Early Access Season #6.5

Dark and Darker’s latest semi-wipe patch resets gear, gold, and Triumph levels, kicking off a mid-season balance overhaul focused on narrowing the gear gap, improving combat dynamics, and supporting smaller party play. Major changes include removal of random modifiers, reworked damage and armor curves, and a revamped in-dungeon party system ahead of EA Season 7.

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Bugfixes

Fixed an issue where blocked attacks could pass through the shield.
Fixed an issue with some weapons that could bypass shield guards and deal damage.
Fixed an issue where the post-block animation could be skipped.
Fixed an issue where repeatedly pressing the block key could result in consecutive block attempts.
Fixed an issue where excessively fast parry animations could occur when inputting multiple rapid attacks.
Fixed an issue where Warlock’s Phantomize and Druid’s Dreamwalk effects did not prevent damage from traps.
Fixed an issue where, if a Druid died in animal form and spectated their own body, the corpse would appear to keep moving.
Fixed an issue where changes made to spells in the lobby might not be saved.
Fixed an issue where Sorcerers could exit the map using Electric Dash in the Inferno’s Drain module.
Fixed an issue where a player’s position would appear to shift suddenly near the training dummy in the Ruins’ Barbican module.
Fixed an issue where zombies would move along unnatural paths in the Ruins’ Fallen Forest module.
Fixed an issue where the roof volume in the Ruins’ Center Tower module could become visible from other modules.
Fixed an issue where some walls would be displayed incorrectly in the Crypt’s The Great Walkway module.
Fixed an issue where players in rat form could exit the map in the Ice Abyss’ Charnel House module.
Fixed an issue where down staircases would not display properly on the minimap.
Fixed an issue where shadows from certain objects in the dungeon would flicker continuously.
Fixed an issue where monsters would disappear at a distance but their shields would appear to remain floating.
Fixed an issue where the sound effect of Murder of Crows would persist even after a party member moved out of range.
Fixed an issue where players could get stuck on a Skeleton Corpse while moving.
Fixed an issue where the lower body of the Banshee could appear invisible.
Fixed an issue where the sound effect of the Demon Imp’s healing pattern could loop around nearby monsters.
Fixed an issue where the Demon Imp’s healing effect might not apply properly.
Fixed an issue where High-Roller Elite Dreadspine would only drop Rare items.
Fixed an issue where items moved to the utility slot from inventory could briefly appear in an empty space on the map.
Fixed an issue where moving items in the utility slot while holding a teammate’s heart could prevent interaction with the Sacrificial Altar.
Fixed an issue where some VFX could appear delayed to other players.
Fixed an issue where, in a trio party, a spectator might not automatically switch to another player after their current target escaped.
Fixed an issue where new chat messages might not auto-scroll in the chat window.
Fixed an issue where if a player was spectating after dying or escaping, and their target quit the game in the down room, the results screen might not apear.
Fixed an issue where the reward claim button on the leaderboard would remain active even after the season ended.
Fixed an issue where the arena results might not display in the results screen.
Fixed an issue where non-tradable items could be listed on the marketplace.
Fixed an issue where changing to certain languages could cause the Squire UI to expand abnormally.
Fixed an issue where the Golden Leggings from the Leathersmith service did not apply the intended movement speed modifier.

