How to beat the Cave Troll in Dark and Darker

Though it’s certainly not the only hurdle in the game, figuring out how to beat the Cave Troll in Dark and Darker is one of bigger obstacles you’ll need to overcome sooner or later. There are a bunch of different ways to kill the troll—even without a specific class in mind—but while some of them depend on cheese strategies that are easily patched out, there’s a core idea that should help you win without taking a single hit.

You can beat the Cave Troll without any true high-tier gear. Enchantments that help you deal more damage or move a little faster will always help, but it’s ultimately an endurance challenge. You’ll need fast reactions, a keen eye, and unwavering focus.

How to find the Cave Troll in Dark and Darker

Before we get into how to beat the Cave Troll in Dark and Darker, it makes sense to explain where to find it. If you’ve only heard tales of the big beast, you might want to know how to try your hand at it yourself.

The Dark and Darker Cave Troll is found on the Goblin Caves map. It’s in a relatively small chamber in the centre of the map on one of the lower levels. Just work your way down and aim for the middle of the map and you should walk in on it. It’s a lone, large enemy in a square room. There’s a couple different routes, so watch out for traps.

How to beat the Cave Troll in Dark and Darker

Preparing to battle

Because it deals so much damage, one way to take on the Cave Troll is to use minimal gear. If you get one-shot regardless, it makes sense to gain extra movement speed by dropping your heavy clothes. This will help you dodge the troll’s powerful swings.

Aiming for a few movement speed increase pieces can help so long as the weight doesn’t cancel out the benefit of not wearing anything at all.

How to fight the Cave Troll

What some people choose to do is use exclusively ranged weapons to take on the Cave Troll. With increased movement speed, you should be able to bait the troll’s melee attacks by staying relatively close and kiting it by walking backwards as you fire arrows into its head.

It’ll take a while, and a single error will mean dying and restarting, but once you get the hang of it and stay focused, you should be able to repeat it time and again.

Regardless of your class, the central idea behind beating the troll remains the same. It’s all about learning how to identify its attacks and dodge accordingly.

The Cave Troll uses a shout to slow you down before following up with a low sweep or high swing. You can jump over a low sweep and duck under a high swing, leaving only a rare heavy central slam as a skill you’ll need to move to the left or right to avoid. This usually follows a dash the troll uses to close the gap if you’re not within melee range.

If you’re using heavier gear, you might be able to take a hit or two, but you’ll still want to focus on dodging to clear the battle. You’ll just have more room for error.

For more Dark and Darker guides, prep your chosen classes with our Dark and Darker Warlock guide. If you’re just getting started, the Dark and Darker class tier list is worth a look. That’ll help you pick out your next role.