If you are stuck trying to activate the pearl maker chapter 4 reincarnated as a dark lord, the solution is not a flaw in your strategy—it is your game version. Prior to Minor Patch 1.0.0.5, a hard-coded progression bug rendered the Pearl Maker entirely unusable, forcing players into an unwinnable time loop. The indie title Reincarnated as a Dark Lord Before Taking Over the World with Power 999999999 is engineered to be a brutally challenging puzzle novel RPG, but failing because a UI button refuses to click is where the challenge crosses into broken code.
Developer cuddlecode officially deployed the fix on June 1, 2026. Here is exactly how to verify your client is updated, how to route your shadow servants to feed the Pearl Maker, and how to navigate the newly fixed Kraken parallel path choice to finally conquer Chapter 4.
The Progression Bug: Why the Pearl Maker Chapter 4 Reincarnated as a Dark Lord Failed
For weeks, players hitting Chapter 4 encountered a wall. You would absorb the requisite mana, manually command your shadow servants, and attempt to refine dark magic through the Pearl Maker—only for the interface to flatline. Because the game operates on a notoriously tight time limit where failure means starting over the chapter, this unresponsive state meant guaranteed death.
The issue was rooted in how the Godot engine handled the branching path logic in Chapter 4. When the game attempted to load the Pearl Maker's parallel event flags, the script stalled.
Minor Patch 1.0.0.5 addressed this directly, alongside several other critical stability issues that plagued the Chapter 4 experience.
Patch 1.0.0.5 Changelog Breakdown
| Feature | Patch 1.0.0.4 (Broken) | Patch 1.0.0.5 (Fixed) |
|---|---|---|
| Pearl Maker | Unresponsive, halting Chapter 4 progress. | Fully operational for mana conversion. |
| Kraken Path | Parallel path choice bugged and unselectable. | Branching paths display correctly. |
| Window Mode | The window mode bug moved the title bar out of the screen. | Title bar locked and visible. |
| Performance | Graphic card compatibility issues caused jittering. | Smooth rendering on all tested GPUs. |
If you are playing on the web build and still experiencing jittering or crashes when interacting with the Pearl Maker, the developer strongly recommends downloading the Windows version for the best experience.
Optimizing the Pearl Maker Chapter 4 Reincarnated as a Dark Lord After the Patch
Once you have confirmed Patch 1.0.0.5 is installed, the real game begins. Reincarnated as a Dark Lord is explicitly not a passive idle game. It is a text-based puzzle where every click matters when time is running out.
The Pearl Maker is the economic engine of Chapter 4. Your primary goal is to convert raw mana into refined pearls to develop dark magic and create advanced minions. Activating the device requires 500 Mana upfront, but the automation saves 12 seconds per cycle—a massive margin when failure means starting over.
To optimize this loop, you must master the automation system. You can command your shadow servants to work automatically or do it manually yourself. In the early stages of the chapter, manual clicking is mandatory to build your base mana pool. Once you hit the 500 Mana threshold, immediately assign three shadow servants to the Pearl Maker. This frees your main interface to focus on devouring the surrounding environment to survive the impending time gate.
Navigating the Kraken Parallel Path Choice
Fixing the Pearl Maker inherently unlocked the rest of Chapter 4's branching narrative, most notably the Kraken encounter. Prior to the patch, the "Kraken parallel path choice" was equally bugged, trapping players who tried to bypass the Pearl Maker entirely.
Now that all choices are displayed as branching paths for you to explore, you have a critical decision to make mid-chapter. Do you funnel your resources into the Pearl Maker, or do you divert your shadow servants to unlocking the Kraken path?
Community data shows a tight split: the Kraken Path is chosen by roughly 45% of players, while the Pearl Maker Path is favored by 55%. The Kraken path requires a heavy upfront investment in dark magic rather than raw mana, making it a riskier but faster route if you have already unlocked specific gameplay helpers through the Prestige system.
Avoiding the Time Warp Trap and Managing the Death Loop
If you played during the earlier builds, you might remember the infamous Time Warp bug. Using Time Warp was accidentally speeding up enemies and resource generators instead of only affecting the intended targets. The more you used it, the worse it got. While this was patched out, Chapter 4’s tight time limits mean you must still use your time manipulation skills carefully. Do not rely on Time Warp to save a failing Pearl Maker cycle; if you are behind on mana, it is better to let the time limit expire and restart.
This brings us to the core identity of the game: the Re:Zero style death loop. You are reincarnating as the dark lord, not the hero. When the time limit is reached, you are greeted by a dark screen reminding you that failure means starting over. However, by retaining past life knowledge, you can rapidly optimize your next run. The Prestige system doesn't make you stronger, but it makes subsequent playthroughs faster.
If you are just returning to the game and want to skip the early grind, the full game supports automatic demo save importing. Chapters 1 and 2 in the full game aren't meaningfully different from the demo—aside from minor balance tweaks and a dead face new born dark lord avatar in Chapter 1. You can import your demo save and jump straight into Chapter 3, placing you right on the doorstep of Chapter 4.
FAQ: Pearl Maker Chapter 4 Reincarnated as a Dark Lord
Do I need to restart my run if the Pearl Maker was bugged? Yes. If your save was trapped in the broken 1.0.0.4 state where the Pearl Maker refused to activate, you must let the time limit run out and trigger a reincarnation. On your next life in Patch 1.0.0.5, the interface will work correctly.
Is grinding required to beat Chapter 4? No. By design, grinding is totally optional. The game is a puzzle RPG; if you are failing the Chapter 4 time limit, you need to re-route your shadow servants and optimize your branching path choices, not endlessly click for mana.
What does the Kraken parallel path do? It offers an alternative progression route to the Pearl Maker. Fixed in the same patch, the Kraken path requires high dark magic rather than raw mana, allowing players with different prestige upgrades to clear the chapter faster.
Can I use Time Warp to speed up the Pearl Maker? Yes, but use it cautiously. The older bug that caused Time Warp to speed up enemies has been fixed, but mismanaging your time manipulation can still leave you starved for raw mana before the cycle completes.
Sources
- Steam Community Announcements: Minor Patch 1.0.0.5 Notes.
- Changelog.gg: Reincarnated as a Dark Lord Before Taking Over the World with Power 999999999 Updates.
- Incremental Games Database: Patch History and Developer Logs.