Dark and Darker Hotfix #122 Introduces Anniversary Quests and Shared Map Routes

IRONMACE has introduced Dark and Darker Early Access Hotfix #122, bringing the game’s 3rd Anniversary Event, a long list of bug fixes, and new party communication tools. The full patch details are available in the official Steam announcement.

The anniversary event is now underway. The Skeleton Merchant has returned to the Tavern with the A Bone-A-Fide Anniversary quest. Completing every event quest rewards the Triple Chocolate Sparkle Surprise lobby emote.

The 3rd Anniversary Login Reward Event runs from after maintenance through August 9 at 11:59 PM. The Expressman will deliver a Gold Coin Pouch, Bluestone Shard, and Reward Token during that period. A new throwable weapon skin with a Magma Wyvern theme is also available in the shop.

Hotfix #122 changes how boss loot priority is assigned. The player and party that deal the most cumulative damage now receive priority instead of the player who lands the final hit. If a boss resets and recovers its health, the accumulated damage total resets as well.

Party communication gets several additions. Waypoint Ping lets players connect up to six points with Alt + Right Click, creating a route with directional indicators on the map and minimap. The route is shared with party members. Pings also stay visible longer, while the ESC menu now lets players block pings and chat from individual teammates.

This follows Hotfix #121, which addressed crashes, perk access, and Arena systems. Hotfix #122 continues with fixes across combat, spectating, the Marketplace, Firedeep, and class skills.

Patch Notes: Dark and Darker Early Access Hotfix #122

The largest changes affect anniversary rewards, boss encounters, party communication, and several class abilities. The complete changelog also includes fixes for crashes, spectator mode, dungeon encounters, item handling, and Marketplace listings.

Bugfixes:

• Fixed an issue where the game could crash when attempting to enter the lobby from the character selection screen.
• Fixed an issue where the game could crash when viewing the death cam.
• Fixed an issue where Fighters equipped with Slayer could be unable to equip the Northern Half Tunic.
• Fixed an issue where Clerics could revive party members who had died on a previous floor using Miracle while in the waiting room.
• Fixed an issue where the resurrection VFX might not appear at the corpse location when reviving a distant target with Miracle.
• Fixed an issue where being hit by Holy Strike and then immediately hit by Veil of Judgement could cause abnormal VFX behavior and make all sounds become muffled for the remainder of the session.
• Fixed an issue where the Rogue’s Hide debuff icon could appear with the color of a buff icon.
• Fixed an issue where Wizards could escape using Fly before the drawbridge had fully lowered.
• Fixed an issue where previously played instrument sounds could continue playing when a Bard performed with a different instrument.
• Fixed an issue where melee summons created by players might not count toward quest and achievement kill progress.
• Fixed an issue where firing an arrow and hitting a wall could cause subsequent actions to be skipped.
• Fixed an issue in The Frost Mountain – Ice Abyss where players could reach unintended high positions by using Fly spells or updrafts.
• Fixed an issue where module names could be displayed without visiting Mysterious Rooms.
• Fixed an issue where the attack hitboxes of Cockatrice and Abomination could differ from their VFX.
• Fixed an issue where the Magma Wyvern could continue attacking players who had moved outside of the combat area.
• Fixed an issue where the surface of the Fire Colossus’s corpse might not display correctly after death.
• Fixed an issue where projectiles that had already been fired during combat with the Bladehand might not disappear when the encounter reset.
• Fixed an issue where the Emerald icon could appear different from its actual appearance.
• Fixed an issue where map pings placed on a previous floor could remain visible in the waiting room.
• Fixed an issue where pings could remain after an Arena round ended.
• Fixed an issue where spectators might be unable to remove their own map pings.
• Fixed an issue where the map window size could change when hovering over a ping on the full map and displaying the player’s name.
• Fixed an issue where delayed pings and controller inputs could prevent switching to highlighted pings from functioning correctly.
• Fixed an issue where, after dying and entering spectator mode, the spectator target might fail to connect even when a living teammate remained, or the screen could become stuck at a single location with no input response.
• Fixed an issue where the lobby could appear after dying in Squire Royale, preventing players from spectating their teammates. This issue was caused by a different reason than the previous hotfix.
• Fixed an issue where listings that had already been sold on the Marketplace could remain visible.

