Dark and Darker gold guide - Where to earn the cha-ching
With Dark and Darker set to arrive for mobile in 2024, this hotly anticipated extraction hack-n-slash looks set to take the mobile world by storm. It challenges players to explore and escape a fantasy dungeon, while dealing with both monsters and other adventurers willing to kill or be killed or a slice of the loot in these ancient ruins.
Dark and Darker’s grim fantasy aesthetics, roleplaying game-inspired classes and stats, as well as its PVP/PVE format have already gained it a dedicated following. But, with the game hopefully coming soon in 2024, new players may be confused by some aspects of Dark and Darker.
Fortunately, we’ve already started breaking down the game, with a recent article covering all the classes you can find in Dark and Darker. But now we’re going to get into something every player wants to know about: currencies.
How do currencies work in Dark and Darker?
At present, Dark and Darker is a premium-priced game with only one type of premium currency. Although it’s not yet clear what format the game will take when it releases, we’d hazard a guess as to freemium, either with more currencies added or bonuses for players who pay for the premium PC version to make up for the cheaper mobile release.The main purpose of currencies (outside of Shards) is to purchase new gear. Given the rarity of good gear in the dungeon and the potential to lose it, building up a good piggy bank of funds in order to equip yourself for a run is always advisable. Saving good gear for a rainy day is all well and good, but it’s much better to take the risk with a better chance of survival, so having some insurance helps mitigate any concern.
Regardless, take this guide with the expectation that things may change for the game’s full mobile release. But here’s what currencies there are and how to get them in Dark and Darker.
1
Gold & Silver
Yes, of course, gold is a prominent part of Dark and Darker. After all, what kind of dungeoneering adventurer would you be if you weren’t grabbing everything shiny that isn’t nailed down? Gold can be found both on its own and gained by trading valuable items you loot from the dungeons, and then traded for equipment (the most valuable gear usually must be recovered from a dungeon run) or other goodies.
Silver, meanwhile, is a second-grade currency. The only function of silver is to be traded for gold at an NPC called The Treasurer. It’s possible this function could change in the mobile release; however, at the moment, you’ll want to trade silver for gold and buy pouches to store your gold stash in. Pouches can hold five stacks of gold pieces.
2
Red & Blue Shards
We now get onto the premium cosmetic-based currency. Shards are used for acquiring cosmetic enhancements for your character such as new races (like elves, dwarves etc.) and other items. Most recently, there was a spate of controversy over Ironmace’s decision to charge Shards for classes - a decision they’ve been considering rolling back.
There are two types of shards: Red and Blue. When you extract, you earn a certain number of Blue shards depending on the amount of XP you accrued from loot and kills in each game; meanwhile, red shards can be bought directly from the game’s shop.
These shards can be traded for new races, such as Orcs, that you can then apply to your characters. By default, you’ll only have access to humans and the like. Surprisingly, you do not gain XP from slaying enemy players, only NPCs.
3
How to get Gold and Shards
In essence, the best way to get both gold and shards is to…play the game. Alright, sarcasm aside. When you first hop into a game, get used to checking chests and hitting pots to break them and find loot. While it’s important to keep your eyes open and kill NPCs and other players while making your way to the extraction point, don’t be surprised if your team is stopping to pick over a room beforehand.
Be careful as well, because to go with the RPG inspiration, Dark and Darker also has mimics. What are mimics? Well, they’re chests that are actually monsters. And yes, they’re as dangerous as they sound. There are certain exploits to figure out if a chest is a mimic, but at only a 5% chance of spawning, they’re thankfully quite rare, but be wary nonetheless.
Your Luck also has a significant effect on what kind of loot you’ll get. Bear in mind that a player’s luck only affects the loot found on an NPC if they’re the one to make the kill, and on a container if they’re the one to open it. So you won’t suddenly find a hundred gold if you check a chest after someone else. A well-organised team may have a dedicated looter with high luck for the best results.
4
Event Currencies
Finally, there are event currencies. These have popped up occasionally in the past and are usually consistent with seasonally appropriate currencies traded to a certain NPC - such as Candy to Santa, in return for rewards. At the moment, these are very occasional, but expect to see them when the game makes the jump to mobile.
So, there it is! That's how you can earn gold, silver and every type of shard there is in Dark and Darker. Since earning different currencies is challenging in other games as well, here's how you can earn Starstones, Star Crystals and more in another RPG title - Metria.
