Learn the Basics

Introduction

Dark and Darker is a expansive title with many intricate elements. We’ve made learning the basics easier than ever with this brief overview that will get you up to speed.

Limited Playtime

Playtests are currently only accessible during specific time windows. To opt into playtests visit the Dark and Darker Steam Store Page. The following dates are of past/future playtests:

Official Open Beta

The official Open Beta is planned for Q2 of 2023 or later depending on the developer’s confidence on the state of the game.

PlayTest 5

April 14 – 19, 2023 (playable via a torrent provided by Ironmace)

PlayTest 4

February 6 – 15, 2023

PlayTest 3

December 16 – 26, 2022

PlayTest 2

October 28 – Nov 2, 2022

PlayTest 1

September 23 – 28, 2022

Choose Your Class

Barbarian

A towering and beefy melee fighter that can smash doors, chests, and enemies with ease. Choose this class if you want to smash your W key.

Cleric

A holy melee fighter equipped with support and offense abilities. Able to play defensively using heals and buffs, or go on the offensive by smiting undead and players alike

Fighter

A versatile warrior capable of melee and ranged combat. Fast feet and a strong defense allows them to control the tempo of any fight. Able to best anyone with the right setup.

Ranger

A resourceful hunter with powerful ranged options between bows and crossbows. Adept at tracking, trapping, and using a spear to keep enemies at a distance.

Rogue

A stealthy assassin adept at daggers and throwing knives. Use deception and poison to topple the strongest of contenders. Able to disable traps and open locked chests.

Wizard

A powerful spellcaster with a plethora of spells to handle any situation. Capable of chain casting spells or wielding an enchanted blade, weaving spells between attacks.

Gameplay Loop

The Tavern (Pre-Game)

Choose a class, select your skills, perks, and spells to customize your playstyle. Then stock up on improved gear and consumables if possible. Here you’ll also join up with other players for a group of up to 3 players.

Choose Your Dungeon

The Goblin Cave (solo only)
A somewhat small map of up to 8 players. You’ll have to fight tough PvE monsters for your loot.

The Crypt (up to 3 player groups/16 players max)
A big map of up to 16 players with a ton of traps, undead, and loot!

The High Roller (up to 3 player groups/16 players max)
Costs 100g to enter with the hardest PvE mobs (nightmare level) and higher rarity loot drop chances.

Loot & Kill

You will spawn into one of many static spawn points on the map. Slay and loot your way from room to room while collecting loot and gear as you delve deeper into the dungeon. Keep an eye on the mini-map, as time passes a swarm of killer insects will slowly eat at your HP if you find yourself outside of the circle.

Escape

Find a red portal to delve deeper into a more difficult dungeon level. Only the Crypt and High roller maps currently have additional levels. These lower levels offer tougher enemies and even bosses to test your mettle against. Kill them at a chance at legendary treasures or die trying and lose everything. Lastly, find a blue portal (or a secret extraction point) at any time to exit the map with your loot in hand.

The Tavern (Post-Game)

Stash the loot you escaped with or re-equip yourself after an untimely death. Thankfully you’ll always have a base set of gear after every death, so don’t sweat the small stuff! Use the Merchants and Trade Post (Level 5+) to buy and sell gear and consumables. Once you’ve mustered up enough courage or bloodlust, re-enter the dungeon of your choice for another gameplay loop.

(Note: There’s a leaderboard which tracks the most noteworthy adventurers and there’s a quest system in the works.)

Combat

Attack, Dodge, Block & Parry

The game uses a real time action combat that utilizes attacking, dodging, and blocking, similar to games like Chivalry.
The swing direction and hit placement of your attacks play a big part in finding yourself on the winning side of a fight.
There is no dodge “ability”. You must move around enemy attacks to avoid them
Your weapon swings and spell casts can be interrupted by walls and objects.

Weapon Combos

Each weapon has it’s own move-sets as you continue to left click.
Each attack sequence can have it’s own damage modifiers. Check out the Weapons page to learn more!
Some weapons have two combos, one with left clicks & one with right clicks.

Kill and Loot

Damage Modifiers

Your attacks deal more or less damage depending on 3 variables:

Hit Accuracy
◦ Head = 150% damage
◦ Torso = 100% damage
◦ Limb = 50% damage
Weapon Contact
◦ Effective contact with your weapon determines your swing’s damage potential
◦ Aim to hit with the tip or center of your weapon, haft/hilt contact will do reduced damage.
Armor Rating & Magic Resistance
◦ Enemy armor rating will reduce your physical damage done
◦ Enemy magic resistance will reduce your magic damage done
◦ These values can be found on the Stats page

Difficulty Levels

Enemy Difficulty

Normal

All standard enemies

Elite

Red Hue, increased health, increased movement and attack speed, increased damage

Nightmare

Grey Hue, further increased health and damage

Mini-Boss

Unique stats and attack animations

Boss

Unique stats, abilities, and attack animations

The rule of thumb is:
Tougher Monsters = Better Loot!

Check out our Enemies page and Boss Guides page to get familiar.

Abilities & Items

Abilities

Each class has two ability slots (Q and E keys) you can slot different skills into.
The Cleric & Wizard may slot a Spell Memory skill into Q or E to allow access to spells from a radial menu.
Cast by holding Right Click. Be sure to have a weapon that allows spell casting equipped.

Consumables & Utilities

Two sets of three quickslots for your Consumables and Utilities.
Each set is assigned to the 3 and 4 key which you can use to cycle between them. Left Click to use them once in hand.
Potions equipped on quickslots will emit a glowing light that could give away your location to other players, especially in dark environments.
View our Consumables and Utilities pages to learn the different types and their effects!

Interactables & Controls

Interactables

Each dungeon has a ton of traps, switches, levers, and shrines that you can interact with scattered throughout.

Stay vigilant and use everything to your advantage.

Hint: Traps inflict damage to anyone, even monsters!

Controls

Character Controls		Inventory Controls
Click, Hold	Primary Attack	Tab	Open/Close Inventory
Click, Hold	Secondary Action if available (Attack, Cast Spell, Parry)	Shift + Click	Drop items all at once
W, A, S, D	Move	Alt + Click	Drop items one by one
Space	Jump	Alt + Drag	Divide items
Shift (Hold)	Walk
Ctrl, C (Hold)	Crouch
1, 2, 3, 4	Quick Slots 1, 2, 3, 4
Q, E	Class Skills
R	Reload
X	Sheath Weapons/Items

Other Controls
Esc	Open Main Menu
T	Open Emote Radial
V	Switch Perspective (Spectator)
Click	View another player (Spectator)