How to Rest and Recuperate in Darkest Dungeon
Darkest Dungeon is a game of attrition, where your heroes are constantly teetering on the edge of sanity and death. Knowing how to rest and manage your resources is absolutely crucial for success. Here’s the lowdown on how you can rest and recover in this unforgiving game:
The primary ways to rest and recover in Darkest Dungeon involve camping within a dungeon and utilizing town facilities between expeditions. Camping allows for immediate healing and stress reduction during a dungeon run, while town facilities offer long-term recovery and stress management solutions.
Camping: Your Mid-Expedition Oasis
Camping is your lifeline during longer expeditions in Darkest Dungeon. It allows your heroes to recover health, reduce stress, and buff themselves for the challenges ahead.
How to Camp
- Acquire Firewood: Before embarking on a medium or long dungeon run, purchase Firewood from the provision screen. You’ll need at least one piece, but bringing two is highly recommended for longer expeditions.
- Find a Safe Room: While exploring the dungeon, locate a room free of enemies.
- Initiate Camping: Once in a safe room, the option to “Rest” will appear in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Click it, and you’ll be prompted to use a piece of Firewood.
- Allocate Respite Points: After using the firewood, you’ll be given Respite Points. These points can be spent on various camping skills your heroes possess.
- Utilize Camping Skills: Each hero has unique camping skills that can heal HP, reduce stress, buff stats, or even prevent nighttime ambushes. Choose wisely based on your party’s needs.
- End Camping: Once you’ve used all your Respite Points, click the “Rest” button to end the camping session.
- Beware of Ambushes: After camping, there’s a chance of a nighttime ambush by enemies, unless you’ve used a camping skill to prevent it. Be prepared for a surprise fight!
Tips for Effective Camping
- Prioritize Healing and Stress Reduction: Focus on restoring HP and lowering stress levels, especially for heroes who are heavily damaged or afflicted.
- Plan Ahead: Before embarking, consider which camping skills will be most useful for your party composition and the type of dungeon you’re entering.
- Prevent Ambushes: If possible, always use a camping skill that prevents nighttime ambushes. This can save you a lot of unnecessary damage and stress.
- Conserve Firewood: Firewood is a precious resource, so use it wisely. If your party is in good shape, you might be able to skip camping altogether.
Town Facilities: Long-Term Recovery
While camping provides immediate relief, the town facilities offer long-term recovery and stress management options for your heroes.
Sanitarium
The Sanitarium is where you can treat your heroes’ negative quirks and diseases. Quirks are permanent traits that can have both positive and negative effects, while diseases are temporary ailments that can hinder your hero’s performance. Treating these conditions can be costly, but it’s essential for maintaining a healthy and effective roster.
Abbey and Tavern
The Abbey and Tavern offer various stress relief activities, such as prayer, meditation, gambling, and flagellation. Each activity has its own cost and stress reduction potential. Be aware that certain heroes may have preferences or restrictions on which activities they can participate in.
Stage Coach
The Stage Coach allows you to recruit new heroes to replace those who have died or become too afflicted to continue adventuring. Upgrading the Stage Coach increases the number of heroes available for recruitment each week.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions related to resting and managing your heroes in Darkest Dungeon:
1. What is Respite in Darkest Dungeon?
Respite refers to the number of points you get to spend during a camping session. Each camping skill costs a certain number of Respite Points, and you can only use as many skills as you have points available.
2. How do you retreat from battle in Darkest Dungeon?
To retreat from battle, click on the white flag icon located in the top left corner of the screen. You can only interact with the retreat option when it is your hero’s turn to act in combat. Retreating can have negative consequences, such as increased stress and potential loss of items.
3. How do you keep stress down in Darkest Dungeon?
Traveling at higher light levels provides a blanket percentage reduction on stress inflicted. Scouting indirectly prevents stress by allowing detection of traps, granting a chance to avoid or disarm them. Successfully disarming a trap also heals stress. Bringing heroes with stress-reducing skills and utilizing town facilities like the Abbey and Tavern are also effective strategies.
4. How do you heal in battle in Darkest Dungeon?
Various class skills can heal HP during combat, but only Food and Camping Skills are able to heal adventurers outside of combat. Upon completing the quest, the health of all heroes will be restored to full, unlike stress, which is retained between quests.
5. Can you skip days in Darkest Dungeon?
You cannot skip weeks in Darkest Dungeon. You must enter a dungeon, even if it’s just to immediately retreat, to advance the game’s week counter.
6. Are afflictions permanent in Darkest Dungeon?
While afflictions themselves are not permanent, the weight to obtain a specific affliction increases each time a hero receives it. This makes it more likely for them to develop other afflictions or virtues in the future.
7. What does Holy Water do in Darkest Dungeon?
Holy Water is used to purge evil and restore purity. It can be used on certain curios in dungeons to gain positive effects or avoid negative ones.
8. How long does it take for stress to go down in Darkest Dungeon?
Stress relief typically takes one week in town facilities. However, heroes may sometimes disappear for an extra week or two due to their personal quirks or needs.
9. What items should I take into the Ruins in Darkest Dungeon?
When entering the Ruins dungeon, it is recommended to bring: 8 pieces of Provisions (increase by 4 per available Firewood), 2 Keys, 2 Shovels, 5-8 Torches, Holy Water, and Herbs. These items can be used with the environment to get loot or heirlooms.
10. What happens if everyone dies in Darkest Dungeon?
If all four heroes die in combat, the expedition is failed, and you will get the “Lost in Darkness” result. You will lose any loot collected during the expedition and potentially face other negative consequences.
11. What happens when you reach 200 stress in Darkest Dungeon?
Upon reaching 200 stress, a character will suffer a heart attack and will either enter Death’s Door or, if already on Death’s Door, die outright. However, heroes who have become virtuous will instead have their virtue removed and stress reset back to 40.
12. What is the hardest level in Darkest Dungeon?
Stygian mode is the most difficult challenge offered by Darkest Dungeon. It features increased enemy stats, a shorter time limit, and harsher penalties for failure.
13. What is the hardest boss in Darkest Dungeon?
Many consider The Heart of Darkness to be the hardest boss in Darkest Dungeon. It is the final boss and requires a well-prepared party and a solid strategy to defeat.
14. What does ACC mean in Darkest Dungeon?
ACC stands for Accuracy. It determines how likely a character is to hit a target.
15. What is the maximum number of quirks a character can have in Darkest Dungeon?
A character can possess a maximum of ten quirks – five positive and five negative. If a hero gains an additional quirk beyond this limit, a random existing quirk will be replaced.
Mastering the Art of Rest
Learning how to effectively rest and manage your heroes is paramount to your success in Darkest Dungeon. Camping provides immediate relief during expeditions, while town facilities offer long-term recovery and stress management options. By understanding these mechanics and utilizing them strategically, you can increase your chances of surviving the horrors that await you. Good luck, and may your resolve be tested! For more insights into the educational aspects of gaming, be sure to check out the Games Learning Society at https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/.