Darkmass.io FAQ

Is Darkmass.io free?

Yes. There is nothing to buy: no premium version, no upgrades, no way to spend money on an edge over anyone else. Every run starts equal, and the ads on the menu, queue and death screens are what pay for the servers.

Do I need an account?

No. You type a name, pick a colour and press Play; that is the whole of it. There is no sign-up and no password, and no profile follows you from one run to the next. The name lasts only for the current session, and when you leave, nothing about you is kept.

Do I have to download or install anything?

No. Darkmass.io runs entirely in your browser. Open the page and it is ready in seconds, with no launcher and no plug-in to install first. You never manage updates either, because reloading the page always gives you the current version.

Which browsers and devices does it work on?

Any modern browser on desktop or mobile. Current versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge all work, on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS alike. The client is compiled to WebAssembly, which every current browser runs out of the box, so there is nothing to enable. On a computer you play with mouse and keyboard; on a phone or tablet you get touch controls.

What are the rules for names?

Keep it short and pick anything you like; you choose your Star's colour at the same time. The name is shown above your Star and on the leaderboard for that session only. Because there are no accounts, no name is ever reserved: you hold yours for the run, and you can pick a new one every time you play.

How do I grow fast?

Front-load the run. Your first orbs are worth extra, so farm hard in the opening minute while you are small and quick. After that, chase value rather than volume: Bright orbs and event zones pay far better than grazing Ambient orbs, and one swallowed Star is worth a whole field. Open the Gravity Well over a rich patch, take what it reels in, and release it before the drain eats the profit. The Guide works through the opening, the middle and the late game in detail.

Why did I go dark?

There are a few ways to go dark. A Star about a quarter bigger than you slid over your centre and took most of your mass. A hazard wore you away until nothing was left; with no killer to name, you burned out. A Star in Black Hole form ground you down, in which case the death screen names them as your killer. Or you drifted into the core of a void. Whichever it was, the recap tells the story of the run: the arc of your mass, the highest rank you held, the streak you nearly reached, and the name of whoever got you.

What is the difference between the black hole event and the Black Hole power-up?

They share a name but not a side. The event opens a void at a spot in the arena: it drags in Stars, orbs and power-ups and destroys whatever reaches its core, and your only move is to keep clear. The power-up turns you into a black hole for a few seconds: you keep moving, you pull in everything around you, bigger Stars hardest, and until it ends you cannot be swallowed or hurt. Meet an event's black hole while transformed and, if it is smaller than you, you can swallow even that.

What are world events, and how do I know where the next one is?

Events are temporary zones where the arena changes. A Light surge fills an area with bright orbs, a Wormhole blooms with even richer ones, a Supernova charges and then blasts, a Black hole opens a void, and a Hazard shower rains dark shards. Exactly one event is always running, and the next is announced a few seconds ahead by an arrow and a countdown at the top of the screen, so you can be moving before it starts. Events also lean toward the leader, so the top Star rarely farms in peace.

How do power-up grades work?

Gravity, Speed and Black Hole pickups each come in three grades, and the pickup itself tells you which: the bigger it looks, the stronger the effect. Grabbing another of the same kind refreshes the timer and keeps the higher of the two grades; it never stacks past the top grade. So there is no reason to save a duplicate for later. Take it and move on.

Can the giant at the top of the board be beaten?

Yes, and the game is built so it can be. A giant is slow, the Void and dark shards do more damage the bigger you are, events lean toward the leader, and holding an ability costs a giant a larger share of its mass. A small Star can grab a Black Hole power-up, leech the giant while nothing can harm it, and be gone before the form ends. Worn Stars also drop Scatter orbs, so a harried giant feeds everyone around it.

Why do my abilities keep getting more expensive?

The price of holding an ability ramps the longer you hold it and winds back down after you release, and the recovery is scaled by size, so a giant's price comes back down more slowly than a small Star's. On top of that, the Gravity Well takes a bigger share of your mass the bigger you are. The ability boxes show the live price while you play, for example Cost: 123 mass/s (1.27x). The habit to build is short bursts with real pauses, never a held-down cruise.

