We couldn't have done this without you. Every share, every comment, every bit of feedback, and every wishlist pushed us forward. If you've been following the game, you're part of this. Thank you for being on this journey with us. June is going to be a big month for us. In case you missed it, here’s the trailer for our demo, which will be available on June 10th: Our demo will also be participating in the upcoming Steam Next Fest , starting on June 15th at 10 AM PDT. Until then, you can dive deeper into our damned world in our The World of The Dark West series . See you all on Friday, and if you haven't yet, be sure to wishlist The Dark West now. Thank you! - Black Hand Studios https://store.steampowered.com/app/3574750/The_Dark_West/

We're proud to announce that the demo for The Dark West will be available on June 10th ! That means there's only one week left before you can jump into this world filled with corruption and try to keep your neck clean. Take a look at our demo trailer here: Are you ready to face the darkness? Make sure to wishlist The Dark West so you don't miss the demo launch: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3574750/The_Dark_West/

Welcome back, everyone! Before we begin, we would like to apologize and address an issue in our latest post: the Masterwork was shown incorrectly (the item was generated incorrectly for the screenshots). We've since updated the post with the correct GFX. Now, it’s time to take a look at the playable class available in our upcoming demo: Kane, the Gunslinger . They say fortune doesn’t favor the brave, only the faster hand and the heavier iron. There’s just one thing between him and whatever he sets his sights on, and that’s the bullet already waiting in his chamber. He is the only bounty without a photograph, because no soul who’s faced him has lived long enough to describe him. Men swear he can draw twice before their fingers brush leather. Others claim that when shot, he simply unravels into shadow and steps back out of it moments later. Under the noonday sun, he casts none of his own, as though death forgot to keep him. Some whisper he’s come back from the grave more times than the frontier has buried him. Demon or revenant, it hardly matters; he is murder given posture and purpose. In a fight, he rules the middle distance, sovereign of pistols and revolvers; each draws a verdict delivered without appeal. His craft is not chaos but calculation, decision, fire, and end it. He thrives on lethal efficiency, where hesitation is a coffin and mercy a myth. Cunning, ruthless, and impossibly quick, he kills before being killed, and if by some miracle he falls, the dust will only rise again, and so will he. Active Skills Skills have three notable nodes that can either enhance certain aspects of the skill or completely change its playstyle. Hex Shot A ghostly skull is shot from your firearm, dealing Curse damage and piercing through enemies. Barrel Breaker Fires all loaded bullets in rapid succession. Tapping the skill uses a random technique, sweeping randomly within a smaller cone. Holding the skill uses a fanning technique, sweeping side to side within a small cone. Shadow Step Augments Perfect Dodge, granting movement speed buff, vanishing in the darkness. Concussive Blast Fires a concussive blast. Knocks back enemies on hit. Also knock back self. Ricochet Channels to fire a single bullet that chains between enemies. Channel for longer to increase the chaining angle. Death Blossom Instantly reloads, then fires all bullets in rapid succession around the player. Spawns shadow clones that replicate each shot from a different angle, which does a percentage of the original damage. Twin Doctrine Alternate firing dual pistols in quick succession. Gives an uncapped rate of fire and mirrors Mainhand into Offhand. Passive Skills Lucky Shot Passively enables Guaranteed Critical bullets to be added to your ammo belt randomly when reloading. Quick Draw Disables automatic reloading and gun jams for a moment if manual reloading is not performed quickly after the ammunition runs out. Reloads completely in one go. Talents These are divided into two categories, Sharpshooter and Gambler , and appear four times in your skill tree. At each node, you’ll have to choose between them. While one favors incremental buffs that reward careful planning, the other leans into pure luck . Sharpshooter I Consecutive hits on the same enemy grant additional Attack Speed and Critical Chance . Fall off 1s without engaging. Gambler I Additional Max Luck when non-lucky bullets are shot. This skill has a small cooldown. Sharpshooter II Reloading grants additional Global Damage and Attack Speed for a brief moment. Gambler II Lucky Bullets cannot return and have a small chance to Nova , Chain , Fork , and Pierce on hit. Sharpshooter III A big percentage of Global Critical Strike Chance is applied to Reload Speed . A small portion of Global Projectile Speed is added to Critical Strike Chance . Gambler III Lucky Bullets grants stacks of Gambler's Fortune on hit. Non-lucky bullets have a small chance of removing all stacks. Sharpshooter IV Additional Project Damage while stationery. Reduces Project Damage while moving. Cap your minimum movement speed to a fixed value. Gambler IV Additional Max Luck while Healthy . While Overwhelmed , Critical Strike Chance is Very Fortunate . Are you building your Gunslinger as a deadly sniper, or leaving it all to fate? Make sure to check our previous posts before deciding how to build your character: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3574750/view/667239545538871774 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3574750/view/677372009606284089 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3574750/view/677371376263233813 As always, all of this information is subject to change, especially numbers and visuals. Tune in next week for more from the world of The Dark West. Don’t forget to check out our official Discord server, where you can help shape the game through polls and by sharing your feedback. And if you haven’t yet, don’t forget to wishlist The Dark West ! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3574750/The_Dark_West/

