diff --git a/SPD-classes/build.gradle b/SPD-classes/build.gradle
index f6b5e1c39..3d7644b6d 100644
--- a/SPD-classes/build.gradle
+++ b/SPD-classes/build.gradle
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 apply plugin: 'java-library'
 
 [compileJava, compileTestJava]*.options*.encoding = 'UTF-8'
-sourceCompatibility = targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
+java.sourceCompatibility = java.targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
 
 dependencies {
     api "com.badlogicgames.gdx:gdx:$gdxVersion"
diff --git a/core/build.gradle b/core/build.gradle
index c8fa9f494..6e22a2d4c 100644
--- a/core/build.gradle
+++ b/core/build.gradle
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 apply plugin: 'java-library'
 
 [compileJava, compileTestJava]*.options*.encoding = 'UTF-8'
-sourceCompatibility = targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
+java.sourceCompatibility = java.targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
 
 dependencies {
     api project(':SPD-classes')
diff --git a/desktop/build.gradle b/desktop/build.gradle
index 7b019a4f8..6b4709bb4 100644
--- a/desktop/build.gradle
+++ b/desktop/build.gradle
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 plugins {
-    id 'org.beryx.runtime' version '1.12.7'
+    //TODO currently breaks on Gradle 9+, but is being worked on. Update when I can
+    id 'org.beryx.runtime' version '1.13.1'
 }
 
 [compileJava, compileTestJava]*.options*.encoding = 'UTF-8'
-sourceCompatibility = targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
+java.sourceCompatibility = java.targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
 
 ext.appMainClass = "com.shatteredpixel.shatteredpixeldungeon.desktop.DesktopLauncher"
+application.mainClass = appMainClass
 processResources {
     from new File(project(':core').projectDir, "/src/main/assets")
     from new File(project(':desktop').projectDir,"/src/main/assets")
@@ -13,11 +15,11 @@ processResources {
 
 def osName = System.getProperty('os.name').toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT)
 
-task debug(type: JavaExec) {
+tasks.register('debug', JavaExec) {
     classpath = sourceSets.main.runtimeClasspath
     ignoreExitValue = true
 
-    main = appMainClass
+    mainClass = appMainClass
     systemProperty 'Specification-Title', appName
     systemProperty 'Implementation-Title', appPackageName
     systemProperty 'Specification-Version', appVersionName + "-INDEV"
@@ -28,7 +30,7 @@ task debug(type: JavaExec) {
     }
 }
 
-task release(type: Jar) {
+tasks.register('release', Jar) {
     //FIXME this is now needed as of gradle 7.0, due to our weird sourceSets setup. Should see if there's a better way to do this
     setDuplicatesStrategy(DuplicatesStrategy.EXCLUDE)
     from sourceSets.main.output
diff --git a/docs/getting-started-desktop.md b/docs/getting-started-desktop.md
index c626445df..ad2441238 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started-desktop.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started-desktop.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # Quick Setup
 
 If you merely wish to build the game from source, or make small personal changes to the code, then the project can be built with minimal setup:
-- Ensure a [JDK (Java Development Kit)](https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/#java17) is installed on your computer. (Java 17 is recommended, which is the version Android Studio currently uses)
+- Ensure a [JDK (Java Development Kit)](https://adoptium.net/) is installed on your computer. (Java 21 is recommended, which is the version Android Studio currently uses)
 - Copy the code by pressing the green 'code' button on [this repository's main page](https://github.com/00-Evan/shattered-pixel-dungeon), and then 'Download ZIP'. Unzip the downloaded zip to any directory on your computer you like.
     - or optionally use version control (see full setup for details).
 - Open a command prompt from the project's root folder and type `./gradlew desktop:debug` to run the game in debug mode.
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
index 249e5832f..1b33c55ba 100644
Binary files a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar and b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar differ
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index 3ae1e2f12..d4081da47 100644
--- a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
 distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.14.3-bin.zip
+networkTimeout=10000
+validateDistributionUrl=true
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
diff --git a/gradlew b/gradlew
index a69d9cb6c..23d15a936 100755
--- a/gradlew
+++ b/gradlew
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 #
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
 
 ##############################################################################
 #
@@ -55,7 +57,7 @@
 #       Darwin, MinGW, and NonStop.
 #
 #   (3) This script is generated from the Groovy template
-#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/master/subprojects/plugins/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
+#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/HEAD/platforms/jvm/plugins-application/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
 #       within the Gradle project.
 #
 #       You can find Gradle at https://github.com/gradle/gradle/.
@@ -80,13 +82,11 @@ do
     esac
 done
 
-APP_HOME=$( cd "${APP_HOME:-./}" && pwd -P ) || exit
-
-APP_NAME="Gradle"
+# This is normally unused
+# shellcheck disable=SC2034
 APP_BASE_NAME=${0##*/}
-
-# Add default JVM options here. You can also use JAVA_OPTS and GRADLE_OPTS to pass JVM options to this script.
-DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS='"-Xmx64m" "-Xms64m"'
+# Discard cd standard output in case $CDPATH is set (https://github.com/gradle/gradle/issues/25036)
+APP_HOME=$( cd -P "${APP_HOME:-./}" > /dev/null && printf '%s\n' "$PWD" ) || exit
 
 # Use the maximum available, or set MAX_FD != -1 to use that value.
 MAX_FD=maximum
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ case "$( uname )" in                #(
   NONSTOP* )        nonstop=true ;;
 esac
 
-CLASSPATH=$APP_HOME/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
+CLASSPATH="\\\"\\\""
 
 
 # Determine the Java command to use to start the JVM.
@@ -133,22 +133,29 @@ location of your Java installation."
     fi
 else
     JAVACMD=java
-    which java >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
+    if ! command -v java >/dev/null 2>&1
+    then
+        die "ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
 
 Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
 location of your Java installation."
+    fi
 fi
 
 # Increase the maximum file descriptors if we can.
 if ! "$cygwin" && ! "$darwin" && ! "$nonstop" ; then
     case $MAX_FD in #(
       max*)
+        # In POSIX sh, ulimit -H is undefined. That's why the result is checked to see if it worked.
+        # shellcheck disable=SC2039,SC3045
         MAX_FD=$( ulimit -H -n ) ||
             warn "Could not query maximum file descriptor limit"
     esac
     case $MAX_FD in  #(
       '' | soft) :;; #(
       *)
+        # In POSIX sh, ulimit -n is undefined. That's why the result is checked to see if it worked.
+        # shellcheck disable=SC2039,SC3045
         ulimit -n "$MAX_FD" ||
             warn "Could not set maximum file descriptor limit to $MAX_FD"
     esac
@@ -193,16 +200,20 @@ if "$cygwin" || "$msys" ; then
     done
 fi
 
-# Collect all arguments for the java command;
-#   * $DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS, $JAVA_OPTS, and $GRADLE_OPTS can contain fragments of
-#     shell script including quotes and variable substitutions, so put them in
-#     double quotes to make sure that they get re-expanded; and
-#   * put everything else in single quotes, so that it's not re-expanded.
+
+# Add default JVM options here. You can also use JAVA_OPTS and GRADLE_OPTS to pass JVM options to this script.
+DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS='"-Xmx64m" "-Xms64m"'
+
+# Collect all arguments for the java command:
+#   * DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS, JAVA_OPTS, and optsEnvironmentVar are not allowed to contain shell fragments,
+#     and any embedded shellness will be escaped.
+#   * For example: A user cannot expect ${Hostname} to be expanded, as it is an environment variable and will be
+#     treated as '${Hostname}' itself on the command line.
 
 set -- \
         "-Dorg.gradle.appname=$APP_BASE_NAME" \
         -classpath "$CLASSPATH" \
-        org.gradle.wrapper.GradleWrapperMain \
+        -jar "$APP_HOME/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar" \
         "$@"
 
 # Stop when "xargs" is not available.
diff --git a/gradlew.bat b/gradlew.bat
index f127cfd49..db3a6ac20 100644
--- a/gradlew.bat
+++ b/gradlew.bat
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 @rem See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 @rem limitations under the License.
 @rem
+@rem SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+@rem
 
 @if "%DEBUG%"=="" @echo off
 @rem ##########################################################################
@@ -26,6 +28,7 @@ if "%OS%"=="Windows_NT" setlocal
 
 set DIRNAME=%~dp0
 if "%DIRNAME%"=="" set DIRNAME=.
+@rem This is normally unused
 set APP_BASE_NAME=%~n0
 set APP_HOME=%DIRNAME%
 
@@ -42,11 +45,11 @@ set JAVA_EXE=java.exe
 %JAVA_EXE% -version >NUL 2>&1
 if %ERRORLEVEL% equ 0 goto execute
 
