/dadg/ Newbie Guide

DARKEST DUNGEON - TIPS FOR NEW PLAYERS

You know how the game just throws you straight into the deep end after half-explaining most of the basic mechanics? Well, this guide is here to help! There are a lot of topics to cover, so I'll only be giving a broad overview, but don't worry: the game is somewhat (not really) forgiving at the start.

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BASIC MECHANICS AND YOU
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-STRESS-
Probably the most unique element of this game, stress represents a character's mental state. There are many reasons why you want to keep stress low, the first and foremost being AFFLICTIONS. At 100 stress, your character's resolve will be tested. You have a (small, but reasonable) chance of becoming VIRTUOUS, which reduces stress back down to 30 or so and gives buffs, or instead gaining an AFFLICTION. Your virtue chance can be boosted, but it's still not a good idea to rely on it.
So what does an AFFLICTION do? There are a lot of them, some worse than others, but all of them cause your other party members to stress out faster. Not only that, but they can make the character do random shit like skip turns and change positions, which in turn makes your party have an ever harder time fighting monsters, which makes them stress even more, and well... If you've ever played Dwarf Fortress, then you know that sometimes all it takes is one guy flipping out to bring everyone else crashing down with them.
Also, if someone gets to 200 stress after that, then they have a heart attack and get put on Death's Door automatically. You don't want that.

-BLEED, BLIGHT, BUFFS, AND DEBUFFS-
This stuff is pretty straightforward. If you mouse over an enemy, their stats will appear over your inventory/map, showing you their various resistances. Some resist blight, others resist bleed, etc. As for buffs and debuffs, you should be able to figure out what all the stats do. The real thing that you have to take note of here is that ALL EFFECTS CAN STACK. So don't worry about debuffing a guy that's already debuffed or whatever, and more importantly, stay aware when bad effects are stacking up on YOU.

-MOVE EFFECTS-
You probably also noticed Move Resist as a stat. Enemies can and will move you around, and in some cases (most commonly a party ambush), your whole team will get scrambled without a chance to resist. Considering that a lot of characters can't do shit if they're not where they're meant to be (the front or the back), it can really ruin your day. This is why attacks that move your character forward or backward can sometimes be pretty useful, but whether you want to spend a slot on them is up to you.

-DEATH'S DOOR-
So, the tide turned on you, huh? Well, don't panic TOO much. When a character is on death's door, they have a chance of ignoring every incoming attack. But if that attack lands, well, you probably know how it goes. There are 2 important things to note here: one is that healing them by even 1 HP will get them off of death's door and give them another fighting chance, and two is that recovering from death's door leaves you with a hard-to-lose debuff. It's not game-changing, but if you're hitting deaths door a lot anyway then your characters are probably freaking out and you should certainly consider retreat.

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THE TOWN
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Most of this is quite straightforward, and explained in the in-game tutorials anyway. Use heirlooms to upgrade buildings. Deeds are the best heirloom. Also, random events can happen while de-stressing your team (running off for a week, gaining quirks, ect), and bad ones tend to happen more often in the tavern that the church. Once your roster starts to get bigger, though, it doesn't really matter.

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THE ITEMS
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You probably noticed that sometimes some useless healing junk appears in your inventory when you embark. Don't waste them on your characters! A lot of these are much, much more better than you think. Why? Because you can use them on curios to get sicknasty l00t and other rewards. But first...

-FOOD AND TORCHES: HOW MUCH DO I NEED?-
A lot of this comes down to RNG, specifically, how much the layout of the dungeon fucks you into having to backtrack. A safe guideline though is 8-12 food and 8-10 torches for a Short mission, 16-20 food and 14-18 torches for a Medium, and 24-30 food and 16-20 torches for a Long. As a general rule, torches are a lot less important than food, so skimp on those if you have to. One final thing to note as that some dungeons (the Warrens, and Weald and Cove to a much lesser extent) let you find food as a random drop, sometimes even giving a full 12stack, so you can bring less if you're feeling lucky.

-SHOVELS-
BUY SHOVELS. 1 for a short, 2-3 for medium and long. Obstacles will fuck you up (20ish stress to all members and damage) if you don't have one. Just trust me. Also, they can be used on shallow graves and barnacle chests for loot.

