GCSDark and Darker Anti-Cheat
Ironmace’s own kernel-level IRONSHIELD with boot protection, Secure Boot, TPM 2.0 and HVCI required for High-Roller and Arena, and teaming a bannable offence in High-Roller.
In plain EnglishThis page explains the anti-cheat that protects Dark and Darker - the system that tries to catch and ban cheaters. It covers how strict that system is and how cheats try to stay hidden from it. No cheat is ever 100% safe, so always check a product's status before you buy. Dark and Darker uses IRONSHIELD, a kernel-level anti-cheat that loads a Windows driver with deep system access. Caught cheaters get an account ban, and our database rates its detection strength medium. The guide below covers how it detects, what a ban really costs and what kind of build survives.What anti-cheat does Dark and Darker use?
Dark and Darker is Ironmace’s extraction dungeon crawler, in early access on Steam since June 2024. It runs IRONSHIELD, Ironmace’s own anti-cheat, which has been part of the game since the alpha playtests. Its Steam page lists IRONSHIELD as a kernel-level anti-cheat with boot protection that requires Secure Boot and TPM 2.0.
Ironmace puts the strictest rule on the modes with the most at stake. Since Season 9 in April 2026, Secure Boot, TPM 2.0 and HVCI must all be switched on to enter High-Roller and Arena. IRONSHIELD loads at kernel level with boot protection, which is why it leans on the PC’s own boot security: with Secure Boot on and a TPM present, it is harder for a cheat to load before the anti-cheat does. Since Season 7 in September 2025, IRONSHIELD can also stop the game from running normally if it finds a security weakness on your PC. Players feed it too. Accounts reported by players with a reliable reporting record get a temporary Outlaw mark and a closer investigation, and since March 2025 reporters can see ban and report data for the cheaters they reported. Ironmace has not published how long bans last, and has not said that they reach hardware, so treat a ban as permanent for that account. It has said that all teaming in High-Roller dungeons, including teaming that just happens in the dungeon, is a bannable offence. Because High-Roller and Arena need all three settings, a PC that cannot run with them switched on is limited to the lower-stakes modes, whatever its ban record. We rate Dark and Darker "Medium" on client detection: a kernel-level anti-cheat with boot protection that Ironmace keeps tightening season by season, backed by player reports that carry real weight. In a dungeon where players learn each other’s habits, play that is too good gets noticed and reported, and a report from a reliable reporter counts for more. Dark and Darker is about information: where other players are, which monsters and chests are worth the risk, and where the portals are. ESP that answers those questions decides more runs than aim does. Stay out of High-Roller with a build you are not sure of, and do not team up with strangers there. The Dark and Darker build we keep current is below. One Dark and Darker build is on sale right now, listed by how each one runs according to its own description. Official pages for the systems this guide describes. They are the primary sources for how IRONSHIELD works and how bans are issued; the detection ratings and build guidance are our own editorial assessment, explained in the editorial policy.How IRONSHIELD works in Dark and Darker
What a Dark and Darker ban actually means
Detection track record
Cheating in Dark and Darker safely
Dark and Darker builds in the store
Dark and Darker anti-cheat FAQ
Is IRONSHIELD kernel-level?
Do you need Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 for Dark and Darker?
Is teaming bannable in Dark and Darker?
Sources
This guide is informational and reflects how IRONSHIELD and Dark and Darker bans generally work; anti-cheats update constantly, so treat every detail as a moving target rather than a guarantee. Last reviewed 1 November 2026.Keep reading