Dark and Darker – New update splits player pools by level

The Hotfixes #11 and #12 for Dark and Darker continue to work on balancing as well as making things easier for new players and harder for potential cheaters and RMT.
We have the summary and the patch notes for you!

What’s in the new updates?

One of the most important changes is undoubtedly the division of the player pools based on their level. Players up to and including level 14 will be thrown into one player pool, while players of level 15 or higher will be grouped together in the second pool.
This is intended to create a fairer gaming experience for everyone and especially for newcomers and class changers.

Along with this, trading with other players will also be raised to a higher character level, which you can now also only use from level 15.
With these changes, the developers probably want to make it more difficult for bots and cheat accounts to trade, and this step should also make the game more beginner-friendly.

In addition, there are buffs for the wizard, after it was probably weakened too much, as well as various balancing changes for a variety of weapons and skills.

Early Access – Hotfix #12 Patchnotes

• Fixed several issues that could cause server instability.
• Characters lvl 14 and under will be placed in a seperate matching pool. If any member of a party is lvl 15 or above, the entire party will be placed in the lvl 15+ matching pool.
• The level requirement to sign up for the for the Trading Post has been increased from lvl 10 -> 15.
• Fixed an issue where the Darkswarm circle would mostly end in the center region of the map.
• Wizard’s invisibility duration has been increased from 3 to 4 seconds.
• Wizard’s Haste duration has been increased from 6 to 8 seconds.
• Added an option to control whether items in the following utility slots are automatically placed in your hand after an item is used.
• Improvements to Ironshield.

Early Access – Hotfix #11 Patchnotes

• Fixed an issue where the trade pop-up may not properly close.
• Movement speed now has a hard cap of 350.
• The Quarterstaff now deals 100% damage no matter which part of the Quarterstaff hits the opponent.
• Axe Specialization changed from +5 Additional Physical Damage -> +10% Physical Damage Bonus
• Rogue’s Double Jump slow on landing duration reduced from 3s -> 2s
• Wizard’s Haste duration decreased from 12 -> 6s.
• Wizard’s Invisibility duration decreased from 5 -> 3s.
• Movement speed reduced from 70% -> 65% of base movespeed when casting with a Spellbook.
• Movement speed reduced from 70% -> 65% of base movespeed when casting with a Crystal Ball.
• Achilles Strike’s Physical Damage on hit reduced from 10 -> 0 dmg, Damage taken per step decreased from 5 -> 1 dmg
• Achilles Strike’s Slow debuff increased from  -10% -> -30% movespeed
• Accelerando’s duration decreased from 12s -> 8s, and movement speed boost decreased from 5/7/9 -> 3/5/7 movespeed
• Drum’s movespeed penalty increased from -20 -> -30 movespeed
• Francisca Axe’s damage has been slightly reduced.
• Bard’s Song of Silence now targets ALL nearby targets including oneself.
• The effect radius of Bard’s Unchained Harmony has been changed from 600 -> 300.
• Bard’s Tranquility now heals 1 recoverable hp/s over 10/20/30 seconds.
• Bard’s Tranquility effect now only applies while resting.
• Bard’s Chorale of Clarity effect now only applies while resting.
• The animations of Horseman’s Axe, Hatchet, and Viking Sword have been slightly changed.