Dark and Darker Season 11 Merges Queues and Brings Back the Dark Swarm

The season also restores Fog of War and randomized layouts, adds Expedition and Skirmish, and rebuilds gear progression around random modifiers.

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Dark and Darker adventurers explore a torchlit dungeon while one character raises a flaming torch

Dark and Darker Early Access Season 11 returns to a riskier dungeon formula, bringing back the Dark Swarm and combining Solo, Duo, and Trio players in one matchmaking pool. IRONMACE’s Season 11 announcement also removes Gear Score brackets and entry requirements from matchmaking, restores randomized layouts, and gives light a direct role in surviving the Swarm.

Season 10’s end was scheduled for October 9 at 3:00 AM UTC, following the end-of-season plans in Hotfix #126. Season 11 turns back toward uncertainty: the Fog of War returns, treasure chests and solo escape stairs are back, and players can be placed in The Forgotten Castle, The Ashen Range, or The Frost Mountain. The Blue Maelstrom has been removed.

Light and gear take on new roles

The Dark Swarm now affects every Normal Campaign and High-Roller dungeon. Adventurers outside its circle take increasing damage as its phases advance, but standing near an active light source protects them. Light also exposes anyone nearby, including enemies, so the same torch that offers safety can make hiding impossible. Handheld lights consume fuel, and they go out for good during the Swarm’s final phase.

Solo, Duo, and Trio groups now share a queue for parties of one to three. Although the matchmaking brackets and entry requirements are gone, the detailed rules introduce a Gear Score-based Ante with a threshold of 256. In Normal Campaign, the fee rises with Gear Score above that mark, up to 10,000 Gold Coins. In High-Roller, it rises as equipped Gear Score falls below the mark, with an unequipped entry costing up to 2,000 Gold Coins. The old High-Roller entry fee and minimum Gear Score requirement are removed.

Gear progression also changes at the item level. Primary Attributes that previously came automatically from item rarity are removed, giving random modifiers and their combinations more weight in equipment choices. Season 11 adds a Glaive and two Cursed-themed Artifacts, Bow of Endless Thirst and Bloodbound, alongside new special attacks for five two-handed weapons and an Impact Guard system for two-handed weapons without a Riposte.

Custom Play adds two experimental modes. Expedition lets players extract Expedition Only items for later Expeditions, but those items cannot be used for quests, merchants, or other game content and are lost if their owner dies. Skirmish lets players test their own equipment without risking it, though dungeon finds cannot be extracted.

The opening two weeks are designated as a Solo Self-Found event, with the Marketplace and Trading Post scheduled to open on October 23. Arena Season #4 is scheduled to begin on October 30, and the Twitch Drops campaign is scheduled for October 9 through October 30. The season also features a Halloween quest from Jack O’ Lantern, Witch-themed and Cursed-themed shop cosmetics, and a Season 11 pack with a permanent potion skin, two Redstones, a season-exclusive Shared Stash, five extra Marketplace slots, gold containers, and consumables.

Dark and Darker Early Access Season #11 Patch Notes

Bugfixes

Fixed an issue where Bard’s performance music could play at a higher pitch than the original.
Fixed an issue in The Forgotten Castle – The Crypt where a Treasure Hoard could be replaced by a chest in the boss’s reward room.
Fixed an issue in The Ashen Range – Goblin Cave’s Goblin Maze A module where spiders could become stuck at the end of a ramp and be unable to move.
Fixed an issue in The Ashen Range – Goblin Cave’s Cavern Lake A module where Little Toads could attack players immediately after spawning at certain spawn locations.
Fixed an issue in The Ashen Range – Firedeep’s Dwarven Lockway module where an escape portal could spawn in lava.
Fixed an issue in The Ashen Range – Firedeep’s Lava Crossway module where Oak Chests could spawn overlapping each other.
Fixed an issue in The Frost Mountain – Ice Abyss’s Sinking Pillars module where Skeletons placed at certain locations would not descend along with the pillars.
Fixed an issue where using two Down Portals simultaneously could cause both portals to be consumed.
Fixed an issue where the Morning Star’s hitbox would differ from the weapon’s visual model.
Fixed an issue where the Golden Cloak could appear as the Radiant Cloak when dropped on the ground.
Fixed an issue where Gold Coins would not always be consolidated into untradeable Gold Containers when sorting the inventory.
Fixed an issue in the lobby party chat where long messages could be cut off at the right edge of the chat window instead of wrapping to the next line.

