Dark and Darker Classes: Definitive Guide 2023 [Hotfix Update September 12] 

Dark and Darker has everything going for it and it should.

It seems Ironmace has found the sweet spot between game system depth and RT gameplay. Every skill, perk, item, and your skills as the player matter.

IMO – Dark and Darker classes may be the best character customization I’ve seen in any game. More is not always merrier and striking this balance between efficacy and variability is what makes this game currently one of the best around in the dungeon crawling, ARPG, PvPvE genre.

Let’s go deep.

Dark and Darker Classes Overview

It’s clear right here which classes are better at what type of playstyle. A recap on playstyles – melee, ranged, and magic, since range is not the same as magic although magic is ranged.

If you’re all about farming Troll’s Blood, you’re looking at either the 

Fighter

Stats

• Health: 100
• Strength: 15
• Agility: 15
• Move Speed: 300

Best For

Exploring early-game and if you’re new to Dark and Darker. Fighters can sprint out of danger and land a few good blows to get their hands on easy loot or maybe a cheeky player trying to get yours.

Best Skills and Perks

• Second Wind – Recover half health in 12 seconds. Replenish with a campfire.
• Sprint – +50 move speed buff for six seconds.
• Barricade – +50 Armor on block.
• Shield Expert – Block to buff move speed by 10%. If successful, get a 50% action speed buff for the next attack or block.
• Dual Wield – Hold weapons in both hands to get +15% Action Speed.

Best Build

A powerful melee and ranged build or a ranged and shield build with high move speed. Go all in wielding dual weapons. Or deal ranged damage while shielding incoming damage.

Barbarian

Stats

• Health: 130
• Strength: 30
• Agility: 11
• Move Speed: 292

Best For

This is the bulkiest build with the highest Strength and HP at the start. Barbarians are slow but no other class can deal as much melee physical damage. Although this class is weakest to ranged attacks, a shield can take care of it, and you’ll often be the last one standing. 

Best Skills and Perks

• Morale Boost – Regain 12% health upon defeating another player.
• Axe Specialization – 10% damage buff wielding any axe weapon.
• Savage Roar – Debuff 25% physical power of all enemies within 7.5 m range.
• Life Siphon – Buff +4 on all stats against a 24 HP debuff over 8 seconds.

Best Build

Build a Barbarian right and you’re almost winning your way out of anywhere. Despite the lack of move speed and any skill or perk to specifically buff it up, the best Barbarian build is dual axes with at least one for Francisca Axes to deal ranged damage. The only way to take down this build is 1v3. 

Rogue

Stats

• Health: 84
• Strength: 8
• Agility: 35
• Move Speed: 320

Best For

IMO the most powerful class in PvPs and the only class that can potentially take down even a beefed-up Barbarian without taking any damage. Rogue can also act purely rogue with stealth capabilities and take down enemies without them knowing. 

Best Skills and Perks

• Dagger Expert – 10% physical power buff when attacking with daggers.
• Hand Crossbow Mastery – Get to use the Hand Crossbow.
• Back Attack – Buff 30% physical power bonus while attacking from the back.
• Poisoned Weapon – Deal 4 damage (magical) over 4 seconds. Stackable x5.
• Smoke Pot – Creates a 30-second smoke screen over a 7.5 m area. Reduces move speed bonuses for enemies.
• Hide – Invisible for 60 seconds unless you move, attack, or use a skill.
• Rupture – Next hit bleeds the target of 20 damage (physical) over 5 seconds.

Best Build

There are two builds for the Rogue. One’s pure stealth, where you hide and win PvPs or PvEs with stealth and ranged kills. Second’s mixed with range and meaty close combat to finish it off. Rogue can stack huge damage over time and the enemy has very little time to react. Best part – if things go sour, Rogue’s the fastest to get out of it. 

Ranger

Stats

• Health: 90
• Strength: 10
• Agility: 20
• Move Speed: 305

Best For

Probably the best Dark and Darker class to get the most out of the gameplay mechanics – the Ranger is a pure ranged class that’s best when at a distance from the enemy. Almost like the Rogue but deals a lot more damage per shot and with a direct approach, Rangers can single-handedly win battles in Dark and Darker.

Best Skills and Perks

• Crossbow Mastery – Buff 5% physical power and 50% action speed using crossbows.
• Quick Reload – Buff 50% action speed for all bows. Additional buff.
• Spear Proficiency – Use spear and when using spear gain 10% physical power.
• Forceful Shot – Knock back enemies with ranged attacks for 8 seconds.
• Sharpshooter – Headshot damage multiplier at 15% using long-range weapons.
• Multishot – Shoot 5 arrows at a horizontal angle with all arrows dealing a total 350% on hit.
• Quickshot – Hold 3 arrows and shoot one after the other.

Best Build

All Ranger builds are ranged builds, but you can choose between crossbow and bow (long-ranged) weapons. For crossbow builds, equip shield to engage in closer combat. In case you want to stick to range and maintain a higher DPS build, use a Spear and a Longbow or Survival bow depending on your playstyle accuracy.

Wizard

Stats

• Health: 78
• Strength: 6
• Agility: 12
• Move Speed: 294
• Spell Memory: 19

Best For

Wizards are a must-have in any Dark and Darker team. They can provide huge advantages against enemies if used wisely and that’s their only drawback other than the lowest health in the game. And wizardry in Dark and Darker has a learning curve with casting spells but with the right skills, perks, and user talent, a wizard can typically win any 1v1 battle without breaking a sweat.