Game Updates

Twitch Drops are coming soon. For more details, please refer to the announcement at the official website. https://darkanddarker.com/twitch-drops
The Awakened Mummy ‘Boost’ Event has begun.
Discounts applied to Bandages and Potions purchased from the merchants.
Doubled the The Collector’s buyback price for certain treasures.
New cosmetic items released: 1 new Race and 2 new Emotes.
In-game party system added. You can now invite players to a party by pressing Y when you meet them in the dungeons.
Solo, Duo, and Trio modes have been unified. Try entering the game with a pre-made party or use the in-game party system.
Added a Maintenance notice popup.
New feature added to display PvP attacker information in the Adventure Results screen.
Random matchmaking has been disabled.
Random modifiers removed.
You can now move, equip/unequip, and drop items in your inventory while in the ‘Resting’ state, except for items that require a casting time to equip.
Added new merchants: Huntress and Nightmare Mummy.
Destroying unreinforced doors is now solely dependent on the impact power of a weapon and is no longer restricted by class or needing to equip the ‘Crush’ perk.
When kills occur due to special conditions (e.g., transformations or perks), the kill log will more accurately display the reason.
Random Dungeon system has been applied to the Ice Cavern and Ice Abyss.
Dual Boss Rooms restored in Ruins and Goblin Cave.
The Random Dungeon system has been upgraded so fixed modules will always appear on specific maps.
The Frost Mountain now features a Bloodfreeze mechanic to discourage camping in high altitude areas.
Extraction point timings have been rebalanced.
The Dark Swarm circle has been removed from the High Roller dungeons.
Previously removed fixed extraction points have been restored in the High Roller dungeons.
All character skills, except for the Rogue’s Pick Pocket and Wizard’s Magic Lock, are allowed in Adventure Mode.
Dungeon Recovery is now only enabled for Adventure Mode.
In Adventure Mode, players who fall to their death will now be eligible for Dungeon Recovery.
The amount of each Subboss monster spawns in the Ruins have been rebalanced.
The Health for the Cave Troll and Cyclops have been increased.
The attack patterns for the Skeleton Swordsman (Common/Elite) have been adjusted.
The Gathering Hall is now divided by language instead of server regions and supports input in languages other than English.
Updated the Low Violence option to significantly remove more blood from the game.
Updated the VFX for Barbarian’s Blood Exchange and Morale Boost.
Updated the VFX for Cleric’s Holy Aura and Druid’s Sun and Moon and Lifebloom Aura so they are no longer visible in the darkness.
Updated the VFX for Rogue’s Rupture, Cut Throat, Ambush, and Hide.
Updated the VFX for Ale.
Rank colors added to the Adventure Results screen.
Improved sound effects to be provided when receiving a new message in the lobby and dungeon.
UI updated when entering the dungeons.
Improved popup UI when returning to the lobby.

Balance Updates

Classes

Vigor scaling has been adjusted, reducing overall Max Health Base values.
Damage multipliers for each body part have been updated as follows:
Head: 150% → 200%
Body: 100% → 125%
Arm: 80% → 100%
Hand: 50% → 100%
Legs: 60% → 75%
Foot: 50% → 75%

Fighter

Counter Attack’s movement speed bonus changed from 10% to 5%.
Sprint movement speed bonus changed from 15 to 10 per stack.

Barbarian

Base Strength changed from 25 to 20.
Base Resourcefulness changed from 7 to 12.
Rage movement speed bonus changed from 12% to 7%.
Savage Roar’s movement speed reduction changed from 5% to 2.5%.
Achilles Strike duration changed from 2.5 seconds to 3 seconds.

Rouge

Base Vigor changed from 10 to 6.
Base Agility changed from 21 to 25.
Base Dexterity changed from 25 to 20.
Base Resourcefulness changed from 20 to 25.

Ranger

Backstep stack count reduced from 2 to 1.

Warlock

Anti-Magic’s magic resistance changed from 25% to 15%.
Blood Pact’s armor rating and magic resistance bonuses changed from 30 to 50 each.
When a Warlock uses Blood Pact, they will now also be considered a ‘Demon’ race.
Immortal Lament has been updated to prevent death from self-inflicted damage after transforming into a demon using Blood Pact.
Exploitation Strike’s duration changed from 4 seconds to 6 seconds.
Phantomize’s movement speed bonus changed from 5% to 10%.
Evil Eye can now be used again.

Druid

Nature’s Healing no longer scales with Magical Healing.
Shapeshift Mastery’s magical damage bonus penalty reduced from -50% to -25
Rush’s stack count reduced from 2 to 1 and cooldown reduced from 20s to 18s.
Nature’s Touch duration changed from 12 seconds to 8 seconds,
Restore duration changed from 10 seconds to 8 seconds and the heal amount changed from 30 to 20.

Sorcerer

The cooldown of Sorcerer spells updated to the following formula: Tier * 3 + 9.
Time Distortion cooldown increase changed from 3x to 2x.
Time Distortion’s debuff duration reduced from 6 seconds to 5 seconds, action speed bonus per stack changed from -6% to -5%, and movement speed bonus per stack changed from 2% to -1%.
Damage per arrow of Fire Arrow changed from 8 to 7.