Game Updates

Claim the “EAS11 Welcome Gift Delivery” package from the “Express Delivery” tab of the Post Express.
The Early Access Season #11 SSF event will run for the first two weeks of the season. The Marketplace and Trading Post will open on October 23.
Arena Season #4 will begin on October 30.
The Twitch Drops campaign will run from October 9 to October 30. For more details, please check the announcement under the Twitch Drops menu on the official website.
The Halloween event has begun. Complete Jack O’ Lantern’s quests to earn rewards.
New Witch-themed and Cursed-themed cosmetic items have been added to the shop.
The Season 11 Season Pack is now available. It includes one permanently collectible potion skin, two Redstones, one season-exclusive Shared Stash, five additional Marketplace slots, three Gold Bags (Untradeable), six Gold Purses (Untradeable), and a bundle of consumables.
The bottom in-game UI has been improved.
New Perks, Skills, Spells, and Music have been added for Bard and Warlock.
Warlock’s Soul Collector visual effects have been improved to prevent them from obstructing the screen.
Bard’s buff and debuff sounds now vary according to performance quality.
Some of the Bard’s Skills and Music visual effects have been improved.
- Visual effects (VFX) are now distinguished by instrument.
- The debuff visuals for Song of Silence, Peacemaking, and Lament of Languor have been changed.
- The visual effects of Dissonance have been changed.
Perk slot unlock requirements have been changed: Level 5 – Slot 2 / Level 10 – Slot 3 / Level 15 – Slot 4.
Right-clicking a Perk or Skill in the list now automatically equips it to an empty slot.
All newly created characters now have the ‘Surrender’ emote equipped as their default Emote.
A new weapon, Glaive, has been added.
Two new Cursed-themed Artifacts have been added: Bow of Endless Thirst and Bloodbound.
Special attacks (R key) have been added to the Battle Axe, Double Axe, Halberd, War Maul, and Zweihander. Secondary attacks that were previously unavailable on right-click can now be performed using the special attack (R key), while right-click blocking remains unchanged. Players can chain attacks by alternating between normal and special attacks.
Closing the Spell selection wheel from its center no longer cancels the selection; instead, the last Spell hovered over remains selected. When Spells are available for casting, pressing the special action key (R) now cancels the selected Spell.
The counterattack animations for the Battle Axe, Double Axe, Halberd, and War Maul have been changed.
Attack input buffering has been improved. If players hold the attack or block input while drawing a weapon, the corresponding action will execute immediately once the weapon is fully drawn. For bows, holding the special action key (R) during an attack will trigger reloading immediately after the attack finishes.
Added the Impact Guard system to all two-handed weapons without a Riposte. This applies to melee weapons (Bardiche, Battle Axe, Double Axe, Felling Axe, Glaive, Halberd, Quarterstaff, Spear and War Maul), ranged weapons (Longbow, Recurve Bow, Survival Bow, Crossbow, Windlass Crossbow and Hand Cannon), and magic weapons (Magic Staff, Ceremonial Staff and Spellbook). Raising your guard with the right timing briefly increases your Impact Resistance, allowing you to guard more firmly. This buff can be checked through the buff status icon at the bottom of the screen.
The Tavern has returned to the game. Players can gather and wait at the Tavern before entering a dungeon, then depart together. Players cannot take damage before entering a dungeon.
Dungeon selection has been streamlined into three modes: Normal Campaign, High-Roller, and Arena. Normal Campaign and High-Roller will randomly assign players to one of the following dungeons: The Forgotten Castle, The Ashen Range, or The Frost Mountain. The Blue Maelstrom has been removed in this update.
Gear Score is now displayed as “Equipped / Total.” Utility items have a Gear Score of 0.
All dungeons now use a single matchmaking queue for parties of one to three players.
Friendly encounters with other teams are now permitted in High-Roller, and teaming has been removed from the report categories.
