource gathering.
• Rare food and drinks provide even greater benefits, enhancing combat parameters in addition to increasing maximum health. They are best consumed during the most challenging battles, such as Canyon Trials, Alliance Gold Rush raids, and fights in the most difficult Bandit camps.

Buff durations

By popular demand your character won't die from hunger or thirst anymore! However, you still need to eat and drink to become stronger and face tough challenges. Each dish offers a dual benefit, providing a permanent buff upon initial consumption and a temporary buff during every consumption. Temporary buff remains active for a specified duration, divided into distinct stages.

• Full Power — the buff is at its maximum strength and lasts for 30 minutes after consuming food or drink.
• Decreasing Bonus — a short period at the end of the buff's effect, during which its impact gradually diminishes to avoid the sudden weakening of the character in combat.
• Neutral — the bonus from food or drink has ceased to have an effect.
• Weakened — the character has been without food or water for over 25 hours and is affected by hunger and/or thirst debuffs.

Please note!
After applying a buff to your character, the timer will continue running in all scenarios, whether you are on a location, the global map, or even offline. If you are planning a lengthy expedition or expect to take breaks from the game, it's essential to carry an adequate supply of food and drinks with you.

Your character can simultaneously receive bonuses from 2 different foods and 1 drink. If you eat more dishes, their effect may:

• Replace one of the already consumed food.
• Extend the duration of the current buff to the maximum if the new food is similar to the one already eaten.

The effects of drinks work similarly, with the only difference being that your character can have a bonus from only one drink at a time.

Hunger and Thirst

Hunger and thirst are now considered debuffs, applied when the character goes without food or drink for an extended period.

• Hunger — If your character goes without any food for 25 hours, their attack power will be reduced. The debuff will be instantly replaced with a buff as soon as the character eats something.
• Thirst — If your character goes without any drink for 25 hours, their healing effectiveness will be reduced. The debuff will be instantly replaced with a buff as soon as the character drinks something.

Now, debuffs only affect your character during battles. No need to worry about your character's condition on the Ranch or in other peaceful locations if you receive an urgent call or step away to make yourself a sandwich.

Cold and Heat

The regional effects system has been improved.

• Cold — Affects the northern region. A character without cold protection will experience a rapid reduction in the duration of the food buff. As soon as the buff disappears, the character starts freezing. The cold is less dangerous now and no longer paralyzes the frozen character. Now, it only significantly slows down the character's movement.
• Heat — the southern region, located beyond the River crossing, now also has its own regional feature. A character lacking heat protection will quickly reduce the duration of the drink buff. Once the buff disappears, the character starts feeling the heat. An overheated character slows down just like when freezing.

There are some ways to counteract cold and heat:

• Appropriate clothing — To fight the cold, you'll need to dress warmly in the north, while in the south, it's advisable to wear clothing suitable for that region's climate. Each piece of regional clothes specifies the amount of cold or heat resistance it provides. 
• Eat Special Food — In the northern regions, Warming Wild Stew will prove useful, while in the south, cooling Iced Tea is essential. By the way, you can discover food that repels mosquitoes or enhances your movement speed, offering protection during your adventures in the Marshlands region as well. 
• You can stop the freezing effect with any food, and the heat effect with any drink. Just remember that if it's not the dishes with the regional buffs stated above, their effect will run down faster than usual.

Interface improvements

With the new buff system, we improved the game interface, making it easier to track the effects on your character. The HP bar now shows changes in your health more clearly, while icons for active buffs and debuffs are conveniently placed below it. A simple tap provides detailed information about all current effects.

Master as a Buffs Chief 

To create an engaging and diverse buff system, we've introduced dozens of new dishes. Preparing these delightful meals requires three different workbenches:

• Campfire — perfect for simple dishes.
• Kitchen — equipped to handle more intricate recipes.
• Culinary Table — a new workbench making complex ingredients from basic ones for uncommon and rare recipes.

All the dishes can be divided into 5 tiers, each representing traditional recipes from different regions of the Wild West. They not only vary in complexity of preparation and ingredient gathering but also offer a diverse culinary experience. 

