Dark and Darker finally gets a PvE-exclusive 'Adventure Mode'

Have you ever wished you could go exploring in Dark and Darker without worrying about getting ganked by a fellow adventurer who started playing the game 200 hours before you even discovered its existence? If so, good news: Season 6 of the game's early access release includes a new "Adventure Mode," a PvE-exclusive co-op format that gives players the opportunity for some risk-free dungeon crawling.

"Risk free," to be more specific, in the sense that you won't have to keep a constant wary eye on that sketchy looking dude with the knife who always seems to be hanging back from the group. There will still be plenty of ways to die in the depths, and it sounds like developer Ironmace may have fiddled with things to account for the absence of PvP threats: Much of the new mode is seemingly being left for players to discover the hard way, but the patch notes say "the risk/reward balance including loot drops, monster difficulties, and other settings for all the game modes have been adjusted to give varying risk to reward profiles."

The update also adds "new monster patterns" for the Nightmare Ice Spider, Nightmare Harpy, Nightmare Cockatrice, Nightmare Frost Giant Shielder, Nightmare Yeti, Nightmare Giant Worm, and Nightmare Wendigo, as well as a "High-Roller boss summoning system" for the Lich, Warlord, Ghost King, and Frost Wyvern.

So yeah, that sounds dangerous, but I suppose it's only fair. And frankly a PvE mode in Dark and Darker is long overdue. I'm a dungeon crawler fan but I tend to take them very slowly and methodically (yes, the sketchy looking dude with the knife who's always hanging back from the group is me), and it's not a tremendous amount of fun when I'm tucked away somewhere studying enemy movements and all of a sudden Charlie Hulkenstern comes lumbering up with a mace that looks like a Volkswagen glued to a tree trunk and starts trying to pulp me with it. Look, I'm just not a PvP guy, I admit it, and so Dark and Darker hasn't really been my bag thus far. Maybe now, that'll change.

Dark and Darker early access season 6 is live now. The full update notes are below.

Bugfixes:

• Fixed an issue where channeling-type skills occasionally failed to activate.
  
• Fixed an issue where Sorcerers could use Electric Dash to cross unopened drawbridges.
  
• Fixed an issue where pressing the R key at a specific time while the Sorcerer was Merging Spells could cancel the cast and leave the casting bar stuck on screen.
  
• Fixed an issue where Bards playing the Peacemaker song could be hit by a Wizard's Explosion spell even if they were outside the impact area.
  
• Fixed an issue where Druids reverting from any animal form to human form might not hear the transformation completion sound.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Fighter’s Shield Slam could be canceled when used at a specific time.
  
• Fixed an issue where casting Area of Effect (AOE) spells from stairs or lower floors towards the upper floor's ground could consume the spell without activation.
  
• Fixed an issue where hitting a corpse could result in the attack being blocked.
  
• Fixed an issue where the movement of the Nightmare Goblin Warrior appeared unnatural.
  
• Fixed an issue where Frost Skeleton Axemen could continue attacking deceased players.
  
• Fixed an issue where slimes might not take damage from a Wizard's Explosion.
  
• Fixed an issue where the poison effect of the Giant Worm would display bubble effects floating in the air when on a sloped surface.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Ghost King's attacks affected monsters, causing them to die after a single hit following the Ghost King's attack pattern.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Zombie's poison cloud effect and sound did not synchronize properly.
  
• Fixed an issue where after defeating a Nightmare Demon Dog or a Nightmare Frost Skeleton Guardsman, leaving and re-entering the rendering range could cause unintended sounds to play from their corpses.
  
• Fixed an issue where weapon swapping might not function correctly.
  
• Fixed an issue where switching to an inventory weapon while holding another weapon could momentarily display the newly equipped weapon's drawing motion.
  
• Fixed an issue where attempting to equip a throwable weapon and then canceling could cause the previously held weapon to become invisible.
  
• Fixed an issue where canceling an equip interaction with a full inventory could cause the item to drop to the ground without notification or sound.
  
• Fixed an issue in Goblin Town A where a specific wall was passable, allowing players to move out of the map boundaries.
  
• Fixed an issue in Goblin Town A where items could spawn floating in the air at certain locations.
  
• Fixed an issue in Goblin Town A where players could get stuck between specific walls and rocks.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Ice Cavern Hive module where players could become trapped in certain terrains.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Ice Cavern Wolf Cave module where continuously pressing the forward key in specific sections could cause screen shaking.
  