-HOLY WATER-
>Most useful on:
Anything religious (idols, statues, ash urns, skeletons, ect).
>Gives you:
Usually buffs, good quirks, or stress reduction.
>Best place to bring:
Ruins and Cove.

-MEDICINAL HERBS-
>Most useful on:
Anything dirty (Beast carcasses, leftover food, liquor barrels, certain corpses). Also Alchemy labs.
>Gives you:
Shitloads of food and/or other loot.
>Best place to bring:
Warrens. Weald and Cove to a smaller extent.

-BANDAGES-
>Most useful on:
Mummies, sharp spiky things, and spider webs. Not too useful overall.
>Gives you:
Loot.
>Best place to bring:
Weald, but again, chances to use them are rarer than the others.

-ANTIVENOM-
>Most useful on:
Old trees, Brackish Pools, and Left Luggage. Also not very useful.
>Gives you:
Loot, and a minor buff from pools.
>Best place to bring:
Cove and Weald.

-SKELETON KEY-
>Most useful on:
LOCKED chests and containers. If a chest/cabinet/whatever specifically mentions that it's unlocked, it will just waste the key.
>Gives you:
Loots, also extra heirlooms if used on a family chest.
>Best place to bring:
Everywhere.
>SPECIAL NOTE:
Sometimes, vary rarely, you'll find a SECRET ROOM while scouting. If you do, the chest inside will give you tremendous loot if you have a key (but still decent if you don't). They really are rare though, so don't autistically hoard those keys or anything.

Now that you have a vague idea of what to bring where....

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DUNGEONS
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-THE RUINS-
Enemy types: UNHOLY and HUMAN
Weaknesses/Resistances: Undead are immune to bleed, weak to blight.
Notes: The most normal of all the dungeons. Seems to bear a little more loot, though. Most curios involve holy water or keys. Crusader is good here, for obvious reasons.
Nasty Enemies: Look out for Bone Spearmen, they can really dish out the damage.


-THE WARRENS-
Enemy types: BEAST and HUMAN
Weaknesses/Resistances: Enemies here are generally susceptible to bleed.
Notes: Nothing too bad about this one either, aside from all the fucking diseases. As I mentioned earlier, you can often get a lot of food here if you bring herbs, but of course, the one time you really need it is the one time where you find nothing but scrolls and shit for 8 rooms.
Nasty Enemies: You ever notice how pigs in video games tend to be evil? But really, the little ones that vomit on you can give you diseases, so clear 'em out.


-THE WEALD-
Enemy types: ELDRITCH AND HUMAN
Weaknesses/Resistances: Enemies here tend to resist blight.
Notes: Bring extra shovels. Bandages aren't to bad here, either. Hell, you might even want to bring some antivenom to use, because everything here is going to blight the shit out of you.
Nasty Enemies: Fungus fuckers are annoying, but honestly not too bad. Watch out for ectoplasms though, they can replicate themselves and combine, so kill 'em quick. At veteran level, you'll get to meet the Unclean Giant, AKA What The Fuck My Team Is Being Shuffled Get Back To The Front You Stupid Fucking Leper I Hate You.


-THE COVE-
Enemy types: ELDRITCH, some HUMAN
Weaknesses/Resistances: Most enemies here resist bleed.
Notes: By far the worst of all the main dungeons. The most common enemy here, Pelagic Grouper, does a shitload of damage for some inexplicable reason, and the curios here are mostly shitty. To add insult to injury, the only heirlooms you're likely to get are worthless fucking Crests.
Nasty Enemies: The Grouper mentioned above, but also THRALLS. KILL THRALLS QUICKLY. THEY CAN EXPLODE FOR MASSIVE DAMAGE ON EVERYONE. Also, later on you'll find Snibbety Snab the Giant Crab, who can inflict an 8+ damage 3 round bleed. Having a Plague Doctor along to cure it can really help.

-THE DARKEST DUNGEON-
Woah there, champ, this is a newbie guide, remember? By the time you're coming here, you'll be ready for anything the game can throw at you. I promise ;^)

Moving on...

