Welcome to Darkest Dungeon 2 Guide 2023, This Darkest Dungeon 2 Guide 2023 is shared by DolphinChemist on game Reddit and we have gathered some useful information for you.
I wrote this Darkest Dungeon 2 Beginner Guide to help cover a lot of the common questions I got from new players of Darkest Dungeon 2. I wanted to make my answers easily available to anyone who might be overwhelmed or struggling with the new content. If there’s anything missing here, it’s probably omitted for brevity. Good luck on your runs
Darkest Dungeon 2 Guide 2023
How do I unlock stuff?
All unlocks (except hero abilities) are done using Candles
You will gather candles as you play and cannot lose them. Generally speaking, the further a run gets, the more candles you’ll gain.
Succeeding an entire runs tends to be more valuable than being greedy for candle opportunities. For example, take regions with mastery bonuses instead of candles.
Check hero goals (bottom left icon) for actions to take that will reward candles. These are easy to forget, so try to make a habit of checking.
Candles are also offered at random locations (signified by the candle icon), but I would recommend against taking bad paths just for one candle.
If your run is strong enough, killing multiple Lair bosses is also a way to get more candles. (Don’t take fights you know you’ll lose.)
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How do I skip the candle/unlock stuff?
Find a fully unlocked save file online. There will be one on the official DD discord I imagine.
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How should I spent my first candles?
IMPORTANT: Everything in a given category gets more expensive as you invest! Spread the points around where they’ll be most useful.
The Working Fields
Grabbing a couple of each item upgrade is smart. Spreading the investment keeps things cheap.
Each category has plenty to offer, so it’s hard to recommend prioritizing one.
Keep in mind you get a sample copy of anything you unlock on the next run. Take advantage of this, especially with usually-expensive wagon equipment.
Intrepid Coast:
First two rows (Journey and Resourcefulness) are generally good. Invest in each as you go.
First wolf pet is strong if you want to spend one candle in Companionship – don’t need more early.
Renown is cosmetics, so you can ignore (or splurge) to your heart’s content.
Infernal Flame is additional challenge for additional candles, but I would not recommend this for new players at all.
Timeless Wood:
After you win your first run, memories can be very strong, invest as needed to use them.
If you aren’t yet winning runs, don’t invest in memory options.
Living City:
Hellion unlock is GOAT – even after a recent nerf, a hero that can hit the back rank from the first rank is very helpful in fights.
Some players enjoy Leper (high damage, very tanky), but I prefer reach on Hellion.
Vestal becomes very powerful once her Seraph path and all skills are unlocked. Rushing her early can pay huge dividends.
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What team should I use for X? Here are the “one size fits all” compositions.
Base team: Plague Doctor, Grave Robber, Highwayman, Man-at-Arms
Second run: Plague Doctor, Highwayman, Man-at-Arms, Hellion
Several unlocks: Vestal, Highwayman, Man-at-Arms, Hellion
What skills do you use on on Vestal/HWM/MAA/Hellion”?
Hellion: Ravager Path + Wicked Hack/Iron Swan/Toe-to-Toe/Raucous Revelry/Howling End
Man-at-Arms: Vanguard Path + Crush/Defender/Bolster/Bellow/Retribution
Highwayman: Sharpshot Path + Pistol Shot/Take Aim/Grapeshot Blast/Double Tap/Hwy Robbery
Vestal: Seraph Path + Judgment/Divine Grace/Cons. of Fortitude/Cons. of Light/Mantra
Those teams suck. What about a team with X?
As long as you can heal, manage stress, and consistently damage all 4 ranks, your team will work.
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How do I handle road hazards?
Roads may have hazards to increase loathing, break wheels or shields, or start a road fight.
Fights are almost ALWAYS the best hazard because there’s no cost and can get you mastery.
Plan your path to avoid maxing out loathing, losing all shields or losing all wheels. Scouting can help but isn’t usually necessary.
Letting loathing max out is the worst of the three issues, so plan accordingly.
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How should I use my hero shrines on my first run(s)?
You’ll start with Plague Doctor, Grave Robber, Highwayman and Man-At-Arms. Here’s how to think about their ability unlocks:
Plague Doctor: Visiting just two Hero Shrines with Plague Doctor will get you Plague Grenade, which can hit back row – invaluable for certain fights and I highly recommend getting this early in your first run.
Highwayman: One shrines gets Point Blank Shot, which lets him shuffle with Duelist Advance. Never a bad idea to use a shrine on HWM – all of his abilities are solid.
Man-At-Arms: One shrine unlocks Bellow, good for fights that reward AOE – no need to prioritize hero shrines for MAA otherwise. First 6 abilities are great.
Graverobber: Lunge unlocks on her 3rd shrine, which is a rough deal. I don’t prioritize unlocks for Graverobber at all. If you like her though, go crazy.
If you unlock them, Hellion and Vestal are also extremely valuable uses of shrines.
Vestal: Incredible once all skills are unlocked (2+ runs worth of hero shrines), but also requires Seraph path (30+ candles) to really shine.
Hellion: Like HWM, a slew of good abilities to unlock. Howling End, despite its nerf, still hits hard.
How do I beat __ Hero Shrine chapter?
Most of these are somewhat intuitive, but some of them are almost inscrutable.
Make sure to read the goal of the fight in the top left corner.
Some of Hero Shrines require you to lose the encounter (scripted loss).
Google the solution if you need to; don’t beat yourself up over it.
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What’s mastery and how do I get it?
Mastery points allow you to upgrade your heroes’ skills (1 Mastery per skill)
Mastery points are extremely valuable – they are the main way your hero scales in a run.
Most fights have a chance of providing mastery, but certain fights have a higher chance.
Guaranteed Mastery points come from Hero Shrines, Creature Den, full Lair clearing, and the final cultist encounter of each region.
It’s usually worth it to choose regions with a goal promising Mastery reward.
How should I spend mastery?
As a general rule, upgrade a stress heal, then spread upgrades around, focusing on damage.
On any team with Man-At-Arms, upgrading Bolster makes for a great stress heal right out the gate.
On any team with Hellion, upgrading Toe-to-Toe first enables “Winded” abilities.
Other strong upgrades include Take Aim (HWM), and Mantra (Seraph Vestal)
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