9 Kings Patch 30 Reworks Perks, Adds Rainbow Cards, Closes Multiplayer Exploits

Patch 30 — versioned as 0.9.6 — arrives for the deck-building roguelite 9 Kings with a broad sweep of changes across perks, new rainbow card content, balancing, and multiplayer fixes.

What changed

Perk rework is the headline change. Developer Sad Socket notes that several perks were either neglected or offered generic stat padding with little identity. The redesign pushes perks toward card-specific synergies — Arcane and Sorcerous, for instance, now scale with Wizard and Warlock passive abilities rather than delivering flat 10% stat bonuses.

Several perks are new or replaced:

• Trashy (replaces Bellicist): adds +1 Trash card each time a Recycler is destroyed
• Benevolent (replaces Berserk): grants +1 Wildcard per Rainbow Army battle
• Thorough: draws +1 random card from your king in year 33
• Resilient: start with +1 life
• Elevated: all summons start 10% stronger
• Authoritarian (Rainbow/Multiplayer): top-left regular perk is always ×3
• Vigilant (Multiplayer): starts with +2 years of protection
• Moderate (Multiplayer, returning): all universal perks become ×2

Existing perks receiving big reworks include Blighted, Hunter, Arcane, Sorcerous, Rebellious, Reptilian, and Explosive — each now tied more tightly to specific units or mechanics.

Beyond perks, a new set of rainbow cards has been added, multiplayer exploits have been identified and removed, and the update includes unspecified QoL improvements, performance work, and bug fixes.

For players who felt certain builds were unviable, the rebalancing of overlooked perks and the closing of multiplayer exploits mark a meaningful step toward a more competitive and fair meta.