Introduction

Welcome to our Dark and Darker Barbarian guide for beginners. In this guide we’ll be covering all the basics you need to know to get your adventure started in Dark and Darker. The Barbarian is a strong melee class with a strong sense of bloodlust. The Barbarian focuses on using various types of axes both dual wielding or two handed, causing devastating amounts of damage.

Pros

• Hits very hard, perhaps the hardest in the game
• Can destroy doors and chests
• High health pool
• Great for solo and group play

Cons

• Very clunky movement and attack speed
• Telegraphed playstyle

Skills

Skills in Dark and Darker are the core abilities each class has unique access to. Currently you can select two of the following skills to complement the playstyle or build choice you prefer:

• Savage Roar
• Rage
• Reckless Attack
• War Cry
• Achilles Strike
• Blood Exchange
• Life Siphon

Achilles Strike

Hit the enemy’s ankle slowing the movement by 30% for 2.5 seconds. During this effect, each movement of the victim causes 1 damage

Blood Exchange

Reduce max health by 20% for 8 seconds while granting life steal.

Lifesteal – successful attacks grant the players back 10% of max health

War Sacrifice

The barbarian loses 10% Max Health over 8 seconds when this skill is active, but gains +5 to all attributes

Savage Roar

Savage Roar is a skill that causes fear to enemies within a 7.5m radius for 6 seconds. It also reduces their physical damage bonus by 50% – PvE mobs will run in the other direction in fear.

Rage

Rage is a fantastic skill that increases movement speed and Strength by 15%. Movement speed is very powerful in a slower game like Dark and Darker, however this skill reduces your defense by 20% too.

Reckless Attack

Reckless Attack after activation ignores 85% of the enemy’s armor rating on the next hit. This skill can sometimes turn the tides of battle in your favor.

War Cry

War Cry when used increases the maximum HP of you and your party members by 25% for 7 seconds. As a result, this is a very powerful engagement tool.

Skill Recommendations

For starting and the foreseeable future, we recommend using Rage and Savage Roar. Both of these skills allow you to safely clear rooms as a slow melee character. Savage Roar when used at the right time can cancel a PvE mobs attack wind-up which can save you from taking some damage. The armor reduction also applies to PvP players. Rage servers as a powerful PvP tool, movement speed and damage is a dream come true. An alternative to Savage Roar is Achille’s Strike. Achille’s Strike provides a strong slow that allows the Barb to stay on top of a target.

Perks

Perks in Dark and Darker serve as unique passive traits. Each class can slot up to 4 perks once they reach max level:

• Robust – increases health by 15%
• Crush – allows you to destroy doors and chests with axe swings – also increases damage vs blocking enemies
• Savage – increases your Physical Damage Bonus by 10% if you do not wear a chest armor piece
• Morale Boost – allows you to recover 12% of your health after an enemy player kill
• Iron Will – Magic Resistance increase of 100 rating, ignoring knockbacks
• Carnage – +75 Armor Rating for 7 Seconds
• Berserker – gain 3% Physical Damage Bonus for every 10% health you lose up to a cap of 30%
• Axe Specialization – increase weapon damage by +5 on Axe attacks
• Two-Hander – 5% Physical Damage Bonus to Two-Handed weapons while in-hand
• Executioner – Increase headshot damage with axes by 10%
• Potion Chugger – the effect of all drinks is increased by 20% and the duration is reduced by 50%
• Treacherous Lungs – Increases the duration of all shouting abilities by 30%

Perk Recommendations

Currently, we recommend taking Morale Boost, Smash, Carnage and Berserker. However when starting out in your adventure and you are leveling your Barbarian, we suggest starting with Morale Boost to keep health regen ticking in solo or group play.

Spells

Currently in our Dark and Darker Barbarian guide, the Barbarian has no access to spells, but this could change with the addition of artifacts or scrolls. Check back here in future updates!

Weapons

The Barbarian has quite a few options, however is masterful of Axes in particular:

• Battle Axe
• Bardiche
• Double Axe
• Felling Axe
• Hatchet
• Horsemans Axe
• War Maul
• Zweihander
• Can also use Francisca Axe, a throwable axe

Starting out, we recommend taking the Two-handed Felling Axe. While the Barbarian can use a plethora of weapons the class really starts to shine when you pull out the Felling Axe and deal tremendous damage.

You can however opt for dual-wielding Axes such as the Horseman Axe and the Hatchet, a slightly faster playstyle but not as hard-hitting. As a result, take Achille’s Strike to make the most out of the faster weapon build.

Stat Priority

Different stats in Dark and Darker have different properties, as a result, we recommend prioritizing the following stats on gear:

• +All Attributes
• Strength
• Additional Physical Damage

+All Attributes is a no-brainer, allowing you additional stat points in every stat is a huge value. We recommend hard stacking Strength as a priority as a result of the huge amount of damage scaling the Barbarian receives and the bigger health pool for tanking hits in trade. Additional Physical Damage provides an additional raw amount of Physical Damage. Once Additional Physical Damage is added to the damage formula, you begin to see an immense scaling spike.

How To Play Barbarian

In this Dark and Darker Barbarian Guide, we will focus on the fundamentals. Ultimately as a Barbarian you will provide heavy melee damage and serve as a frontline to teammates, or be a solo berserker. Dark and Darker is a very brutal and unforgiving game, as a result mechanics such as friendly fire is on. This means as a Barbarian you have to be careful when swinging wide with your Axe. Because during the windows of your damage buff skills, you may potentially one shot your own team!

PvE

When dealing with PvE mobs throughout your dungeon run most mobs can be taken down fairly easily with a single swing or at most two to the head. It is important against any mobs to take a swing and immediately move out to avoid taking unnecessary damage. Hold your Savage Roar against the stronger mobs or if you are swarmed by several mobs, as a well-timed Savage Roar will disperse the crowd or stop a powerful mob from chunking you.

A fantastic unique trait of the Barbarian is the Perk “Smash”. Smash allows you to bypass the time it takes to open a door or chest, and just smash it open with brute force! This is especially helpful when chasing an opponent, looting quickly or surprise engaging another team with little notice! Always remember this option is available to you.

PvP

Fighting with teammates versus another trio can get hectic quickly, with the Barbarian use this opportunity to be the engaging frontline of your team and dive into the fray! Doing so can give your team the space to push up into favorable spots. However, be vocal with your teammates and let them know you’re engaging and where you are moving! Do be advised however that you are a maniac wearing no chest armor and lose defence when using some skills. You might be powerful and can play aggressively, but learn to read the room and not be blasted by the enemy team before your own can do something. Playing with a team that can provide buffs to you such as Bard and Cleric, make sure to interact with them and get pre-buffed before making a push – if you do you’re unstoppable!

You also have Francisca Axes to throw at low opponents moving away from you in retreat, always keep them on your toolbar.

Solo

When you are playing solo however, you have to pick your fights a little more carefully. The aim of the game when solo is to find the perfect opportunity to take out a player instantly without the enemy teammates reacting to it in time. Looking for favorable odds is key, either that or go down swinging like a true Barbarian. Remember to keep your health topped up, also destroy doors to save yourself time and set the pace of the dungeon and take out enemies with no mercy. With all of your damage buffs and movement speed buff you can easily annihilate a player.

We hope you enjoyed our comprehensive Dark and Darker Barbarian Guide for beginners! To check out other class guides and more, click here.

Dark and Darker’s next Playtest is coming 6th February, with many potential changes and additions discussed in our Q&A Recap.