  Direct detection experiments are gaining in mass reach. Here we show that the
inclusion of dark Compton scattering, which has typically been neglected in
absorption searches, has a substantial impact on the reach and discovery
potential of direct detection experiments at high bosonic cold dark matter
masses. We demonstrate this for relic dark photons and axion-like particles: we
improve expected reach across materials, and further use results from
SuperCDMS, EDELWEISS and GERDA to place enhanced limits on dark matter
parameter space. We outline the implications for detector design and analysis.
