Dark and Darker: How to Unlock Squire Items

The Squire in Dark and Darker is a necessary item to get free starting gear, but unlocking better equipment takes some clever gameplay. By completing quests and earning affinity with merchants, you can upgrade your loadout and start each dungeon raid better prepared. Here’s how to unlock Squire Items in Dark and Darker to craft more powerful equipment.

Complete the Merchant Quests

To unlock items from the Squire, you’ve got to do some legwork—completing quests for different merchants like the Alchemist, Weaponsmith, Armorer, Leathersmith, Tailor, and Woodsman. All these vendors have many items you can unlock as you progress through the game. But the more you help these shopkeepers, the better gear you’ll obtain. To start your run with a new sword or durable armor, help the Armorer. If you like to get a new crossbow, it’s best to complete the challenge for the Woodsman.

Focus on Affinity

Quests help increase your “affinity” with each merchant, which is a fancy word for how much they like you. At 25 Affinity, the Squire will provide basic-quality grey items from that merchant’s stock. Keep grinding; at 50 Affinity, you’ll unlock common-quality white items.

So, completing the third quest for any merchant increases the number of available items. After finishing the Armorer’s quests, you can go from wielding rusty swords to equipping proper plate armor. Remember, each merchant has their specialties, so if you’re eyeing a specific piece of gear, make sure to take on the right quests.

How to Upgrade Your Gear

Once you’ve unlocked your items, equipping it is easy. Use the “Quick Prepare” or “Base Gear” options in the game’s hub area to customize your loadout. Quick Prepare lets you use a pre-selected set of gear, while Base Gear is where you can customize every slot to suit your dungeon-crawling style.

The Squire offers free items, but creative minds have figured out ways to exploit this a little more. Some clever dungeon crawlers will equip healing potions and bandages from the Squire, use them in a run, and then re-equip fresh ones for the next adventure. To stack up on the arrows or potions, complete a dungeon with them in your bag, and the Squire will restock your gear.

Some players think Squire a source to minimize the hardness and complexity of the game, others argue it’s a much-needed tool in the fight against Dark and Darker’s relentless difficulty. Who cares if you’ve got a good stack of potions and unlocked a new sword when you are swarmed by monsters in the next dungeon? However, the Squire is a good feature, especially for the new players. It won’t make you invincible, but it sure gives you a head start.