Dark and Darker Hotfix #121 Targets Crashes, Perks, and Arena Access

IRONMACE announced Early Access Hotfix #121 for Dark and Darker, bringing a large batch of bug fixes, balance changes, and system adjustments as the Marketplace and Arena open. The developer also changed perk unlock requirements after noting that players who mainly play Squire Royale have fewer ways to level up. The full details are available in the official Steam announcement.

The update unlocks the first three perk slots at Level 1, with the fourth slot becoming available at Level 5. Whispers now require Level 5, while Squire Status accounts must select party names from a predefined list. Legendary Status accounts can still enter custom names.

Several quality-of-life additions are also included. The Dungeon Results screen now shows total damage dealt to other players, although that number does not provide extra AP. A new Auto Equip Next Utility Slot on Consumption option can automatically equip the next utility item after all charges in the current slot are used.

The changes follow Hotfix #120’s parry and Firedeep adjustments, with the latest patch continuing to address combat behavior, dungeon encounters, and stability.

Dark and Darker Early Access Hotfix #121 Patch Notes

Hotfix #121 focuses on crashes tied to interactions, combat fixes for multiple classes, and balance changes to Wizard, Fighter, and several other options. The Lantern Shield and parry weapons also receive targeted adjustments, while the Grimveil Cloak becomes easier to obtain.

Bugfixes

• Fixed an issue where the game could crash if two players attempted to retrieve a deployed Pavise simultaneously.
• Fixed an issue where the game could crash if a container being looted was destroyed.
• Fixed an issue where the game could crash if an interactable target disappeared while the crosshair was aimed at it.
• Fixed an issue where the game could crash when assigning a secondary key in the Key Bind Settings.
• Improved stability to prevent the game from crashing during Death Cam playback.
• Fixed an issue where the Fighter’s Disarm and Weapon Guard could fail to trigger after successfully parrying with the blade of a weapon.
• Fixed an issue where the Sword Mastery buff could also be applied while guarding with a shield.
• Fixed an issue where Rogues could climb onto the Expressman using Wall Ride.
• Fixed an issue where right-clicking in the Druid’s Chicken Form would not play the clucking sound.
• Fixed an issue where the Wizard’s Polymorph chicken form could perform an attack animation when left-clicking, contrary to the intended design.
• Fixed an issue where the Cleric’s Blessed Fare would spawn Blessed Bread and Divine Water in midair when cast at the location of a player or monster.
• Fixed an issue where Divine Water and Blessed Bread summoned by Blessed Fare could spawn overlapping each other.
• Fixed an issue where the visual effects of the holy sword summoned by the Cleric’s Radiant Blade could remain after its duration expired.
• Fixed an issue where a player who died from falling after transforming with Transmutation could be revived by Miracle.
• Fixed an issue where buffs granted while guarding (such as Projectile Resistance) could temporarily disappear when blocking or parrying before being reapplied.
• Fixed an issue where opening the Quest List with the L key while moving would stop player movement.
• Fixed an issue where players standing on certain elevated areas in Forgotten Castle could avoid damage from the Murder of Crows.
• Fixed an issue where a polymorphed crow could leave the map through the raft extraction in the Ice Caverns.
• Fixed an issue where some monsters would continue attacking players who were already dead.
• Fixed an issue where Flame Butterflies could become stuck on terrain while moving.
• Fixed an issue where Living Statues could fall to the ground immediately without playing their death animation.
• Fixed an issue where Nightmare Frost Skeleton Archers could occasionally have their attack animation canceled.
• Fixed an issue where location-based damage on the Frost Demon would not be applied correctly.
• Fixed an issue where Health could incorrectly display as 0 when moving to the next floor.
• Fixed an issue where the Ping Wheel would be displayed by pressing the Z or C key while spectating.
• Fixed an issue where the Health Bars of other members in the party would incorrectly display as 0 in the Death Cam portrait UI.
• Fixed an issue where players would be unable to spectate their teammates after dying in Squire Royale.
• Fixed an issue where party invitations could fail after declining an invite or while Auto Decline Party Invites was enabled.
• Fixed an issue where the quantity of stackable items might not be counted toward Loot Goblin scores in the Hall of Fame.
• Fixed an issue where the remaining time for the final week of the Hall of Fame season could be displayed beyond the actual season end.
• Fixed an issue where the Magma Wyvern might not be included in Boss Kill scores in the Hall of Fame.
• Fixed an issue where an unnecessary separator line could appear in reward item tooltips on the Leaderboard.