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CHARACTERS
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The section I'm sure you've all been waiting for. I'll list the strengths, weaknesses, and how best to use each hero. You're welcome to draw your own conclusions, but keep in mind that no character is completely worthless. Also, my opinions are objective so fuck you.

==CRUSADER:
>STRENGTHS
+Deals pretty good damage
+Tanks pretty good damage
+Has some decent utility; a stun, stress heal, and (kinda shitty) normal heal
+Great camping abilities

>WEAKNESSES
-Can't do shit if he gets sent to the back, unless you have Holy Lance

>STRATEGY
The usual paladin archetype, he's a pretty straightforward guy. Zealous Accusation is good, so is the stun. Just keep calm and smite evil. His heals don't do much, but it's good enough to keep someone off of DD at least.

>NOTES
Considered to be one of the best frontliners in the game, and it's not hard to see why. Aside from the weakness to shuffling/push, he's valuable in all situations.


==HIGHWAYMAN:
>STRENGTHS
+Versatile, can deal damage from any position to any enemy

>WEAKNESSES
-Damage is the only thing he can do
-His damage isn't really even all that good

>STRATEGY
There are two main strats with the Highwayman: stay somewhere near the back and spam pistol shot, preferably on a marked target, or juggle back and forth in the front row with Point Blank Shot and Duelist's Advance. Grapeshot is also pretty good in some situations.

>NOTES
Sadly, most people agree that he's a little underpowered. Not useless by any means, but he doesn't fit in to any specialized team comps, and most of the time Grave Robber does what he does but better. Still worth having around because REGINAULD+DISMAS BROS4LYFE


==VESTAL:
>STRENGTHS
+She heals
+She heals a lot
+She's a dedicated healer in a game where your guys die for real
+Also has a decent stun and minor damage
+Did I mention the healing thing?

>WEAKNESSES
-Can't do shit from the front row

>STRATEGY
This one's a no-brainer. Just take the two healing skills and whatever else you feel like, but I recommend the stun and Judgement.

>NOTES
Also considered one of the strongest heroes in the game, for obvious reasons. Don't get me wrong, it's not like every party needs to have a Vestal or else it's shit, but it's never a bad idea to take one along. Some people even like to take 2.


==PLAGUE DOCTOR:
>STRENGTHS
+Can cure status effects (more helpful than you might think)
+can stun 2 enemies at once with Blinding Gas
+Good blights
+Good camping abilities
+Best Waifu

>WEAKNESSES
-Useless when in front row
-Doesn't heal very much
-Blight damage takes a long time to add up

>STRATEGY
Gas and Disorienting blast are both solid stuns, Grenade and Noxious blast are good blights. Battlefield Medicine doesn't heal much, but when you consider the amount of damage that it can potentially prevent, it starts to look a whole lot better. Vapors is also a pretty good, but honestly, you'll probably want to use the move slots on something else.

>NOTES
W A I F U
A
I
F
U

==HOUNDMASTER:
>STRENGTHS
+Amazing utility
+Good damage vs marked targets
+Has a great Mark that also reduces PROT (defense)
+Has a fucking ally guard and a pretty good stun
+Can self-heal
+Versatile, useful in any position
+Comes with 2 dog treats, which double his damage for a few rounds

>WEAKNESSES
-His damage takes a while to set up, making him less useful in normal encounters
-His AOE damage sucks
->implying you'll actually remember to use the treats

>STRATEGY
Spec him for whatever your team needs. He can be a good frontliner and tank with Blackjack and Lick Wounds, or a damage dealer at the back with Whistle and Hound's Rush. Guard Dog works anywhere. In any case, Hound Master's real strength is his ability to take down tough enemies, and support your allies while he's at it. Really great hero to bring against boss fights.

>NOTES
Not much to say. He's not gamebreaking or anything, just solid. Most people like him.


==HELLION:
>STRENGTHS
+Has one of the better stuns in the game
+Can get back into the fray with Breakthrough if displaced
+Has some good bleeds
+Can hit the back row from the front with Iron Swan, which is sometimes pretty useful
+Has an OK self buff/heal

>WEAKNESSES
-Using any of her good abilities debuffs her pretty badly
-Kind of sucks in long fights as a result
-Much less tanky than other frontliners

>STRATEGY
As you probably guessed, she's a lot better at killing multiple smaller enemies than big, tough ones. Against bosses and big guys, your best option is to just kind of sit there and spam basic attacks until towards the end. At least she does some respectable damage.

