Frequently Asked Questions

DarkerDB and the API

Is DarkerDB open source?

Yes. Public projects, including the GrimVault desktop client, are on the DarkerDB GitHub . The private services that collect and operate the live market dataset are not public.

How can I contribute?

Report bugs, suggest features, or share tools you build in the DarkerDB Discord. Code contributions are welcome through the public GitHub repositories.

Does a GrimVault plan include API access?

No. GrimVault and the developer API have separate plans, limits, and free tiers. Manage both from the billing dashboard.

Using the database

How current is the database?

Items, monsters, loot tables, and other game data are a snapshot of the current patch. They are replaced when a new patch is imported. Live feeds update separately: Trade Chat keeps 14 days, and individual market listing records are retained indefinitely. See Data Retention for every window.

Why does a value differ from the game?

A new patch or hotfix may not have been imported yet, an observed live feed may be delayed, or a localized name may differ from the canonical game string. Check the patch and build shown in the navbar. If they match your client, report the page, value, game language, and a screenshot in Discord so the source data can be corrected.

Why is an item or section missing?

Catalog pages describe the current patch, so removed or renamed entities may no longer resolve. A profile section can also have no observed market activity, Trade Chat mentions, or known sources. An empty market result is authoritative only when its family scan is marked fresh.

How are marketplace sales detected?

Dark and Darker does not report completed sales. When a listing disappears before expiry during a later complete scan of its item family, DarkerDB marks it missing and treats that as the likely-sale signal. Expired and cancelled listings remain separate. See the Market reference for the lifecycle fields.

How are loot chances calculated?

DarkerDB walks the game's loot graph, chooses a rarity from its weighted pool, then divides that rarity among matching outcomes. Null outcomes and repeated draws count. Luck changes the rarity weights rather than adding a flat bonus, so it can move probability from one rarity to another. Dungeon mode, source, and loot-table grade can select different pools. The Loot reference shows the full calculation.

What do “Dropped By” and “Found In” include?

Dropped By lists monsters that can drop the item. World Spawns lists loose items rolled directly at placed map spawn points. Found In lists lootable objects such as chests, treasure hoards, corpses, bookshelves, and ore nodes. Repeated spawners for the same named container are collapsed into one entry whose locations and available modes are combined.

What does “posted 4×” mean in Trade Chat?

It means the same sender posted identical normalized message text with the same linked items four times among the latest results. DarkerDB keeps the newest copy and shows the repeat count so copy-paste posts do not crowd the feed. It is not the quantity of the item being traded.

Can I trust the market prices?

Use them as market evidence, not guaranteed sale prices. Thin volume, unusual rolls, stale family scans, deliberate overpricing, and rapid market movement can all reduce confidence. Compare the typical price, lowest active ask, recent listings, sales evidence, and chart range before choosing a price.

GrimVault v2

What is GrimVault?

GrimVault is a native Windows overlay for Dark and Darker. Hover an item to see market value, roll quality, recent market activity, upgrade paths, and other useful context beside the game tooltip.

What changed in GrimVault v2?

Version 2 is a native 64-bit rebuild with faster GPU-first recognition, automatic capture fallback, a responsive overlay, cloud-synced settings, signed updates, configurable hotkeys, and multilingual item recognition. The current release is 2.1.1.

How do I install or update GrimVault v2?

Download the current signed installer from the GrimVault page. Automatic update checks are enabled by default and run hourly. You can change that under Dashboard → GrimVault → Behavior.

Does GrimVault require sign-in?

Yes. GrimVault uses secure browser sign-in to connect the desktop app to your DarkerDB account, retrieve your plan, and sync your settings. The core overlay, customization, and cloud sync are available on the free plan.

Why are paid plans subscriptions?

Live market collection, processing, hosting, and maintenance have ongoing costs. The free plan includes the core overlay. Paid plans add more analysis sections and let you show more of them at once.

How does GrimVault read items?

GrimVault captures the game window and recognizes the visible tooltip. It uses GPU-first DirectML processing with a CPU fallback, then requests current item and market context from DarkerDB. It does not inject code, read game memory, or modify the game client.

Can I get banned for using GrimVault?

DarkerDB has confirmed GrimVault's screen-reading approach with Ironmace. GrimVault does not inject DLLs, hook memory, automate gameplay, or modify game files. Rules for posting or streaming third-party overlays in official community spaces may be separate.

How do price checks work?

Unrolled items are estimated from recent low listings after obvious outliers are removed. Rolled gear is matched against items with similar attributes and roll grades, then estimated from the median market evidence with more weight on listings than completed sales. When there are too few close matches, GrimVault falls back to attribute weights and roll quality. Treat every result as an estimate, not a guaranteed sale.

Can I customize the overlay and hotkeys?

Yes. Dashboard → GrimVault controls placement, scale, opacity, columns, visible analysis sections, currency display, capture behavior, language, and hotkeys. Hotkeys support keyboard chords, function keys, and all five standard mouse buttons.

How do I hide the badge in the bottom-right corner?

Turn off Show the in-game status indicator under Dashboard → GrimVault → Overlay. This setting is independent of the analysis card.

Which game languages are supported?

GrimVault supports English, German, Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Automatic reads the language saved by Dark and Darker, or you can choose one under Dashboard → GrimVault → Behavior.

What does “Help improve GrimVault” send?

When enabled, GrimVault may securely submit selected cropped tooltip captures and up to two diagnostic log snapshots per day. These samples improve recognition, localization, and reliability. Full-screen captures are never submitted. You can turn this off under Dashboard → GrimVault → Improvement.

What should I try if GrimVault uses too much CPU or causes stutters?

1. Update to the latest release, then enable Performance mode under Dashboard → GrimVault → Behavior.
2. If needed, disable Performance mode and lower Maximum capture rate to 10 FPS or 5 FPS.
3. Leave Capture backend on Automatic. If WGC misbehaves, try DXGI. Use GDI only as a compatibility fallback because it uses more CPU.
4. On AMD graphics, disable AMD Fluid Motion Frames or HYPR-RX frame generation for Dark and Darker. Also test with AMD Instant Replay off.
5. Use Manual mode while diagnosing the issue and trigger a scan with the configured Manual scan hotkey.

What should I try if GrimVault cannot see an item?

1. Use Windowed Fullscreen and temporarily disable HDR.
2. Confirm the correct game language under Dashboard → GrimVault → Behavior.
3. Set in-game brightness to 2.5 or higher.
4. Leave the capture backend on Automatic, then try DXGI if WGC returns a blank or unstable capture.
5. Use the configured Manual scan hotkey while the item is visible.

Where are the logs?

Right-click the GrimVault system-tray icon and choose Logs, or open %APPDATA%/GrimVault/logs. If the steps above do not help, share the logs and a short description in the DarkerDB Discord.

Miscellaneous

Who is behind the project?

DarkerDB is built by Anders, known in-game as Skullee, with ideas, testing, and design feedback from HappyFeet and LeBron.

Why are Warlocks so underpowered?

It is one of life's greatest mysteries...