Welcome back, everyone! It’s every ARPG player’s favorite time: loot! Let’s take a closer look at the main criteria used to categorize your gear. Classes The class of an item refers to its category, ranging from weapons like rifles, revolvers, and shotguns to accessories such as rings, trinkets, and poker cards . Affixes You're probably familiar with the term, but if you're not: affixes are modifier lines attached to an item . They can range from simple stats like Increased Attack Speed to more complex ones, such as Reduced Reload Movement Penalty . They are categorized into prefixes and suffixes , and each modifier can only appear once on an item . That means you cannot have another Movement Speed affix if your item already has one. Items also have a limit of six affixes , and they cannot have more than four prefixes or four suffixes . For example, if you're trying to add a new prefix to a five-affix item that already has four prefixes, the crafting will fail . The pool of affixes available to an item is directly tied to its class . Rifles have a different pool than gloves, for instance. However, some affixes can appear across multiple item classes. Here, we can see the difference between an item in our inventory with three affixes and our equipped item, which has only two . Qualities An item’s quality directly affects the strength of its affixes . The higher the quality , the greater the bonus . It's important to note that this bonus only applies to affixes , not base values and/or implicits . Rusted Barely holding together. Corrosion eats at its surface, joints grind when moved, and every use risks total failure. It’s functional in the loosest sense of the word. Quality Effect Bonus: 0% Worn Used hard and repaired often. Scratches, dents, and faded markings tell a long story of service. It still works as intended, but shows clear signs of age and fatigue. Quality Effect Bonus: 20% Sturdy Well-maintained and dependable. Built from solid materials and cared for properly, this equipment performs reliably under normal conditions with no unpleasant surprises. Quality Effect Bonus: 50% Pristine Immaculate and expertly kept. Free of flaws, wear, or defects, it looks and performs as if it just left the workshop—often better than most ever will. Quality Effect Bonus: 100% You can see above that this item has a higher Chance to Chain thanks to its increased quality . Masterwork Pinnacle of craftsmanship. Every detail is intentional, every component perfectly balanced. This equipment exceeds expectations, offering superior performance and an enduring legacy worthy of admiration. Masterworks are generated with curated, predefined modifiers and generally cannot be modified through crafting currencies or mechanics unless explicitly stated. Here, we can see a comparison between a masterwork and our equipped weapon. Tiers An item’s tier determines its base stats and the tier of affixes it can generate. It’s represented by Roman numerals , from I to VIII (1 to 8). A tier VIII item can roll any affix in its pool , from tier 8 down to 1 , while a tier III item is limited to tier 3 and below . Rings, Belts, and Amulets do not have tiers, while Trinkets have tiers from 1 to 4. Above, you can see a comparison of Weapon Damage between a Tier I and a Tier VIII item. It’s important to note that, even though high-tier equipment is more likely to generate higher-tier affixes , it can still roll lower ones . As always, all of this information is subject to change, especially the numbers and visuals. For this demo, you can expect to see equipment from tiers I to III and all five qualities, including the first batch of Masterwork items. Now it’s time to combine everything you’ve learned from the Tarot and Poker cards and decide how you want to play The Dark West . If you missed them, here are quick links to each: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3574750/view/677372009606284089 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3574750/view/677371376263233813 Tune in next week for more from the world of The Dark West. Don’t forget to check out our official Discord server, where you can help shape the game through polls and by sharing your feedback. And if you haven’t yet, don’t forget to wishlist The Dark West ! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3574750/The_Dark_West/