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In the recent Dark and Darker patch, Hotfix 13, the game underwent a major transformation. Among them, Rogue faces a significant weakening, and Clerics receives a buff, which also includes impending wipe and balance changes.

Here, we dissect these changes to provide you with the insights you need to adapt and thrive in this changing environment. So let’s unpack the intricacies of these updates, prepare for the upcoming wipe, and explore what the future holds for this dynamic gaming world.

Rogue Nerfs

The recent patch brought some big changes to Rogue class. Here we first talk about the various aspects of Rogue being weakened.

First, Rogue’s base agility is reduced from 35 to 30. This change makes Rogue slower and affects their swing speed. However, Rogue’s base Resourcefulness has been increased from 15 to 20. This means Rogue will earn Dark and Darker Gold faster and mine faster, with mining speeds increasing by approximately 10%.

What’s more, it has significantly reduced the damage bonus to their Ambush skill from 50% to 30%. This is a huge nerf to Rogue’s burst damage potential.

Also, the base duration of Rogue’s hidden ability has been significantly reduced from 60 seconds to just 20 seconds. But the developers introduced a new Hide Mastery perk for Rogue to increase the duration of their hide abilities. Although this does not specify an exact percentage increase.

Finally, Rogue’s Weakpoint Attack takes a heavy hit. Weakpoint Attack’s 50% weapon damage bonus has been removed. Also, Armor rating debuff has been reduced from 40% to 25%. Meanwhile, the duration of this Weakpoint Attack is reduced from 5 seconds to 3 seconds. And the damage of all daggers has been reduced.

Together, these changes resulted in a significant nerf in the Rogue class, especially in terms of damage output. Rogue players are now expected to rely more on other strategies, such as stacking poison or building up magic damage.

Clerics Buff

While Rogue class has been nerfed, Clerics class has also received some tweaks. The changes mainly focus on its base statistics.

First, Clerics’ base strength is increased from 11 to 13, giving Clerics approximately 6 additional health points.

Also, Clerics’ base agility has been slightly increased from 11 to 12 points, resulting in approximately a 3% increase in running speed.

Clerics base Will reduced from 30 to 25. This reduces their healing amount, spell damage, and buff duration. But the reduction in Clerics is far less significant than the nerf in Rogue.

Finally, Clerics’ base Resourcefulness has been increased from 5% to 7%, which helps open doors and chests faster. This increases heist speed and overall gameplay efficiency.

Upcoming Updates

In addition to the changes mentioned above, the developers are also planning a major update for Tuesday, September 26th. This update addresses a serious gold cheating issue.

This update will wipe all player inventories, including items and gold. However, players will retain their character and level progression. Also, the update will introduce sweeping balance changes that will affect nearly every class, weapon, and item in the game.

Given that Rogue class has been significantly weakened, there is a lot of uncertainty about its future viability. Therefore, we recommend you test Rogue class frequently as of late to evaluate how these changes affect gameplay.

However, I suspect they may make further adjustments to balance the classes before the patch. Other classes may also receive changes to bring them in line with the new Rogue stats.

Overall, the recent patch has had a major impact on Rogue class, while slightly buffing Clerics class. A sweeping balance change is coming, heralding an exciting new phase for the game. Please keep an eye out for further updates and adjust your play style accordingly.

Welcome to my comprehensive guide on how to cheese every mini boss. I’ll cover various ways to deal with each boss with ease. And this guideline applies to all classes. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Skeleton Champion

First, we meet Skeleton Champion. If you’re fighting a Skeleton Champion on flat ground, the best way to deal with it is to lure out its first swing. You need to stay relatively close at this point in order to lure Champion into continuing his combo. Then punish until you see a shield bash.

This attack has more resilience than others, giving even slower classes time to be punished safely .

Champion has a fast, forward slash that makes these short punishment windows dangerous. So always remember to turn around and move sideways or forward to avoid injury, rather than backing up. If your class is faster, you can punish after a combo ends early. But this is risky for slower classes.

