Hytale Update 4 Pre-Release 3: Voice Chat, Potion Rework & More - Hytale Wiki

Hytale Update 4 Pre-Release 3 dropped on March 5, 2026, and it’s a big one. The headline feature is built-in proximity voice chat with spatial audio, but there’s also a full potion system rework, seven new hairstyles, farming changes, temple golem loot tables, and a pile of modding improvements.

Here’s everything that changed, plus what server owners need to do to get their servers updated. You can also read the official patch notes on X.

Biggest New Features

Proximity Voice Chat

This is the one everyone’s been waiting for. Hytale now has built-in spatial voice chat, no Discord required.

How it works: the closer you are to another player, the louder you hear them. Walk away and they fade out. Go underwater and voices get that muffled, distorted sound. Stand in a cave and you’ll hear reverb bouncing off the walls. Your character’s mouth even animates when you talk.

It’s disabled by default for safety reasons. Players need to opt in through Audio Settings, where you can pick your input device, adjust levels, enable noise suppression, and set a push-to-talk key.

Server owners get control too. These commands let you manage voice chat on your server:

/voice enabled - toggle voice chat on or off
/voice maxdistance - set how far voices carry
/voice fullvolumedistance - set the range for full volume before falloff
/voice mute/unmute - mute specific players
/voice status - check current voice settings

Players can use .voice (with a dot, not slash) for client-side commands.

Potion System Overhaul

Potions got a complete rework. The old system was basically “chug an instant heal and keep fighting.” Now potions use a Heal over Time (HoT) mechanic that makes combat more tactical.

Large Health Potions, for example, restore 35% of your health immediately, then another 55% kicks in after a 5-second delay. That’s 90% total, but you can’t just face-tank damage anymore. You need to actually disengage or play defensively while the second heal ticks.

Other changes to the potion system:

Smaller potions now stack up to 10
Large Potions take a full inventory slot (stack size of 1)
Empty Small and Large Potion Bottles are craftable at the Alchemy Bench
Blue, Green, Iridescent, Pink, Purple, and Orange potions are now decorative only
All consumable potions use a new template system with Quality levels
Health, stamina, and energy potions rebalanced across Lesser through Large variants

Seven New Hairstyles

The character creator got some love with seven new hairstyles focused on textured hair options: Afro, Big Afro, Frizzy Buns, Long Dreadlocks, Puffy Twin Dreads, Dreads Fade, and Star Puffs. Three existing styles (Puffy Bubble Braids, Afro Puffs, Puffy Bun) were also updated.

Gameplay Changes

Farming and Alchemy

The farming progression got restructured. Tiers 9-10 were removed from the Farming Bench, and Tiers 3-5 were moved to the Alchemy Bench. Blood Leaf, Storm Sapling, and Azure Kelp seeds are now crafted at the Alchemy Bench and require the new Crystal Fertilizer to grow. These rare crops also have unique growth conditions and can be salvaged for petals.

Pink Crystal Shards are a new resource type tied to this system.

New Tools

Copper and Iron Sickles added for harvesting (hold the input to swing continuously)
Gold Ingots can now be converted to Gold Bricks at the Builder’s Workbench

Temple Golem Loot

Temple Golems now drop specific gemstones based on their element:

Golem Type	Drop
Earth Crystal Golem	Emerald
Flame Crystal Golem	Ruby
Frost Crystal Golem	Sapphire
Sand Crystal Golem	Zephyr
Thunder Crystal Golem	Topaz

World and Environment

Fireflies spawn more frequently in Zone 1 Plains at night
River and tile density updated across multiple biomes
Redwood biomes now spawn in taiga portal worlds
Zone 1 Plains weather patterns modified
Block sound clustering added (rain hitting water sounds more natural)
Conditional ambient sounds introduced (rain on windows, for instance)
World generation Prop system overhauled with modular features

Quality of Life

Interaction hints now show when you hover over things. Plants show “Pick,” doors and fences show “Open”
Emote pages can be scrolled with the mouse wheel
Configurable world map radius with per-world minimap override
Server-wide minimap clamp for server owners who want to limit map exploration
Creative Tool items are now marked as “Technical”
New “Tools” category added for bug reports
Various localization fixes and disconnect message improvements

Modding and Creative Tools

Some solid improvements for modders and builders:

Asset Pack Save Browser: Choose which asset pack to save prefabs to instead of it always going to the server directory
Prefab Editor hotkey: ALT+T warps between the Prefab Editor and your last visited world
Anchor Tool merged into the Prefab Selector Tool (SHIFT+R)
Paste Tool preview performance improved
Tint blending and opacity support with tint history saving
NodeEditor updated to Noesis 3.2.1
New /npc descriptors command
NPC templates expanded with DeathParticles, DropDeathItemsInstantly, and DeathAnimationTime
Enabled flag added for Action elements
Beacon action Range now computed from template variables

Bug Fixes

This patch squashed 26+ bugs across combat, world, and creative tools:

Combat and items: Fixed a crash from missing entity effects, hoe tilling priority issues, watering can block interactions, the Crude Shovel recipe, feedbag/fertilizer categorization, petal and rubble description errors, Burnt Praetorian Skeleton gravity, mount movement resets, and spawn particle problems.

World: Fixed floating torch placement, furnace processing, Salvage Bench functionality, BaseHeight positioning, and removed an unintended artificial light crop growth bonus.

Creative tools and UI: Fixed Timeline Editor and Node Editor crashes, Undo/Redo stability issues, Asset Previewer texture problems, 1x1x1 Selection Tool bugs, camera swap crashes, inverted camera behavior, map marker scaling, emote naming, and localization corrections.

How to Update Your Hytale Server

Since this is a pre-release build, you need to explicitly opt in. Here’s how.

Method 1: Using the Launcher (Simplest)

Open your Hytale Launcher
Go to Settings
Change Patch Line from “release” to “pre-release”
Let the launcher download the pre-release files
Copy the server files from install/pre-release/package/game/latest
Replace your existing server’s Server/ folder and Assets.zip with the new files
Restart your server

Method 2: Using the CLI Downloader (Better for Production)

If you’re running a dedicated server without a GUI, use the official Hytale Downloader CLI:

./hytale-downloader -patchline pre-release

Other useful commands:

./hytale-downloader -print-version to check what version is available
./hytale-downloader -check-update to see if the CLI tool itself needs updating
./hytale-downloader -download-path game.zip to save to a specific location

You’ll need Java 25 installed for the CLI to work.

Method 3: Managed Hosting

If you’re on a hosting provider like BisectHosting, Nodecraft, or Kinetic Hosting, check your panel for a version selector or pre-release toggle. Most hosts added pre-release support during Update 3.

Checking Mod Compatibility

Pre-release updates can break mods. Here’s what to do before you flip the switch.

Before Updating

Back up everything. Copy your entire server directory, including world saves, configs, and mod files. If something breaks, you want to be able to roll back.
Check your mods. Open World Settings and look at the Mod UI section. Each mod shows its version and a warning icon if it’s flagged as incompatible with the current game version.
Contact mod authors. Check their Discord servers or GitHub repos for pre-release compatibility updates. Popular mods usually post compatibility status within a day or two of a new pre-release drop.

After Updating

Start with mods disabled. Boot your server without mods first to make sure the base game runs fine on the new version.
Enable mods one at a time. Add them back individually and test each one. This makes it way easier to identify which mod is causing problems if something breaks.
Watch the server console. Look for warnings about deprecated APIs, missing assets, or version mismatches. The new NPC template changes (DeathParticles, DropDeathItemsInstantly) and the world generation Prop system overhaul are the most likely places where mods could conflict.
Test the potion system. If any of your mods touch potions or alchemy, they almost certainly need updates. The entire potion template system changed in this patch.
Test voice chat interaction. If you have mods that affect player communication or audio, verify they don’t conflict with the new proximity voice system.

Known Compatibility Risks

Potion mods will likely need a full rewrite due to the new template system
World generation mods should be tested against the new modular Prop system (monolithic props are deprecated)
NPC mods need to account for the new death particle and item drop timing parameters
UI mods that touch the emote system or interaction hints should be verified

Should You Update?

If you’re running a public server, wait for the stable release unless your community specifically wants to test pre-release features. The proximity voice chat is exciting, but pre-release builds can have rough edges.

If you’re running a private server or test environment, go for it. The potion rework alone is worth testing to see how it affects your server’s combat balance.

Either way, back up your server first. Always.

Hytale Server Commands for a full list of admin commands
How to Join a Hytale Server if you’re a player looking to connect
Hytale Votifier Setup Guide to configure vote rewards
Best Hytale Servers 2026 to find active communities