• Simple food (Tier 1) — The simplest food that anyone can cook on Bonfire.
• Cowboy cuisine (Tier 2) — More complex dishes popular among cowboys.
• Native American cuisine (Tier 3) — The northern Native American tribes' recipes prominently featuring Blueberries, which are now exclusively found in the north. Don't miss the delightful Warming Wild Stew among these delectable dishes.
• Cuisine of Southern States (Tier 4) — Recipes inspired by the dishes popular in the Southern states of the young nation. Most of the food requires Mustard that can be found in Bandit’s Camps, Bandit’s Hideouts, and Neighbors' Bases. Tea was the most characteristic drink of this region, and now the game features three different tea recipes, including refreshing Iced tea! You can find the Tea in regular locations matching its Tier.
• Cajun cuisine (Tier 5) — Recipes of Louisiana region. Complex, hearty dishes with spicy sauce, as well as a variety of coffee recipes! Hot Sauce is guaranteed drops from Bandit Camps, Bandit Hideouts, and Neighbors' Bases. Coffee can be found in regular locations corresponding to its Tier.

Salt and Spices are now a necessary component for most dishes. That’s why they can be found in larger quantities during timer events!

Culinary Table

The new workstation is essential for crafting complex ingredients and semi-finished products required for uncommon and rare dishes. They are:

• Ground meat
• Flour
• Bacon
• Vegetable mix
• Meat broth
• Boudin sausage

Ingredients Storage

There is also a new storage facility called Ingredients Storage that conveniently stores all the meal ingredients. Let’s mention all of them:

• Cactus fruits and Blueberries.
• Semi-finished products like Flour, Ground meat, Boudin, Bacon, Vegetables mix, and Meat broth.
• Regional components like Tea, Coffee, Mustard and Hot sauce.
• Salt and Spices.

Encyclopedia

The Encyclopedia (previously known as Naturalist Desk) now contains all the information about dishes, their ingredients, and bonuses they grant. Building this table is now available right from the start of the game, but you will still have to complete naturalist quests and upgrade the Encyclopedia to get access to the list of tameable animals and baits.

Besides providing valuable information, the Encyclopedia helps you keep track of the dishes you've already tried and the ones you haven't. This knowledge is crucial as the first time you consume a dish, it grants your character a permanent buff!

Alliances

Changes in food mechanics have also impacted alliances.

Saloon:

• Passive Bonus — Extends the duration of food and drink buffs.
• Active Bonus — Grants the player 2 dishes and 1 drink based on the building's tier. Saloon level 1 offers rank 3 dishes, level 2 provides rank 4 dishes, and level 3 grants rank 5 dishes.

Guards:

• Duration — All food now provides the same duration for Guards.
• Please note! — Food bonuses do not buff guards similarly to the character.

Other culinary changes

It is worth mentioning a few more important changes related to food and cooking.

• Cowboy Coffee — the old recipe for cowboy coffee is no longer available. If you had any supplies left, they will be replaced with Candies, which also restore 5 energy points. Additionally, it is no longer possible to make a coffee drink from the Alliance Coffee Bag.
• Raw food — now you can only consume cooked food. It is not possible to eat raw meat, vegetables, semi-finished products, etc.
• Special pockets — Food or its ingredients can no longer be placed in the special pockets of your backpack since it doesn’t heal your character anymore.
• Whiskey no longer provides any permanent or temporary buffs, including protection from the cold. However, you can still get drunk if you consume it; or you can use it as an ingredient in certain recipes.

Tasty Gift

To ensure everyone can fully embrace the new buff system, we've granted all players some food and drinks!

With the introduction of a wide variety of new recipes, certain old food items have been removed from the game. If you had any of these old items, they have been replaced with exciting new alternatives.

Combat rebalance

The introduction of the buffs system and a substantial increase in maximum health at higher levels have had a profound impact on the overall game balance, particularly the combat system. Almost every enemy you encounter in the game has undergone a recalculation of their characteristics. Additionally, various adjustments have been made to the attributes of weapons and armor. As a result, the combat system has become more dynamic and multifaceted, offering players greater tactical flexibility and opportunities for unique approaches. While it's impossible to list all the changes in detail, let's delve into some of the key innovations worth mentioning. 