An entry fee system (Ante) based on Gear Score has been introduced. The Gear Score threshold is 256. The Ante is deducted upon entering the dungeon. If the results cannot be processed due to a server issue after entry, the Ante will be returned via the Dungeon Expressman.
- Normal Campaign: Players pay more ante based on the amount by which their equipped and inventory Gear Score exceeds the threshold, up to a maximum of 10,000 Gold Coins.
- High-Roller: Players pay more ante based on the amount by which their equipped Gear Score falls below the threshold. Entering without equipment costs up to 2,000 Gold Coins. The previous entry fee and minimum Gear Score requirement have been removed.
Special Tokens can be bestowed to the adventurer upon entering a dungeon under certain conditions. The Veteran Adventurer’s License is now granted in Normal Campaign, while the Gambler’s Token is given in High-Roller. Players must have one empty inventory slot to receive either item.
Players who pay an Ante in Normal Campaign enter the dungeon carrying a Veteran Adventurer’s License designating that they now have a bounty on their head. Players that have a bounty will place their full ante amount up for grabs in a bounty pot.
- If the license holder kills a player whose Gear Score is at least 100 points lower, the victim receives damage compensation from the killer’s bounty pot equal to the value of their lost equipment. This compensation is awarded once per entry.
- When a license holder is killed by another player, the first player from an opposing team to kill the license holder receives any remaining gold amount in the now deceased license holder’s pot as a bounty.
- Kills by former party members, as well as deaths caused by monsters, falling, the Dark Swarm, friendly fire, or suicide, do not pay out a bounty.
- These compensation and bounty rewards are delivered by the expressman.
- Any money remaining in a license holder’s pot is burned when the license holder escapes from the dungeons.
Players who pay an Ante in High-Roller receive a Gambler’s Token (I-VI) based on the amount paid. The Tokens have varying value based on the ante paid. These tokens can be sold to the Collector to recoup some of the ante paid.
Fog of War has been reintroduced to dungeons. Map icons for stairs, altars, and similar features are visible even in unexplored areas.
The Dark Swarm now applies to all dungeons in Normal Campaign and High-Roller.
- Players outside the circle take damage every second, with damage increasing as the phases progress.
- Random Escape Portals open according to the phase, and one portal is guaranteed to open during the phase immediately before the final circle.
- The session timer is displayed only in Normal Campaign.
- Players near light sources do not take damage from the Dark Swarm.
Anyone, including enemies, enters the “Illuminated” state when near an active light source.
- Applicable light sources include torches, lanterns, campfires, the Wizard’s Light spell, and dungeon-placed torches and Rosters.
- Players in the Illuminated state cannot hide.
- Players do not enter the Illuminated state if a wall blocks the line of sight to the light source.
- Handheld light sources consume fuel while lit and cannot be relit once their fuel is depleted. Higher-rarity light sources have longer fuel durations, and fuel is replenished upon returning to the lobby. Remaining fuel is displayed as a gauge. Dungeon-placed light sources consume fuel only while inside the Dark Swarm.
- Fuel consumption pauses while resting or meditating.
- During the final phase of the Dark Swarm, handheld light sources are extinguished and cannot be relit.
- Thrown light sources remain lit where they land if they were lit when thrown. Discarded light sources are placed on the ground unlit.
- Rarity has been added to Oil Lanterns.
- Torches now stack one per slot, and their price has been reduced to 10 Gold Coins.
Escape systems have been revamped.
- Escape Stairs must be opened by interacting with the gate. Once one player escapes, the stairs can no longer be used.
- Pedestal Portals and random Down Portals have been removed. Players can descend to the lower level only via the Down Stairs.
- The number of available exits is predetermined for each match. Unused exits are blocked and do not appear on the map.
