Patch NotesDark and DarkerHotfix #121

Dark and Darker Early Access Hotfix #121 Patch Notes (30th July 2026)

Ironmace has overhauled how perks unlock in Dark and Darker, making them available from Level 1 instead of locked behind grinding. The patch also addresses a persistent problem for Squire Royale players.

Nathan Lees9 min read
Dark and Darker adventurers in dungeon combat with glowing magical effects and loot.
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The headline change here is not a balance tweak but a structural one: Early Access Hotfix #121 moves perk slot unlocks forward dramatically. Slots 1 through 3 are now available at Level 1, with Slot 4 arriving at Level 5. This is a direct response to a friction point Ironmace identified in their own notes: Squire Royale players, who cannot run dungeons, had no practical way to level up and unlock perks at a reasonable pace. The studio acknowledges this discrepancy will be addressed further, but this immediate change lets new players and Squire-exclusive players access core customisation options without grinding through modes they do not play.

The practical consequence is significant. Previously, players grinding exclusively in Squire Royale faced a progression wall that penalised them for choosing a mode. Now, a Level 5 Squire player has the same perk access as a Level 5 dungeon player. This does not solve the underlying levelling speed problem in Squire Royale, Ironmace is explicit that more work is coming, but it removes the punishment of being locked out of build variety. For new players in any mode, the shift means your first few runs can include perk slots instead of waiting until you have logged meaningful hours.

Beyond perks, the patch is heavy on stability. Thirty crash fixes span everything from simultaneous Pavise retrieval to Death Cam playback to key binding assignment. Several of these are class-specific: Fighter's Disarm and Weapon Guard could fail to trigger after a parry, Rogues could exploit Wall Ride to climb the Expressman, and Wizard's Polymorph chicken form could attack when it should not. The Cleric's Blessed Fare was spawning summoned items in midair and overlapping each other, both now corrected. These are not flashy changes, but they remove friction that players encounter in actual play.

Balance adjustments are modest and targeted. Fighter's Sprint gains more movement speed per stack (10 to 15), addressing a class that felt slow. Wizard's Arcane Infusion trades direct hit damage for area damage and longer duration, shifting the skill from a precision tool toward zoning. Teleport's debuff now lasts longer but travels shorter distance and applies less penalty, making it less punishing but less mobile. Barbarian's Savage Roar damage reduction is softened from 30% to 20%, easing a class that was too vulnerable. Druid's Bear Form becomes slower (-35% instead of -30%), and Cleric's Judgement channels faster. These are incremental tunings, not overhauls.

The Lantern Shield sees the most substantial item work: the riposte chain now has no post-attack delay, letting actions chain much faster, and the weak block window is slightly wider. This makes the shield feel more responsive and rewards parry timing more generously. The Grimveil Cloak drop rate has also increased, though the notes do not specify by how much.

What remains unaddressed is Squire Royale's underlying levelling speed problem. Ironmace has flagged it and promised future work, but this patch only removes one symptom. For players committed to Squire Royale, perk access is now immediate, but the grind to Level 5 and beyond is still the constraint. The Marketplace and Arena are now open, but no details on their contents or mechanics appear in these notes, suggesting that information will arrive separately.

Full Patch Notes

▲ Buff▼ Nerf✓ Fix◆ Tweak

Welcome Adventurers,

This update brings numerous bug fixes and balance changes as we open the Marketplace and Arena. We’ve also made changes to how perks are unlocked as players who exclusively play the Squire Royale mode have less means to level up. We’ll look to improve that discrepancy in the future. Thank you and see you in the dungeons!

IRONMACE

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.

Sources

Tags:Patch NotesDark and Darker
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Written by

Nathan Lees

Gaming journalist and founder of XP Gained. Covering patch notes, breaking news, and updates across 160+ games.

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