Dark and Darker’s Hotfix #118 raises the cost of High-Roller runs

Dark and Darker rolled out Early Access Hotfix #118 with a much harsher gate for High-Roller dungeons, cleaner rules for Normal runs, and a fresh batch of class, item, and system tuning.

The biggest change is the new Gear Score 280 requirement for High-Roller, paired with a 500 Gold entry fee. Adventurers now receive a Gambler’s Token on entry, which can be sold after a successful extraction to help cover the cost. Normal-mode dungeon access also changed, with rarity caps now split more clearly by dungeon to keep progression moving in a more defined order.

IRONMACE also laid out the season timetable. EA Season 9 rewards for Flex Arena and Adventurer Rank have been revealed, the Season Pack will stay on sale until July 10 at 11:59 PM UTC, the Arena season will end on July 6, and EA Season 9 will end on July 17. The studio said another update is planned for next week to open the door to end-of-season events, including boosted loot and the return of artifact arenas.

Patch Notes

Hotfix #118 touches nearly every part of the game, from launcher behavior and leaderboard tracking to bow handling, dungeon monsters, and class balance. The notes below keep the studio’s full changelog in order.

Bugfixes:

• Fixed an issue where the display resolution could change unpredictably when launching the game.
• Fixed an issue where the Ranger could become stuck while holding a drawn bow after using Overdraw.
• Fixed an issue where the Ranger’s bow-holding pose could appear incorrectly when equipping Nimble Hands and applying the Succubus’s Survival Bow skin.
• Fixed an issue where an unintended option could be selected after opening and closing the Spell or Emote Wheel.
• Fixed an issue where Pirate monsters could immediately attack players at different elevations without properly pursuing them.
• Fixed an issue where Pirate monsters might not play their hit reaction animation correctly when struck.
• Fixed an issue where Skeleton Archer projectile speed could become faster than intended.
• Fixed an issue where a Living Statue could leave behind lingering hitboxes after being defeated, blocking projectiles and attacks.
• Fixed an issue where Fire Spirits in ambush mode might not prioritize attacking a newly summoned Hydra within attack range.
• Fixed an issue where the Demon Overseer would stop attacking when another player performed a ranged attack during melee combat.
• Fixed an issue where Bandages could be placed in unintended locations within the Waiting Room when transitioning to the next floor.
• Fixed an issue where blocking Druid animal form attacks or Warlock demon form attacks with a Zweihander could play unintended sound effects.
• Fixed an issue where the parry sound effect of Demon’s Glee could differ from that of the Rapier.
• Fixed an issue where blocking communications was applied on a character basis rather than an account basis for features such as whispers.
• Fixed an issue where messages could reappear upon entering a dungeon or lobby even after using the Clear All Chats button.
• Fixed an issue where the eye appearance of the Succubus race could look different in the shop compared to in-game.
• Fixed an issue where the highest-scoring character of the same class might not be correctly reflected on the Arena leaderboard.
• Fixed an issue where players who achieved the Warlord rank in Solo or Duo Arena could appear as Vanquisher rank on the leaderboard.

Game Updates:

• EA Season 9 rewards for Flex Arena and Adventurer Rank have been revealed.
• Sales of the EA Season 9 Season Pack will end on July 10 at 11:59 PM(UTC).
• EA Season 9 will end on July 17. The Arena season will end on July 6.
• High-Roller Dungeon entry requirements have been changed to a minimum Gear Score of 280 based on equipped items, and the entry fee has been increased to 500 Gold. A Gambler’s Token worth 500 gold will now be automatically granted upon entry and can be sold to a Merchant after successfully extracting from the dungeon.
• The item rarity restrictions for entering each dungeon in Normal mode have been adjusted. The Forgotten Castle allows up to Common rarity items, The Ashen Range up to Uncommon rarity items, The Frost Mountain up to Rare rarity items, and The Blue Maelstrom up to Epic rarity items.
• The Quick Access Inventory will also be displayed when players ready up for the Normal Mode dungeons.
• Players can now view the possible minimum and maximum value ranges of the random item modifiers by holding the Alt key (RT on gamepad) while viewing item tooltips, or by enabling the option in the settings.
• The English name of the Haze Blade has been changed from “Haze Blade” to “Merrymaker.”
• “Found By” designation will now be applied to items recovered through Expressman and items ‘crafted’ in the Workshop.
• Whispers will no longer be displayed while in-game.
• Improved loading speed for the ‘News’ window.
• Improved anti-cheat detection.

Balance Updates:

General

• Slightly increased the chance of obtaining Epic-rarity items from chests, monsters, and Treasure Rooms in High-Roller Dungeons.
• Increased the chance of obtaining Rare-rarity and Epic-rarity items from chests, monsters, bosses, and Treasure Rooms in the Normal Dungeons.
• Increased the base Goblin recovery rate at 0 Affinity from 0% to 40% in both Normal and High-Roller Dungeons.
• Increased Goblin recovery rates at certain Affinity levels.
• Increased the Adventure Points earned when going down a floor from 50 to 100.
• Slightly increased the chance for boss rooms to appear in the Crypt and Inferno in Squire Royale mode.
• Reduced the difficulty of certain quests required by the Tavern Master, Weaponsmith, and Leathersmith.
• The dizziness effects from Ale, Bats, and Merrymaker are no longer affected by graphics settings.

Classes

Fighter

• Shield Mastery now applies to a single melee attack made within 1 second of a successful block.

Ranger

• Longbow animations have been slowed, and its arrow count has been reduced from 6 to 5.
• The effective range of Point-Blank Expert has been increased from within 450 units to within 600 units.
• The minimum effective range of Longshot Expert has been increased from 650 to 700, while the range required to reach its maximum effect has been reduced from 2500 to 1500.

Barbarian

• Removed the Cooldown Reduction effect from Treacherous Lungs.

Wizard

• Melt’s Projectile Damage Reduction penalty reduced from 10% to 5%.

Druid

• Dreamwalk duration increased from 2 seconds to 3 seconds.

Bard

• Lore Mastery’s Additional Memory Capacity increased from 5 to 10.
• Adjusted the performance time scaling curve of Persuasiveness.
• Accelerando and Allegro now scale with Resourcefulness, and stacks now increase once every 2 seconds instead of once every second.
• Accelerando Move Speed adjusted from 1/3/5 to 2/3/4.
• Allegro Action Speed adjusted from 3/4.5/6% to 3/4/5%.
• Ballad of Courage Music tier changed from 1 to 3.
• Ballad of Courage now affects party members and has a duration of 6 seconds.
• Jolly Time now additionally grants 5 Vigor.

Sorcerer

• Air Mastery’s Air Magic Knockback Power Bonus reduced from 25% to 15%.
• Reduced the knockback distance of Windblast and Vortex.
• Eruption activation delay increased from 0.75 seconds to 0.85 seconds.
• Flamestrike Fire Magical Damage increased from 25 to 30.
• Fire Arrow Fire Magical Damage increased from 7 to 8.
• Mana Flow now grants 1 stack whenever a spell is successfully cast within 3 seconds. Each stack grants an additional 5% Magic Penetration, stacking up to 3 times.
• Apex of Sorcery now additionally grants 25% Action Speed while casting spells.
• Innate Talent now grants an additional 5 Memory Capacity.

Items

• The Gear Score values of weapons, shields, and lanterns have been adjusted by item rarity. Socketed Gems now provide additional Gear Score, while Utility Items no longer provide Gear Score.
• Increased Sling reload speed, throw animation speed, and projectile velocity.
• Sling Stone maximum stack size increased from 5 to 10.

If you have been spending time in High-Roller or testing the season grind, share your thoughts in the comments. You can also join us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram.

Source: Steam

Dark and Darker

Developed by IRONMACE

An unforgiving hardcore fantasy FPS dungeon PvPvE adventure. Band together with your friends and use your courage, wits, and cunning to uncover mythical treasures, defeat gruesome monsters, while staying one step ahead of the other devious treasure-hunters.

• Genre: Shooter, Role-playing (RPG), Tactical, Adventure
• Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
• Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
• Release: 2023-08-07
• Publisher: IRONMACE
• Age Rating: GRAC 19+ / PEGI 16 / ESRB M
• IGDB Rating: 70.4/100

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