Hollowed Oath Patch 28 Adds Oathbound Skill Trees

Hollowed Oath has reached its 28th patch, and this one gives testers a lot to work with.

The throwback-styled MMO has been steadily filling in its gaps one update at a time, and patch 28 is a meaty one. It brings new talent trees for every class, a test-ready zone, a pass over leveling and progression, better quest guidance, and controller support that is now close to finished. None of these is a flashy headline on its own. Together, they show a game that is starting to look less like a prototype and more like something you could actually settle into.

Oathbound Skill Trees Take Center Stage

The biggest addition is the Oathbound skill tree system. Each class now gets its own customizable talent path, built from three kinds of nodes: active, passive, and choice.

That mix matters. Active nodes suggest new abilities to slot into your rotation, passive nodes point to the steady stat and effect bonuses that quietly shape a build, and choice nodes are where players have to commit to one direction over another. It is the choice nodes that tend to give a talent system its personality, because they are where two players of the same class can end up playing very differently.

The developers also refer to these builds as "Oathlines," which is how the controller notes describe putting your character together. It is a fitting bit of naming for a game literally called Hollowed Oath, and it hints that the talent system is meant to be part of the game's identity rather than a menu tucked away in a corner.

Rattlewarren Opens Its Doors to Testers

Alongside the new trees, the team has moved the Rattlewarren zone into what it calls a "functional" state. That is a careful choice of word. It does not mean the zone is final, but it does mean testers can now go in and explore it properly.

For a game in testing, that kind of step is where the real feedback starts. A zone on a roadmap is a promise. A zone players can walk through is something they can poke holes in.

Leveling, Progression and Quest Hints

Patch 28 also rebalances leveling and progression. The source does not break down the specific numbers, but the intent is clear enough: the team is tuning how players move through the game, which naturally becomes more important once new talent paths are added on top of it.

Quest guidance has been improved too, with hints that help players figure out their next step. This is a small change that could make a big difference. Old-school design often leaves players to work things out for themselves, and that can be part of the charm, but there is a fine line between mystery and simply being lost. Hints are a sensible way to stay on the right side of it.

Controller Support Is Almost Ready

Gamepad players get perhaps the most practical upgrade. According to the team, controller support "moved from basic navigation to nearly production-ready controls." In practice, that means you can get through character creation, manage your bags, and build your Oathlines without reaching for the mouse.

That list covers the parts of an MMO that are usually the most awkward on a controller. Moving and fighting are one thing. Inventory screens and talent menus are where gamepad support often falls apart, so seeing those named specifically is encouraging.

Our Take

Patch 28 suggests Hollowed Oath is shifting from building basic systems to building depth. A talent system with real choices, a new zone, and progression tuning are the kinds of features that decide whether players stick around past the first few evenings, rather than whether the game runs at all.

It also fits a wider pattern. Smaller, retro-leaning MMOs have been finding an audience lately, from Monsters & Memories entering early access to projects like Camelot Unchained expanding its archetypes during testing. The common challenge is keeping that classic feel while smoothing out the rough edges, and Hollowed Oath's quest hints and gamepad work look like attempts to do exactly that.

Controller support in particular is worth watching. It opens the door to players who would rather sit back with a gamepad, though it remains to be seen how far the team plans to take that. The other thing to keep an eye on is how testers respond to the Oathbound trees, and whether the choice nodes produce genuinely different builds or settle into a few obvious favorites.