• Fixed an issue in the High-Roller Icicle Cave module where some barrels were duplicated.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Icy Abyss Staircase Hill module where players could get stuck between torches and walls.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Ruins Stables module where Druids could use Rat Form to escape the map at certain spots.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Ruins Refectory module where Druids could use Rat Form to escape the map at certain spots.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Ruins Greathall A module where a locked iron door requiring a key was placed on the path to the Banshee boss room.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Ruins Pyramid module where a Silver Coin at a specific location was uncollectible.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Ruins Tower Bridge module where players could collide with invisible blocking volumes at certain spots.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Crypt Catacomb module where Druids could use Chicken Form to escape the map at certain spots.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Crypt High Priests module where monsters could not cross a specific door.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Crypt Wheel module where skeletons could not follow players up certain stairs.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Crypt Swamp module where some background props could flicker at certain spots.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Crypt Dungeons module where parts of certain prison walls protruded unnaturally.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Crypt Center Altar module where props were floating in the air at specific locations.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Crypt Broken Bridge module where props were floating in the air at specific locations.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Crypt Coffin Rooms module where ceiling structures were misaligned.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Crypt Cross Road module where dropping a necklace item could make it appear as if it had disappeared.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Crypt where certain random dungeon module combinations could trap players.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Inferno Blood Castle module where arrows could stick in midair or torches could float.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Inferno Demon Gate module where items could spawn in midair.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Inferno where portals could spawn in locations difficult for players to access.
  
• Fixed an issue where the fixed reward cloak in the Boss Treasure Room might not spawn.
  
• Fixed an issue where dropping items to the ground in dungeons could cause overlapping sound effects.
  
• Fixed an issue where the artifact 'Illusory' could activate its effect even if the spell cast failed.
  
• Fixed an issue where Lantern visual effects could remain on the ground.
  
• Fixed an issue where using the Oil Lantern could cause crashes in certain situations.
  
• Fixed an issue where improving fixed options on some equipment could alter the attributes of gear with completed Gem Socketing.
  
• Fixed an issue where improving fixed options on some equipment could cause discrepancies between the base options of crafting material items and crafted items.
  
• Fixed an issue where tooltip sizes could momentarily shift when checking item tooltips consecutively, even when the tooltips were the same size, due to information updates within the tooltip.
  
• Fixed an issue where spectating other parties was not possible even if you escaped successfully while another party remained.
  
• Fixed an issue where users without a rank—due to never entering a High-Roller dungeon—could have their rank icon displayed as Neophyte.
  
• Fixed an issue where a friend’s online status could appear incorrectly after reconnecting to the game.
  
• Fixed an issue where buttons behind the dungeon selection popup could still be clicked.
  
• Fixed an issue in the character creation screen where the hand position holding sword-type weapons could appear awkward.
  
• Fixed an issue where a friend's name could appear as their character name instead of their account name.
  
• Fixed an issue where pressing the Caps Lock key while the Arena chat window was active could trigger the Arena scoreboard.
  
• Fixed an issue where, after being hit by Echo of Screams in Arena, the sound could become muffled in the next round.
  
• Fixed an issue where canceling Arena matchmaking and attempting to rematch could cause the game to crash and equipped SSF items to disappear.
  
• Fixed an issue where items looted after the final round text appeared in the Arena might not be accounted for in the summary.
  
• Fixed an issue where the High-Roller rank icon could appear in the Arena result screen.
  
• Fixed an issue where the crafted item ‘Cloak of Darkness’ from the Tailor could only roll two random stats instead of the intended amount.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Merchant’s text in the Quest Log could be stuck at the bottom due to the scroll bar being fixed there.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Zombie race’s -5% Debuff Duration Bonus could be applied in reverse.
  
• Fixed an issue where using the emote ‘The Carole’ while falling could cause the character’s position to be stuck midair.
  
• Fixed an issue where the smoke effect of the rest interaction ‘Skewered Food’ could be directed into the ground.
  
• Fixed an issue where character legs could appear distorted while using resting emotes.

Game Updates:

• New PvE only ‘Adventure Mode’ has been added to the game!
  
• The risk/reward balance including loot drops, monster difficulties, and other settings for all the game modes have been adjusted to give varying risk to reward profiles.
  
