ryan6daysaweek: chat, we might be cooked

theunknown4025: I have ZERO faith in Ironmace, we are probably cooked

ReligiousZealot: Imagine going through the courtcase only to cook your own game like this season

_Soma: Anyone talking shit about you for giving your opinion is a moron. SDF didn't make decisions based off anyone's video. His ego would never allow that. He doesn't take feedback well from anyone.

red2314: They've stated they are wasting time on flip flop balancing, but removing modifiers would require an entire rebalance of the game.

inkflame9385: To be completely honest, I only come back to the game once in a while when there are new skills, weapons or just items... Play for maybe a week and I'm that kind of a guy who's getting bored seeing everyone with the same weapon on one class "cuz it's the best" or seeing another weapon on multiple classes "cuz it's meta".

My dream is to have many many more weapons and types of weapons that have a similar dps overall, so you can use what suits you the best for your playstyle, and still have a chance against anything.

But that's just a "dream".

Also, in my opinion solos duos and trios should be available as always, but the best matchmaking system for me was when there were normals 0-24 / 25-9999 and HR 0-9999, with the map rotation where one map was available for around 15-30 minutes.

First: it made you play on different maps and complete quests you had available.

Second: you did actually play other maps and not just that one map you're good on.

Third: you won't encounter as much boss farmers and dudes clearing out everything in the first 3 minutes.

Also (controversial) it would be good to bring back the old matchmaking system, with a lobby so you don't spawn at a half point of the map timer, and can't loot anything.

Aaand all of that for me would make the game much more enjoyable, I don't care that people can inspect my kit, I don't care that everyone knows how many people are in the lobby and what classes are they, you already picked your kit and class, so nothing will really change during the raid.

If you read all of that gibberish, you're a mad man and thank you for that - random person

Akantor90000: Things they could be working on instead of fucking around with items and queues:

- Inventory sorting

- Backpacks

- Quivers

- Block fix

- Dsync fix

- Reworking gold storage

- Actual arena modules

- Removing druid

- Removing stealth

And this is without adding almost any content

CeaseKai: been here sense playtest 2 man. i remember queing lasst second on the 2 minute timer just to get a free troll when i was down bad. or just hiding in the old waiting room so no one would see my kit and they all start " hey this guys got gear everyone team on em " i will miss these days.

ASaga2: It actually feels intentional at this point

Shammikaze: I feel like Dark and Darker's best version was the one before the goblin cave and solo queue was added. The fact that he's even talking about rebuilding the game from basically scratch means the game is already dead.

sekiY_VAL: SDF is a cancer to the game now. Sad because dark and darker has so much potential, I just have zero faith in SDF

TankNot: Sdf, should go to masterchef not because hes good at cooking...

I just dont want him at ironmace anymore

urbangent253: Frock it, was here when there was 3k players ima ride it out till the end.... unless Druid gets another buff than its gg....W Repoze

Swamboe: every single thing sdf has said about what he wants the core mechanics to look like has just been wrong. the water map and other shit doesn’t count as core mechanics to me that’s like content. but when it comes to what made people fall in LOVE with the game, he truly seems to have no idea what that was and what he’s doing.

alexlicks0209: I've trusted this guy ever since his TF2 days. Whatever he says, or has said in the past, specifically in his TF2 days, is trustworthy. Thank you Repoze for saying what's on all of our minds.

Dethykins: Ironmace has 10 times the amount of devs employed than other studios do that work faster, deliver content, and still communicate with their players even through language barriers.

I'd like to think that sdf it just somehow being a dictator and not allowing anyone to actually get any work done due to insane micromanaging but even that doesn't explain it.

There's legit solo devs that do better work, faster, than Ironmace is managing to do in an entire year while fully staffed. Make it make sense.

kiyd1337: ARC RAIDERS

chuangken4502: Sdf just isn’t a game dev. He’s a player who thinks he is a dev

ercumentsarac8880: all i gotta say sdf had a game in his hand and just fumbled

Flashiest88: A ton of people quit because getting destroyed by gear gap feels awful.

Patar15: When the playtest came out I really enjoyed the slowness of pvp combat where it gave you time to think and it wasn't based on reaction time. It was more about making the right moves rather than how many moves you can land within the shortest amount of time. Then they increased the combat speed.

Then there's the fact that you can't even get close to rangers without losing 75% of your HP.

Then there's rogues who have to have 8 perks to be viable but low and behold you can only take 4. It also annoys me rogues can't have bows or crossbows, with the exception of the hand crossbow. Why is it that Wizards can use the normal crossbow, but the rogues? When I think of a Rogue I think of a hooded figure with a dagger or a bow.

I know there's 2 devs that have opposite visions for this game. One wants slower combat and the other wants faster combat. So they compromised, but it feels like the dev that wants faster combat won.

If you want a game like fortnite or counterstrike where you have to have a fast reaction time you are gonna need to appeal to the younger audience and constantly get the next generation to play your game. If you want a game that is like WoW where there's a big community behind it and transcends age then you need a mix between reaction time and slower paced stuff to keep everyone involved.

I think faster combat just drives the Millennials away and they aren't really appealing the game towards younger zoomers. Seems to me Dark and Darker is only for people in their 20s. I'm 28 and technically an older zoomer, but I'm getting close to 30 and my reaction times aren't like they used to be anymore.

WoW and even League of Legends has something for all ages. Don't have a good reaction time in league of legends then don't play a character that requires it.

wooobat: SDF isn't just burning the kitchen, he's bringing down the whole house.

marzie4429: I’ve put in around 100–200 hours into Dark and Darker, and I wanted to share some thoughts on the current state of the game — especially from the perspective of a newer player who’s finally getting more comfortable. i come from a competitive scene in melee slashers such as chivalry and mordhau and was top ranked in both. Also master in league of legends. i have lots of experience in pvp.

Early Game Experience

When I first started, the biggest challenge was the lack of a real way to learn PvP. I spent more time hiding with my 50 gold worth of loot than actually playing. The fear of losing everything made it hard to engage and learn from fights. So when PvE mode was introduced, it was a game changer. It gave me the breathing room to focus on earning gold and learning enemy mechanics safely, something the game didn’t offer before.

Current PvP Experience

Now that I’ve gotten more familiar with the game, I’ve been grinding the Normal PvP mode, where everyone starts with equal gear. Honestly, it’s the most fun I've had. Getting gear-gapped in PvP is just disgusting. No matter how skilled you are, you can land a perfect shot and still lose just because your opponent is stacked with legendary gear or better. 10 shots from you versus one shot from them results in same health loss. its not fun.

Healing and “Run-Away” Meta

Another issue in PvP is the healing. Watching or playing matches where people are just chugging meds or endlessly bandaging isn’t fun its slow and encourages running away from the fight.. The meta of running away to reset over and over again feels cheesy and unengaging, both to play and to watch. PvP should reward skillful combat, not whoever brought more high end consumables.

Arena and Gear Concerns

I’m looking forward to trying Arena, but the gear requirements are a hurdle. I don’t mind grinding gear, that’s part of the game, but what’s the point when you’re guaranteed to run into teams with hundreds of top-tier consumables and BiS unique gear? PvP should be competitive, and it’s more fun when it’s balanced. Right now, whoever has the highest gear score wins by default. It’s not about who’s better at PvP, it’s about who has more stats. That’s not a competitive leaderboard worth looking at that’s a wealth leaderboard.

Suggestion: Gear-Based Matchmaking

Introducing gear score brackets would absolutely increase queue times, but I think it’s worth it. It would allow more players, especially newer or less-geared ones, to actually engage with PvP without immediately getting steamrolled. Equal footing makes for better gameplay, more meaningful wins, and a much healthier competitive scene overall.

TLDR:

Dark and Darker has great potential, but early PvP is brutal for new players with no way to learn without getting stomped. PvE mode helped a lot with learning the game safely. in PvP, gear disparity ruins the experience, skill matters less than stats. The meta is too focused on healing and running instead of fighting. Arena sounds fun, but the gear gap makes it feel pointless. Gear-based matchmaking would improve the PvP experience by creating balanced, more skill-based fights.

i just got reminded of back in the day playing runescape where there would be no eating or healing fights.

Johnny31323: He might be back with Nexon...

buzzaduzza6657: removing random modifiers is all stick and no carrot, where is my carrot

thatfoolJP: yeah this might be the death of dark and darker, it was a good run RIP DND 2022-2025

Jun 01 2025

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