IfDarkest Dungeon 2is your first brush with the series, or even if you have some experience with the originalDarkest Dungeon, there are some important things to make a note of. This game might seem dark and filled with monsters, but it is more strategy thanhorror. Some of the features from the original have made a return, but there are also some completely new ones such as how you travel along a road by coach now.
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A lot has changed in the game, so even if you see a returning feature, don’t expect it to be exactly the same as it was in the original, all the new stuff has changed how you will need to perceive and utilize these features.
10Skim The Tutorial
Rarely anyone will read a Tutorial log. Usually, the only tutorials people will allow is one they get to play through before starting the actual game. It is highly advised to give the Tutorial for this game a look over. Just read the headings, skim through the text, and so on.
This way, when you encounter something in the game that confuses you, there is a chance you will remember something from the tutorial, or at the very least, remember it exists to go back and read in more detail.
One of two very important mechanics is Affinity, and the other is your Stress. During social interactions throughout the run, your characters will engage in moments that will either gain or cost them Affinity and build Relationships between them. It is more important to prevent losing Affinity rather than gaining Affinity.
You should always go the route that allows you to have the highest factored overall Affinity without any bad relationships in order to maximize your chance of success. The lower your character’s Stress, the easier this will be. Affinity can greatly affect runs by affecting characters' stats and their actions.
8Manage Your Stress
Stress management is vital for your runs in Darkest Dungeon 2. If your stress fills up, your character will experience a meltdown in a battle that could cost you the run. High stress can also cause more negative outcomes on the road, while low stress will help raise the chance of positive ones.
High stress can also be bad for your Affinity in the game. Prioritizing which enemies to take out first will be important, and knowing which ones are causing the most stress can help manage this. Man At Arms might be the best party member you may have for managing stress.
7It’s Okay To Practise
Everyone starts off new, andthis is a roguelike game. Don’t try to win on your first run; rather, experiment with classes to see what you like and dislike. Make the riskiest of choices. Do things you are unsure of. All of this will give you a feel for the game and grant you a wealth of experience.
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Take your time and appreciate thehorrific enemy designs; you will always have plenty of runs later. You will be greatly more prepared for them by gaining a better understanding through trial by fire. During these runs, it is okay to let stress and affinity get out of hand — you’ll see and learn from it and be better suited at managing them for later runs.
6Party Composition
There are many party composition options, some more effective than others. If you go in with a bad party composition, you’re going to have a bad time in the long run. Your frontliner should be a tankier class that can protect and support his teammates.
Tanks will greatly increase your chances of success while helping to minimize negative factors. Another invaluable class choice is a healer. Your characters will take damage, so having one is vital to a successful run. Some classes do better than others, such as Man At Arms and Plague Doctor.
5Having The Right Skills
Having the right classes in the group isn’t the only thing that matters; what they actually do is equally important. Placing different classes at different positions will determine which skills they will be capable of pulling off. When the entire party is healthy and performing well, it doesn’t make much sense to use a heal.
Having your healer packing some damage to help pick off a strangling enemy means one less instance of incoming damage. It is also useful having some means of attacking the enemy’s back row when you need to prioritize taking out that specific enemy first.
As you play the game, you will acquire Trinkets. While you are not in combat, can equip Trinkets to any of your characters. Each character can have 2 trinkets equipped at a time, and the Trinkets will show the restrictions of who can use them.
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Some will offer buffs, and some will offer excellent buffs that come at a cost. Be mindful of the trinkets you have and which combination of them on different characters will award the best overall advantage for the entire party, rather than one sole user.
There are many items in the game, and a lot can play a big role in the midst of combat, but it is also worth noting effects that will be important outside of combat. Items can help raise Affinity, and this can be highly beneficial going into later fights.
As you complete runs, you will get a feel of which items would be better used earlier in runs and which you should be saving for the later, significantly harder portions of the game. Items will be consumed on use, so don’t burn through them for the fun of it.
2Being On The Road
You will see a lot of things on the road as you travel in your coach. Run over every single thing you see. This will give you the most items and experience. You can change many of its options such as the steering sensitivity and the camera shake.
Edit these to what feels best to you and what will help you control the coach best. Hitting a large blockage on the road will trigger a battle, so it is wise to do party management periodically to always be prepared.
1Inspect Enemies
During battles, you will be able to inspect your enemies to see what they are capable of and what your best course of action should be. You can do this by pressing the Alt key while an enemy is selected.
This will include showing you all the skills you have seen them perform, what statuses are currently affecting them, what those statues do, and it will list their resistances. Do not sleep on this information; this can help you optimize your strategies and dramatically increase your success rates for long runs.
