I no longer feel welcome in the Dark and Darker community.

I feel like I’m no longer welcome in the Dark and Darker community, it just doesn’t feel like the right environment for me anymore. Apologies for the personal rant, but I honestly don’t feel like I have anyone to talk to about this.

I LOVE difficulty. I ENJOY being punished for my mistakes. It might sound masochistic, but I believe that in a world where everything is handed to me, nothing truly has value.

Over the years, the Dark and Darker community has become increasingly casual. My frustration reached its peak when, in the last patch, a minor increase in High Roller’s difficulty caused an immense backlash. And for what? They barely changed anything. In my view, the game should be significantly harder, especially High Roller.

Bunnyhopping was removed to slow down movement and make decision-making more impactful, rather than allowing players to exploit a movement glitch like in Overwatch. The community hated it.

Hotswapping was removed to make build choices more meaningful and ensure that action speed matters in clutch situations. The community hated it.

The circle was introduced to push players out of their comfort zones, forcing them to adapt to unpredictable situations. The community hated it.

Goblin Recovery no longer gives back items lost due to careless mistakes or bad decisions. The community hated it.

Am I one of the last people who still enjoys difficulty? Schopenhauer believed that life is driven by desire and that suffering stems from constant dissatisfaction. However, if all desires were fully satisfied, what would remain? Nothing but boredom and emptiness. This perfectly reflects what’s happening in Dark and Darker, if everything is easily accessible or effortlessly obtained, nothing has real value.

And that’s why I feel out of sync with the community. When I first joined Dark and Darker, I thought I’d find like-minded players—people who embraced challenge the way I do. But the community has shifted into something I never expected.

For example, I don’t believe the 124-225 dungeon should exist. It MAKES NO SENSE to me. If High Roller is meant to be a punishing, high-risk environment, why offer an easier option for those who don’t want difficulty? That’s what the normal game is for. But whenever I voice this opinion, I get judged for it.

I also don’t understand why they removed Fog of War from High Roller. It’s frustrating to see difficulty increased in some areas but watered down in others. Many players complain, "But now there will be matches where I can’t do the boss!" And my question is why should you be able to do the boss every single match? IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE HARD!

Even though I actually enjoyed this update, despite them not making the game even harder I still feel disconnected from the community.

I won’t be extreme and say I’m uninstalling the game, but more and more, I feel like I just don’t belong here anymore. And that’s a shame, because at the start, I truly felt a sense of connection. That’s all. I just hope this resonates with someone who feels the same way.