>NOTES
Offence is the best defence, as they say. Except when you're stuck up against some brick wall and debuffed to -60% DMG and Yawp keeps being resisted and GODDAMN EVERYONES DYING WHY DIDN'T I TAKE MY LEPER/CRUSADER


==GRAVE ROBBER:
>STRENGTHS
+Like the Highwayman, she can attack from any position and hit any enemy
+Unlike the Highwayman, she actually has some goddamn utility (a neat stun and reliable blight)

>WEAKNESSES
-Somewhat frail, although she has good dodge
-Damage is respectable but nothing amazing. Can usually oneshot weaker enemies with a good hit, though.

>STRATEGY
Dance in and out with Lunge/Shadow Fade, or hang back and blight/throw daggers. Does a bit more damage to marked targets with Dagger. Nothing too unusual here.

>NOTES
A solid addition to any general team. Second best waifu.


==LEPER:
>STRENGTHS
+Pretty good damage
+Can take a LOT of punishment, thanks to...
+His amazing self heal, which gets even better with certain trinkets
+He wears a mask
+He's a big guy for you

>WEAKNESSES
-His utility is pretty bad. Not much of a team player
-Biggest victim of "I got pushed to the back so oh well I gotta waste 2 turns now" syndrome
-Has really bad accuracy, especially at low levels

>STRATEGY
Another straightforward hero. Chop and Hew are a must. Self-heal, like I mentioned, is pretty great. Purge does almost no damage and the knockback/corpse clear is only sometimes useful; Intimidate is okay. Stress heal is also pretty bad. Pick your poison.

>NOTES
Some people consider him to be useless, since he's basically just Crusader but more selfish. Never needing your healer's attention is a pretty big asset though, and he's 100% fine for most teams. Just watch out for those knockbacks/shuffles.


==JESTER:
>STRENGTHS
+Like GR and Highwayman, he can move around a lot and fight anywhere
+Has the best stress heal
+Has an OK AOE buff
+Finale can do a lot of damage if you get it off
+God tier camping skills

>WEAKNESSES
-He doesn't do much damage most of the time
-Stress heals aren't really as useful as just killing things faster or healing
-He's a living meme

>STRATEGY
There are a number of ways to play Jester. You can have him as a mobile damage dealer, sort of like Highwayman or GR; or as more of a Bard type, using his AOE buff and stress heals; or somewhere in between. You can use solo as a neat setup for Finale, or just slowly dirk stab your way to the front instead. Neither of his bleeds are really that great, but they get the job done. How you want to play him is up to you.

>NOTES
Jester's usefulness is hotly contested. Some people swear by him, others think that he's gimmicky and that having a dedicated stress healer is a stupid meme. The fact that he's useful in the early levels but seems to fall off later on probably has something to do with it. Either way, try him out, and judge for yourself.


==BOUNTY HUNTER:
>STRENGTHS
+Absolutely massive damage output to marked targets
+Has a good Mark skill (although its not as good as Hound's)
+Doesn't mind being moved around too much
+Several reliable stuns
+Has a knockback, a shuffle, and most importantly, a pull
+And a good ranged bleed too

>WEAKNESSES
-Has to set up a mark to do really good damage
-No AOE ability

>STRATEGY
Mark something (or have another party member do it), and then collect that bounty. Absolutely god-tier when it comes to boss fights. In regular fights, pulling, pushing, and stunning your opponents can all be very useful, but he takes a little experience to use well in that aspect. None of his skills are bad except Finish Him, though, so go nuts and have >fun. Nothing more satisfying than pulling some smug little mage from the back and then having one of your frontliners kill them in one hit.

