Dark and Darker lines up Season 9 for April 28 and packs Hotfix #112 with broad gameplay tweaks

Dark and Darker players now have a clear date for the next season. IRONMACE said Early Access Season #9 will begin on April 28, 2026, and the studio also outlined a stack of changes in Early Access Hotfix #112.

The timing matters across several systems. Adventure Rank progression runs through April 27, that same day closes out the current seasonal rewards and the Religion offerings, and Arena players have until April 19 to lock in their MMR for reward placement. For a bit more background on how the game has been tuning its seasonal cadence, see the Season 8 reset coverage.

IRONMACE is also changing the runway before the season ends. On April 16, the studio will add limited-time dungeon changes that increase the amount of loot available, and Arena will open for the final week with higher gear limits. The Squires to Riches mode is also getting more attention, with the update pushing it further toward a battle-focused ruleset while the team continues to read feedback.

Beyond the seasonal setup, Hotfix #112 brings bug fixes, server changes, class tweaks, and item balance adjustments. The biggest gameplay-side shifts hit Sorcerer, while Arena gets matchmaking and leaderboard changes, and the Seoul server region is being folded into Tokyo to improve matchmaking quality.

Patch Notes: Dark and Darker Early Access Hotfix #112

Early Access Hotfix #112

Hello Adventurers,

We are happy to announce the date for the upcoming season. Early Access Season #9 will start on April 28, 2026. Adventurers will have up until April 27th to progress through the Adventure Ranks and earn the newly revealed seasonal rewards. April 27th will also be the final day to earn your rewards from the ‘Religion’ offerings.

Arena combatants will have until April 19th to finalize their Arena MMR and earn rewards based on their final rank. For the remaining Arena weekends, we’ve updated the matchmaking system to make it more lenient for friends to form teams. We’ve also updated the Arena Warlord leaderboard to remove duplicate characters to give a more accurate account of the top players.

We also have several events planned as we approach the end of this season. Starting on April 16 we’ll introduce some limited time changes that really ramp up the riches in the dungeons. We’ll also be opening the Arena mode for the final week of the season with upgraded gear limits so you can put those newfound riches to use.

In the meantime, this update brings some changes to the current Squires to Riches (S2R) mode in preparation for further strengthening its role as a battle mode. We’ll be looking at your feedback as we continue to adjust the balance and mold it into its own standalone mode. Thank you and see you in the dungeons!

IRONMACE

Bugfixes:

• Fixed an issue where players could be unable to perform any actions other than movement after entering a dungeon.
• Fixed an issue where arrows might not hit monsters after using Ranger’s Quickshot or Quick Fire.
• Fixed an issue where Sorcerer’s Flamethrower damage might not be applied correctly.
• Fixed an issue where Sorcerer’s Electric Dash could be used to easily defeat the Spectral Knight.
• Fixed an issue where Sorcerer’s Electric Dash could be used to move outside the map within the Cave Pit Hall module.
• Fixed an issue where Sorcerer’s Electric Dash could be used to easily enter the Mystery Rooms in the Underground Chamber.
• Fixed an issue where players would be immediately attacked by a Giant Bat upon spawning in the Forsaken Cloister of The Forgotten Castle – Ruins.
• Fixed an issue where a wall near a door would appear unnaturally sharp in the Great Hall C module of The Forgotten Castle – Ruins.
• Fixed an issue where players could exit the map through a hole in the Trap Hall B module of The Forgotten Castle – Crypt.
• Fixed an issue where certain attack effects of the Fire Colossus would persist even after the attack had ended.
• Fixed an issue where the Dark Swarm border could appear thicker than intended on the mini-map in the Squires to Riches mode.
• Fixed an issue where only 10% of the intended Luck value was being applied.
• Fixed an issue where the Headshot Damage Bonus could exceed its maximum hard limit.
• Fixed an issue where the spell-casting effect could appear offset from the hand when using a spell as the Dwarf race.
• Fixed an issue where descriptions of Exclusive items in the Shop could display with identical names.

Game Updates:

• Merged the Seoul server region into the Tokyo server to improve matchmaking quality.
• Obsidian crafted weapons have been added.
• The MMR gap threshold for party members in Arena has been increased from 1,800 to 2,200.
• In Arena, only one character per class per account—the one with the highest rating—will now be ranked.
• The kill feed UI in Arena has been improved to distinguish between teams and now resets each round.
• We will be increasing the battle intensity of the ‘Squires to Riches’ mode to better fit its ‘Battle Mode’ moniker. The Squires to Riches mode will currently be limited to just The Forgotten Castle dungeon as we tune the balance. All escapes and static Down Stairs have been removed from Ruins and Crypt. You can only go down a level through random red portals. Escape is only possible from surviving the Inferno and taking the final portal.
• The sale of the Seasonal Pack will be ending soon.
  Sale period: After maintenance on Jan 29, 2026 – Apr 23, 2026, 23:59 (UTC)
• Merged the Seoul server region into the Tokyo server to improve matchmaking quality.

Balance Updates:

General

• Base health for all classes has been increased by 10.
• Selected spells can now be deselected by clicking the mouse wheel in the in-game spell selection UI.
• Damage reduction while guarding unarmed has been decreased.
• While drinking Ale, Move Speed is now reduced at the same rate as other potions.
• The maximum chance of Goblin recovery based on affinity in High-Roller has been increased from 50% to 80%.

Classes

Fighter

• Additional Projectile Damage Reduction from Projectile Resistance while in defensive stance has been decreased from 15% to 10%.
• Shield Mastery now only applies to shields.

Barbarian

• Robust max health bonus has been decreased from 10% to 8%.
• Grappling Hook cooldown has been decreased from 28 seconds to 22 seconds.

Warlock

• Bonus health gained during Demon transformation has been decreased from 50 to 30.

Sorcerer

• With the ability to deselect selected spells, Suppress Sorcery has been removed from the Sorcery category.
• The effect size of Flamethrower has been reduced to better match its actual damage range.
• Glaciate has been changed from Tier 2 to Tier 1, with its scaling reduced from 1.0 to 0.5 and duration reduced from 15 seconds to 12 seconds.
• Stone Skin’s Physical Damage Reduction has been decreased from 15% to 10%, and its duration reduced from 15 seconds to 12 seconds.
• Electric Dash impact damage range has been slightly reduced.
• Frost Lightning effect duration has been decreased from 1.75 seconds to 1.5 seconds.
• Fire Orb projectile speed has been increased.
• Plasma Blast damage has been increased from 40 to 50, and now applies burn damage.
• Ice Spear now applies a frostbite effect on hit.

Items

• Longsword counterattack multiplier has been decreased from 1.5 to 1.35.
• Longbow damage has been decreased by 1 at all tiers.

Season 9 is still a few weeks away, but this hotfix already gives players a clearer picture of what IRONMACE is changing before the reset hits. Tell us what you think about the balance changes and the upcoming season in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram.