Dark and Darker Early Access Hotfix #111 Patch Notes (20th March 2026)

Dark and Darker's Hotfix #111 dropped today, and it's a direct response to the noise players made after Hotfix #110 introduced the Workshop. The feature had some rough edges out of the gate, and Ironmace has moved quickly to sand them down.

The two biggest Workshop changes are worth flagging. Ironmace has cut back on what they're calling "mindless upgrade requirements", so progressing your Workshop should feel less like padding and more like an actual system. On top of that, you can now scrap items at any of your workshops rather than being locked to a specific one. That's the kind of friction that quietly kills a feature's adoption, so credit where it's due for addressing it fast.

Beyond the Workshop, the update also fixes issues with the Emberflame skins and brings a broader pass at game balance. If you've been sitting on feedback since the last patch, some of it may already be in here. Full patch notes below.

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This hotfix brings several improvements based directly on community feedback including fixes to the Workshop feature, the Emberflame skins, and overall game balance.

The initial launch of the Workshop had some rough edges, and we’ve made some quick adjustments based on your feedback. We’ve streamlined upgrading your workshops by reducing much of the mindless upgrade requirements. We’ve also made it much easier to scrap your items by allowing you to scrap at any of your workshops, once an item type has been unlocked. The maximum stack count for scraps in your inventory has also been increased from 20->50 to better handle all your new scraps.

We’ve started work to better differentiate the various services at the Workshops. The ‘Workshop-Enhance’ service has been improved so it no longer re-rolls all the modifiers on an item. Instead, enhancing an item at a workshop simply adds a new random modifier while maintaining the previous attributes. Enhancing an item from Legendary to Unique grade randomly selects a single modifier from the currently attached pool and rerolls a ‘unique’ value.

The prices for the services have also been significantly rebalanced based on changes in the game economy and the newly improved functionality. We had originally set high workshop service costs to counter some of the high gold inflation in the economy when the feature launched. However, the gold sink has caused heavier than expected deflationary pressures on the marketplace. We’ve significantly decreased the gold costs and have instead adjusted the material costs to better encourage gold flow into the markets.

This update also sees the expansion of the Emberflame skins to cover more popular weapons including the Bardiche, Longbow, Arming Sword, and more. These new skins are also available for purchase in special bundles that include an introductory bundle discount. We’ve also improved the functionality of the skins so that the glowing visual effect turns off when crouching or slow walking in the dungeons, allowing you to stay hidden in the dark.

Finally, this update includes many balance improvements asked for by the community including increased session times for certain maps and a rework of the Banshee. Be on the lookout for this season’s Adventure and Arena rank rewards in the next update. This should give adventurers enough time to grind out their ranks before the end of the season at the end of April. As always, thank you and see you in the dungeons!

IRONMACE

Bugfixes:

1. Fixed a crash that could occur when using the Hurl Weapon skill.
2. Fixed an issue where players could lose items after a forced termination and reconnection while matchmaking had not been completed.
3. Fixed an issue in The Goblin Caves where a wooden crate could spawn in an unintended location within the Cave Altar A module.
4. Fixed an issue where unintended terrain could appear within the Goblin Town A module.
5. Fixed an issue where the minimap in the Imp Ritual Rooms module of The Frost Mountain - Ice Abyss could differ from the actual map.
6. Fixed an issue where duplicate potions could spawn within the Cabin module in High-Roller Frost Mountain - Ice Cavern.
7. Fixed an issue in The Blue Maelstrom where certain rocks could visibly change shape due to LOD (Level of Detail) transitions.
8. Fixed an issue where players could move underwater without consuming additional oxygen by using specific inputs at high speed.
9. Fixed an issue where players could avoid damage from certain attack patterns of the Ghost King by standing on background props.
10. Fixed an issue where sub-bosses in The Firedeep (Ifrit, Dwarf Knight, and Lava Golem) would drop low level loot.
11. Fixed an issue where the Fire Colossus would not target a Sorcerer’s summoned creature.
12. Fixed an issue where the Fire Colossus could be defeated too easily using Sorcerer skills such as Electric Dash, Eruption, and Levitation.
13. Fixed an issue where the Headshot Damage Bonus could exceed its maximum cap due to certain perks.
14. Fixed an issue where Physical Power and Magical Power would display incorrect values at certain thresholds.
15. Fixed an issue where items that cannot be equipped would not appear in red text in tooltips when viewed outside of the player’s inventory.
16. Fixed an issue where movement would could stop after opening the inventory and clicking an item.
17. Fixed an issue where player movement could stop when opening the Current Quest List while a gamepad is connected.
18. Fixed an issue in Arena where players affected by Cleric’s Over Healing could fall forever without dying after falling off a ledge.
19. Fixed an issue in Arena where using Invisibility before entering the next round could cause sound to not function properly in the next round.
20. Fixed an issue where the required item icons in the Weaponsmith Forge would appear as armor icons instead of weapons.
21. Fixed an issue where the interactive area of the + button in the Goldsmith’s Socket A Gem tab could differ from its visual position.
22. Fixed an issue where players could continuously purchase uncommon-grade Crystal Balls from the Fortune Teller.
23. Fixed an issue where item outlines could appear to jitter in the weapon skin preview screen.
24. Fixed an issue where the selectable area for Nameplates in the Customize tab could differ from the actual UI.

Game Updates:

1. Six new ‘Emberflame’ weapon skins have been added. A new bundle pack is now available offering a bundle discount!
2. Adjusted the Emberflame skins effects that were highly visible in dark environments so that they are no longer visible when the character is crouching or slow walking in the dungeons.
3. The Workshop feature has been improved.
4. When enhancing and increasing an item’s rarity, previously existing attributes will now be preserved.
5. Scrapping can now be performed at any Workshop once that item type workshop has been unlocked.
6. The maximum stack size for weapon scraps has been increased from 20 to 50.
7. Upgrade requirements for each Workshop have been eased, and the upgrade costs have been adjusted.
8. The costs of each Workshop service has been adjusted to encourage more gold flow into the marketplace and trading of the workshop scraps.
9. Improved sorting in the gem crafting list so that items are now organized by identical gem types.
10. The Valentine merchant has departed.

Balance Updates:

General

1. The default interaction time for opening the Down Stair Portcullis has been increased from 3 → 5 seconds, and the collision volume to enter the stairs has been moved closer to the entrance.
2. Session duration for The Goblin Caves and The Ruins of Forgotten Castle - Ruins has been increased from 15 → 16 minutes.
3. The difficulty of the Banshee has been reduced, and it now guarantees a drop of a magical weapon (Spellbook, Crystal Ball, Crystal Sword, Magic Staff, Ceremonial Staff).
4. The difficulty of the Fire Colossus has been slightly increased.
5. Greatly increased the default gear provided by the Squire. The Squire will now provide all eligible Poor-grade base gear from the beginning. The affinity required to unlock Common-grade gear at the squire has been reduced.
6. In the Goblin Merchant’s quest, Cockatrice’s Lucky Feather could previously only be submitted as a “Looted” item. It can now also be submitted as a “Handled” item.
7. The Dwarf race has received additional bonuses: +10% Headshot Damage Reduction and +10% Interaction Speed to better align it with other races where they have both a debuff and a buff, instead of having only a debuff.
8. Faustian Bargain – Cooldowns for the Giant Centipede’s Q and E skills have been slightly reduced.
9. Faustian Bargain – Action Speed of Goblin Warrior and Goblin Axeman has been slightly reduced.

Classes

Sorcerer

1. Removed the Spell Merge perk. It is now available as a base ability.
2. Updated the default perk on character creation (Spell Merge → Mana Flow).
3. Mud Shield size increased by 10%, and duration increased from 6 → 7 seconds.
4. Glaciate now deals additional Ice Magical Damage.
5. Stone Skin Physical Damage Bonus increased from 5% → 10%.
6. Lightning Bolt damage increased from 5 (0.5) → 7 (0.5).
7. Flamestrike damage reduced from 30 → 25.
8. Fire Orb damage has been increased from 25 → 30, and its explosion damage radius has been reduced to better match the explosion visual effect.
9. Wall of Fire’s initial damage has been reduced from 20 to 10, while its damage over time has been increased from 10 to 20. Its duration has been reduced from 10 → 8 seconds.
10. Flamethrower damage increased from 20 → 25.
11. Summon Earth Elemental duration reduced from 24 → 18 seconds.
12. Summon Lava Elemental health increased, but duration reduced from 24 → 18 seconds.

Druid

1. Nature’s Touch duration has been increased from 10 → 12 seconds, and its scaling has been reduced from 0.33 → 0.25.
2. Restore duration has been increased from 10 → 12 seconds, and its scaling has been reduced from 0.33 → 0.25.

Barbarian

1. Reckless Attack now has a duration added, and Armor Penetration reduced from 60% → 50%.
2. Achilles Strike now has a duration added.
3. Berserker Physical Damage Bonus reduced from 3% → 2% per -10% Health.
4. War Cry cooldown increased from 24 → 28 seconds.
5. Rage: Strength reduced from 15 → 10, Physical Damage Reduction penalty reduced from -15% → -5%, and Vigor has been removed.

Items

1. Sling damage increased by 5, and movement speed penalty reduced from -10 → -5.
2. Flanged Mace damage increased by +1 per rarity tier.
3. Felling Axe damage increased by +2 per rarity tier.
4. Leviathan Wave hit range has been increased to better match the projectile visual effect.
5. Hounskull: Headshot Damage Reduction increased from 23% → 24%, Magic Resistance penalty reduced from -10 → -5.
6. Armet: Headshot Damage Reduction increased from 18% → 23%.
7. Crusader Helm: Headshot Damage Reduction increased from 18% → 20%.
8. Wizard Hat: Added +3 Additional Memory Capacity, and Headshot Damage Reduction increased from 5% → 8%.

Known Issues

1. Due to a data issue, Heart Candy is currently being purchased by merchants for 0 gold.
2. When enhancing an item in the Workshop from Legendary to Unique grade, the selected Unique modifier may not reroll its stat value, resulting in the same value as the Legendary item.

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