Game Updates:

• The Dark and Darker 3rd Anniversary Event has begun. The Skeleton Merchant has appeared, and you can now complete the “A Bone-A-Fide Anniversary” quest. Completing all event quests will reward you with the lobby emote “Triple Chocolate Sparkle Surprise.”
• The Dark and Darker 3rd Anniversary Login Reward Event will run from after this maintenance until this Sunday (August 9, 11:59 PM). Make sure to claim the Gold Coin Pouch, Bluestone Shard, and Reward Token delivered through the Expressman before the reward period ends.
• A new throwable weapon skin with a Magma Wyvern theme has been released. Check it out in the shop now.
• Boss corpse looting priority has been changed to be granted to the player and their party who dealt the highest cumulative damage to the boss. This is no longer determined by who lands the final hit. If the boss resets and recovers its health, previously accumulated damage will also be reset. The additional interaction time applied when a player without looting priority first opens a player or boss corpse is no longer affected by interaction speed-related stats such as Resourcefulness.
• New Hunting Loot obtainable from the new monsters in The Firedeep have been added.
• The Magma Wyvern’s attack patterns have been improved. The hit direction of certain attacks has been adjusted to match the actual casting direction, and unnatural pauses before using certain attack patterns have been improved to appear more natural.
• In Squire Royale, premade parties can no longer include duplicate classes. This restriction does not apply to players joining through random matchmaking.
• Fixed an issue where merchant sell proceeds, Marketplace sale proceeds, and quest rewards were not automatically added to Gold Coin Containers when the containers were in a Looted state. Gold, silver, and event currencies will now be combined with existing currencies or storage containers regardless of their Looted status. When currencies with different statuses are combined, they will all be converted to Handled status and will be treated as Handled items thereafter.
• Improved the VFX when the effect of Divine Barrier expires.
• Added the Waypoint Ping feature. Players can now use Alt + Right Click on the map to connect up to 6 points and display a route. The configured route is displayed on the map and minimap with directional indicators and is shared with party members.
• Players can now mark travel routes on the map using Alt + Right Click. Set routes will appear on the map and minimap with directional indicators and will be shared with party members.
• Increased the duration that pings are displayed in-game and in chat after being created.
• The party member list in the ESC menu now allows players to individually block pings and chat from each party member. When chat is blocked, that player’s normal chat, party chat, and whispers will no longer be displayed.
• Added a creation effect to World Markers and map/minimap icons when placing a new ping, making newly added pings easier to identify.
• Improved the UI scaling of the dungeon results screen.

Balance Updates:

General

• The Magma Wyvern’s attack patterns have been partially changed, and its movement speed, health, and damage have been increased to increase the difficulty.

Classes

Cleric

• Reduced Vow of Silence’s damage per stack from 6% to 4%.
• Adjusted Stigmata from losing 1 HP every 2 seconds to losing 3 HP every 5 seconds, and added a -5% Physical Damage Reduction penalty.
• Reduced Sacred Flame’s coefficient from 10 (1.0) to 10 (0.25).
• Reduced Judgement’s cast time from 1.5 seconds to 1.25 seconds.

Wizard

• Reduced Teleport’s movement distance from 600 to 500 and increased the debuff duration from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.

Bard

• Increased Tranquility’s coefficient from (0.1) to (0.15), and increased the effect duration from 20/40/60 to 60/120/240.

Items

• Changed Stillmend Boots’ recovery condition from while stationary to while out of combat, and changed the recovery rate from 1 HP every 2 seconds to 1 HP every 5 seconds.
• Changed the rarity of Soul-Devoted Folio from Epic to Legendary.
• Increased Windreaver’s first attack wind range from 200 to 300.

The anniversary event and new route tools give parties plenty to test in their next run. Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.

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)
• Perspective First person
• Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
• Release August 7, 2023
• Publisher IRONMACE
• Age Rating

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