The best way to deal with this monster is to climb on top of it, so you can handle it easily. You can also attack Skeleton Champion by standing lower than it. But sometimes you need steep stairs to make it work, and we still took a little damage. So, don’t forget to spend Dark and Darker Gold at the merchant in advance to get some Shields and Healing Potions.

Wraith

Next we will encounter Wraith. It’s very scary, but with this strategy, it becomes one of the easiest enemies in the game. No matter which attack it makes, just crouch down, look straight down, and move forward and left. You can keep repeating this process until Wraith dies.

You also kill Wraith by standing on top of torches, ledges, and chests. But because it’s taller than Skeleton Champion, you’ll need to make sure the object you’re using is high enough to not get hit.

Demon Dog / Demon Berserker

Next up are Demon Dogs. They do have an interesting mechanic. You may notice that they won’t harass you if you don’t stand in front of them. You can sneak past them to a safe point and then try to kill them.

Whether it’s a Demon Dog or a Demon Berserker, standing on top of them can be dealt with in the same way. But since Demon Berserker is taller, you’ll definitely need something taller to deal with them.

When you spot a Demon Berserker, make sure you don’t stand underneath them or you’ll take a lot of damage. And it really doesn’t work at all. So I highly recommend looking for top ledges to use rather than trying to use stairs or anything.

Then after they attack, you need to go sideways to the left or right side. Then attack them and wait for their next attack.

There is another way to deal with Demon Dog. This is more useful than beating them with terrain or whatever. If you’re going to deal with Demon Dogs, you’ll need to close the door behind them. Because they are on the lower level, the doors will not break.

When a Demon Dog attacks, all you can do is stick their head out. You can stab them in the head repeatedly, eventually killing them, without facing any danger. This is a very reliable way to deal with Demon Dog without any danger.

Demon Centuar

Finally, we have Demon Centuar to deal with. You can enjoy Demon Centuar on high with full cheese. But you need to make sure there is enough space to attack from above. This will allow you to peek and hit him once or twice, then avoid any of his upper attacks.

You can also reduce much of the damage he does by crouching on the stairs in front of him. Note that it still has an attack that will still hit you, but can be dodged.

This boss requires a little patience, and it has a lot of health. But you can deal with him effectively by taking advantage of a lot of high ground.

That’s all the mini-bosses are currently in Dark and Darker. I’ll continue to find more ways to help you deal with new bosses, new enemies. Don’t forget to share this with your friends so they don’t die again. See you next time!

What if you want to know the exact time each area in Dark and Darker and its portals spawn, but don’t want to put in the effort to find out? Then you’ve come to the right place. I calculated the exact time information for all areas in Dark and Darker. Here’s everything you need to know. I will share it with you here.

We should note that they may change later, based on IRONMACE adjustments. But here are the current zone times and portal spawns, and knowing them may save you a lot of time and Dark and Darker Gold. The next thing I mention is the timer on the mini map, which should be in the lower right corner of the screen. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Goblin Caves

So let’s start with Goblin Caves. Each Goblin Caves game lasts 10 minutes and 35 seconds. The opening hour of Zone 1 is 8:10 - 7:30. That opening hour of Zone 2 is 5:50 - 5:15, and it generated two portal spots. The duration of Zone 3 is 3:45 - 3:15. From this point on, it will generate no more portal spots.

You should note that game time will be measured by ticks above the mini-map, with each tick representing approximately 14 seconds. But the timer goes off, so Zone 4 will open at 9 ticks to 7 ticks and produce a portal. Then, after about 3 ticks, Zone 5 opens, and it created a final portal. Now we have finished working on Goblin Caves.

Also Read: An Exploration Guide For Dark And Darker High Roller Goblin Cave Map

Ruins

Next, let’s take a look at Ruins. Ruins map lasts slightly longer than Goblin Caves, at 11 minutes and 55 seconds per game. The first opening time of Zone 1 on this map is approximately 8:50 - 7:20, and it generated no portal. Then Zone 2 lasts from 5:20 - 4:20 and has two portal spots. The opening time of Zone 3 will be 3:20 - 2:35, and it will generate four portal spots.