• The Marketplace and Trading Post will be closed for the first two weeks of this season.
  
• Twitch Drops Campaign #2 is coming soon! Check our Discord announcements for details.
  
• 6 new shop items are now available for sale. Visit the shop to check them out!
  
• New Interactive Emote available as an EA5 Demigod exclusive reward.
  
• A new ‘Artifact’ grade has been added for in-game items.
  
• 2 new throwable items added: Poison Vial and Ghostdust Pouch
  
• 3 new craftable items added: Staff of Gluttony, Crystal Frost Ring, and Tome of Sheol
  
• 4 new Inferno Normal monsters added: Demon Imp, Ghoul, Demon Fly, and Hell Maggot
  
• 3 new Inferno Subbosses added: Cerberus, Dreadspine, and Abomination
  
• New monster patterns added for the Nightmare Ice Spider, Nightmare Harpy, Nightmare Cockatrice, Nightmare Frost Giant Shielder, Nightmare Yeti, Nightmare Giant Worm, and Nightmare Wendigo.
  
• Added a new High-Roller boss summoning system with new crafted items for the Lich, Warlord, Ghost King, and Frost Wyvern. More bosses to be added in future updates.
  
• Adjusted the health and damage of each boss monster.
  
• The ‘Illusory’ artifact now leaves afterimages periodically when casting spells.
  
• Improved certain monster movements using a new IK system.
  
• Improved the hit effects on monsters based on their materials.
  
• Environmental props have been optimized.
  
• New Ruins modules added.
  
• Adjusted the Ruins Dual Boss Room door proportions.
  
• Updated the textures in the Ice Cavern maps.
  
• The return of the Expressman. You can now deliver a separate batch of items between each floor.
  
• Added a high-value chest to the center of the Arena Bat Roost module.
  
• Sound effect added to the "Hold the Line" Emote.
  
• Items now have new ‘Tradable’ and ‘Permitted Area’ properties that restrict how certain items can be used.
  
• Account-Wide Merchant: Shop and crafting services are now shared across your account.
  
• Account-Wide Marketplace: Marketplace access is now shared across your account.
  
• New Cockatrice NPC added to the Merchant list. Complete quests to grow your Cockatrice.
  
• Increased the purchase limits for ‘Poor’ grade Hunting Traps, Francisca Axes, and Throwing Knives from 1 → 10 per purchase period.
  
• The crafting limit for most crafted items for each crafting period has been increased from 1 → 3.
  
• UI polish to the Squire: My Gear Sets button.
  
• Brightness options have been separated in the options for more precise control over the brightness of the menus.
  
• Russian font replaced for improved readability.
  
• Fonts updated to support French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German accents.
  
• General sound improvements.
  
• Items obtained with Reward Tokens are treated as Self Founded items.
  
• Reward Tokens should no longer give 'Uncommon' grade items.
  
• Reward Token now have a chance to drop a Unique Grade item.
  
• Reward Token now have a chance to drop a Gold Coin Chest.
  
• Reward Token now have a chance to drop a Gold Coin Bag.
  
• Updated the Goblin Merchant so he now offers more items.
  
• Squire basic sets updated with Sorcerer and Druid equipment.
  
• Decreased the AP gained for going down a floor from 100 AP → 10 AP.
  
• Increased the penalty for dying from -0 AP → -10 AP.
  
• Crafting recipes for the Potion of Healing, Potion of Protection, Magic Protection Potion, and Potion of Clarity have been updated.

General Balance Updates

• The Armor Rating curve has been modified to give slightly less PDR in the early part of the curve.
  
• Cooldown time reduction bonuses are limited to a maximum cap of 65%.

Class Balance Updates:

• Casting a spell with Time Distortion equipped now applies a -30% Action Speed debuff.
  
• Sorcerer’s Stone Skin duration changed from 10 seconds to 15 seconds, and its physical damage reduction bonus changed from 10% to 15%.

Item Balance Updates:

• Random modifiers have been significantly modified.
  
• Weapon damage for most weapons have been updated.
  
• The weapon animation for the Club has been improved.
  
• The draw speed of the Crystal Sword has been slightly improved.
  
• The gear score of items have been readjusted. Helmets, gloves, and boots have had their gear score slightly increased. Weapons and crafted items have had their gear score normalized.