The Fighter is a jack of all trades and a master of arms in combat. Fighters are well-versed with several weapons and armor, giving them a wide variety of playstyles and builds. While their proficiency in all weapons is remarkable, we admire their skill with shields and the number of perks that boost their armor rating and defense, making them the best frontline in Dark and Darker.
Our Fighter build focuses on being a bulwark for your team since they have an unmatched defensive power. Because Fighters carry two sets of weapons, we can still use an offensive and defensive arsenal.
Fighter Build and Guide Overview
Pros of Using a Fighter in Dark and Darker
- A good fighter build is usually the most versatile in Dark and Darker
- Great for solo and groups.
- Bulwark fighter builds can act as a Tank, Brawler, or Ranged class.
- Can use almost every weapon in the game.
- Can sprint, taunt, and heal.
Cons of Playing as a Fighter
- Heavily relies on equipment to scale in power.
- Fighter builds can become extremely slow in Dark and Darker when wearing heavy armor.
- It starts out with a low amount of gear, thus requiring more to get going.
- Easy to learn but hard to master.
Every Fighter Perk You Can Use in Your Build
| Dual Wield | Equipping weapons in both hands increases attack speed by 7% |
| Combo Attack | Physical attack power temporarily increases by 10% with each successful melee attack within 3 seconds. |
| Projectile Resistance | Reduces damage taken from projectiles by 10% |
| Counterattack | Successful defense increases movement speed and attack speed by 10% for 3 seconds. |
| Defense Expert | Increases Armor Rating acquired from armor by 10%. |
| Swift | The defense rating bonus increased by 5% when in a defensive stance. |
| Weapon Mastery | All Primary and Secondary weapons can be used. A -10% physical damage penalty is applied for all non-native weapons. |
| Barricade | The defense rating bonus is increased by 5% when in a defensive stance. |
| Shield Expert | Increases movement speed by %5 when in a defensive stance. |
All Fighter Abilities in Dark and Darker
| Adrenaline Rush | Cooldown: 0; Single Use | Increases aggro value to all monsters within a 7.5-meter area by 50% and increases defense bonus by 10% for 7 seconds. |
| Second Wind | Cooldown: 0; Single-Use | Recovers 50% of HP over 12 seconds. Eliminates side effects of Adrenaline Rush. (Recharges with campfires.) |
| Sprint | Cooldown: 28 seconds | Movement speed greatly increased for a short duration. Move speed is now increased by 50%. |
| Taunt | Cooldown: 18 seconds | Increases aggro value to all monsters within a 7.5 meter area by 50% and increases defense bonus by 10% for 7 seconds. |
| Victory Strike | Cooldown: 24 seconds | The next attack deals additional 20% weapon damage. If you kill with this attack, recover 5% of max HP. |
| Breakthrough | Cooldown: 28 seconds | Removes debuffs that slow all movement speeds. |
The Best Fighter Abilities and Perks for a Bulwark Build in Dark and Darker
For our Fighter bulwark build in Dark and Darker, we take the following Perks & Abilities:
- Sprint
- Victory Strike
- ( alternatively) Adrenaline Rush & Second Wind (if you bring campfires.)
- Swift
- Combo Attack
- Counterattack
- Projectile Resistance
Abilities
At the time of writing this, our best Dark and Darker Fighter build is a frontline bulwark build. For this build, take Sprint and Victory Strike. Sprint is especially important since carrying heavy armor with a bunch of weapons will slow you down. This ability allows you to retreat or chase enemy players.
Next, we take Victory Strike for the bonus damage and the occasional small healing from killing monsters or other players.
Alternatively, Adrenaline Rush and Second Wind are exceptionally powerful and can turn the tide of a fight, but since they are single-use, you must bring a campfire if you want to recharge them. Unless you are money to spare, have a Ranger, or don’t mind the limits of these two abilities, take Victory Strike and Sprint.
Perks
For Perks, we are taking Swift to reduce the movement speed penalty wearing heavy armor gives us. Next is Combo Attack, which buffs your damage for constantly attacking. Counterattack boosts your movement speed and attack speed after blocking an attack, which is extremely helpful for fighting players. Lastly, is Projectile Resistance for making arrows hurt less in case our shield doesn’t block them.
Alternatively, using Dual Wield is also a great choice if you want to use one-handed weapons. The Fighter can keep two sets of weapons on them so that you can use a shield in your primary slot and either two-handed or dual weapons in your secondary slot.
What Armor and Weapons to Use for Fighter Builds in Dark and Darker
Fighters can equip the following armor and weapons:
- Almost all armor sets
- Plate Armor
- All Sheilds
- Longsword
- Zweihander
- Spear
- Falchion
- Horsemans Axe
- Flanged Mace
- Arming Sword
Regarding armor, Fighters can equip almost everything except for cloth or leather. Plate armor is the best choice for Fighters, but if you want a more aggressive build, choose whatever you want.
Ultimately you should pick whatever gives you the best stats. Still, we prefer having more armor to stay in the thick of a fight, and Fighters are one of the tankiest classes in Dark and Darker thanks to their abundance of armor and defense perks.
When it comes to weapons, things get a little more complicated. Here are the best weapons for Fighters:
1. Heater & Round Shield
The Fighter and the Cleric are the only classes in Dark and Darker that can utilize shields. The Fighter has access to the Heater Shield, one of the largest one-handed Sheilds you can equip, with the runner-up being the Round Shield.