Ticks above the map, with each tick representing approximately 15 seconds, measure game time from 2:35 onwards. Therefore, Zone 4 will go from 7 ticks to about 4 ticks and create two portal spots. Zone 5 will close for the ultimate time around 3 ticks, resulting in a portal spot of zero.

So just always remember if you are on Ruins map. And you reach the last area, please make sure it protected the portal as new portals do not expire. 

Howling Crypts

Let’s move to the last map, Howling Crypts. The zone time here is actually the same as in Ruins. The only difference is the portal spots generation.

Therefore, the duration of Howling Crypts map is also 11 minutes and 55 seconds. Among them, the opening time of Zone 1 is approximately 8:50 - 7:20, and a blue portal spot appears. The duration of Zone 2 is 5:20 - 4:20, and it generated two blue portal spots. The opening time of Zone 3 will be 3:20 - 2:35, with four blue portal spots and nine red portal spots generated.

Ticks above the map, with each tick representing approximately 15 seconds measure similar to Ruins, gameplay time in Howling Crypts. Therefore, Zone 4 will close from approximately 7 ticks to 4 ticks, and generate three blue portal spots and three red portal spots. Zone 5 will be closed for the last time at about 3 ticks, and it will generate no portal spots.

Here I will summarize the different times for all maps and their portal spots generation. You probably don’t want to memorize every area and portal spot spawn point. Because this obviously requires a lot of work.

Instead, I recommend you keep in mind whether the last area on each map generates portal spots, and how long the tick on the mini map timer represents. Hopefully, I’ve saved you some time with this. You probably don’t need to memorize it entirely, but I feel like knowing this information will come in handy one day. Good luck!

Most players may feel intimidated when entering Inferno for the first time because there are many new demon mobs.

But don’t worry. Here I will teach you how to kill the four demon mobs in Inferno, namely Demon Dog, Demon Bat, Demon Centaur and Demon Berserker. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Demon Dog

The most common demon mobs you see in Inferno are Demon Dogs. Demon Dog has only one attack, and that’s Forward Lunge. It targets your upper chest and head. So don’t forget to spend Dark and Darker Gold ahead of time to get some suitable shields.

All you have to do is sidestep to avoid Demon Dog’s attacks. Very simple, but be careful because sometimes they will suddenly trigger Forward Lunge in a short period, which can easily catch you off guard.

Their strategy is similar to Dire Wolf. When it triggers Lunge, it will strafe around and spin forward. In Nightmare, they also gain Electric Collar. Be careful when attacking its head.

Demon Bat

Demon Bat is a rare enemy in Inferno. But they are not mini-bosses, and their health value is only equivalent to Skeleton. Their only attack is Lunging Kick. But this attack is weak against circular strafing.

You’ll need some room to move around to get it to an area with enough space. Once you’ve done this, when attacking Demon Bat, its attacks will flip.

Make sure to attack its body and not its legs. If you only focus on its legs, it can get you into trouble and be difficult to get out of. So just focus on it and you’ll do fine.

Also Read: Dark And Darker Ghost King’s Abilities & Attacks Explained - How To Survive During The Boss Fight?

Demon Centaur

Demon Centaur is the next Inferno creature that most new players will probably fear. Demon Centaur has two major attacks: Overhead Swing and Sideways Swing. Overhead Swing can be avoided by dodging and moving to the left, while Sideways Swing can be avoided by simply dodging in the opposite direction.

These are the attacks Demon Centaur will use. This fight will be very simple, but if you’re far away, they may try to charge, which you must avoid.

Demon Berserker

The last monster is Demon Berserker. Demon Berserker has two major attacks, Alternating Diagonal Swing and Sideways Swing, which can hit infinite combos.

For Alternating Diagonal Swing, the challenge of this attack is to react to the attack that occurs first. But once you react to the first move, the follow-ups stay consistent, at least until the end of their combo. 

So be sure to fight in a spacious area. Dodging this attack is more of a reaction speed test, so it may take more practice than usual. But once you get the hang of it, you can handle it with ease.

Demon Berserker can then use Sideways Swing, which they will randomly throw out to end their combo. But you can still dodge it in the same way as Alternating Diagonal Swing.