Game Updates

• Adventure Rank and Arena rewards for EA Season #10 have been revealed.
• Adjusted the unlock requirements for Perk slots. Slots 1–3 are now unlocked at Level 1, and Slot 4 is unlocked at Level 5.
• To prevent the misuse of whispers as an advertising method by some accounts, the usage requirement has been changed. Whispers are now available only to players who are level 5 or higher.
• To prevent some accounts from abusing the Party Finder as a means of advertising external websites, the party name input system has been changed. Squire Status accounts must now choose from a predefined list of party names instead of entering one manually, while Legendary Status accounts can continue to enter custom party names. Selected party names are displayed in each player’s language.
• Removed harvestable trees from empty modules that contain no monsters in The Forgotten Castle – Ruins.
• Changed the Health display in the character status window from rounding to rounding up. Health will now display as 1 instead of 0 when less than 1 Health remains, making it clear that the player is still alive.
• The Dungeon Results screen now displays the total damage dealt to other players during the match. This value does not grant additional AP.
• Added the Auto Equip Next Utility Slot on Consumption option to the settings. When enabled, the next utility item slot will be automatically equipped after all charges of the currently held utility item have been consumed.

Balance Updates

General

• Increased the number of Fiendlings that appear in certain modules within the Inferno.
• Added Little Toads to certain modules in the Goblin Caves.
• Updated several attack patterns of the Magma Wyvern.
• Increased the Hall of Fame Boss Kill score for the Fire Colossus from 2 to 3.

Classes

Fighter

• Increased Sprint movement speed gained per stack from 10 to 15.

Rogue

• Play Dead now restores Health at the same rate as resting.

Wizard

• Arcane Infusion’s skill duration has been increased from 6s to 8s, area damage has been increased from 5 to 15, direct hit damage has been reduced from 7 to 3, and damage radius has been reduced from 1.75m to 1.5m. Arcane Infusion’s direct hit damage and area damage cannot be applied simultaneously.
• Reduced Sleep drowsy state duration from 3s to 2s and increased sleep duration from 1.25s to 2s.
• Increased Teleport debuff duration from 3s to 5s, while reducing travel distance from 8m to 6m and reducing the penalty value from -75% to -50%.

Barbarian

• Reduced Savage Roar Physical Damage Bonus reduction from 30% to 20%.

Druid

• Reduced Bear Form Action Speed from -30% to -35%.

Warlock

• Shadow Touch’s True Dark Magical Damage has been changed from 2 to True Magical Damage 1.

Cleric

• Reduced Judgement channeling time from 1.5s to 1.25s.

Items

• Greatly reduced the recovery time after the second hit of the Lantern Shield riposte chain, allowing actions to be chained much more quickly. (Removed the 0.4s post-attack delay.)
• Slightly increased the weak block reaction window of the Lantern Shield to make ripostes easier to perform.
• Adjusted the Longsword parry area while guarding to be slightly closer to the crosshair.
• Adjusted the Zweihander parry area while guarding to be slightly closer to the crosshair.
• Increased the drop rate of the Grimveil Cloak.

Hotfix #121 gives Dark and Darker players a long list of fixes to work through, but the perk changes and new utility setting should be the most immediately visible adjustments. 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: 2023-08-07
• Publisher: IRONMACE
• Age Rating:
• IGDB Rating: 70.4/100

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