1. Check the server status.
The first thing you need to ensure before following all of the methods is to check the server status, because there are many reports on Reddit indicating that this error often occurs when the server is under maintenance or offline. Hence, make sure to check the server status before doing anything to your Windows settings. To check the server status, visit the official Twitter page of Dark and Darker. If you cannot find a single tweet about this issue, then proceed to the following methods.
2. Restart the PC multiple times.
If you have not restarted your PC yet, or even if you have restarted but not multiple times, then you should do this because restarting the PC will restart all the essential services that the game requires to run properly. It is the best way to start troubleshooting, as it often resolves temporary bugs and errors.
3. Run the game as an administrator.
If restarting the PC multiple times did not fix your issue, try running the game as an administrator. It is possible that your game cannot access the essential files, or Windows firewalls are interfering and blocking the game from accessing the server. Since the Windows firewall monitors incoming and outgoing data, it is recommended to run the game as an administrator to avoid firewall interference. Use the following steps to do so:
4. Turn off the Private Domain Firewall.
A private Domain Firewall is one of the Windows firewall profiles and is used to protect the system from unauthorized access on a private network. Since it monitors inbound and outbound traffic, it is possible that the private domain firewall is preventing you from accessing the server, which results in this error message. To fix this error, you can either turn off the Private Domain Firewall or allow the game through Windows firewall settings. To turn off the Private Domain Firewall, follow these steps:”.
5. Allow the game through the Windows Firewall.
You can also allow ‘Dark’ and ‘Darker’ from the Windows Firewall Defender settings if you don’t want to turn off the private domain firewall temporarily. To do this, follow these steps:
6. Turn off third-party antivirus software.
If you have third-party antivirus software installed on your PC, you should try disabling it, as third-party antivirus applications are known to interfere with games and apps for no apparent reason. The following steps might vary depending on your antivirus software.