An in-game merchant system has been added. Search for Goblin Smugglers in their hidden hideouts and trading locations throughout the dungeons to purchase items you need.
The curse in The Forgotten Castle has grown stronger. Environmental visuals have been changed, and Cursed Shrines, Cursed Chests, and additional items have been added, with a chance to appear in the dungeon.
The Ruins now uses a 5×5 random module system, so the layout of every randomized dungeon is newly generated each match.
The appearance rate of Mysterious Rooms in The Crypts has been increased.
Sacrificial Altars now have the chance to spawn as Sundered Sacrificial Altar, meaning they cannot be used to respawn an ally.
Equipment brought into a dungeon by another player can no longer be entrusted to the Dungeon Expressman, even if they are acquired during the match.
Special room keys and gems (Old Rusty Key, Golden Key, Skull Key, Frozen Iron Key, Mystical Gem, and Ember Gem) can now be extracted from dungeons and sold to the Collector. These items can no longer be obtained from chests and can only be acquired from subbosses and bosses.
Accessories now drop at a low chance from Treasure Hoards and premium chests (Lion’s Head Chest, Heavy Ornate Chest, Bronze Ornate Chest, Golden Chest, and Marvelous Chest)
Items obtained from a Treasure Hoard will now drop to the ground if there is insufficient inventory space.
An equipment comparison feature has been added. Hold the Shift key to compare equipped gear and its attributes. This feature is also available for item links in shops, the Marketplace, trades, mail, and chat.
Item click responsiveness in the lobby has been improved. Right-click actions now trigger on press, while left-click actions trigger on release. Double-click equipping has been replaced with right-click equipping.
When dragging and dropping items in the inventory, placement is now determined by the slot under the cursor rather than the position of the item image. Items that extend beyond the grid are automatically adjusted inward, and a notification is displayed when placement is not possible.
Improved the inventory sorting so that gold containers are sorted to the front.
Right-clicking equipment in the stash that cannot be equipped now moves it to the inventory without displaying an error message.
The number of stashes purchasable with Gold Coins has been reduced from five to one, and the purchase cost has been changed to 10,000 Coins.
Loot Goblins no longer appear in dungeons.
The level cap for the Demigod rank in Adventure Rank has been reduced from 50 to 10. Rewards after reaching Demigod have been changed as follows: a Gold Coin Bag (Untradeable) for each level from levels 1-4 and levels 6-9, a Spectral Gold Coin Bag (Tradeable) at Demigod level 5, and a Gold Coin Chest (Tradeable) at Demigod level 10.
The weekly rewards for the Hall of Fame have also been changed and will now be awarded only to the top 3 players. The 1st-place player will receive a Spectral Gold Coin Bag (Untradeable), while players in 2nd and 3rd place will receive a Gold Coin Bag (Untradeable).
The blessing stats of Blyssia, Solaris, Noxulon, and Zorlin have been changed.
A Custom Play feature has been added. Accounts with Legendary Status can access the Custom Play feature to set up their own private experiences.
Merchant quests, goods, and crafting options have been revamped.
- The required quantities and item condition requirements for some collection quests have been adjusted.
- The goods sold by the Surgeon, Miner, and Huntress have been changed.
- Jewelry can now be crafted at the Goldsmith using gems, Silver Coins, Gold Coins, and Arcane Essence. The rarity of the gem determines the rarity of the resulting jewelry.
- Crafting of Unique-rarity accessories and gem socketing have been disabled.
The prices of Potions of Healing and Bandages sold by merchants have been increased.
Poor and Common Potions of Healing and Bandages can now be purchased from merchants every 30 minutes, with a limit of 3 individual items and 2 bundles of 3 items each.
Uncommon and Rare Surgical Kits are now limited to 1 purchase per merchant stock refresh.
The Gathering Hall and Workshop menus have been removed.

