In the dark and difficult action game Dark and Darker, which is as much a player vs player style game as it is a player vs environment dungeon crawler, a number of classes have the ability to cast spells while they are looking through the dungeon for treasure.
These spells have various effects, ranging from damaging an enemy or healing an ally, to increasing movement speed and providing a bonus to character stats. But the means of casting these spells can take a little getting used to, as the controls for performing such spells require a bit of practice. Here is how players cast spells in Dark and Darker.
Spell Menus
The first thing players will need to understand about casting spells in Dark and Darker is how to equip them. If players navigate over toward the spell menu under wizard or cleric, they will find a glyph with 5 spaces that surround it. These empty spaces can be slotted with spells that the player wants to take into the dungeon with them.
These spells all have a cost associated with them on the right-hand side of the screen, and some of them are useful for doing damage, and others for defending against other players that are trying to take all the loot for themselves. These costs indicate how much of your Spell Memory that these spells will take up, meaning that players will not be able to take every spell with them, and will need to prioritize spells that will aid them in their strategy to survive the dungeon. Players can see how much cost they have left at the bottom of the screen, labeled as Cost Limit.
The Cost Limit by default is 12 during the alpha test phase of the game. Players can equip any combination of spells that they like, but if the cost of the equipped spells exceeds the Cost Limit, players will not be able to cast all the spells they have equipped unless they find a way to increase their Knowledge stat.
As such, players should be cautious about how many spells they take with them in the dungeon, as they may not be able to cast all of them. Players should try to stick to their Cost Limit, at least at first until players have more ways in increasing their Knowledge.
Casting a Spell
Once players have entered and begun to loot the dungeon, it’s a matter of learning how to use them against the many creatures and players that roam the darkness. Players will first need to equip their spell casting focus. At the beginning of the game, this will be the staves that the Cleric and the Wizard have as a part of their base game equipment. For players playing a Wizard, players will have to press the key assigned to the staff, which by default is the 1 key on the keyboard. For Cleric players, this key is 2 by default.
Then players will need to press the skill key attached to their spells, which by default is the E key to bring up a wheel of their equipped spells. Players can select whichever spell they like, which will equip that spell. After this, players can press and hold the cast key, defaulted to the right mouse button. Once the spell has been chanted, players can release the held key to unleash their spell, which will produce the effect of the selected spell. These spells can be difficult to aim at first, and so players will need to practice being efficient as they wander the dungeon, firing their magic at enemies.
Recharging Spells
Players will also have a couple of means of recharging their spells while they roam about the dungeon, depending on their chosen class. Clerics and Wizards have the ability to recharge their spells by sitting at a campfire for a few seconds once it has been set up. Resting for a time will restore some HP, as well as replenishing all spells.
Wizards also possess an ability to Meditate, restoring their spells over the course of 10 seconds, provided they are not interrupted by other players. This skill has a medium cooldown time, but allows wizards to always be armed with their best spells in between difficult fights, especially if they are ambushed.