Dark and Darker Hotfix #126 starts Tavern Volksfest and Season 10’s end event

The update upgrades the game to Unreal Engine 5.8, adjusts several classes, and schedules a no-loss Non-Season Arena window for September 30 through October 6.

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Dark and Darker adventurers raise mugs and celebrate around a tavern table during Tavern Volksfest

Dark and Darker Early Access Hotfix #126 starts the Tavern Volksfest event and begins the game’s Season 10 end-of-season push. Festive ales can now grant random powerups, while boosted dungeon rewards give players a better chance to finish the season at a high Adventure Rank.

Tavern Volksfest is active with Festive Ale, Golden Festive Chalice, and Honeybliss Pear available during the event. The shop also has ale-themed emotes and returning cosmetic items for a limited time.

The end-of-season bonuses are already active across the dungeons. Artifact drop rates are doubled in High Roller runs, higher-rarity loot is more common outside Squire Royale, and Adventure Point gains have been boosted. From September 30 through October 6, Non-Season Arena will also be available at all times with no item rarity entry limits and no item loss on death, including utility items.

During that Arena window, non-boss monsters will deal 30% more damage while having 30% less health. EA Season 10 will end on October 9 at 3:00 AM UTC, the Arena Season will end on September 27 at 12:00 AM UTC, and sales of the EA Season 10 Seasonal Pack will end on October 8 at 5:00 PM UTC.

Unreal Engine 5.8 is another major part of the update. IRONMACE says the upgrade improves frame-rate stability, reduces stuttering and memory usage, makes mouse input more responsive, and speeds up loading and streaming. Dungeon entry limits have also changed to Rare or lower for Normal dungeons and 280 or higher for High Roller dungeons.

The update also includes class balance changes, dungeon layout adjustments, stronger Loot Goblin rewards, new audio additions, and fixes for issues affecting everything from Taming Shot interactions to party AP gains. IRONMACE detailed the full changes in its Steam announcement.

Dark and Darker Early Access Hotfix #126 Patch Notes

The biggest changes cover the Tavern Volksfest event, the Season 10 end period, the Unreal Engine upgrade, dungeon access rules, and class balance. The complete notes follow below.

Bugfixes

Fixed an issue where the Ranger’s Taming Shot could behave abnormally when used on a Fire Lizard hanging on a wall.
Fixed an issue where a Warlock using Evil Eye could retain abnormal movement speed and jump count even after Polymorph ended, and was polymorphed multiple times.
Fixed an issue where portals generated in The Ashen Range – Goblin Cave could spawn overlapping with walls.
Fixed an issue where potions placed on shelves in the Bridge module of The Frost Mountain – Ice Cavern could appear floating in the air.
Fixed an issue where the module name of Bladehand’s Refuge could fail to appear on the map.
Fixed an issue where players would take no damage from Thorny Bramble at certain locations.
Fixed an issue where certain attack patterns of Skeleton Spearman could deal damage through weapon blocks.
Fixed an issue where the hit sound for Cerberus’s head could fail to play.
Fixed an issue where Spellweaver’s effect could stack even when spellcasting was canceled.
Fixed an issue where other nearby players could fail to render properly after being revived while spectating.
Fixed an issue where party members would fail to gain AP when a player killed a low-AP monster or opened a chest during party play.
Fixed an issue where items recovered through Dungeon Recovery, Goblin Recovery, or Dungeon Express would fail to receive the latest item property changes from the current patch.
Fixed an issue where using the Mystic Horn Emote could cause an object other than the horn to appear.

