Early Access Hotfix #105 landed as a prep patch for Dark and Darker’s upcoming Season 8 and the planned seasonal wipe. IRONMACE set the new season start date for January 29, 2026, and confirmed that the current Arena season will finish on January 19. A short, unranked Hardcore Arena event that removes item grade restrictions is scheduled for January 23 through January 26 as a weekend test run for unrestricted builds.
The hotfix also addresses several stability and gameplay issues ahead of the wipe, and includes minor balance changes: gem socketing costs for Epic through Unique items have been reduced, potion visibility has been improved, and a handful of class tweaks landed for Druid, Rogue, and Ranger.
- Season 8 start date: January 29, 2026.
- Arena season end: January 19, 2026; Hardcore Arena event: January 23 – 26, 2026.
- Stability fixes and small balance changes, including lower gem socket costs for Epic to Unique items.
For background on recent fixes, see CPG’s coverage of a Void Blade movement-speed fix in hotfix #95-2 and the earlier hotfix overview hotfix #84-1.
Patch Notes
The developer announcement is reproduced below in full.
Early Access Hotfix #105
Hi Adventurers,
The start of Early Access Season 8 is now scheduled for January 29, 2026. This hotfix addresses several bugs in preparation for the upcoming seasonal wipe. Please note that the current Arena season will end on January 19. On January 23rd to the 26th, we plan to hold a special ‘Hardcore’ Arena season, that remove the item grade restrictions. We hope to see this event as the ultimate test of showcasing your power and riches. Thank you and see you in the dungeons.
IRONMACE
Bugfixes:
- Fixed an issue where performing certain actions after possessing a Giant Centipede through a Faustian Bargain could cause a crash.
- Fixed an issue that caused frame stuttering in dungeons.
- Fixed an issue where boss monsters and Fighters equipped with Breakthrough could become immobilized by the Druid’s Entangling Vines.
- Fixed an issue where the Barbarian’s Potion Chugger effect did not apply to Troll’s Blood.
- Fixed an issue where a monster corpse could become non-interactable.
- Fixed an issue where the Crocodilian’s footsteps might not be audible.
- Fixed an issue where rewards from Religion – Make Offering could not be redeemed.
Game Updates:
- Improved additional stuttering issues.
- The Arena Test 8 season will end on January 19.
- The Hardcore Arena Event is scheduled to take place from January 23 to January 26.
- Improved the visibility of each potion.
- Chat whispers can now only be sent to friends.
- The Winter Ruins nameplate reward event period has been extended. Product codes can be redeemed from the end of the Hotfix #105 maintenance until the conclusion of this week’s Arena operations (January 11 at 11:59 PM).
Balance Updates:
General
- The cost to Socket a Gem has been reduced for items ranging from Epic to Unique rarity.
Classes
Druid
- The Panther form can no longer dash while in water.
- The hitbox size of Shapeshift forms has been adjusted to reduce the discrepancy between their visual size and actual collision detection.
Rogue
- The duration of Smoke Pot has been reduced from 12 seconds to 8 seconds.
Ranger
- Troll’s Blood has been removed from the list of magical buffs that can be dispelled by Purge Shot.
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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
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Age Rating:
GRAC 19+ / PEGI 16 / ESRB M
- IGDB Rating: 70.4/100
