Ironmace is getting ready to release a new hotfix for Dark and Darker. This will be its twelfth hotfix in total, coming out today. Players are alerted to be prepared for the update rollout which will commence at 4:30 PM.
The developers shared some insights behind their decision-making for this hotfix. A notable change is the introduction of a separate matching pool for players under level 15. This aims to provide a more balanced environment, allowing new players to familiarize themselves with game mechanics before diving into the Trading Post. To align with this, the minimum level requirement for the Trading Post has been upped from 10 to 15.
Additionally, it seems the recent changes to the Wizard spells were a touch too restrictive. The team has responded by slightly extending the duration for both Haste and Invisibility spells. Fans of the bard class can look forward to a rework and other significant class balance modifications in upcoming updates.
Below you can find the complete list of changes.
Dark and Darker Early Access Hotfix #12
Scheduled Downtime
- The game servers will be offline starting at 4:30 PM today. Players should anticipate being unable to log in during this period.
- Those already engaged in matches or in-game have a 30-minute window to conclude their sessions safely.
- The expected downtime is approximately 2 hours, with all services, including the official website, potentially seeing temporary suspensions as the servers undergo necessary updates.
Patch Notes
- Fixed several issues that could cause server instability.
- Characters lvl 14 and under will be placed in a separate matching pool. If any member of a party is lvl 15 or above, the entire party will be placed in the lvl 15+ matching pool.
- The level requirement to sign up for the Trading Post has been increased from lvl 10 -> 15.
- Fixed an issue where the Darkswarm circle would mostly end in the center region of the map.
- Wizard’s invisibility duration has been increased from 3 to 4 seconds.
- Wizard’s Haste duration has been increased from 6 to 8 seconds.
- Added an option to control whether items in the following utility slots are automatically placed in your hand after an item is used.
- Improvements to Ironshield.
Developer Comments
We have decided to try out a separate matching pool for players under lvl 15 to give them a little more time to learn and adjust to game prior to engaging with the Trading Post. We have also adjusted the minimal level required to open the Trading Post feature from level 10 to 15 to sync with this new matchmaking system.
We also realized we may have gone too far with the recent nerfs to the Wizard spells and have slightly increased the duration of the Haste and Invisibility spells. The bard rework and more significant class balance changes are still planned for a future update.
Finally, we discovered a bug with our Darkswarm logic that caused most circles to end in the central region of the maps resulting in many battles being concentrated in a few repetitive modules. We hope this hotfix should expand the playstage a little bit. We are also working on adding more layouts with more variety of center modules in the near future.
