How to play Warlock in Dark and Darker

The Warlock class in Dark and Darker is an interesting blend of melee power and dark, magical powers. Since their spells use health instead of mana, they can cast far longer than Wizards. However, this doesn’t come without risks. Their spells aren’t as powerful, and ranged characters (Rangers in particular) have a greater chance of defeating them than other classes. While not a perfect class, it’s definitely one of the more fun, risky options.

This class works well in a group or solo, but I prefer to see them working with others. If you’re thinking of practicing the dark arts in Dark and Darker, here’s what you need to know about the Warlock.

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Best tips for playing a Warlock in Dark and Darker

Curses and Blades combined make for a powerful Warlock (Image via IRONMACE)

There are so many different ways to play a Warlock in Dark and Darker, and that’s what makes it great. We chose a particular build that works for us, but of course, your experiences might vary.

Ideally, you’re going to want to inflict curses on your opponents to keep yourself topped up and then hit them for seriously heavy damage with spells like Hydra, Hellfire, and Bolt of Darkness. If someone’s chasing you, make them regret it with Flame Walker. Nobody would want to run through all that damage just to get to you. However, Rangers don’t have to chase as badly, so beware them.

Curse of Pain is your go-to for damage, as it’s pretty safely spammable. I like to follow up with Bolt of Darkness, or Hydra if the other player/enemy has nowhere to go. If they’re really far away, go with Bolt of Darkness, but when you’re closer, you can use the Curse of Pain pretty easily.

When dealing with classes that, like you, are pretty flimsy, once you’ve softened them up, try to get them in melee range and wrap them up with a few good stabs. It’s not a requirement, but it’s definitely fun. You can beat players without going near them as a Warlock in Dark and Darker.

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Perks, Spells, and Stat Priority

There are some incredible perks you can pick for your Warlock (Image via IRONMACE)

What really makes Warlock fun in Dark and Darker, is combining Torture Mastery with your various curses and spells. When you use curses like Curse of Pain, you’re going to heal off of them. Then, you stack that with Vampirism to gain a magical healing bonus, so it’s even more effective.

This keeps you alive while giving you a reliable pool of health with which to cast more spells. You can reflect magical damage back with Dark Reflection and can easily escape bad situations with Phantomize. Warlocks deal huge damage, but it costs them life to do it.

That’s why perks like Torture Mastery and Vampirism are so important to this build. The longer you can harm foes with curses, the healthier you are. You can use a nice wide variety of weapons, but I like going Falchion/Crystal orb, or Longsword/Spell Book.

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Perks to pick

• Torture Mastery: All curses inflicted upon enemies restore 2 health to the caster with each instance of damage dealt. All Warlock spell costs are doubled when this perk is equipped.
• Vampirism: Gain 20% magical healing bonus.
• Dark Reflection: While active, reflect 10 magical damage to the melee attacker. Does not reflect while on cooldown.
• Antimagic: Gain 25% magical damage reduction except against divine magic.
• Phantomize: Phase through melee attacks and projectiles for 6 seconds. While active, gain 10% move speed bonus and lose 50% magical damage reduction. During this period, you can only move and do not collide with other players or monsters.
• Spell Mastery: Gain the ability to memorize spells to use in the dungeon.

We picked out what we feel are the most efficient spells for a Warlock in Dark and Darker. You’ll note that one is flagged for PVP, and the other for PVE. Depending on which type of content you’re doing, you may want to swap that last spell slot. This build just delivers tons of damage to your opponents in a relatively safe manner.

If you want to go into melee, you can use Power of Sacrifice to harm yourself, while increasing your Strength/Vigor. Of course, the spells below aren’t the only choices. There’s also Bloodstained Blade if you’re good at avoiding attacks. It deals damage every time the target swings their weapon, but they do gain 5 weapon damage. Life Drain is another solid pick.

Curse of Pain is going to be your best friend in Dark and Darker (Image via IRONMACE)

Spells to pick

• Power of Sacrifice: Deal 3 magical damage per second to the target while increasing their strength by 15 and vigor by 15 for 12 seconds. Self casts if no target is found.
• Curse of Pain: Deal 10 magical damage to the target instantly. Additionally, deal 10 magical damage, distributed over eight seconds.
• Summon Hydra: Summon a Hydra that spits fireballs dealing 10 magical damage to enemy targets for 10 seconds. The hydra can also detect hidden targets.
• Hellfire (PVE): Cast eternal hellfire and blast it toward the targets. Deal 60 magical damage per second to any target within the area of effect. The hellfire does not dissipate when it reaches a target.
• Flame Walker: While active, gain the ability to leave a trail of Hellfire for six seconds. Each step leaves a trail that lasts for four seconds. Targets that enter the flame area will burn, taking 5 magical damage per 0.2 seconds.
• Bolt of Darkness (PVP): Fires a bolt that deals 20 magical damage to the target.

Your stat priority will be pretty obvious as a Warlock in Dark and Darker. You want Magical Healing, All Attributes, Additional Magic Damage, and Will. Magical Healing keeps you safe, “All Attributes” is always great, and since we’re a spell caster, we want the Magic Damage, and Will to increase our output.

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Dark and Darker recently entered its full release state on June 7, 2024. In addition, the mobile version held a Closed Beta Test, for a limited time back in April 2024.

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For more articles on Dark and Darker, check out the following:

• What is the best class for solo players in Dark and Darker?
• How to easily revive your friends in Dark and Darker
• How to invite and play with friends in Dark and Darker
• Best way to heal in Dark and Darker
• Fact Check: Are Ancient Scrolls of any use in Dark and Darker