Blocking can save your life, especially since the Fighter has the Counterattack perk, which rewards them for movement speed and attack speed for blocking attacks. For more insights on how to master this crucial skill, check out our guide on how to block in Dark and Darker.
2. Falchion
The Falchion is a one-handed sword that’s exclusive to Fighters. This sword has a great range and hitbox for being a one-handed sword. It is wonderful when paired with a Heater shield, and it’s faster than the Flanged Mace but hits harder than the Arming Sword. There are many options to choose from for the Fighter, but the Falchion is our favorite.
3. Zweihander
The Zweihander is a unique, powerful, yet troublesome weapon to use in Dark and Darker. This massive two-handed sword has a long range and an enormous hitbox with broad cleaving attacks.
However, its biggest strength is its greatest downfall. Since the Zeweihander mainly uses wide slashing attacks, fighting with this weapon in small rooms is extremely difficult because your blade constantly crashes into the wall before hitting your opponent.
4. Spear
The Spear is a deadly two-handed Polearm exclusive to the Fighter. This weapon is exceptionally deadly for skilled Fighters but lacks any defensive capabilities, and its attacks become harder to hit if a player comes too close.
The Spear has a small hitbox but a long reach, letting you poke down enemies while staying out of arms reach. The Spear is one of our favorite weapons to pair with a Shield and Sword combo.
5. Hatchet & Falchion
There are several one-handed weapons the Fighter can dual wield. However, the Hatchet and Falchion combo is exceptionally deadly with the Dual Wield perk and the Sprint ability.
The Hatchet is short-range but has a faster attack speed, whereas the Falchion is slightly slower but has a longer range. This weapon combination gets even deadlier when taking the Adrenaline Rush ability.
6. Crossbow or Longbow
Alternatively, the Fighter can use a Crossbow or a Longbow with the Weapon Mastery perk if you lack ranged classes in your group. A Fighter won’t offer the ranged firepower a Ranger or a Wizard will, but it’s a wonderful option if your team composition is lacking.
Fighter’s Best Stats in Dark and Darker
Every class in Dark and Darker prefers specific additional stats found on weapons and gear. These random enchantments make some items worthless or highly sought after by certain groups.
Here are the Fighter’s best stats:
- All Attributes: Increases all stats of your character.
- True Damage: Damage that bypasses all armor and physical damage reductions.
- Agility: Increases Base Move Speed, Action/Attack Speed, and Equip/Interaction Speed.
- Physical Power: Increases your damage with physical weapons
- Max Health: Increases your character’s maximum health.
- Strength: Increases base health and physical damage bonus.
- Weapon damage: Increases weapon damage.
These are the best stats for Fighters, and specific items with any of the aforementioned enhancements will sell a lot on the market. It’s your decision if you wish to keep any well-stated gear for yourself or sell it on the market, but these are the stats Fighters will be looking for.
Related Guide: How to Build the Rogue in Dark and Darker Like an Assassin
Dark and Darker Fighter Tips
Ultimately all classes in Dark and Darker will take time to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Here are some tips to help you avoid some early game mistakes that can save a few of your runs.
Aim for the Head and Avoid Shields
Headshots will always do the most damage, regardless if you’re using an axe or magic. This also pairs with monsters and players who use shields. Shields will block your attacks unless you adjust yourself to strike wherever their shield doesn’t cover.
For skeletons, you can wait for them to swing, then counterattack. For players, you can predict what direction your attacks will come from when your crosshair changes. If they are guarding their head, use your attack angle to maneuver around their shield.
Holster Your Weapon
Fighters are one of the slowest classes in Dark and Darker, and it gets worse depending on how much armor and weapons you carry. One of the primary ways you can somewhat negate this downside is by holstering your weapon.
Putting your weapon on your back will allow you to move faster and keep pace with other teams when you don’t have a Wizard using the Haste spell on you.
Try Out Different Weapons
Fighters have the luxury of using almost every weapon in Dark and Darker. As a Fighter, you can implement different weapon combinations that other classes can’t, especially with the Weapon Mastery perk. Experiment with different weapon combinations and builds while wandering through the dungeon.
Additional Tips
- Use your defensive stats to your advantage: Even though the Fighter has a greater defense than other classes, you won’t survive 1v3. If you have squishy teammates like a Wizard build, act as a guardian and block other teams from diving your backline.
- Use your Sprint or Adrenaline Rush to get out of bad situations or to close the gap on the Rangers or Wizards.
Wrap Up for our Dark and Darker Fighter Build and Guide.
That’s our Fighter Build and Guide for Dark and Darker. The Fighter is the best all-around character and a new player’s best class to learn Dark and Darker’s mechanics. Use your versatility and tankiness to your advantage, and master your preferred weapons.
Playing as the Fighter will also familiarize you with playing the Barbarian or the Cleric, thanks to their similar weapons. For insights into how to play these other great classes, you may want to start with our Barbarian build and Dark and Darker guide.
If you enjoyed our look into the game and want to learn more about it, check out our Dark and Darker tips and tricks for beginners for more helpful survival tips or our instructions on how to trade with other players.
For now, Good Hunting!
