Dark and Darker has surged in popularity recently with its fourth playtest, and many veteran adventurers are hopping back into the blood-pumping action of the hit IRONMACE title.
A mix of Escape from Tarkov and Dungeons & Dragons is what many have described Dark and Darker as. And this unique description has undoubtedly been part of why the game has seen such great success, with the latest demo averaging nearly 100,000 concurrent players.
But this dungeon crawler PvEvP experience has a pretty steep learning curve and can be very daunting for new players, making acquiring gear and leveling up a top priority for those who are first stepping into Dark and Darker.
So if you’re struggling to get a foothold in the punishing dungeons of Dark and Darker, here are some tips for leveling up quickly.
Tips to level up quickly in Dark and Darker
Before we dive into our tips for leveling up quickly, it’s important to know exactly what actions reward experience points within Dark and Darker. So here’s everything that we know gives XP so far:
- Opening chests
- Killing PvE monsters
- Killing other players
- Activating either Blue or Red Portals
- Entering a Red Portal and going further into the dungeon
- Escaping the dungeon through a Blue Portal
It’s also important to note that XP is currently not shared among party members, meaning if you sit back and let your friends do all the killing and looting, you will not be gaining as much XP as them.
Now that we know everything that will reward XP, here are five tips for leveling up quickly in Dark and Darker:
Play Solo
Playing the game without any other party members can make the game much more difficult but will reward you with every possible experience point from monsters and chests you encounter.
When starting off, we’d recommend sticking to the Forgotten Castle, but if you’re looking for a real challenge, the Goblin Caves hold some of the most unforgiving experiences Dark and Darker currently offers.
Open as many Portals as possible
If you’re feeling safe and see multiple Blue or Red Portals around you, open all of them before entering one and escaping the dungeon. We currently don’t have specific numbers for experience gains, but activating Portals of any color will reward you with some bonus XP.
The only downside to opening multiple Portals is if you happen to die before entering one and escaping, so be sure to clear all of your surroundings before attempting this leveling method.
Get the final hit on monsters
Getting the kill or “last hit” on PvE monsters is the only way to gain experience points from them. Unfortunately, this means you won’t get XP just for damaging monsters, so if you’re with one or two party members, try your best to last hit any PvE enemies your team encounters if you want to level up fast.
Enter a Red Portal
Entering a Red Portal and delving further into the dungeon will reward you with a massive amount of experience points and can be a fantastic way to level up quickly. Because of the extreme difficulty of the last floor of the dungeon, we’d recommend only taking a Red Portal if you don’t care about the loot you have on you or have very good gear and are with a full party.
If you are with a well-geared party, you can also farm much more XP from the monsters in this stage of the dungeon than the previous one, so get to killin’.
Escape the dungeon through a Blue Portal
Aside from entering the Red Portal and completing that floor of the dungeon—which likely isn’t an option if you are new to the game and trying to level up quickly—the best way to acquire experience points is by escaping through a Blue Portal.
It’s currently unclear whether the amount of loot you have on you affects the amount of XP you gain, but regardless, escaping the dungeon through a Blue Portal will reward you with a massive chunk of experience points and is a much more feasible leveling method for newer players than taking a Red Portal.