Game Updates

EA Season 10 will end on October 9 at 3:00 AM UTC, and the Arena Season will end on September 27 at 12:00 AM UTC.
Sales of the EA Season 10 Seasonal Pack will end on October 8 at 5:00 PM UTC.
The Season 10 End Event has begun.
From September 30 through October 6, Non-Season Arena will be available at all times. During this period, item rarity entry restrictions will be removed, and players will not lose their items, including utility items, upon death in Arena Events.
As a final celebration before the next season begins, the dungeons will become more dangerous with greater rewards to match. Monsters other than bosses will become more aggressive, with their attack power increased by 30% and health reduced by 30%. No additional visual effects will be displayed.
Drop rates throughout the dungeons have been significantly increased, excluding Squire Royale. In High Roller dungeons, Artifact drop rates will be doubled, and the chances of obtaining better hunting loot and higher-rarity items from regular Chests, Golden Chests, Lion’s Head Chests, and Treasure Hoards will also be increased. The chances of obtaining higher-rarity items and accessories from sub-bosses will also be increased. Quest item drop rates will be increased as well, allowing even Legendary-rarity Quest items to drop at a small chance in PvE dungeons during this period.
Finally, all Adventure Point gains from dungeons have been boosted to help players increase their Adventure Rank.
The Tavern Volksfest event has begun. During the event, players can obtain festive items such as Festive Ale, Golden Festive Chalice, and Honeybliss Pear, as well as purchase limited-time items.
Unreal Engine has been upgraded to version 5.8. This upgrade improves frame rate stability, reduces stuttering, improves mouse input responsiveness, improves loading and streaming speeds, and reduces memory usage.
Ahead of upcoming game mode improvements, as the season enters its later stages, dungeon entry restrictions have been changed to Rare or lower for all Normal dungeons and 280 or higher for all High Roller dungeons.
Aquatic monsters tamed with the Ranger’s Taming Shot can no longer leave the water. This does not apply to monsters such as Tidewalker that are capable of leaving the water.
Improved Druid animal forms so that corpses no longer disappear or get launched when killed.
The Tower Bridge module in The Forgotten Castle – Ruins has been improved. Cover has been added to the bridge, and the door in the middle wall of the module has been removed. Additionally, the Portcullis used to descend to the next dungeon floor has been moved to the Bath House module.
Reinforced the module walls in The Forgotten Castle – Ruins and The Frost Mountain – Ice Cavern dungeons.
Added UI sound effects when opening a dungeon.
Added background music to the Marketplace.
Improved the audio so that character voices match the gender of the selected Race Skin.
Applied Steam Audio to provide more precise directional and distance-based sound. This can be enabled or disabled in the Audio Settings.

Balance Updates

General

Loot Goblin rewards have been increased. The chance of obtaining higher-rarity Stolen Goods has been increased, Gold Containers are now guaranteed to provide at least a Gold Coin Pouch, and the number of Treasure Hoards and Gems dropped has been increased from 2 to 5.

Classes

Fighter

Projectile Resistance: Projectile Damage Reduction increased from 10% to 15%, and the additional effect gained while in Defensive Stance increased from 10% to 15%.
Disarm: Disarm duration increased from 1s to 2s, and cooldown reduced from 18s to 16s.
Shield Slam: Cooldown reduced from 8s to 6s.

Rogue

Veil of Shadows: Cooldown reduced from 48s to 32s, and the amount of time movement is allowed while stealthed increased from 2s to 3s.
Rogue’s Hide will no longer be canceled when coming into contact with an ally.

Ranger

Purge Shot: Cooldown reduced from 32s to 24s.

Wizard

Lingering Magic: Spell beneficial effect duration increased from 20% to 35%.
Arcane Surge: Cooldown reduced from 24s to 18s.

Barbarian

Whirlwind can no longer be interrupted by weapon parries.
Finishing Blow: Execution health threshold increased from 10% to 15%, True Physical Damage increased from 5 to 10, and cooldown reduced from 24s to 18s.

Bard

Jolly Time: While drunk, Vigor increased from 5 to 7, and Move Speed increased from 5 to 7.

The September 30 Arena window gives players a safer place to test the new balance changes and chase better gear before the season ends. Will you spend that no-loss period in Arena, or take the boosted rewards into the dungeons? Follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, or Telegram.

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