Best Skills and Perks

• Arcane Feedback – Stackable buff 1% on casting speed and magic power using arcane spells. Rests every 7 seconds with a successful stack.
• Arcane Mastery – Buff magic power by 5% with arcane spells. Reduces casting time for arcane spells by 1 second.
• Fire Mastery – Buff magic power by 5% with fire spells. Turns fireball’s burn rate to deal 5 damage for 5 seconds.
• Mana Surge – Buff magic power by 10%.
• Arcane Shield – Creates a shield that absorbs 20 damage for 15 seconds and explodes to deal 5 damage to enemies within 2m.
• Spell Memory – Memorize spells for dungeons.

Best Build

There’s no ‘best’ build to Wizards other than how you’re using the class – solo or in a team. For solo Wizards, a mastery in spell casting is crucial as well as the right combination of spells to use for different classes and scenarios. In team builds, Wizards can be the highest DPS dealer but require melee defenses with Fighters or Barbarians around them to mitigate ranged attacks and close-quarter combats.

Cleric

Stats

• Health: 92
• Strength: 11
• Agility: 11
• Move Speed: 305
• Spell Memory: 12

Best For

If perked and skilled right, the Cleric can be the best class in Dark and Darker with a bit of everything for any fight or scenario. Unlike Wizards, Clerics can carry a Spell Book or a Magic Staff as well as most Maces and Shields. There’s not much for ranged options with Clerics since they have Magic. But most importantly, Clerics are the only Dark and Darker class that can heal allies. They also have a huge range of spells that can cause damage or severely debuff enemies in battle, not to mention a huge power buff against undead monsters.

Best Skills and Perks

• Advanced Healer – Buff base magic heal by 5.
• Holy Aura – Buff armor and magic resist of all including own by 15.
• Kindness – Self-heal 15% of the total HP healed of ally.
• Requiem – Resurrect allies with 50% health. No need to sacrifice own health or for an Altar of Sacrifice.
• Undead Slaying – 20% buff in physical power attacking undead creatures.
• Holy Purification – Deal 100 magic damage to all undead creatures within 7.5 m.
• Spell Memory – Memorize spells in dungeons.
• Smite – Deal +10 magic damage with each attack for 7 seconds.

Best Build

When soloing with a Cleric, try to combine a magic staff with a shield and suddenly the whole game becomes easier. The Cleric gets a lot of easy spells, weapons, armor, and shields access early on.

The only catch is that you need to get a magic staff to bring the best out of this class. But perhaps the best use of the Cleric build is in team formations. If you’re the Cleric, your importance increases as the battle draws on since you have the power to resurrect a high HP Barbarian or Warrior late into the fight to win it while also causing mid-range damage along the way. 

The cleric is the best class in Dark and Darker if it’s about versatility and regeneration abilities.

Bard

Stats

• Health: 98
• Strength: 14
• Agility: 14
• Move Speed: 298

Best For

The Bard brings music instead of magic and although that’s not as powerful as spells, you have a larger range of options based on the kind of musical instrument you have at hand. It can cause substantial melee damage, fire a crossbow, and block attacks with a Buckler shield. But the Bard’s best as a support character in a team, using music to buff its allies while also having the ability to defend or attack if required.

Best Skills and Perks

• Rapier Mastery – Use a rapier for a 3% weapon damage buff and a 5% action speed buff.
• Superior Dexterity – Switch between items 50% faster.
• Wanderer’s Luck – +100 Luck for finding higher rarity items.
• War Song – Allies’ weapon damage buffed by 3 for six seconds.
• Dissonance – Stops spell casting and silences enemies or hostiles for 3 seconds.
• Music Memory – Story up to 4 music sheets.

Best Build

For soloing, the Bard’s musical buffs are limited in use with only the Song of Shadow or the Chaotic Discord worth using. But in a team, the Bard can provide crucial advantages to allies. It can attack with a ranged or a melee weapon, preferably a Rapier, or it can pull out its musical instruments to deliver damage, add buffs or debuffs, or even regenerate allies while sporting a Buckler Shield to avoid ranged damage. This is the most versatile class in Dark and Darker but it has its limitations in solos and is best used in teams.

Warlock

Stats

• Health: 96
• Strength: 13
• Agility: 14
• Move Speed: 300

The Warlock is still in development but it’s the darker form of a Wizard or Cleric that uses health to cast spells and can even self-regenerate health at the expense of enemies. Warlocks can equip all weapons except axes, daggers, and ranged weapons but no shields. So, this is a high DPS character that can cause both physical damage and counter defense with magic spells that regenerate their health at the cost of the enemy’s.

What is the best Class in Dark and Darker?

The best class in Dark and Darker is either the Ranger or the Cleric. Melee builds are easier to defeat from range and the game rewards pure gaming talent. With the Ranger, you can take out targets from distance without incurring damage. And the Cleric can do everything from melee to ranged and even powerful magic damage while self-regenerating all along.

What is the best Solo Class in Dark and Darker?

Ranger is the best solo class although the Fighter armed with a Crossbow comes a close second. The best solo class also depends on whether you’re just starting off with Dark and Darker or you’ve been there and done that already. For new gamers, Fighter is the best solo class to get the hang of the game and stay on it for as long as possible.

Can you change Classes in Dark and Darker?

No, and Yes. You can choose different classes and level each up individually. Once you find a character class that fits your playstyle, play through on just that instead of the character that you didn’t want to continue in the first place. So, you can change character classes but only by creating new ones. 

These are all the Dark and Darker classes available right now with only the Warlock class currently a WIP. You can expect a quick hotfix soon to cement Warlock’s abilities. But what Ironmace has already done so brilliantly is create classes that resonate with gamers across different playstyles and whims. I can find myself using the Barbarian for a while and then shifting to Wizardry or being a Cleric to get the best out of the Dark and Darker. That’s what makes this a sleeper hit on PC despite moving out of Steam. And it’s probably the best fun you can have on your PC unless you’re still waiting for the official GTA 6 trailer.