Dark and Darker 2024 Roadmap

Recently, in a live Q&A, IRONMACE discussed the future of their game through a Dark and Darker 2024 Roadmap format. Dark and Darker has gone through a rollercoaster of a development path. The game began beta testing in late 2022 garnering huge amounts of popularity and success. However, the game soon received legal struggles in a dispute with Nexon which put the games future into turmoil – removing the game from Steam entirely.

Fast forward to 2024 and it has been nothing but good news for the game! Currently, Dark and Darker is alive and kicking with a new Wipe (Wipe #3). With some recent legal victories and the go-ahead to continue development, IRONMACE revealed essentially a “Roadmap” and a campaign spanning throughout 2024.

2024 Roadmap and Updates

dark and darker 2024 roadmap — Credit: Ryan6daysaweek

As seen in the image above, there is a lot to look forward to and some very obvious big-hitters. However, one important piece of information is missing from this roadmap that was recently announced. Below, we’ll go through the most important parts of the Roadmap.

Epic Games Store and the Return to Steam

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, IRONMACE confirmed that they’ll be starting their return campaign by having Dark and Darker on the Epic Games Store! Terrance from IRONMACE suggested that Epic Games Store is a great starting point for the return of Dark and Darker to the masses as they ramp up and continue development plans. However, this is the beginning of something even better.

With the new Dark and Darker wipe (wipe #3) aiming to last around 3 months, IRONMACE plan to begin a marketing push within 3-6 months from the beginning of the wipe. This marketing push is aimed towards eventually bringing Dark and Darker back to Steam as the main platform of choice! This is especially huge for the game. As many players use Steam as a platform and tend to not move away from it. However, IRONMACE wish to ensure the game has the right amount of content and polish first.

Epic Games Store release is looking to be in the near future, with the Steam re-launch of Dark and Darker being around the 3-6 month mark.

Dark and Darker Multiclassing

Multiclassing is a feature newly added into Dark and Darker as of the new March 2024 wipe. Existing players may remember the “Training” tab on the character menu. This tab is now available to test, this feature unlocks the potential to “Multiclass”. To Multiclass, the system works in the following ways:

To be able to unlock Multiclassing, a class character must reach Level 100 to “Master” the class.
As you level up past 100, you’ll earn Learning Tokens.
You can spend your tokens to learn a generic ability, perk, skill or spell from the vendor. Or, learn and take abilities, perks, skills or spells from ANY class and unlock them for ANY class
To be able to learn from another class (For example: you have a Level 100 Wizard and want to learn skills from a Warlock) the class you want to learn from also has to be Level 100 or higher – a “Mastered” class.
When using tokens for a generic upgrade or learning from other classes, you’ll be given a choice to take one of three upgrades each time.
There is also no real restriction in build creativity.

This type of system is of course why IRONMACE proceed with caution when it comes to a Steam release. Many things within this system could be too powerful and as a result, require a ton of balancing. However, this feature is incredible for creativity and a fantastic edition to the game.

The Druid

The new and seemingly final “base game” class coming later to the wipe is the Druid. The Druid is a class that harnesses the strength of nature. The main unique mechanic for the Druid is the Shapeshifting ability, shifting between animal forms. As a result, we can expect the new class to add another layer of depth to the game – utilizing magic and melee.

Currently, the Druid is set to release within the first couple of weeks of the new season and wipe.

PVP Arena

Another interesting yet seemingly opinion-dividing feature coming to Dark and Darker is the PVP Arena. According to IRONMACE, the general idea of the PVP Arena is to allow for instant PVP access. This means the ability to test dream builds and classes out in PVP combat with no risk of gear loss. As for how the Arena is built, it is not known whether or not there’ll be pre-set loadouts or a ranking system.

New Map: Ice Abyss

After the first month of the new season, IRONMACE plan to release a new map – the Ice Abyss. It seems that Ice Abyss is going to be the follow-up location to the duo map “Ice Caverns”. Similarly to how the Crypts has Red Down Portals to move into “Inferno”, you’ll be able to move into “Ice Abyss”. If the map is indeed following the same trends as the Inferno, expect increasingly difficult terrains and mobs.

New Boss: Ice Wyvern

Releasing most likely alongside the Ice Abyss is the new Dark and Darker boss – the Ice Wyvern. The Ice Wyvern assumes a role similar to the Lich King and Ghost King in the Inferno map. Deep inside the Ice Abyss, the Ice Wyvern is waiting for players to challenge. Our current prediction is that the Wyvern is not only the largest Dark and Darker monster, but also the most difficult to defeat.

Other Upcoming Features and Changes

While the main selling points of the new season and 2024 roadmap are fantastic, that is not all the fantastic additions and changes coming throughout IRONMACE’s return campaign!

AP/Loot Rebalancing – Fix the flow of the game overall
Pre-lobby Removed
New Player Race (Currently, we have only a few races available – this is a welcome addition)
Dungeon Insurance & Expressman Services – a feature similar to Insurance in Escape from Tarkov. Insure certain gear pieces to protect them and return them to you if they’re not looted from you.
Backpacks & Quivers – Backpacks increase inventory space mid-dungeon while Quivers save Rangers space by holding Arrows
Guild Hall/Player Room – Social spaces and Guilds is heading to Dark and Darker! Soon we’ll be able to have individual housing and Guild Halls to socialize with others in the game