>NOTES
*snort*


==OCCULTIST:
>STRENGTHS
+He's the other main healer. So, yeah.
+Has a decent Mark
+Weakening curse can really help against tough monsters
+Has pulls and stuns as well

>WEAKNESSES
-Heal is random and can really fuck you over sometimes
-His damage is shitty. Yes, even against Eldritch.
-Also can't do much from the front

>STRATEGY
He's a bit of an oddball, but once you get used to him, he's pretty good. The Mark can be helpful if you don't want to waste a slot on one of your damage-dealing characters, and Weakening Curse can make some bad enemies a breeze. Stuns and pulls are always nice. Abyssal Artillery can be sort of useful, but both it and Sacrificial stab never seem to do quite as much damage as you'd hope for. Just try to heal up and pray to RNGallah for that absolutely halal 30 HP crit.

>NOTES
Seriously though, the random healing seems off-putting at first, but it's actually pretty good.


==ARBALEST:
>STRENGTHS
+Has a Mark
+Also has a heal
+Pretty damn good damage vs marked
+Good at picking off enemy back-liners
+Has an ability that can clear stuns and marks off of allies

>WEAKNESSES
-Like many others, it fucking sucks if she gets pulled to the front somehow
-Heal doesn't heal for much and can't target position 4 for some stupid fucking reason
-Damage isn't so great in regular, no-time-to-mark-enemies encounters
-Can't hit the enemy front line very well

>STRATEGY
Useful as an off-healer, and can bring some good damage against certain bosses and tough enemies. Sadly, On the whole, she doesn't fit most comps very well.

>NOTES
Like leper, a lot of people hate her because of the whole "if your position gets scrambled you're fucked" thing. She's really not THAT bad, though.


==MAN-AT-ARMS:
>STRENGTHS
+Great tanking
+Can protect allies
+Can counterattack
+Has a decent AOE debuff and some party buffs
+Also knockbacks and stuns

>WEAKNESSES
-Kind of bad if repositioned, but he can cast his protect from anywhere, and has a charge
-Riposte + Defender takes a few turns to set up
-Doesn't deal as much damage as other frontliners

>STRATEGY
Riposte + Defender is fun and effective, especially against large groups of enemies. He's just as comfortable fighting bosses, too. Has a wide variety of buffs and debuffs if that's your thing. Also, some people like to run him in position 4 and just have him defend allies; there's a trinket that helps with that. Solid addition to any team.

>NOTES
Pretty much mid-tier, most people don't feel strongly about him one way or the other.


==ABOMINATION:
>STRENGTHS
+Great stun that deals good damage
+Great base stats
+Good blights
+Self heal
+Can hulk out when shit gets real

>WEAKNESSES
-Can't be taken in the same party as Leper, Crusader, or Vestal
-Stresses your other party members out

>STRATEGY
The secret using Abom effectively is this: you don't need to transform. His human form is pretty damn good in it's own right, shitting out high-damage stuns constantly (dare I say... chain stunning?) and also being able to blight and self-heal. His monster form is even better, but you should only use it on tough fights, or as a general "oh shit" button. If you're feeling adventurous, you can try to bring a Memester along to heal the stress away while spamming transform, but I don't recommend it.

>NOTES
He's hand-down one of the best heroes in the game in a vacuum, but the party restriction thing really fucks him up. Most people tend not to use him.


And finally...


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MISC TIPS AND HINTS
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=>You can change your party member's abilities mid-dungeon by right clicking them. Doesn't work in combat, though.


=>If your torch runs out, you can get completely random encounters out of nowhere, even if you scouted.


=>Prolonging a fight so that you can heal up will result in your characters getting more stressed, don;t let things go on TOO long.


=>The lower your torchlight, the more loot you'll find. If you've scouted and there are no enemies around, let it burn down a bit.


=>Whatever you do, don't forget food.


=>Generally, SPD is one of the better stats.


=>Sell trinkets if you're low on cash.


=>Try to take on bosses when your guys are level 2, once they hit 3 then they'll become Veterans and refuse to do apprentice missions.


=>Make sure to use a "prevents ambush" ability whenever you're camping. ESPECIALLY if your guys are at low HP.


=>If you're upgrading but short on cash, check to see if taking a rank in a skill will actually make it better or not. For some skills, it takes a few ranks to get an improvement.


And remind yourself, that overconfidence is a slow, and insidious killer.