Highlights

  • Weapon choices in Dark and Darker are limited compared to other MMORPGs, with around a dozen variations for each type.
  • The Rapier is a decent weapon for multiple classes, providing piercing damage and fast combo attacks in this dungeon crawler.
  • The Viking Sword offers decent damage for fighter and barbarian players but lacks an artifact version and has slower combo attacks.

Dark and Darker is an interesting game that is somewhat unique. With a free-to-play option, this is a dungeon crawler with a difference. Players can group up with friends or random people to complete dungeon challenges. Gameplay is quite simple, but it can be a lot of fun with the right group of players.

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Weapon choices are quite narrow in Dark and Darker. Whereas other MMORPGs provide possibly hundreds of weapon variations, Dark and Darker only has around a dozen of each weapon type, including swords. Some of the swords in the game are better than others.

8 Rapier

Solid Single Handed Sword

Rapier In Dark And Darker

Stats:

  • Damage: 22-29 (depending on weapon tier)
  • Style: One-handed (main)
  • Classes: Ranger, rogue, bard
  • Movement: -15
  • Artifact: Viola
  • How to get: World drop

The Rapier is a decent weapon in Dark And Darker. Usable by multiple classes in this dungeon crawler, it is a definitive piercing damage weapon. All primary attacks do pierce damage, and this is a fairly fast weapon, as most one-handed swords are in this game.

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Attack combos are all quite quick with the Rapier. The weapon has a -7% slowdown on hit, which is outclassed by many other swords in the game. Overall, this is a good weapon, but not considered top-tier, although it does have a pretty decent artifact version.

7 Viking Sword

Good One-Handed Sword

Viking Sword In Dark And Darker

Stats:

  • Damage: 30-37 (depending on weapon tier)
  • Style: One-handed (main)
  • Classes: Fighter, barbarian
  • Movement: -20
  • Artifact: None
  • How to get: World drop

The Viking Sword is one of the better swords that is available to fighter and barbarian players in the early to mid-game in Dark and Darker. It does decent damage and should be quite a frequent world drop from some enemies.

This is a fairly slow weapon, though, with some combo attacks taking more than a second to complete. However, the -15% slowdown on hit can negate this issue somewhat. Unfortunately, there is no artifact version of the Viking Sword, which is a shame.

6 Short Sword

Good Offhand Weapon

Short Sword In Dark And Darker

Stats:

  • Damage: 22-30 (depending on weapon tier)
  • Style: One-handed (offhand)
  • Classes: Fighter, rogue, ranger, bard
  • Movement: -15
  • Artifact: None
  • How to get: World drop

The Short Sword is the basic offhand sword weapon for dual-wielding classes in Dark and Darker. That being said, it is a better option than some other offhand weapons, such as daggers in most cases, and would be good for beginners.

With its -15% slowdown on hit and a weapon speed that results in very fast combos compared to other swords, under 820ms in all cases, this is a very handy sword but not as fast as smaller offhand weapons. Overall, for dual-wielding classes looking for some extra DPS, the Short Sword might be a good choice for the offhand weapon.

5 Arming Sword

Has A Cool Artifact Version

Arming Sword In Dark And Darker

Stats:

  • Damage: 26-35 (depending on weapon tier)
  • Style: One-handed (main)
  • Classes: Fighter, ranger, bard
  • Movement: -20
  • Artifact: Kuma’s Claw
  • How to get: World drop

The Arming Sword is one of the fastest of all main hand sword weapons in Dark and Darker, with all combos taking less than a second to complete. The nice thing about the Arming Sword is that it does both slashing and piercing damage.

With a -15% slowdown on hit, combined with its great combo execution speed, this could be a good choice for dual-wielding classes as their main hand weapon. It might not suit sword and board style play, where a slower but higher damage weapon would be a better option.

4 Falchion

High Damage But Slow

Falchion In Dark And Darker
  • Damage: 34-44 (depending on weapon tier)
  • Style: One-handed (main)
  • Classes: Fighter, bard, warlock
  • Movement: -25
  • Artifact: Kuma’s Fang
  • How to get: World drop

The Falchion is the first one-handed, main hand sword on this list that really suits playing as a tank, with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. This is a slow weapon, with all combos taking over a second to complete, but it has high damage.

With a -20% slowdown on hit, and all slashing damage, this is a typical single-handed weapon in every way. It is not exactly ideal for using with any form of dual-wielding build.

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3 Crystal Sword

Physical And Mana Damage

Crystal Sword In Dark And Darker
  • Physical damage: 12-20 (depending on weapon tier)
  • Mana damage: 9-17 (depending on weapon tier)
  • Style: Two-handed (main)
  • Classes: Wizard, warlock
  • Movement: -30
  • Artifact: None
  • How to get: World drop

The Crystal Sword is the only magic and spell user-specific sword in Dark and Darker. Dealing both physical and mana damage in a single hit. This is a two-handed sword, and it is very slow, with all combos taking more than a second to complete.

However, for mana users who prefer using a bladed weapon doing slashing damage, the Crystal Sword is the only option. The 15% slowdown on hit is mediocre as well. But this is a mage sword, so some limitations are to be expected.

2 Longsword

Excellent Two-Handed Weapon

Longsword In Dark And Darker
  • Damage: 39-48 (depending on weapon tier)
  • Style: Two-handed (main)
  • Classes: Fighter, warlock
  • Movement: -30
  • Artifact: Fulgor
  • How to get: World drop

The Longsword and its artifact version, Fulgor, are both excellent, high-damage, two-handed weapons in Dark and Darker. This is a weapon that does both piercing and slashing damage in one packer as well.

The Longsword is surprisingly handy for a two-handed weapon, with all combo attacks but one taking less than a second to complete. With a -17% slowdown on hit but a -30 movement speed debuff, this is not the kind of weapon for positional combat. However, it is well worth a place high on this list.

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1 Zweihander

The Best Two-Handed Sword

Zweihander In Dark And Darker
  • Damage: 41-52 (depending on weapon tier)
  • Style: Two-handed (main)
  • Classes: Fighter, warlock, barbarian
  • Movement: -40
  • Artifact: None
  • How to get: World drop

Zweihander is a massive two-handed sword that does heaps of damage at the cost of being incredibly slow. The movement speed debuff is a whopping 40. Combo attacks are also very slow to complete, with the worst of them taking over 1.5 seconds.

This is an all slashing damage weapon, with a -25% slowdown on hit. However, for players who prefer to simply beat on their enemies until they die, the Zweihander is going to suit them down to the ground. It deserves its place at the top of this list.

dark and darker
Dark and Darker

Platform(s)
PC
Released
August 7, 2023
Developer(s)
Ironmace
Genre(s)
Action RPG