Balance Updates

General

Adventure Points have been rebalanced. The High Roller bonus has been reduced from 50% to 30%, and Adventure Points awarded for kills have been reduced from 90 to 45. The amount awarded now varies based on the Adventurer Rating difference between the killer and the killed player.
The chance of recovering equipment based on Goblin Affinity has been reduced. Both Normal and High Roller dungeons now use the following rates for each Affinity tier: 0/10/20/30/40/45/50%.
The stat curves for Health, Spell Casting Speed, Physical Power, Magical Power, Will, Action Speed, and Interaction Speed have been adjusted.
The base +25 Health previously applied to all classes has been removed.
Memory Capacity now scales at a 1:1 ratio with Knowledge.
The duration of the movement speed reduction after landing has been slightly decreased.
The movement speed penalty when moving backward has been increased from 60% to 80%.
The movement speed penalty applied when equipping and unequipping weapons has been removed.
The movement speed cap has been increased from 330 to 500, and the walking speed multiplier has been increased from 0.40 to 0.65.
The duration of the flinch caused when guarding an attack with Impact Resistance higher than the attack’s Impact Power has been slightly reduced.
The damage reduction buff provided by the Shrine of Protection has been increased from 5% to 10%.
The Physical Power buff provided by the Shrine of Power has been increased from 15 to 20.
The movement speed buff provided by the Fountain of Speed has been increased from 10 to 15.
The health of 21 sub-bosses has been reverted to its previous values.
The elemental attacks of 7 monsters, including the Frost Wyvern, Magma Wyvern, and Demon Overseer, have been changed from Physical Damage to Magical Damage.

Classes

Fighter

Defense Mastery’s 75% damage reduction cap has been unified with the general cap of 95%, and its Armor Rating bonus has been increased from 15% to 20%.
Sprint has been changed to a single charge and now grants 50 movement speed.
Second Wind’s health recovery has been increased from 40% to 50%.

Barbarian

Iron Will’s 75% damage reduction cap has been unified with the general cap of 95%, and Magic Resistance has been increased from 75 to 100.
Hurl Weapon’s Impact Power has been reduced from 8 to 7.
Rage’s movement speed bonus has been increased from 7% to 12%, and its Strength bonus has been increased from 10 to 15. It now also grants +15 Vigor, while its Physical Damage Reduction penalty has been increased from -5% to -20%.
Reckless Attack’s Armor Penetration has been increased from 50% to 75%.
War Cry’s maximum Health bonus has been increased from 15% to 20%.
Blood Exchange’s duration has been increased from 8 seconds to 10 seconds.
Achilles Strike’s slow duration has been increased from 2 seconds to 3 seconds.
Axe Specialization’s bonus Weapon Damage has been increased from 3 to 5.
Heavy Swing’s slow duration increase has been reduced from 100% to 50%.

Rogue

The -30% Physical Damage Bonus for exiting Hide has been removed.
Trickster’s Action Speed bonus has been reduced from 30% to 20%.
Dual Strike’s cooldown has been increased from 18 seconds to 22 seconds.

Ranger

Kinesthesia’s movement speed bonus has been reduced from 15% to 10%.
Explosive Shot’s buff duration has been reduced from 12 seconds to 10 seconds, and its damage has been reduced from 10 to 8.

Wizard

Spell Overload now guarantees at least one additional spell charge when equipped.
Light Orb’s number of charges has been reduced from 4 to 3.
Teleport’s number of charges has been reduced from 2 to 1.
Fly’s number of charges has been reduced from 3 to 2.
Quick Chant’s additional Spell Casting Speed bonus has been reduced from 15% to 10%.
Meteor Strike’s meteor impact radius has been reduced from 400 to 300.

Cleric

Blunt Weapon Mastery’s Physical Damage Bonus has been increased from 10% to 15%.
Faithfulness’s slow duration has been increased from 1 second to 1.5 seconds.
Judgement’s channeling time has been reduced from 1.25 seconds to 1 second.

Bard

Charismatic Performance now allows one mistake during a performance without penalty.
Encore now automatically replays the last song played.
Added a new perk: Ostinato.
Added a new perk: Cadenza.
Added a new skill: Sing.
Added a new skill: One-Man Band.
Added a new song: Sounding Line.
Added a new song: Pianissimo.
Added a new song: Cleansing Cadence.

Warlock

Added a new perk: Abyssal Orb.
Added a new perk: Infernal Usury.
Added a new skill: Summon Demon.
Added a new spell: Abyssal Gateway.
Added a new spell: Hellguard Glaive.
Phantomize’s movement speed bonus has been increased from 5% to 10%.

Druid

Shapeshift Memory I/II now have 4 charges. Each charge takes 10 seconds to recharge.
Shapeshifting is now instantaneous, but receives a -50% Magical Damage Bonus penalty.
Panther: Pounce’s number of charges has been reduced from 2 to 1, and its duration has been reduced from 24 seconds to 18 seconds.
Cut Throat’s silence duration has been slightly increased.
Wild Fury and Insect Predation’s durations have been reduced from 32 seconds to 28 seconds.
Bear Form’s 10% projectile damage reduction has been removed.

