Dark and Darker shouldn't even exist. Honestly, looking at the legal chaos between Ironmace and Nexon, it's a miracle we can even click a "Play" button right now. But that button doesn't live on Steam for everyone—at least not how it used to. Because of the whole DMCA takedown fiasco, the Dark and Darker launcher, officially known as Blacksmith, became the lifeblood of the community. It’s the bridge between you and a skeleton cave-dwelling death trap.
If you’ve been trying to get into the game lately, you’ve probably realized it's not as simple as "download and go." You've got options now. You have the standalone Blacksmith launcher, the Epic Games Store version, and the triumphant (if slightly complicated) return to Steam.
But here’s the thing: they aren't all created equal.
The Blacksmith Launcher: A Necessary Evil?
When Nexon swung the legal hammer and wiped Dark and Darker off the face of Steam in early 2023, Ironmace didn't just give up. They built their own house. That house is Blacksmith.
It’s barebones. It’s gray. It looks like something from 2005. But for the hardcore fans who bought the "Founder’s Edition" or "Hold the Line" packages during the dark ages, the Blacksmith Dark and Darker launcher is the only way to access those specific legacy accounts without jumping through a dozen hoops.
The problem? It’s finicky.
I’ve seen dozens of players complain about the "Initialization Error" or the launcher just straight-up refusing to update. Usually, this happens because your firewall thinks Blacksmith is a malicious intruder. It’s not. It’s just a scrappy piece of software from a Korean indie dev team trying to bypass corporate gatekeepers. If you’re stuck on a "Checking for Updates" loop, nine times out of ten, you need to run the launcher as an administrator. Right-click. Properties. Compatibility. Check that box. It’s a small step that solves roughly 80% of the headache.
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Why Steam and Epic Changed the Game
Fast forward to June 2024. The game finally returned to major platforms. Suddenly, the Dark and Darker launcher landscape shifted.
You don’t need Blacksmith anymore if you’re a new player. You can just grab it on Steam or Epic. This is huge because Steam handles the heavy lifting—delta patching, server-side verification, and cloud saves. When Ironmace pushes a 2GB update, Steam downloads 2GB. When Blacksmith pushes an update, it sometimes feels like it's re-verifying the entire universe.
But there is a massive catch that people keep missing.
Account linking is a nightmare. If you started on Blacksmith, you can't just log into Steam and have your characters there automatically. Ironmace implemented a "Link Code" system. You have to open your Blacksmith version, go to the options, generate a code, and then input that into the Steam/Epic version.
Pro tip: Do not do this while the servers are under heavy load. If that link fails midway through, your account can end up in a "limbo" state where neither launcher recognizes your progress. It's rare, but it's a support ticket you don't want to write.
Dealing with the "Stuck at 0%" Bug
One of the most annoying things about the proprietary Dark and Darker launcher is the progress bar. It lies to you.
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You’ll be sitting there, watching it at 0% for ten minutes. You’ll think it’s broken. It probably isn't. Blacksmith allocates disk space before it starts the actual transfer. If you’re on a slower HDD (why are you playing this on an HDD?), this takes forever. Even on an NVMe SSD, it can hang.
- Check your "temp" folder in the game directory.
- Ensure you have at least 30GB of free space, even if the update is small.
- Disable your VPN.
Seriously, the VPN thing is a big deal. Blacksmith's CDN (Content Delivery Network) is notoriously picky about regional IP addresses. If you're tunneling through a different country, the launcher might just time out.
Is the Launcher Safe?
Let's address the elephant in the room. When Dark and Darker first went standalone, people were terrified of "Red Line" or "Chaf Games." There were rumors of credit card fraud and sketchy trackers.
Terence Park, the CEO of Ironmace, has been pretty transparent about this. Blacksmith was built under duress. It doesn't have the polish of Battle.net or Riot’s launcher. It’s safe, but it's basic. It uses standard Xsolla integration for payments, which is a massive third-party payment processor used by Twitch and Roblox. You aren't giving your credit card info to a random guy in Seoul; you’re giving it to a multibillion-dollar payment gateway.
Troubleshooting the "Platform Mismatch"
This is the newest headache. Since the game is now on three different "launchers," version control is a mess.
If Ironmace pushes a hotfix, Steam usually gets it first. Epic is second. Blacksmith is... whenever the server feels like it. If you try to play with friends and one of you is on Blacksmith while the other is on Steam, you might get a "Version Mismatch" error.
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There is no "Check for Updates" button that actually works reliably on Blacksmith. You usually have to restart the entire application—and sometimes the PC—to force it to ping the server for the latest build. It’s frustrating. It’s clunky. But that’s the price of playing one of the most unique extraction shooters on the market.
The Future of the Dark and Darker Launcher
Eventually, Ironmace wants a unified experience. They’ve hinted at a single account system that works everywhere. We aren't there yet.
Right now, the "Free to Play" version on Steam acts more like a demo. You get one character slot. If you want the full "Legendary" status, you have to buy it with "Redstone Shards." If you bought the game originally through the Dark and Darker launcher (Blacksmith), you already have this status.
Don't buy it twice.
Use the link system. It's annoying, but it saves you $30.
Actionable Steps for a Smoother Experience
If you're still struggling with the Dark and Darker launcher, here is the definitive "no-nonsense" checklist to get you back into the dungeon:
- Switch to Steam if possible. Unless you are deeply attached to your Blacksmith-exclusive skins and don't want to deal with the linking process, the Steam version is objectively more stable. It handles downloads better and has fewer "socket errors."
- Whitelist the entire Ironmace folder. Don't just whitelist the .exe. Your antivirus will often block the sub-processes that handle the anti-cheat (Squire).
- Check the Official Discord. Ironmace doesn't post status updates on their website half as much as they do in the #announcements channel of their Discord. If the launcher says "Server Offline," check Discord before you reinstall the whole game.
- Clear your Cache. Inside the Blacksmith folder, there’s a
_Downloadfolder. If an update fails, delete everything in there. It’s likely a corrupted file causing a loop. - DNS Flush. If the launcher won't connect at all, open Command Prompt and type
ipconfig /flushdns. It sounds like "tech support 101" fluff, but for some reason, the Blacksmith launcher loves to hang onto old IP routes.
The Dark and Darker launcher situation is a direct reflection of the game's development: messy, resilient, and constantly evolving. It isn't perfect, but it's the only way to get your fix of high-stakes dungeon crawling. Keep your drivers updated, keep your firewall in check, and watch out for those floor spikes.