-echo.
-echo ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
-echo.
-echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
-echo location of your Java installation.
+echo. 1>&2
+echo ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH. 1>&2
+echo. 1>&2
+echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the 1>&2
+echo location of your Java installation. 1>&2
 
 goto fail
 
@@ -56,22 +59,22 @@ set JAVA_EXE=%JAVA_HOME%/bin/java.exe
 
 if exist "%JAVA_EXE%" goto execute
 
-echo.
-echo ERROR: JAVA_HOME is set to an invalid directory: %JAVA_HOME%
-echo.
-echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
-echo location of your Java installation.
+echo. 1>&2
+echo ERROR: JAVA_HOME is set to an invalid directory: %JAVA_HOME% 1>&2
+echo. 1>&2
+echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the 1>&2
+echo location of your Java installation. 1>&2
 
 goto fail
 
 :execute
 @rem Setup the command line
 
-set CLASSPATH=%APP_HOME%\gradle\wrapper\gradle-wrapper.jar
+set CLASSPATH=
 
 
 @rem Execute Gradle
-"%JAVA_EXE%" %DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS% %JAVA_OPTS% %GRADLE_OPTS% "-Dorg.gradle.appname=%APP_BASE_NAME%" -classpath "%CLASSPATH%" org.gradle.wrapper.GradleWrapperMain %*
+"%JAVA_EXE%" %DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS% %JAVA_OPTS% %GRADLE_OPTS% "-Dorg.gradle.appname=%APP_BASE_NAME%" -classpath "%CLASSPATH%" -jar "%APP_HOME%\gradle\wrapper\gradle-wrapper.jar" %*
 
 :end
 @rem End local scope for the variables with windows NT shell
diff --git a/ios/build.gradle b/ios/build.gradle
index 5eecaf5e7..e1e51eda1 100644
--- a/ios/build.gradle
+++ b/ios/build.gradle
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ apply plugin: "java"
 apply plugin: "robovm"
 
 [compileJava, compileTestJava]*.options*.encoding = 'UTF-8'
-sourceCompatibility = targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
+java.sourceCompatibility = java.targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
 
 task updateRoboVMProps(){
     def props = new Properties()
diff --git a/services/build.gradle b/services/build.gradle
index e94412de9..74e15d696 100644
--- a/services/build.gradle
+++ b/services/build.gradle
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 apply plugin: 'java-library'
 
 [compileJava, compileTestJava]*.options*.encoding = 'UTF-8'
-sourceCompatibility = targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
\ No newline at end of file
+java.sourceCompatibility = java.targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/services/news/debugNews/build.gradle b/services/news/debugNews/build.gradle
index e83a9603e..aa200fd6f 100644
--- a/services/news/debugNews/build.gradle
+++ b/services/news/debugNews/build.gradle
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 apply plugin: 'java-library'
 
 [compileJava, compileTestJava]*.options*.encoding = 'UTF-8'
-sourceCompatibility = targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
+java.sourceCompatibility = java.targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
 
 dependencies {
     implementation project(':SPD-classes')
diff --git a/services/news/shatteredNews/build.gradle b/services/news/shatteredNews/build.gradle
index e83a9603e..aa200fd6f 100644
--- a/services/news/shatteredNews/build.gradle
+++ b/services/news/shatteredNews/build.gradle
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 apply plugin: 'java-library'
 
 [compileJava, compileTestJava]*.options*.encoding = 'UTF-8'
-sourceCompatibility = targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
+java.sourceCompatibility = java.targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
 
 dependencies {
     implementation project(':SPD-classes')
diff --git a/services/updates/debugUpdates/build.gradle b/services/updates/debugUpdates/build.gradle
index e83a9603e..aa200fd6f 100644
--- a/services/updates/debugUpdates/build.gradle
+++ b/services/updates/debugUpdates/build.gradle
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 apply plugin: 'java-library'
 
 [compileJava, compileTestJava]*.options*.encoding = 'UTF-8'
-sourceCompatibility = targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
+java.sourceCompatibility = java.targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
 
 dependencies {
     implementation project(':SPD-classes')
diff --git a/services/updates/githubUpdates/build.gradle b/services/updates/githubUpdates/build.gradle
index 36293c71f..4d1fae912 100644
--- a/services/updates/githubUpdates/build.gradle
+++ b/services/updates/githubUpdates/build.gradle
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 apply plugin: 'java-library'
 
 [compileJava, compileTestJava]*.options*.encoding = 'UTF-8'
-sourceCompatibility = targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
+java.sourceCompatibility = java.targetCompatibility = appJavaCompatibility
 
 dependencies {
     implementation project(':SPD-classes')