Highlights
- Upgrade starter gear ASAP for survival in Dark and Darker's dungeons. Free gear won't cut it.
- Don't waste coins on pricey potions and bandages early on - save money for better gear.
- Be cautious in lobbies - high-level players may be out to gank low-level players. Stay safe!
Dark and Darker stands out as an excellent cooperative dungeon crawler. While it can be enjoyed solo, it truly excels when a small team of players forms a synergistic party, with each member's abilities enhancing the others. This free-to-play game does not attempt to cater to every possible audience, but focuses instead on delivering solid core gameplay. Though it may not be the most intricate RPG available, its fundamental mechanics are great fun.
Dark and Darker: Best Weapons, Ranked
Dark and Darker offers players a fairly narrow selection of wepaons, but this makes it simpler to choose the best option.
There are a few fundamental mistakes that new Dark and Darker players might make. None of these are disastrous, and they are all easily avoided. Most of these mistakes revolve around not spending coins efficiently, or falling afowl of griefers and gankers. A little thought and preparation goes a long way to avoiding these pitfalls in this co-op game.
7 Don’t Use The Starter Gear
Upgrade As Soon As Possible
No matter which class a player chooses in Dark and Darker, the free, new player equipment that everyone is given at the start of the game is terrible. Entering a dungeon when playing solo as a new player using the basic, free equipment that every new character starts with is a recipe for a quick death.
Dark And Darker: Best Bows, Ranked
There are only 6 bows available in Dark and Darker, with most of these being locked to the Ranger class.
Check out the merchants to find out if there is any better equipment that can be purchased that is within budget. In a worst-case scenario, a new player may need to leech off a higher-level group for a few dungeon runs to build up some bank. That's still a better option than trying to tackle any missions with the starting gear though.
6 Don’t Buy Expensive Bandages At First
Buy The Cheap Version Of Bandages
In the early game, there are much better uses for money than expensive bandages, such as upgrading the free starter gear. However, there is another option. The Surgeon merchant has two different grades of bandages on offer, with one being a 3rd of the price of the other.
This is going to be the go-to bandage at the start of the game, until the player has accrued enough bank to upgrade their gear to a decent level. Only then should they begin using the better, but more expensive bandages in this role-playing game.
5 Don't Buy Pricey Potions In The Early Game
The Expensive Versions Of Potions Cost Way Too Much Early On
In the same way that the Surgeon offers two grades of bandages for sale, the Alchemist merchant has two grades of potions. Again, the cheap version is a 3rd of the price of the expensive version. Don’t buy the expensive version of potions until the starter gear has been replaced with something better.
Some classes in Dark and Darker, such as the Cleric, can self-heal, and can go without buying healing potions and even bandages sometimes, which saves on the cost, making it easier to quickly upgrade the starter gear. However, for other classes, buying the cheap potions early on is the right move.
4 Don't Start Out Queuing In Lobbies With High-Level Players
Look Out For Potential Gankers
When entering the multiplayer lobby in preparation for a dungeon crawl, make sure to look at the players in the lobby. There is no reason for high-level, fully-geared players to be in the same game lobby as low-level players.
Check out any suspicious-looking players, look at their level, and the kind of gear they are using. If there is one or more players that seem to be far too advanced for the lobby, try to avoid queuing for a dungeon crawl with them, as these are all PvP-enabled, and it is likely those players simply intend to gank low-level players.
3 Don't Trust Crouch Spamming
It Could Be A Trap
This mistake aligns with the previous one. In Dark and DarkerPvP gameplay, players will often spam the crouch animation to indicate that they are vulnerable, and do not want to fight. However, be careful of approaching a player that is crouch spamming, as it could be a trap.
Dark And Darker: Best Maces, Ranked
There are some good blunt and mace weapons available to players of Dark and Darker, but some are better than others.
Some players who like to grief others will spam crouch to lull a person into a false sense of security, so that they believe it is safe to approach. The griefer will then stop spamming crouch and attack the player. It kind of defeats the purpose of crouch spamming in the first place, but it's a small concern that's easily solved by taking an extra cautious approach.
2 Don’t Put Off Unlocking The Trader
It Can Be A Good Source Of Income
Unlocking the Trader enables player-to-player trade of items and consumables. For new players looking to upgrade their gear, the trader can be a good source of bargains. It is also great for selling unwanted items and generating income.
However, in order to unlock the Trader, players have to upgrade their account to legendary status. This costs 15 Redstone Shards, which will be quite tough to get as a new player. It may be worth making a one-off purchase in the cash shop for this, as it makes everything else in the game go more smoothly.
1 Don’t Hoard Rare And Epic Items
Sell Them To Make Cash
It can be very tempting for a new Dark and Darker player to hoard equipment and items, especially rare and epic items. Ultimately, every player will want to have a full legendary equipment loadout eventually, so hanging on to rare and epic items that can’t be used is mostly pointless.
Dark And Darker: Best Swords, Ranked
Dark and Darker is a great dungeon crawler with some excellent slashing and piercing swords.
Unlocking the Trader enables a player to trade with others. Many rare and epic items sell for hundreds of coins, and this can be a fantastic source of wealth to help with upgrading gear and buying consumable supplies. Therefore, unless an item is actually useful, sell it to another player. There are plenty more to find. However, trading items is locked behind the same paywall as the Trader, which is important to keep in mind.
