Beginners Guide

Alpha Disclaimer

• Dark and Darker is presently in Alpha state of development. Features will be added and removed, thus the current state of the game is not representative of the final product.
• Many of the systems in the game are not yet finished and are in a placeholder state. Mechanics may break or not function as intended.

Getting Started

Currently, the game can only be played during scheduled playtests. Once a playtest is ongoing, simply request access on the game's steam page and download the game.

Once you start the game, you will be presented with the Character Creation screen. You will have to create a character to be able to click the "Enter the Lobby" button. Currently, there is no limit for character creation. You can also check the official guide by Ironmace and Dungeon guide.

There is also a detailed guide by MaddCowQQ from Playtest #3. While it is not up-to-date, it can still be useful.

What Class to Pick

There are currently 6 unique classes to pick from. In here we will briefly share what you need to know about each class. Each class has its own unique mechanics that can greatly affect the gameplay. For example, fighters and barbarians are strong in close combat but can struggle against enemies that can outmaneuver them. Wizards are vulnerable in close combat but can deal high amounts of damage from a distance. Bards and clerics can provide support and healing, making them valuable allies in group play. Rogues and rangers excel in scouting and dealing damage from a distance, but may struggle in sustained combat.

Choosing the right class can greatly affect a player's success in the game, as it dictates their approach to combat, the types of weapons and armor they can use, and their overall playstyle. By understanding the unique mechanics of each class, players can create a character that fits their preferred playstyle and maximizes their chances of success. For more in-depth guides check Classes.

Fighter

Barbarian

Rogue

Ranger

Wizard

Cleric

Bard

Warlock

Controls

Leveling

In Dark and Darker, players can level up by completing various actions such as killing enemies, opening chests, defeating other players, using shrines, and surviving the map. Leveling up is crucial as it unlocks the trade market at level 5 and grants access to the High Roller map at level 15, where the loot and enemies are more challenging. Additionally, leveling up unlocks perks for each character at levels 5, 10, and 15, which enhance their abilities. For more detailed information, refer to the Experience Point page.

Resting and Recoverable Health

In Dark and Darker, players can rest by default by pressing the "G" key, causing their character to sit on the ground. Sitting next to a Campfire will allow the player to regenerate their health and spells. Additionally, players can rest if they have taken damage and have some recoverable health, but cancelling the resting action will cause them to instantly lose their recoverable health. While resting, players recover health at a rate of 1 HP per 2 seconds. However, it is important to note that players are extremely vulnerable while resting. Furthermore, the Bard class can also restore health to themselves and other players using their music.

Weapon Move sets

Each weapon has its own unique move set and range. Practice and memorize them to your advantage. Some weapons have 2 unique attack move sets, one with the left mouse click and another with the right mouse click.

The arming sword for example has a 3-motion attack sequence. Holding down the primary attack button will go through the attack sequentially until it is interrupted. If the enemy is wielding an arming sword, knowing this sequence can help you evade their attack.

Blocking/Parry System

Shields and some melee weapons have a block ability. However, simply holding block does not fully protect you from frontal attacks like in other games. To complete a successful block, you need to intercept their weapon or projectiles with your shield/weapon.

You also need to be careful to fully conceal your body parts, because even if you manage to block a hit, the weapon's hitbox can extend past your shield and hit you on uncovered body parts. Therefore, distance management is equally as important as blocking in the right direction. With this in mind, larger shields will offer a higher degree of protection due their their bigger sizes.

Currently, the only weapon that can execute a parry is the Longsword. If you successfully block an attack with the Longsword, you can quickly follow up with a higher damaging 2-sting riposte animation by clicking or holding the Right mouse button.

Blocking and parrying requires a great amount of practice to pull of consistently, as you need to develop the spatial awareness around your shield/weapon as well as know your opponents weapon's move sets.

Check out Oggieson's Youtube Channel, he has made detailed videos showing how to block and parry with different weapons against most enemy types.

Sweet/Sour Spot Damage Scaling

Most melee weapons operate on a Sweet/Sour Spot system, meaning hitting an enemy with the tip of the weapon will deal the most damage and hitting further down on the blade/haft will deal less damage. The number of sour spots vary between weapons.

Check out Weapons to see their sweet/sour spot damage outputs.

Body Part Damage Modifiers

Every attack, be it melee, ranged physical projectile or magic spell will scale with damage modifiers depending on the body part that was hit.

• Head hits deal 150% damage
• Torso hits deal 100% damage
• Limb hits deal 50% damage

This system affects player characters as well as AI monsters. Thus a mummy can hit your head if they swing from above.

Utility Quick-Slots

Every character has access to two sets of utility quick-slots that can be accessed with the "3" and "4" key respectively. Each set houses 3 quick-slots. To scroll through your quick-slots, press "3" or "4" multiple times until you land on your desired item. Utility items such as potions with different rarities will occupy different slots. Furthermore, every item present in your quick-slots will show up on your belt. For more information on these items check Consumables and Utility. Be aware that potions will glow in the dark while equipped in your quick-slots, which can easily give away your position.

Getting Prepared

You can enter a dungeon as a group, with a maximum number of 3 members. Normal dungeons can host a maximum of 16 players that will spawn in different rooms. When a match is found, you will be transferred to a lobby where you will wait for up to 3 minutes for the lobby to fill. Characters are immune to damage in this stage and can inspect other players inventories. It is important that you do not use up any of your important cooldowns here since they do not reset after you get teleported to the dungeon. Furthermore, do not drop your items or gear in the lobby, as other players can pick them up and if the match starts and your items are still on the ground, you will spawn in the dungeon without them.

Normal dungeons host Common and Elite grade monsters with an extremely low chance of spawning Nightmare monsters. They feature low drop rates for Epic items and extremely low drop rates for Legendary items. No chance for Unique items.

It is recommended to bring some Consumables or Utility to aid you in your adventure. Consider bringing a 3-stack of bandages or healing potions at the very least.

As of Alpha Playtest 3, gear pieces can now have base attribute points.

Consider buying cheap upgrades to your starter gear from the Merchants to boost your defenses and your attribute points. Starter gear is a tier below anything you can buy or find in the dungeon, so anything will be an upgrade.

A better weapon will enable you to dispatch monsters faster, this increased clear speed means you run less of a risk of taking damage and have more time for looting.

How to Resurrect

To resurrect an ally you will need to locate their Soul Heart which is located in their chest armor slot. To acquire their heart you will need to remove their chest armor piece. Equip their soul heart to you utility bar then proceed to look for an Altar of Sacrifice. After locating a Altar of Sacrifice, hold your team mates soul heart in your and press interact button. This initiate a channel action that will resurrect your team mate when the bar is full. Beware that cost of resurrecting your teammate is some health and they will be resurrected with minimal health unless you have a cleric that has Requiem perk. Being hit or moved will cancel this action.

High-Roller

You can enter a High-Roller dungeon as a group, with a maximum number of 3 members. High-Roller dungeons can host a maximum of 16 players that will spawn in different rooms. High Roller dungeons have an entry fee of 100g per player. There will be no kill-feed or in-game timer, although you still have the progress bar that fills up red as time goes by, giving you a rough estimation of how much time is left. There are better drop rates for high quality gear. The only way to obtain unique grade items are from High-Roller dungeons. Monsters will appear at Elite and Nightmare grade.

Get Rich Or Die Trying

Once you escape with your treasures, you can head over to the Merchants to see how much you've earned. You can sell your items to the right merchant. However, if you do not survive and extract from the dungeon, you will not keep any of your loot including your armor, weapons, jewelery and utility items. Your inventory get's reset to the default class starter gear.