Why am I shrinking when nobody is touching me?

Mass leaks from more than combat. Holding the Gravity Well drains you slowly the whole time it is open, and Dash burns mass quickly, trailing it behind you as orbs anyone can collect. Dark shards chip you on contact, a void wears you down while it drags you, a supernova blast chips everyone near it, and a Star in Black Hole form grinds anything its body touches. If your mass is falling, release your abilities first and look for the cause second.

What happens when I respawn?

A fresh run on equal terms. The arena places you among Stars of roughly your own size and shields you for a few seconds, so nobody can swallow you on arrival, and your first orbs are worth extra again, so the opening farm is always worth doing properly. One thing does carry over: if your killer is still alive when you press Play again, you respawn near them. Whether that is a second chance or a grudge is up to you.

Should I pick Europe or North America?

Normally you should not pick at all: the game measures the ping to both regions and connects you to the faster one. Choose by hand from the menu only when you have a reason, for example to play in the same region as a friend. A far region works fine but feels less sharp, because everything you see from other players has farther to travel.

The game feels laggy. What can I do?

Check the region on the menu first; the nearest one gives the lowest ping. Then look at your connection: a wired link or strong Wi-Fi beats a weak signal, and closing heavy tabs and downloads helps more than you would expect. Your own steering is predicted in your browser, so it responds at once even on a slow link; lag mostly affects how quickly you see everyone else. If the whole picture stutters rather than lags behind, the limit is probably your device, and closing other apps is the fix.

How do sound and mute work?

Press M at any time to mute or unmute, on the menu or mid-run. Sound is purely local: muting changes nothing about the run itself.

How do the touch controls work on a phone?

A joystick in the bottom right steers you: push further for more speed, all the way for full speed, and let go to stop. Two HOLD buttons in the bottom left drive the Gravity Well and Dash; they behave exactly like holding the mouse buttons, active for as long as your finger is down. There is no separate mobile version and nothing to configure: you share the same arena as every desktop player.

My connection dropped mid-run. Can I get my Star back?

No; the run ends and the arena carries on without you. The server keeps no history of runs at all, so there is nothing anywhere that could bring your Star back. Once your connection returns, reload the page, press Play and start fresh, early bonus and all.

What data does Darkmass.io hold about me?

Almost none. There are no accounts and no player database, your name and colour last only for the current session, and the game runs no first-party analytics or tracking cookies. Once you leave, there is no record of your run to look up, for you or for anyone else. The Privacy Policy describes the little processing that does happen.

Why do ads only appear on the menu, queue and death screens?

Because the arena stays clean. Ads pay for the servers of a free game with no purchases, but they never run during play: nothing overlaps the arena or pauses the run, and no ad plays sound over the game. You only see them on the screens where you are already waiting.

How does consent work in the EEA and the UK?

Where the law requires consent before ads can be shown, such as in the EEA and the UK, you are asked first, and ads appear only with your consent. Your choice never changes the game: play is identical either way. The Privacy Policy covers who serves the ads and what your options are.

Who makes Darkmass.io?

Darkmass.io is a small independent project; it is not part of a studio or a games network. Every message to the contact address is read, and reports and suggestions feed straight into work on the game. The About page explains the idea behind the design, and why getting big does not make you safe.

How is Darkmass.io built?

In Rust, from the server to the browser, where the client runs as WebAssembly. Both sides run the same simulation: the server stays the authority for everything that happens, while your browser predicts your own movement with identical code, so steering responds at once without trusting your machine. The world travels as small updates rather than a full copy each frame. The Technology page tells the full story.

How do I report a bug or send feedback?

Email [email protected] with what happened, roughly when, which region you were in, and what device and browser you use; a screenshot helps when the problem is visual. Short notes are welcome too, and everything gets read. The Contact page lists the same address.