• Damage increased — At higher levels, opponents have become stronger, dealing more damage than before.
• Durability — Item durability has been increased for high-level items, allowing them to withstand the pressure from stronger adversaries for longer periods. This enhancement ensures that your gear remains more resilient during intense encounters with formidable foes.
• Healing effectiveness has been boosted — Now, infusions, ointments, bandages, and pet crackers restore a higher amount of health points, ensuring a more potent recovery. 
• Low-level locations — The reduced difficulty of the battle.
• Canyon Trials — The reduced difficulty of the early waves in Canyon Trials.
• Pets have been strengthened, with increased health, damage dealt, and healing effects to make them more effective combat allies.
• Opponents on locations now act more cohesively, frequently attacking in groups instead of individually.
• The effectiveness of Rifles against individual enemies has been increased, while shotguns remain effective against groups of 2-3 attackers simultaneously. 
• Backpacks — the infinite speed and spirit boost after level 5 for high-rank backpacks has been removed, as it provided unjustified advantages to their owners.
• Armor Penetration Damage — Starting from Tier 4, both your and your enemy's weapons will now have additional Armor Penetration Damage, allowing them to bypass armor. This enhancement will make battles more engaging and thrilling, plus it reduces the impact of losing one of the four armor items.

Improved debuff system

The existing debuffs in the game have been seamlessly integrated into the new Buff system, ensuring clear visibility whenever your character is affected. Let's take a moment to remind you of the additional debuffs, apart from the previously mentioned Hunger, Thirst, Cold and Heat, that can be applied to your character:

• Bleeding — gradual health loss over a period of time after being wounded.
• Stunning — inability to move and attack.
• Intoxication — impaired movement coordination after excessive whiskey consumption.
• Slowing — reduced movement speed.
• Healing Debuff — can occur from mosquito bites, affecting the effectiveness of healing.

The extensive rebalance and buff system have affected various aspects of the game. We have put considerable effort into carefully calculating all the consequences, and we will continue to monitor the balance and make further adjustments as needed after the release. We will closely heed your feedback and keep refining the game balance to ensure that battles remain engaging, and their challenges evoke excitement and a sense of accomplishment in victory. 

More relevant Daily Rewards

The daily rewards have undergone a complete overhaul, addressing your long-standing requests from you. 

Now, you will not lose a single reward if you miss the day or more. And what’s even more important, these rewards are tailored to match the player's game progress and are divided into three distinct groups:

• Newcomer Rewards — Perfect for those who recently joined the game. The entire cycle spans 14 days.
• Experienced Cowboy Rewards — Geared towards more seasoned players. These rewards continue until the character reaches level 80 and unlocks the Southern region (after the River crossing repair).
  
  They include silver coins, important for the food and fiber production cycle seeds, powerful weapons, special cooking components, and much more. The full cycle lasts 28 days and repeats until the conditions for moving to Veteran Rewards are met.
• Veteran Rewards — Specifically designed to meet the expectations of the most experienced players who have reached level 80 and ventured into the Southern region to help both in fights and developing the Ranch.
  
  These rewards offer silver coins, high-tier weapons, high-tier food, ‘Happy paw’ pet food, pet crackers, additional blueprint tubes dynamite, sugar, and high-quality tools. The full cycle also lasts 28 days.

Transitioning to the new calendar requires the completion of the current active calendar first.

Google Play on PC

Exciting news for all PC lovers! Now you can enjoy a seamless gaming experience on your PC through the Google Play platform. All you have to do is download the application, and you're ready to dive into the Wild West world from the comfort of your desktop. 

The best part is that your progress from your mobile device will be automatically carried over, so you can continue your adventures without missing a beat. Get ready to embark on thrilling quests and build your frontier legacy in the rugged landscape of the Wild West!

Other Improvements

• Optimization — A set of technical enhancements aimed at reducing memory consumption for low-end devices.
• Wild Boar (Tier 4) — In the southern region, powerful new tier 4 wild boars have been spotted! While the bait to tame them hasn't been discovered yet, players can already breed these wild boars by crossing wild pigs!
• Horse gender — Now, by popular demand, you can easily identify the gender of horses available for sale in Silvertone. Just approach the horse you're interested in and open its interface window to check its gender (regenerated every time you re-enter Silverton). In the future, this feature will be added to the Arabella Gallopridge interface as well. 
• Interface Enhancements — Numerous improvements to the game's interfaces and visuals have been implemented.
• The well in Silvertone (when repaired) now grants a full canteen on a daily basis.
• Improved sounds — Some sounds were changed accordingly to players’ feedback.

Share your thoughts!

The introduction of the new buff system and rebalancing has enriched the survival atmosphere and added strategic depth to the game. This rebalance also opens up possibilities for adding new tiers in the future. We highly value your feedback! As we continue to refine and enhance the buff system and other gameplay elements, your input plays a significant role in shaping the game and ensuring it provides the best possible gaming experience for all players. Rest assured that your voices are heard, and together, we will continue to build a thriving and enjoyable Wild West adventure. Thank you for being part of this journey with us!