Sorcerer

Air spell tiers have each been increased by 1, and their cooldowns have been increased by 3 seconds.
Time Distortion now allows spells to be cast instantly. Its Magical Damage Bonus has been reduced by 30%, and its spell cooldown multiplier has been increased from 165% to 200%.
Air Mastery’s 50% Air Damage Bonus has been removed, and its knockback bonus has been increased from 15% to 50%.
Windblast and Vortex damage have both been reduced from 10 and 15, respectively, to 0.
Mana Flow’s spellcasting success time has been reduced from 5 seconds to 3 seconds.
Fire Orb’s direct-hit damage has been reduced from 45 to 35.
Spell Stride now increases movement speed by 15% while casting spells.

Items

The drop rate of Artifacts has been reduced.
Restrictions preventing similar random modifiers have been removed, allowing modifiers such as Fixed Damage and Additional Damage to appear together.
Random modifiers that increase damage against Undead or Demons, or reduce damage taken from them, can no longer appear more than once on the same item.
The number of random modifiers by rarity has been adjusted, ranging from 1 for Uncommon items to 6 for Artifact items.
Movement speed while attacking and the movement speed penalty when hit have been adjusted for different weapon types.
The Gear Score of 40 items, including 32 Epic weapons and 6 lanterns, has been adjusted.
Fixed Damage and Additional Weapon Damage modifiers can now appear on all equipment slots except shields. All Attributes modifiers can now appear on all armor slots, as well as cloaks, necklaces, and rings.
Weapon Damage values for physical weapons have been changed from fixed values to ranges. Values have generally increased, including for Unique items, while lower-rarity versions of some weapons, such as Rapiers and Hatchets, have been reduced.
The maximum values for Physical Damage Reduction and Magical Damage Reduction have been changed to 95%.
The combined cap for Headshot Damage Bonus has been increased from 180% to 200%.
The primary attribute modifiers previously fixed on armor have been removed.
Armor movement speed penalties and the movement speed scaling curve based on Agility have been adjusted.
Headshot Damage Reduction on head armor, Magic Resistance on plate armor (with some exceptions), and Armor Rating on shields have been adjusted.
Physical Damage Reduction and Magical Damage Reduction values have been adjusted based on armor material (Plate, Chain, Leather, and Cloth), with a damage reduction cap of 95%.
Chain has been added as an armor material, and the materials of 21 armor items have been reclassified. Chain armor has a movement speed penalty between that of Leather and Plate armor.
Hunting Trap’s immobilization duration has been reduced from 3–9 seconds to 2–5 seconds, depending on rarity.
The firing animation of the Longbow has been slightly sped up.
Crystal Ball’s Magical Damage has been reduced by 1 at each rarity. For Artifact rarity, its value has been changed from 10 to 9–10.
Artifact-tier damage values for Spellbooks, Magic Staffs, and Crystal Balls have been changed to ranges, increasing their maximum damage by 1.
Crystal Sword’s damage has been changed to a range. Damage has been reduced at lower rarities, while Artifact-tier Weapon Damage and Magic Weapon Damage have both been increased to 23–24.
The movement speed penalties for Spellbooks, Crystal Balls, Magic Staffs, and Crystal Swords have each been increased by 5.
Francisca Axe’s Weapon Damage has been increased from 12–24 to 20–35, and Throwing Knife’s Weapon Damage has been increased from 10–22 to 17–29. The maximum stack size for both weapons has been increased from 2 to 3.
Epic variants of the Francisca Axe and Throwing Knife have been added.
The attack animation of the Felling Axe has been sped up.
Hand Cannon’s Fixed Damage has been adjusted to 8–20, and its movement speed penalty has been adjusted to -50.
Quarterstaff’s movement speed penalty has been adjusted to -35.
Sling’s Weapon Damage has been adjusted to 22–42.

Which Season 11 change do you think will alter dungeon runs most, the returning Dark Swarm or the combined matchmaking pool? Follow along for the season’s new dungeon rules and updates on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.

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