If you find yourself getting hit by Demon Berserker’s Sideways Swing, stay a little more on the left side of his body since he’s right-handed. So when it contracts from the left, it has to swing wider. This will give you more room to duck. And its right side swing sometimes ends in the middle. This means you have to go further to the left to be fully attacked.

This is definitely one of the toughest enemies in this Inferno. You need to use pure evasive tactics to deal with it. So more creative solutions may be preferred, especially in higher difficulties.

Outro

Once you learn all the attack patterns of the different Inferno demons and practice them, they should be easy to deal with. I hope this encourages you to give Inferno a try, and hopefully makes you less intimidated. Looking forward to seeing you in the game!

Today I want to review my method of killing Cave Troll. It has been modified since they released the game. This time around, we’re going to talk about the main points about beating Cave Troll, and some of the newer loot options available. So, let’s get started.

Gear Prepare

If you want to kill Cave Troll, you need to have at least a little gear. First, because Cave Troll has a passive heal of 2 HP per second at all times, and you have a limited amount of time to kill it in Goblin Cave. So you need at least enough damage to go beyond passive healing. And the faster you can combine attacks, the faster you can kill it.

When it comes to killing Cave Troll, our go-to class is Rogue, since we can equip the mobility and weakpoint options.

If you’re building a full Troll Hunter, you can take some passives like Thrust, Poisoned Weapon, Dagger Mastery, Jokester or Double Jump. For active skills, you can use Weakpoint Attack and Rupture.

Considering the recent update, it’s much easier to kill Cave Troll with Rapier, since you get the extra distance with it.

In the end, as far as utility items go, it doesn’t really matter what you use, as Cave Troll will almost always kill you in one hit. However, if you can’t perfectly dodge one of the downward Smashes. Then it is very necessary to get enough Healing Potions through Dark and Darker Gold in advance.

Strategies & Tips

Now let’s actually kill Cave Troll. I think it’s worth noting the first moment you enter the area is usually the most dangerous. When an enemy notices you, it checks your distance from Cave Troll and decides whether to use a normal attack or a large yell.

This is a constant factor throughout the fight. This is why you’ll see more experienced players keep close to Cave Troll to minimize the occurrence of this yell.

In a first encounter, however, your best bet is to charge him at a 45-degree angle. By doing this, you have a chance to dodge yell entirely. If Cave Troll doesn’t apply the slow debuff to you, he won’t do his Sweeping Attack.

Here, keep a medium distance from Cave Troll. Our strategy is to move sideways and jump as high as we can, adjusting to the timing of his swing. We can move around Cave Troll counterclockwise. The goal is to keep a distance and watch his first right-hand swing.

When he makes a swing, don’t rush to attack immediately. You need to judge whether he will launch a second combo attack at you. As you move to the left, he repeats this swing repeatedly. As long as you keep moving counterclockwise, this shouldn’t really hit you hard.

Recently, however, the developers added a ground range attack to this attack, which deals you a small amount of damage. This means you have to make sure to dodge it further than usual. That’s why using Rapier is useful, because you can keep enough distance while attacking.

Still, an overhead attack on him is usually the best way to deal damage to Cave Troll, since his head is open for attacking.

Finally, he has his overhead two handed swing. This swipe will hit you, and even if you don’t attack directly, it will attach a radius that will allow it to reach farther than you can see. Remember what I said earlier about your distance? Once an attack occurs, you must immediately run back to Cave Troll and get in range of his regular attack.

Loot Nerfs

Once you kill Cave Troll, you can collect your loot from it. Since its release, there have been tons of players getting baffling loot for killing Cave Trolls wearing gray gear.

So the devs modified the loot room to put a lot of trinkets on the ground and removed the interactivity of the loot piles. Not only does this cripple the amount of stuff you can usually get, but it also means Potion of Luck is unusable.

Also, remember that you still have to escape the cave. So don’t spend too long celebrating there when the surrounding area is closed. Otherwise, you risk losing all your loot.

Now I have told you how to kill Cave Troll. Even though his loot has been nerfed, killing Cave Troll is still an interesting achievement. I’m sure you’ll need some of these unique items once the quest comes up. Good luck.