Bethesda announced today that the long-awaited "Game Update 2" for Dishonored 2 will be available next Monday on January 23rd. This update will add custom difficulty and a mission select feature.
Detailed patch notes for the free update are not yet available, but Bethesda did include a few examples in the blog post of what the custom difficulty will effect, such as the effectiveness of sleep darts and the how stealthy you are over all.
It also appears that you might be able to make the game easier, as well as more difficult, as the update will have "more than 20 different sliders," implying the ability to slide a particular trait toward the more-difficult side or the less-difficult side.
Dishonored 2 will also have an "Iron Mode" – typically known as "Iron Man Mode" – that will make dole out permanent death and the inability to manually save – or manually load. This obviously won't be for players opting for a ghost run, although I'd certainly like to see that accomplished.
"Iron Mode adds even more teeth to Dishonored 2," Lead Designer Dinga Bakaba said, according to the blog post. "You will have to live with the consequences of your actions, or die permanently because of them."
This alone makes all the praise heaved at Dishonored 2 even more worthwhile, but it's not even all they added. Update 2 will also bring the much-desired Mission Select/Restart feature. If you want to go back and play a particular mission, or if you don't like the way a mission is going, you will no longer be left out in the cold.
See you on the 23rd, Emily.