Items

Reduced the weapon damage gap.
New Armor Rating curve and new Armor Rating stats for regular armor pieces.
Improved the underlying hit detection system when blocking with a shield.
Players can no longer raise their shield again before fully lowering it.
Improved the animation and collision of several weapons including the Club, Flanged Mace, Lantern Shield, Buckler and the Ceremonial Staff
Added/Adjusted more hit detection and damage zones to make attacks more consistent for several weapons including the Bardiche, Battle Axe, Crystal Sword, Double Axe, Flanged Mace, Hatchet, Horseman’s Axe, Morning Start, Spear, Wizard Staff, Zweihander and WarMaul.
Adjusted the counterattack damage multipliers for the Longsword, Lantern Shield, and Flute.
Unequipped bows will now be unloaded upon first entering the dungeon.
All daggers weapon damage decreased by 2.
War Maul weapon damage decreased by 2.
Battle Axe weapon damage decreased by 2.
Double Axe weapon damage decreased by 1.
Morning Star movespeed decreased by 5.
War Hammer movespeed decreased by 5.
Longsword weapon damage increased by 2.
Longbow weapon damage increased by 2.
Crossbow weapon damage increased by 2.
Windlass Crossbow weapon damage increased by 4.
Pavise movespeed penalty changed from -25 to -50, and impact resistance from 2 to 3.
War Hammer armor penetration reduced from 20% to 10%.
Adjusted the primary attributes of many Crafted items.
Adjusted the recipes for several Craft items including the Ghost Dust Bag and Poison Bottle and removed the previous Boss summoning craft recipes.

Developer Comments

Welcome to the semi-wipe. All your previous items and gold have been reset. We have also reset your triumph level, so you have the opportunity to earn additional Bluestone shards until the start of the next season. The Adventure Rank leaderboard has concluded for this season and the new leaderboard will not start until EA Season 7. Quest progression has not been reset with this semi-wipe, so we have added a guest merchant with several all-purpose quests to keep advanced players busy for the remainder of this season. Finally, the new Arena Rank season will start on July 11.

This semi-wipe is not a wipe to introduce new content, but a mid-season reset of specific balance parameters to introduce a substantial shift in the design direction of the game. The actual content-specific wipe is scheduled to occur a little later this summer with the start of EA Season 7 in late August.

Instead, the semi-wipe focuses on addressing balance with modifications to data and supporting features, with a specific focus on the following five points:

Power Gear Gap – Battles shouldn’t feel hopeless just because of the difference in the grade of gear.
Loot Value Balance – At the same time, upgrading to higher gear shouldn’t feel worthless either.
Combat Feel Balance – We want skills and tactics to have a little more influence on the outcome of combat and fix things that feel “off” in combat.
Class Balance and Build Viability – The outcome of battles shouldn’t feel hopeless based purely on class matchups.

Dungeon Party Composition and Dynamics – Finally, there should be ways to survive, either through combat or strategy when a person doesn’t have the luxury of entering the dungeons with a full party. We also want the dungeons to feel dangerous for everyone, not just the casual or outnumbered players.

The semi-wipe introduces the basic systems that begin to address the above points. We have currently removed the previous random modifiers from items, as they were the largest contributor to the gear gap. Please note that although the random modifiers have been removed for the start of this semi-wipe, we may consider a different iteration during the many tests we have planned for the remainder of this season, if we feel we can make them work within our balance confines. We’ve also adjusted the curve formulas of the attributes so that the primary modifiers on the items make them feel like an upgrade without going too far.

A large-scale adjustment to the armor and damage curves have normalized the durability of characters, leading to less extreme and baffling combat results. Changes to the hitbox modifiers also give greater emphasis to attack precision, giving much improved combat feedback. A rework of the underlying blocking system also significantly improves the precision of shields and parrying. This rework of armors and weapons, along with adjustments to several perks/skills, makes it so more class matchups are viable across wider combat situations.

To better support solo and duo players, we have added an in-game party system that allows players to organically form a party within the dungeons. The current Gathering Hall has been temporarily updated so players can find a party based on their language. High impact power weapons can now destroy a door without needing to equip a special perk, giving all classes the possibility to run or chase. Dungeon layouts have also been improved with certain fixed modules to provide POIs that adventurers can strategically congregate or avoid based on their circumstances.

Please note that this is just a starting point, and we plan to have many updates to build upon and polish up the systems as we lead up to EA Season 7. We look forward to building this new foundation together with you. Thank you and see you in the dungeons!