Dark and Darker Update Adds More Rewards and 2 New Stats

Dark and Darker got its latest update just this week with Ironmace releasing the second major patch during the game's early access period. Given that this is a full patch itself and not just a hotfix, it's got some notable features for players to try out including new rewards from merchants to go after as well as two totally new attributes that'll help govern players' actions from here on. But because this is a major update, it also brings about a full wipe of players' gold, items, levels, and Triumph, Ironmace cautioned, so don't be surprised when you see those removed after updating.

Merchants are an area of Dark and Darker that's frequently addressed in updates like this one, and in this update, the merchants have been given two new systems: one for quests, and one for affinity. The two systems go hand-in-hand with players able to earn better rewards and build up relationships with merchants by completing quests.

"Merchants now give quests that can be completed to earn extra rewards and unlock access to better items, crafts, and deals," the patch notes for the update said.

Dark and Darker players who've been around for awhile now should be well acquainted with different stats like Strength, Will, and Knowledge, and now, players have two more to be mindful of: Vigor and Dexterity. The former governs how much max health a player has while the latter deals with how fast a player's actions are.

The full patch notes for this second early access update can be found below:

Dark and Darker Patch Notes for Early Access Update #2

• Start of a new season, all character levels, gold, items, and triumph levels have been wiped. Bluestone Shards and shop cosmetic items are not wiped.
• New Quest System added to the Merchants.
• New merchant affinity system – improve your relationship with the merchants to unlock more items for sale, more craft items, and better prices.
• Adventure Title Ranked system for the High-Roller dungeons.
• Results window for the High-Roller dungeons.
• New Attributes – Vigor and Dexterity along with Health Recovery Bonus and Spell Recovery Bonus sub-attributes.
• All classes have had their base attributes rebalanced to include the new attributes.
• Several new items that confer the new attributes.
• Primary Stats of many items updated.
• Primary Stats of Cobalt and Rubysilver items updated.
• New Iron and Copper ore added.
• Ore Spawns have been updated.
• New Craft resources – Iron, Copper, and Silver ingots and powder.
• New Craft items added including Iron, Copper, and Golden crafted items.
• New Silver crafted weapons that give an 'Undead Slaying' bonus.
• Iron can be used to craft Throwing Knives, Francisca Axes, Hunting Traps, Lockpicks, and Trap Disarming Kits.
• Loot State is now displayed for items. Starter items start as 'Supplied'. Items extracted from the dungeons for the first time appear as "Looted'. Items become 'Handled' once they are successfully brought in and extracted from a dungeon or traded. All 'Handled' items can now be placed in your stash.
• Bid adieu to Jack and welcome the return of Jolly Nicholas to the Merchants.
• Skill and perk descriptions have now been standardized.
• A 'Player Statistics' menu is available from the 'Main Menu'.
• Elite Warlord added to the High-Roller Inferno.
• New Cyclops boss added to the Goblin Caves.
• The number of portals has been increased for the Goblin Caves.
• Visual improvements to the fixed portals and they now appear on the mini-map.
• Visual improvements to the female Elf head.
• Animations modified for the Lute, Kris Dagger, Magic Staff, and Crystal Sword.
• Two new emotes added – 'Loser' and 'Money, Money, Money'.
• New Wizard spell – Explosion.
• Wizard's Fireball count has been lowered from 5 -> 4.
• Wizard's Magic Missile attribute bonus rate increased from 50% -> 100%
• Bard's Rousing Rhythms all attribute bonus has been changed to 1/2/3 -> 2/2/2.
• The Strength that can be obtained from all grades of Ale has been reduced.